Booker’s Bourbon

Heaven’s Door Spirits, the whiskey label from Bob Dylan, is releasing Bootleg Series Vol. III. Named in reference to Dylan’s collections of unreleased music, this edition of the Bootleg Series features a cask-strength 13-year-old Kentucky Bourbon finished in Vino de Naranja casks for nearly a year. Bootleg Vol. III comes in a ceramic bottle illustrated by a painting of Dylan’s called Sunday Afternoon, and comes in an individually numbered leather journal. It’s at 60.6% abv and only 3,949 bottles are available at $545 a 750-ml. The Bootleg Series Vol. III is available on Reserve Bar and at select retailers nationwide.

Booker’s Bourbon is releasing the fourth and final batch of its 2021 collection. Dubbed Noe Strangers Batch, it pays homage to the personability of former master distiller Booker Noe. Bottled at 62.2% abv, it was aged 6 and a half years in charred white oak barrels. Stranger’s Batch is available nationwide in limited quantities at $90 a 750-ml. Previous releases in the 2021 Batch Collection include Donohoe’s Batch, Tagalong Batch, and Bardstown Batch.

A new distillery called Wolf Point Distilling has popped up in the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago. The co-owners are Victoria Polvino and Pavlos Dafnis, each with little prior experience in the spirits business. Right now they’re offering Florence Field gin ($31 750-ml), Jackscrew vodka ($21), and Wolf Point Single Barrel Bourbon ($45). Distribution thus far is limited to the state of Illinois.

Tullahoma, Tennessee-based Cascade Hollow Distilling Co. is releasing Cascade Moon 13 Year Old Rye. It follows two previous Cascade Moon expressions released late last year in celebration of the 150-year anniversary of George A. Dickel & Co. The 13 Year Old Rye comes from liquid that’s been aging in Cascade Hollow’s rickhouses since 2012, bottled at 50% abv. The limited release is rolling out now to shelves in Tennessee, Texas, and California where it will be priced at a suggested $299 a 750-ml.

Dorinda Medley, entrepreneur and cast member of the Real Housewives of New York, has launched Bluestone Manor Bourbon. The 45% abv wheated Bourbon is aged for a minimum of five years before blending and bottling. The whiskey, named for Medley’s Massachusetts home, is now available to pre-order through the brand’s website and can ship to 32 states. Bluestone Manor Bourbon will be available in retailers nationwide beginning next year with a suggested retail price of $45 a 750-ml.

Quebec City, Quebec-based Stadaconé is bringing its gin to the U.S. The brand’s gin line-up comprises Stadaconé Bleu (C$38 a 750-ml.), Stadaconé Rouge (C$42), and Stadaconé Noir (C$52), all of which are 40% abv. The distillery plans to bring Stadaconé Noir to the U.S. next year. In late 2022, it also plans to launch its Gingria canned cocktail stateside. This Quebecois spin on sangria is made with Stadaconé Rouge gin and cranberry juice.

Captain Morgan is continuing its relationship with celebrity jeweler Ben Baller with the Captain Morgan x Ben Baller Holiday Cocktail Kit. Available through delivery service Cocktail Courier, the kit includes Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum and other ingredients needed to make Baller’s signature cocktail The OG Spice & Ice as well as a set of stainless steel ice cubes. Along with the kit, the brand is running a contest to win a custom chain made by Baller, the third in the Captain on Ice collection curated by the jeweler. The cocktail kit is available for purchase now on Cocktail Courier for $68.

Louisville, Kentucky’s Stellum Spirits, from Barrell Craft Spirits, has launched Black Label Bourbon and Rye whiskies. The new releases, which follow the brand’s flagship Bourbon and rye whiskies released earlier this year, are limited edition offerings bottled at barrel proof (54.61% abv for the Bourbon; 57.13% abv for the rye.) The whiskies will be allocated across the U.S. for a suggested price of $99 a 750-ml.

Jim Beam is launching a new Bourbon Cream expression. The new, limited-edition product is made with cream liqueur and Jim Beam’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and is at 15% abv. Accompanying its launch, the company is kicking off a holiday-focused ad campaign called “Get to the Good Stuff” that centers around blazing past holiday formality to focus on real quality time with loved ones; actress Emily Hampshire (Stevie from Schitt’s Creek) is partnered on the initiative to create social content. Jim Beam Bourbon Cream is available now at select retailers nationwide for $20 a 750-ml.

Fort Worth, Texas-based TX Whiskey is launching TX Blended Straight Bourbon, the third expression in its TX Experimental Series. Following previous releases TX Experimental Rye and TX High Rye Texas Straight Bourbon, Blended Straight Bourbon includes 4-year-old rye Bourbon aged in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels, 4-year-old wheated Bourbon, and a 2-year-old wheated Bourbon. It’s at 50% abv and is available now for purchase at the company’s Whiskey Ranch in Fort Worth for $40 a 375-ml.

Information courtesy of Shanken News Daily

Tennessee’s Ole Smoky Distillery has launched a new line of canned cocktails, entering the market with four flavors. The 9% abv cocktails are available in Apple Pie Ginger, Blackberry Lemonade, Mountain ‘Rita, and Mountain Mule, and all are based on cocktails served at the distillery’s tasting room. Ole Smoky’s canned cocktails are now available throughout Tennessee in 4-packs of 12-ounce cans.

Booker’s Bourbon, part of the Beam Suntory portfolio, has released its latest small-batch offering. Booker’s Boston Batch is named after the production site in Boston, Kentucky—now known as Booker Noe Distillery—where master distiller Booker Noe got his start in the industry. Retailing at $90 a 750-ml., the 126.5 proof Bourbon was aged for six years and three months and is rolling out nationally in small quantities.

Fallon, Nevada-based Frey Ranch Distillery is releasing the inaugural edition of its Straight Rye Whiskey. The expression has a mash bill of 100% winter cereal rye and is bottled-in-bond, meaning that, among other specifics, it has aged a minimum of four years and was bottled at 50% abv. Two batches are being released, with the first comprising 3,000 750-ml. bottles and the second only 2,400. Available now in Nevada, Frey Ranch Straight Rye Whiskey retails at $60 a 750-ml.

Dallas, Texas’ Scout & Cellar has launched Mixable, a new wine-based spirit alternative aimed at consumers looking for a lower alcohol alternative to traditional liquors. Mixable is made from a blend of fermented grape wine—based on white- and rosé-friendly varietals—with distilled neutral grape wine and comes in at roughly 20% abv. At its launch, the company recommends substituting Mixable in a Moscow Mule or a Paloma.

Middleburg, Virginia-based Colony Cocktails has launched with three signature cocktails: The Biarritz, The Tangier, and The Charleston. Inspired by a French 75, the Biarritz features lemon flavors and botanical notes similar to those found in gin. The Tangier, meanwhile, has elements of rosemary, cardamom, and grapefruit in its mix. Lastly, The Charleston includes lemongrass flavors with lemon undertones. All three cocktails are canned at 10%-11.5% abv, and are made with all-natural ingredients. Colony Cocktails are currently sold in five markets within Virginia, retailing at $17 a 4-pack of 12-ounce cocktails.

Lebanon, Kentucky-based Limestone Branch Distillery has debuted the 2020 release of its Yellowstone Limited Edition Kentucky Straight Bourbon. The new whiskey is aged for seven years, then finished in French Armagnac barrels, and will retail at $100 a 750-ml when it hits shelves in September. Around 5,000 cases of the 101-proof Yellowstone Limited Edition Bourbon are being produced.

Impex Beverage has announced the U.S. launch of Milk & Honey Distillery’s spirits line, Israel’s first whisky distillery. The rollout includes three M&H labels—Classic Single Malt, Elements Sherry, and Levantine gin—and follows last year’s limited release of Milk & Honey Whisky In Bloom. All three spirits are bottled at 46% abv, with the Classic Single Malt matured in ex-Bourbon and ex-red wine casks, and Elements Sherry aging in ex-Bourbon, ex-Oloroso, and ex-PX Sherry casks.

Heaven Hill has announced a packaging refresh and ad campaign for Pama Pomegranate Liqueur. The new packaging modernizes the brand and replaces the old logo—a full pomegranate tree—with a closeup of pomegranates hanging from tree branches. The brand’s new campaign, Just Add Pama, will run in digital and social channels—plus point-of-sale material—and includes an updated brand website featuring cocktail ideas.