Gauntleys Fine Wine, Whisky and Cigar Merchants

About

Situated on the entrance to Nottingham's famous Exchange Arcade, Gauntleys is one of the oldest independent companies in the city.

Gauntleys was founded in 1880 as a tobacconist, before expanding into wine and spirits in the mid-1980s when the current owner, John Gauntley, took over the running of the business from his father. The Gauntleys buying team take their buying responsibilities very seriously, being one of the first UK merchants to venture into the Rhone Valley in France, they have an enviable portfolio of agencies, featuring some of the great winemakers of the region along with a selection of the talented next generation. They also have the UK agency for one of the greatest Champagne growers in the region, that being Champagne Vilmart, as well as a selection of wines from the Loire, Alsace and beyond.

The Gauntleys range of whiskies and spirits is deep and diverse and has been specially curated by Chris Goodrum, Nottingham's top malt whisky impresario and expert, although being a pretty modest person he would never deem to call himself an expert! The range of over 300 whiskies includes many specially selected Malts from Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales plus a large range of Independent private bottlings. Chris also believes that great whisky isn't just the preserve of the British Isles and you will find a selected inventory from all over the world including Italy, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, India and Japan to name but a few. As an aside, Chris also has a YouTube channel, called the Good Dram Show, in which he tastes and presents a number of interesting spirits, as well as commenting on relevant stories and gossip within the industry. A new episode is filmed most weekends, so there is always something new and interesting to watch!

The Gauntleys cigar selection is overseen by Eann Wallace, who is commonly known as 'The Smoking Scotsman!' and is well versed in the art of cigar production and smoking, which means he, along with the rest of the upstairs team can advise customers on the perfect cigar for that perfect moment. Eann also hosts regular cigar tasting evening's which will revolve around either a theme of his choosing or as in a number of cases a launch night for a new or re-issued brand. Eann has travelled to various cigar producing countries to learn about production and one of his favourite sayings is - "Have I told you that I went to Nicaragua………….!"