GSN Spirited News: March 15th 2022 Edition

Louisville, Kentucky’s Barrell Craft Spirits has released Batch 32, the latest from the luxury-focused whiskey blender. The thirty-second batch is blended from Tennessee-, Kentucky-, and Indiana-distilled Bourbon with the selected barrels at 5-, 6-, 7-, and 10-years old. The 57.67% abv Bourbon is bottled at cask strength and retails for around $90 a bottle.

Frankfort, Kentucky-based Castle & Key Distillery has launched Rise 2022 Seasonal Gin, the third spring release from the distillery since its restoration in 2014. The 51.5% abv spirit is made from 63% rye, 20% malted barley, and 17% yellow corn with rose petals steeped in the base before distillation. Rise’s botanicals also include juniper, tarragon, lemon peel, green peppercorn, almond, green cardamon, and licorice. Rise will be available in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, Indiana, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin for a suggested price of $36.

Louisville, Kentucky-based Michter’s has released a new batch of US*1 Barrel Strength Rye. This edition, overseen by master distiller Dan McKee and master of maturation Andrea Wilson comes in at an average abv of 55.8%, with variations depending on the individual barrel. The single barrel bottling is now available in limited quantities across the U.S. for a suggested price of $100 a bottle.

The Craft Irish Whiskey Co., purveyor of rare, luxury-priced Irish whiskies, has announced Taoscán, the company’s latest limited edition offering. The single malt was first matured in a combination of Bourbon casks and Oloroso Sherry casks, before being split into new French chestnut and Tawny Port casks to finish for two years. The whiskey is bottled at 48.53% and 700-ml. bottles will be available in select U.S. retailers for a suggested price of $1,600 a bottle.

Canada’s Alberta Distillers, part of Beam Suntory, has launched Alberta Premium in the U.S. for the first time. The 40% abv whisky is made from 100% rye grown by local Calgary farmers and the bottled product is blended from whiskies aged at least five years. Alberta Premium is rolling out now across the U.S. for a suggested price of $25 a 750-ml. This is the first widely available release for the brand in the U.S. and follows the late 2020 limited release of Alberta Premium Cask-Strength.

Captain Morgan Rum is extending with Captain Morgan Cherry Vanilla. The new expression is a limited-time release that’s at 30% abv. To support its launch, the brand has partnered with former Bachelor contestant Joe Amabile, who created several cocktail recipes using Captain Morgan Cherry Vanilla. It’s available on shelves now across the U.S. and Canada for a suggested $16 a 750-ml. 

New York’s Proof & Wood Ventures has announced Seasons 2021, a new limited-edition blend of American whiskies. The 52.5% abv whiskey is a blend of Tennessee Bourbon distilled in 2003, Indiana light whiskey distilled in 2007, Indiana Bourbon distilled in 2015, and Kentucky whiskey distilled from 99% corn in 2013. Roughly 1,000 bottles will be available across the U.S. for a suggested price of $200 a bottle.

Information courtesy of Shanken News Daily

GSN Spirited News: October 26th 2021 Edition

Código 1530, known for Tequila, is entering the mezcal category. Its newcomers include an Ancestral Mezcal (43.1% abv) and an Artesanal Mezcal (42.2% abv), retailing at $180 and $65 respectively. The Ancestral expression is notable for the fact that no machines or automation are involved in its production, with the agave mashed by hand using a wooden stick, fermentation done in a leather vat, and the distillation taking place in clay pots, according to the company. The Artesanal offering includes wild tobalá agave and is rested in Sauvignon Blanc wine barrels. Both are available at retail and on Código 1530’s website.

Shoreham, Vermont’s WhistlePig has announced the eighth edition of the Boss Hog: LapuLapu’s Pacific. This edition is a 17-year-old rye whiskey aged in American oak before finishing twice in heavily toasted Philippine rum casks, with the first finishing cask previously holding 7-year-old rum and the second 10-year-old rum. The whiskey is bottled at barrel proof with bottles ranging from 52.4% to 53.3% abv. The Boss Hog VIII: LapuLapu’s Pacific is rolling out now in limited quantities to select retailers across the U.S. for a suggested price of $500 a 750-ml.

Beam Suntory has released Bardstown Batch, the third bottling of Booker’s Bourbon for 2021. The release, named for the home of distiller Booker Noe, among other Beam family members, aged for six years and five months before bottling and comes in at 62.75% abv. Booker’s Bardstown Batch is now available in limited quantities across the U.S. for a suggested price of $90 a 750-ml. 

Beam Suntory’s Tres Generaciones has kicked of the Legacy series, a new collection of limited-edition Tequilas, with Cenobio’s Batch Plata. The 45% abv Tequila celebrates the first generation of the Sauza family and is named for Don Cenobio, who purchased the Sauza distillery in 1873. Cenobio’s Batch Plata is now available across the U.S. for $70 a 750-ml. In addition to launching the Legacy series, Tres Generaciones has updated the packaging for its entire portfolio, with the new bottles featuring three lines gradually increasing from rough to smooth to represent the distillation process. 

Wyoming Whiskey has released another batch of its Single Barrel Bourbon, the first since November 2020. The 48% abv wheated Bourbon is aged for at least five years and made from locally sourced grains from the Bighorn Basin. The limited release is now available in Wyoming, Illinois, California, Colorado, New York, Georgia, Arizona, New Mexico, Maine, Idaho, Florida, and South Carolina, as well online via the brand’s website and other e-commerce channels, for a suggested price of $99 a 750-ml.

Graton, California’s Redwood Empire Whiskey, part of Purple Brands, has launched its first two bonded whiskies: Rocket Top Straight Rye and Grizzly Beast Straight Bourbon. The 50% abv whiskies were distilled in spring 2016 by distiller Jeff Duckhorn. The rye is made from a mash of 87% rye, 7% malted barley, and 6% wheat; and the Bourbon from 69% corn, 22% rye, 5% malted barley, and 4% wheat. Only 500 cases of each expression are available and both carry a suggested retail price of $80 a 750-ml.

Canada’s Alberta Distillers has announced the 2021 edition of Alberta Premium Cask Strength Rye. This year’s whisky, which ranges in abv from 63% to 67%, is the second edition of Alberta’s barrel proof whisky to reach American shelves. The whisky is distilled from 100% Canadian rye and made with Rocky Mountain water. The Beam Suntory release will be available in select markets across the U.S. for a suggested price of $75 a 750-ml.

Hotaling & Co. has expanded Hirsch Selected Whiskeys with a new single barrel Bourbon. The first single barrel release from the brand, the initial bottling consists of 57 barrels bottled at 62% abv. The barrels aged for at least six years and the Bourbon was made from a mash bill of 72% corn, 13% rye, and 15% malted barley. Hirsch Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon is now available in select retailers across the U.S. for a suggested price of $90 a 750-ml. Beginning November 1, a limited number of bottles will also be available through ReserveBar.

Scotch producer Compass Box Whisky has announced another installment in its limited edition series No Name. The final release of the series, No Name, No. 3, is a blended malt whisky based on liquid from the Laphroaig Distillery aged in recharred hogsheads, augmented with additions from Bowmore Distillery and the Compass Box Highland Malt Blend. Compass Box will market 10,794 bottles worldwide. No Name, No. 3 is at 48.9% abv and will be available from spirits retailers beginning November 1 for $130 a 750-ml.

Mount Gay Rum, part of the Rémy Cointreau portfolio, has unveiled the newest expression in its limited edition Master Blender Collection: Andean Oak Cask. The fourth offering in the series, Andean Cask is available nationwide, retailing at $195 a 750-ml. Made by master blender Trudiann Branker, the new rum was double distilled in a traditional copper pot still, aged for 14 years in ex-Bourbon barrels, and then finished in Virgin Andean Oak, an evergreen tree that grows across the mountains of the Colombian Andes.

Tanteo Tequila is launching a limited edition seasonal expression. Tanteo Navidad is an ultra-premium Añejo Tequila rested for 18 months in American oak barrels, then hand-infused with pequin chilis, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, ginger, and cocoa beans. Retailing at $60 a bottle, it will be available exclusively on Tanteo’s website. 10% of profits will go towards Un Salto Con Destino, a charity providing essential medical services to underprivileged members of Tanteo’s Mexican community.

Georgetown, Kentucky’s Blue Run Spirits has launched a new high-rye Bourbon, the first release overseen by former Four Roses distiller Jim Rutledge. The 55.5% abv whiskey is made from a mash of 65% yellow corn, 30% rye, and 5% malted barley, and was distilled at Castle & Key. The new bottling was assembled from 100 barrels and carries a suggested retail price of $90 a 750-ml. Blue Run Kentucky Straight High Rye Bourbon Whiskey is now available in select retailers in Kentucky, Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Delaware, Illinois, Colorado, California, Florida, and New Jersey.

Princeton, Minnesota’s Phillips Distilling Company has reintroduced its Revel Stoke line of flavored whiskies, with new flavors and a new design philosophy. The whiskies, which come in 12 flavors, now feature irreverent names like SonofaPeach and Lei’d Roasted Pineapple, for example, and matching artwork. The brand, aimed at men aged 21-34, will also be supported by a marketing campaign centered around the tagline “Stoke Your Wild.” The redesigned Revel Stoke is now available across the U.S.

Information courtesy of Shanken News Daily

GSN Spirited News: December 29th 2020 Edition

Buena Vista, Colorado-based distiller Deerhammer has unveiled the second bottling in its Progeny specialty spirits series, a collaboration with Denver-based brewer Crooked Stave. The new offering, Cask Savant (50% abv), began as Crooked Stave’s hoppy brett beer Hop Savant, and was rested in heavy toast light char American oak casks. “To our knowledge this is the very first example of a spirit born from a 100% Brettanomyces yeast fermentation,” says Deerhammer founder and head distiller Lenny Eckstein. Cask Savant retails at $70 and is available at select Colorado retailers. Known for American single malt whiskey, Deerhammer’s range also includes Whitewater Whiskey, Buena Vista Brandy, and Dutch Style Gin.

Beam Suntory’s Alberta Distillers is launching a new limited-edition cask-strength whisky in the U.S. market: Alberta Premium Cask Strength Rye. Made in Calgary from a 100% rye mashbill, the new entry carries an abv of 63.9% to 66% and is packaged in a faceted glass bottle. It retails at $70 a 750-ml.

U.K.-based Salcombe Distilling has launched Start Point and Rosé Sainte Marie gins in the U.S. Start Point is billed as a classic, citrus-led London Dry gin, while Rosé Sainte Marie is inspired by the aromas, flavors and lifestyle of the Mediterranean coast. Both retail at $40 a 750-ml. The two Salcombe gins are currently available in New York, Connecticut, and New England, imported by Park Street Imports and distributed by Horizon Beverage, Empire Merchants and Connecticut Distributors Inc. Salcombe is located in the town of the same name on the southwest coast of England.

Fluère non-alcoholic spirits are launching in the U.S., as low- and no-alcohol drinks offerings continue to gain traction. Imported from the Netherlands by Hearts + Tales Beverage Company, Fluère will debut in the California, Illinois and Massachusetts markets—as well as on Amazon—retailing at $30 a 750-ml. The brand includes an Original offering, made with juniper, lime peel, lavender, and coriander, as well as Spiced Cane, Raspberry, and Smoked Agave expressions. Non-alcoholic spirits continue to gain steam, with 21% of U.S. consumers participating in Dry January this past year, according to a recent study by Diageo brand incubator Distill Ventures, which counts the Ritual Zero Proof and Seedlip labels in its portfolio.

Courtesy of Shanken News Daily