Enter Francesco S. Viola and his son Luca Mariano. Francesco is the founder and Luca is the namesake of Luca Mariano Distillery.

The company was founded in 2013 and is based out of Plymouth, Michigan. However, the company is currently producing products in Kentucky. They have a 300 acre farm in the state that will be the future home of their distillery and tasting room. For now, they are working with a partner distillery in Kentucky to produce the products they want.

Earlier this 2019, they released their Old Americana Bourbon. The current batch (#4) is aged over 4 years, clocks in at 41.5% ABV and has a mash bill of 85% corn, 10% barley and 5% rye.

Their new Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey launches October 18th in Michigan and they are throwing as big party to celebrate. The rye is also aged over 4 years and comes in at 41.5% ABV while it’s mash bill is 95% rye, 4% corn and 1% Barley.

Full disclosure, I have not tried either of the products yet and for those of you in the same boat, here is your chance. The rye release party is on October 18th at the Majestic Theater in Detroit. For $25, you’ll get to try both the rye and bourbon as well as enjoy some live entertainment. The brand is a big fan of country music and has assembled a six-piece band featuring Jordan Kirkdorffer of The Voice and Rachel Lynae (local Nashville celeb). The first 100 people at the door will get a chance to meet the band and the first 500 will get a t-shirt or hat.

As Nick Drinks fans, we have a pair tickets to giveaway. Leave a comment on this post with your favorite way to enjoy rye or bourbon. I’ll pick a random winner Sunday (10/13/19) at 9pm EST.

The post Intro to Luca Mariano & Rye Release Party appeared first on Nick Drinks.

The Nick Drink’s household consumes a lot of wine and learning how to open a wine bottle takes some practice. There are a number of tools on the market and some are better then others.

SKIL is known for their power tools but did you know they make bartending gear too? The SKIL iXO Vivo Power Corkscrew is a unique and easy way to open wine bottles.

The package comes with everything you need and even had a charge out of the box. The corkscrew connects to the drill with a standard hex socket. However, my biggest complaint is that the corkscrew has a tendency to slip out. It doesn’t snap in or isn’t magnetic. That would be a great upgrade.

Once you get it over the bottle. It’s just a matter of hitting the trigger and it drives the cork out of the bottle in one motion. With the cork out, you just reverse the drill to remove it from the corkscrew.

Overall, I think this is a fun tool both for novelty and practicality. The kit comes with a small set of drill bits which means that it is great in the kitchen for opening bottles as well as repair tasks.

We have a special treat for NickDrinks.com visitors. Anyone that posts a comment about their favorite holiday wine on this page will be entered for a chance to win your very own SKIL iXO Vivo Power Corkscrew. We will pull a winner Friday, 21st, 2012.

Good luck!

UPDATE: We didn’t have any entries by the end date of our sweeps so we extended it to 12/31/2012 at midnight. Good luck!

The post Tool Review & Giveaway: iXO Vivo Power Corkscrew appeared first on Nick Drinks.

Liquid Muse and PAMA Pro is giving away a free bar kit. Tell your wackiest bar experience in 2-3 tweets and tag it with  #TLMGiveAway. The prize includes some basic gear and a recipe book. Good luck.

Contest Details

The post Win a Free Bar Kit appeared first on Nick Drinks.

When Tom Bulleit was in town earlier this month at Kako’s, I got him to sign a bottle for me and two for NickDrinks.com to giveaway.  Go celebrate our launch, we are giving away one bottle of bourbon and one bottle of rye.  Both are autographed by Tom with his unique form of humor.

To enter the contest please leave a comment on the blog about your favorite drink with rye or bourbon.  Winners will be selected on 9/1, by random number generator.  Make sure your email is correct so you can be properly notified.  If you are under 21, you are not eligible to win.  Open to US residents only.

Update: Congrats to dadmc for winning the August Giveaway. You will be contacted off site. – Winner selected at random by the WordPress Plugin: Pick Giveaway Winner

The post August Giveaway: Bulleit Bottle Signed by Tom Bulleit appeared first on Nick Drinks.

I would encourage you to check out the program.  They give you a heads up each mouth but sometimes I like to be surprised – http://www.bespokepost.com/

We got the hook-up, this month, since it’s cocktail themed.  We are giving away this month’s delivery to one lucky reader.  Leave a comment below and I’ll pick one lucky winner later in the month.  Below is a complete description of the goodies.

This month, we’re bringing the distillery to your doorstep. The basic gist: create your favorite cocktail, pour it into your aging kit, wait 10 days, taste the transformation. This technique changes a cocktail’s character and flavor, mellowing the mix in the same way wines and distilled spirits are aged. And unlike traditional barreling techniques, the shape and size of this kit brings the wait down from months. Patience was never our virtue.

BARREL AGED COCKTAIL KIT
In the center, a charred honeycomb barrel stave from the craftsman at the Black Swan Cooperage. The 375ml glass vessel helps sail your cocktail into the sublime. Each fill develops a softer and subtler finish than the last. We’re including an extra stave, each of which lasts 4 uses, a funnel for pouring, and a strainer. Video recipes and more from the cocktail experts at AskMen.com to come.

COCKTAIL TUMBLERS, Sempli, sempli.com
A king must sit on a throne. Back by popular demand, Sempli’s playful tumblers roll with the punches. These hand-blown Italian crystal glasses are the talk of the town, and somehow make drinking even more fun than usual.

Everything gets better with age.

Note, the box consists of: the aging kit (glass bottle, funnel, cheesecloth strainer, one barrel stave), one extra barrel stave, 2 Sempli cocktail tumblers.

The post July Giveaway: Bespoke Post – “Aged” appeared first on Nick Drinks.