Appleton Estate

Appleton Estate, part of the Campari Group portfolio, is introducing Ruby Anniversary Edition, a limited release celebrating Master Blender Joy Spence’s 40 years at the Jamaican rum distillery. The liquid is a blend of five rare Jamaican rums, aged for a minimum of 35 years, and including rums as old as 45 years. A total of 500 bottles are being released, available at the Joy Spence Appleton Estate Retail Rum Experience in Jamaica and at select retailers starting this month.

Pernod Ricard has extended Jameson Irish whiskey with Jameson Orange, a new addition to the core range. The 30% abv offering is made with Jameson and natural orange flavor and is suggested to be consumed neat, on-the-rocks, or in a range of mixed drinks. The new line extension is debuting nationwide.

Proximo Spirits’ Bushmills has announced a new 12-year-old single malt as the latest permanent addition to the brand’s lineup, set to hit shelves next month. The whiskey is a blend of Sherry- and Bourbon-cask-aged malts that are finished in Marsala wine casks. This release is the first to be stewarded by Alex Thomas, the brand’s newest master blender, and also marks the debut of new upscaling labeling for Bushmills’ single malts. Over time, the new bottle and label will come to all of Bushmills’ single malts and special releases. Bushmills 12-year-old will be available across the U.S. beginning in February 2022 for a suggested price of $60 a bottle.

Louisville, Kentucky’s Barrell Craft Spirits has launched Gray Label Seagrass, a limited edition, luxury-priced Canadian whisky. The new whisky is bottled at 65.41% abv, matured for 16 years, and was finished in Martinique rhum, Madeira, and apricot brandy barrels before bottling. The release is a more limited take on Barrell’s Seagrass, which blended American and Canadian rye whiskies. Barrell’s Gray Label Seagrass is now available in select locations across the U.S. and online for a suggested price of $250 a 750-ml.

Diageo’s Orphan Barrel Whiskey Co. has released Muckety-Muck 25 Year Old, a single grain Scotch whisky. The 45.5% abv whisky was distilled at Port Dundas distillery and follows last year’s release of a 24-year-old bottling of the same name. The whisky is named for a prized pig who lived at the distillery’s pig farm. There are six variants of whisky’s label, with all featuring the Muckety-Muck pig but wearing different colored sashes. Muckety-Muck 25 Year Old is now available in limited quantities in select locations across the U.S. for a suggested price of $250 a 750-ml.

Information courtesy of Shanken News Daily

Stoli Group USA has introduced the latest releases for Kentucky Owl: Rye Batch No. 4 and Bourbon Batch No. 10. The brand’s latest rye release, called “The Last Rye” is a blend of 10- to 13-year-old whiskey bottled at 56.4% abv. Kentucky Owl Bourbon Batch No. 10 is a 60.1% abv non-age-stated blend of whiskies that, according to the company, marries some of its oldest and oakiest whiskies with younger, fruitier spirits. Both are now available across the U.S. at a suggested price of $300 a 750-ml.

Louisville, Kentucky’s Barrell Craft Spirits has announced the Private Release Bourbon Series, a new line of limited editions. The releases are blended from four Bourbons—sourced from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana—of varying ages combined to make 49 different recipes. Each offering is bottled at cask strength and will retail for around $110 a 750-ml. Only 150-180 bottles will be available for each batch and a list of retailers is available on Barrell’s website.

Newport, Oregon’s Rogue Ales & Spirits has launched the Single Barrel Project, a new collection of one-off whiskey releases. The series will consist of four releases per year and will be exclusive to retailers in Oregon. The first release is a 6-year-old single malt finished in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels from North by Northwest Wines in Washington State and bottled at 48% abv. The second release, coming in January 2021, is an 8-year-old Oregon rye whiskey finished in a second-use Zinfandel barrel. The third release is an Oregon single malt finished in cherry wood and will be released in March 2021.

Appleton Estate, part of the Campari America portfolio, has announced a new collection of rare pot still rums, set to launch in early 2021. The Hearts Collection consists of three vintage-dated rums, aged between 21 and 26 years. This collection marks the first time that Appleton will release a series of rums entirely composed of pot still spirits. The three vintage releases—1994, 1995, and 1999—will be available in extremely limited quantities; only 3,000 bottles of each will be distributed worldwide.

Diageo has released the 2020 Distillers Edition Collection of Scotch whiskies to retailers across the U.S. The six releases cover a wide range of Scotch styles and vintages, bringing new whiskies from Oban (2006, 43% abv, $95), Talisker (2010, 45.8%, $85), Lagavulin (2005, 43% abv, $110), Cragganmore (2008, 40%, $85), Dalwhinnie (2005, 43%, $90), and Glenkinchie (2008, 43% abv, $85) to market. The Cragganmore bottling underwent a second maturation in Port casks, while the other five entries saw a second maturation in Sherry casks.

Oregon-based Westward Whiskey is launching a new permanent line extension, Westward Oregon Pinot Noir Cask ($90), into national distribution, after a limited rollout in its home state. Pinot Noir Cask joins the original Westward American Single Malt ($70) and Stout Cask Finish ($90) offerings in the core range. Along with the new whiskey, Westward has unveiled a new bottle design and logo that pays homage to its Northwest provenance. Diageo’s Distill Ventures took a minority stake in Westward in 2018.

Tennessee whiskey brand George Dickel, part of the Diageo portfolio, has introduced a new single barrel expression. The new whiskey is aged at least 15 years in new American oak casks, ranges in abv from 40%-52.3%, and will be available to purchase via the barrel or the bottle ($60 a 750-ml.). George Dickel Single Barrel is currently available in California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas, with more markets to come in January.

San Diego, California-based Cutwater Spirits, owned by Anheuser-Busch, has added a new Añejo Tequila to its spirits lineup. The Tequila is distilled at Tequila Orendain (NOM 1110) and, following distillation, matured for over a year in Cutwater’s whiskey barrels. Cutwater Añejo Tequila is bottled at 40% abv and packaged in a bottle made entirely from recycled glass. The spirit is now available at select retailers for around $50 a 750-ml.

Wilderton, a new non-alcoholic botanical spirit alternative, has launched in the U.S. with two zero calorie, gluten free offerings. Wilderton Earthen is made with peppercorns, pine-smoked tea, and patchouli, among other botanicals; and the brand’s Lustre is made with lavender, bergamot, rose, and lemongrass, among others. Wilderton retails for $33 a 750-ml. and is currently available on the brand’s website, with product available on Amazon and in other retail locations soon.

Minnesota-based Tattersall Distilling has introduced two bottled-in-bond Bourbons: High-Rye Bourbon and Wheated Bourbon. According to the company, these are the first bottled-in-bond spirits made in Minnesota since before Prohibition. Both Bourbons are made from local grains and have been aged in Minnesota white oak barrels between four and five years, with suggested retail pricing at $50 a 750-ml. Tattersall’s new entries will be distributed to select Minnesota retailers.