The Spirit Of Giving!

Rivertown Fine Wine & Spirits Owners
Bonnie & Frank give the gift of hope
this holiday season!

StFrank and Bonnie Dvoravic of Rivertown Fine Wine & Spirits are wonderful people. They truly walk the talk with their passion for helping the community through continuous support of PanCan (The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network).  Bonnie is a 13 year survivor of pancreatic cancer.  After Bonnie’s personal triumph over this devastating disease they decided to take action and make a difference in the lives of others by raising awareness and providing funding for important research.  Each year they hold fund raising events in their store and participate in the PanCan run.  The holidays are a time of giving and this year Frank and Bonnie will offer exclusive Rivertown Fine Wine & Spirits barrel bourbon, giving a portion of the proceeds to PanCan.
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Q: This holiday season Rivertown is continuing to support PANCAN with unique Barrel Bourbons made specifically for Rivertown.  Could you tell us a little about these special barrels? 

Each barrel was sampled by our staff in a blind tasting of 4 to 5 samples. Once the staff made their selection, the barrel was held in the distiller's warehouse and then bottled & labeled exclusively for RFWS. All the bourbon is bottled from that barrel for us, and we even get the empty barrel! We currently have in stock - Manifest Rye, made here locally in Jacksonville, Widow Jane 12 year old bourbon and 1792 Full Proof Bourbon that was just awarded #1 Whiskey for 2020 by Jim Murray in his latest Whiskey Bible edition. These very special selections sell out quite rapidly because of the limited supply. Coming in the next 90 - 120 days, we have a barrel of Elijah Craig 11 year old bourbon, a barrel of Barrel Bourbon - Barrel Proof and a barrel of Larceny 6 year old. And, there are more throughout 2020 that have not been finalized yet.

Q: How will you help PANCAN through sales of Bourbon?  

All of our exclusive RFWS Single Barrel selected bourbons are sold at regular retail price with a small additional donation attached for our charity. These contributions are put to good use by PANCAN in a number of ways - providing much needed awareness of pancreatic cancer, patient & caregiver support and funds for research to help find early detection testing of this terrible disease. We also sell the empty barrels for $300 - $500, for which 100% goes to the charity. 

Q: What makes a bourbon special?  

Bourbon popularity has been on the rise for the past 7-8 years. There is a new "culture" for mixed cocktails and social media has a lot to do with spreading the word. Bourbon flavor is a matter of personal preference & taste. Supply has not been meeting the demand, so the value of bourbons is increasing and so is the price.

Q: The company you are collaborating with is a local company.  Could you tell us a little about them?

Manifest Distilling is located in downtown Jax and bottles vodka, gin and rye whiskey. The barrel of Manifest Rye we have in the store was bottled, sealed, labeled & numbered by Frank and Brian, the store manager at RFWS. It was a great experience for them. The public can take tours of this distillery and learn first hand about distilled spirits from their very knowledgeable staff. It is a unique experience. Be sure to mention that RFWS sent you when you go!

Q: How has Rivertown helped PANCAN in the past?

We have raised $56,000 in four years through our efforts at the store. In addition to our single barrel selections that we offer, we have also acquired rare & hard to find bottles that we sell with an added donation to PANCAN. Our annual Rare Bourbon Auction, which takes place every February, is done by sealed bid auction by item and awarded to the highest bidder. Each bidder is given the opportunity to bid on any of the listed items during the month of February. That bid is sealed in an envelope until March 1, when the envelopes are opened and the winners are announced. This is our 5th year, and will feature 15-25 extremely rare whiskeys.

Q: What are your goals for the future?

This coming year in 2020, our goal will be $25,000 to be raised by October 15th. Our fundraising achievements are culminated at Purple Stride, a 5K/Family friendly walk that is supported nationally by PANCAN in over 25 major cities.  Purple Stride-Jacksonville takes place at the end of October each year at UNF. We would like to thank our customers - family, friends and the community for such love & support the  last 13 years at  RFWS, we could not have accomplished such great success without you. We look forward to a great year in 2020!