Never before has a distilled beverage been mentioned in this column, but the time has come. Worthy of an exception is Ten Cane, a white rum that is the first new brand ever created by LVMH, the luxury-goods packager. No other rum that I’ve tasted is so delicately pure as Ten Cane, made in Trinidad. It reminded me almost as much of a nuanced wine as of the hard stuff. In fact, Ten Cane’s master distiller, Jean Pineau, told me during a visit earlier this summer that he has adapted fine wine vinting techniques to make this rum. Selected sugar cane (field-bound in bundles of 10, hence the name) is hurried to the distillery and pressed gently. Only first press juice is used, leaving 25% behind. After double-distillation in small-batch alembic stills, the rum is aged in French oak barrels, creating a vanilla scent along with a delicate essence of lime and spice. You could make rum and coke, a daiquiri, or a mojito with this rum, but it shines best on its own.

Ten Cane is just now reaching retailers. I found it at Crush Wine Co. (153 E. 57th St., for $35.99). While you’re there, check out the shop’s excellent winetasting bar.

>> CLICK AND SIP Last week, Pia Catton alerted readers to discover-wine.com, an instructional Web site sponsored by Robert Mondavi. Another useful tool, this one focused on clarifying how different wines taste, can be found at winespectator.com. Called “What Am I Tasting?” it’s a guided exercise in deconstructing a real Wine Spectator tasting note into four elements: variety, country or region of origin, approximate age, and appellation. All the clues are in the descriptors, as in this current one: “This white is bold, with graham, honey, orange peel, nectarine, and cardomom flavors driven by live-wire acidity. Rich, structured, and focused with a long finish. Shows obvious wood treatment, but has plenty to back it up.” Click on “Show Me the Answer” for the reasoning behind the answer. It’s a way to think about wine tasting like a professional. And it shows that wine talk isn’t just blather. Or, at least, not always.

“What Am I Tasting?” appears biweekly, and previous examples are available. At winespectator.com, click on “Learn About Wine” on the tool bar. A subscription to Wine Spectator Online – $7.95 per month or $49.95 per year – is required.

>> BEST WINE SALE In August, many wine shops put selected bottles on sale as they make way for incoming shipments of cool-weather wine. Much more useful to wine buffs is Park Avenue Liquor Shop’s annual summer sale. Proprietor Michael Goldstein discounts his entire inventory: Buy any bottle at regular price, get a second bottle at 50% off regular price. And what an inventory it is! No other retail shop in New York, to my knowledge, carries such a range of collector’s wines and vintages (see Urban Vintage, “The Rare & the Everyday,” July 6, 2005). I am planning to buy some older Burgundy, both red and white, that would be difficult to find at any other shop, let alone on sale.

Check out the full inventory at parkaveliquor.com. Sale ends September 2. Park Avenue Liquor Shop (292 Madison Ave., 212-685-2442).

>> SKY WINE I I recently sampled a wine called Twin Fin Merlot “California” 2002. On the front label is an old convertible with a long board sticking out from the back seat. The back label says that Twin Fin “prefers sunny days over dark cellars.” As a veteran long boarder, I tried extra hard to like this wine. Failing that, I settled for neutrality. But all I could do was dislike Twin Fin Merlot 2002 more with every sip. It was heavy, dull, unnaturally sugary, and lacking any clues as to where it might have been grown. It occurred to me that the French, with their tradition of terroir wines, would reject Twin Fin Merlot even more adamantly than I did. Then a young friend from Bordeaux, who harvests grapes every year at Chateau Haut-Brion, arrived at my place for a visit. She’d flown over on KLM. Opening her shoulder bag, she handed me a split of wine that had been served with her dinner in coach class. “It was really nice,” she said. “I brought you a bottle.”

You can guess. It was Twin Fin Merlot. There’s a lesson here, but I don’t think I want to know what it is.

>> SKY WINE II I wondered if I’d be served the likes of Twin Fin Merlot on an upcoming 15-hour flight to Hong Kong in coach class on Cathay Pacific. Just before boarding, luck smiled on me, and I was upgraded to business class. The dinner wine list, after an aperitif of Deutz Brut Classic, was honed down to a mere four wines, paired for maximum coverage in flavor and style. The whites were a Jaboulet-Verchere Pouilly Fuisse 2002, smoky and snappy, and a Wente “Riva Ranch” Chardonnay 2002, buttery and inflected with tropical fruit. The reds were a Mercurey, Domaine Louis Max 2001 (a little-known Burgundy that is light-bodied with a zing of cherry-berry fruit), and Rodney Strong Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, rich with black fruit and chocolaty flavors. Half French, half Californian – what a good way to sip in the sky.

>> WEST 42ND STREET WINE Tourist-inundated West 42nd Street doesn’t hold out high promise for a good wine experience. But just that is delivered by West Bank Cafe, an easygoing, roomy spot nestled under a mighty apartment tower just west of Ninth Avenue. To celebrate its 27th anniversary, the restaurant is offering – along with a three-course dinner priced at $27 – a small but interesting list of $27 wines. Last week, they included Gruet Brut, a New Mexican sparkler; Cline Zinfandel from Sonoma; and Quivira Sauvignon Blanc 2003, also from Sonoma. All are wines that deliver bang for the buck. I started my dinner with a glass of Caymus Conundrum ($14), an intriguing blend of five white grapes. Then I went on to the pure and graceful Etude Pinot Noir 2002, Carneros ($16.50). Served in Riedel-style glasses appropriate to each wine, these are generous six-ounce pours.

The West Bank Cafe (407 W. 42nd St., 212-695-6909) is open every day for lunch and dinner.The $27 prix fixe dinner is available after 8 p.m. only.