How can you not love a place whose phone number is 877-NO-SNOBS? LeNell’s has become like the town hall of Van Brunt Street in Red Hook. For the last three years, locals have congregated there to swap stories, pick up wine and liquor, and enjoy LeNell’s famous regular events and tastings. It has also become a destination for bourbon aficionados from all over, while totally lacking in pretense.

LeNell’s promotes small producers of wine and liquor. They carry a few major label hard liquors but that’s it. It’s rare to see a strong belief in small producers so thoroughly and well executed in a store. The labels may not be immediately known, but LeNell’s crack staff makes it all very approachable. Rather than organizing wines by country, region, producer, style, grape, color, etc, LeNell’s does things differently. Wines are organized in groupings that people can actually remember and relate to. One section is dedicated to dog and cat wine labels, which happens to include a lot of New Zealand wines. (The store is pet friendly too). There is a section of African-American and Black winemakers including Vision Cellars’ Mac McDonald who makes primarily pinot noirs as well as whites, rieslings and roses. They feature wines from the Brown Estate in Napa Valley known for their excellent zinfandels and cabernets. LeNell’s also carries the wines of Thabani, one of the few black winemakers in South Africa. You’ll also find a section of wines made by women winemakers. These groupings may seem unusual or hokey at first, but these are serious wines, each of which has been tasted and scrutinized by LeNell and her crew. LeNell is an expert in the bourbon world and publishes on wine and liquor extensively. They don’t call her “The Bourbon Queen” for nothing.

LeNell’s carries more than wine. Known as a bartender’s liquor store, they have a range of unusual products such as a selection of Italian Amaro bitters, Clear Creek’s organic fruit brandies from Oregon, and an authentic American corn whisky (moonshine!) made in small batches by Tuthilltown Spirits in Gardiner, New York. LeNell’s is also home to New York’s most complete American whisky collection, and has over 100 bourbons.

LeNell’s hosts regular events including a monthly caipirinha demo and cachaca tasting, featuring the Mae De Ouro cachaca. Mae De Ouro is handmade (that’s no machinery used), comes in hand-numbered bottles, and is the only cachaca LeNell’s has deemed worthy enough to carry.

The next caipirinha demo and cachaca tasting is Saturday, August 26, noon to midnight.

LeNell’s
416 Van Brunt Street

Originally published on Until Monday: Brooklyn