GSN Spirited News: December 14th 2021 Edition

Heaven’s Door Spirits, the whiskey label from Bob Dylan, is releasing Bootleg Series Vol. IIINamed 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 BourbonThe 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 KitAvailable 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

GSN Brews News: August 24th 2021 Edition

Maine’s Allagash Brewing is debuting Little Grove Freshly Pressed Apples & Cranberry, a lightly sparkling fruited ale brewed with cranberries and blended with the juice of freshly pressed apples. The 4% abv offering has 100 calories a can and joins the existing Blackberry flavor in Allagash’s line of Little Grove sparkling fruited ales. It’s now available in 6-packs of 12 ounce cans throughout Allagash’s full 18-state distribution footprint.

Captain Morgan rum is targeting the rising RTD cocktail category with a new line of Captain’s Cocktails. Launching with three flavors, Captain’s Cocktails come in Tropical Punch, Mai Tai (both 13% abv), and Long Island Iced Tea (17% abv). Unlike many RTD lines, Captain Morgan will eschew individual 12-ounce cans for Captain’s Cocktails, opting instead to market 1.75-liter bottles (all $20 a bottle) that consumers pour over ice.

Bowling Green, Kentucky’s Western Spirits has released Ten Ball, a new line of malt-based canned cocktails. The initial lineup has five flavors—Grape Smash, Mango Margarita, Tropical Bahama Mama, Watermelon Smash, and Spiked Lemonade—with all available in 8-, 16-, and 24-ounce cans for $1, $2, and $3, respectively. As the brand’s name suggests, all five are at 10% abv. Ten Ball is starting with a targeted launch in Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, Jackson, and Philadelphia throughout the rest of the year.

Information courtesy of Shanken News Daily

 

GSN: Backbar Review – June 24-28, 2013

indexDiageo has officially launched Captain Morgan’s new Sherry Oak Finish variant. The limited edition offering, which is 70 proof and retails at $20 a bottle, aims to capitalize on “a growing demand for sherry-flavored spirits in the marketplace,” according to Diageo. Made through a “Sherry oak filtration finishing process,” Captain Morgan’s new Sherry-flavored rum is now in national distribution.

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indexGerman liqueur brand Berentzen has added a new Wild Cherry expression to its U.S. portfolio. Made with real cherries, the 16%-abv liqueur can be served on the rocks, as a chilled shot or in cocktails. Berentzen Wild Cherry is currently available nationwide in 750-ml. and 1-liter formats, priced at around $19.99 a 750-ml.

All information courtesy of Shanken News Daily

GSN: Backbar Review – April 1-5, 2013

imagesDiageo will extend its Captain Morgan rum brand with a limited edition Sherry Cask Finish next month. Captain Morgan Sherry Cask Finish ties in with the company’s efforts to illuminate the exploits of the real-life Captain Henry Morgan, including, most recently, its Sundance Channel documentary on Morgan’s 17th-century flagship, the Satisfaction. The limited-release entry is intended to celebrate the discovery of the cannons from the Satisfaction on an archaeological expedition to Panama led by Diageo, says Tom Herbst, vice president, marketing, rums. “(The Sherry Cask extension) will be a unique flavor profile,” Herbst adds. “It will have a richer, fuller flavor and mouthfeel resulting from being finished in Sherry casks, which are the type Captain Morgan would have had on his boat.” No word yet on the new offering’s retail price-positioning, but it will likely be at a premium to the core brand. The Sherry Cask variant also continues Captain Morgan’s outreach beyond the rum category, with a style that should appeal to whiskey drinkers. The brand pursued a similar gambit with its launch of Captain Morgan Black (94.6 proof, $22 a bottle) last summer, which Diageo says was designed to draw in drinkers of brown spirits across multiple categories.

imagesBrown-Forman is launching a new program to sell personalized barrels of Old Forester Bourbon for $7,500 each, according to local news reports. The process involves master distiller Chris Morris choosing three barrels from over 200 (a day’s production volume) in Old Forester’s 4- to 6-year-old inventory, and then walking customers through a tasting of the three barrels from which they may choose. A barrel holds about 220 bottles, making the price per bottle about $34. Brown-Forman also does a similar barrel program for Jack Daniel’s.

imagesBeam Inc.’s Pinnacle vodka has added Rainbow Sherbet to its fast-rising line of dessert-flavored entries. Pinnacle’s newest flavor combines the tastes of orange, lime and raspberry. Rainbow Sherbet is the first of several new Pinnacle flavor innovations planned for 2013, including Strawberry Shortcake, which is coming soon.

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imagesHeaven Hill Distilleries is introducing new products to two of the U.S. spirits market’s hottest segments—flavored whisk(e)y and vodka’s $12-$18 price tier. This spring, Heaven Hill is rolling out High Rise Vodka and Cinerator Hot Cinnamon flavored whiskey. High Rise is a domestically-produced vodka, distilled five times from winter white wheat. It will initially be launched in 11 markets around the U.S. Priced at around $15 a 750-ml., High Rise features a core offering as well as Cherry and Citrus extensions.

imagesBeam Inc. has unveiled Jim Beam Distiller’s Masterpiece, a limited edition extra-aged Kentucky Bourbon. Created to coincide with the start of Kentucky’s horse racing season, Distiller’s Masterpiece is finished in Pedro Ximénez Sherry casks and packaged in a wooden case. The 100-proof offering will be available solely at the Jim Beam American Stillhouse in Clermont, Kentucky, priced at $200 a bottle. Distiller’s Masterpiece debuts as Jim Beam’s most upscale offering to date, joining the brand’s Original, Honey, Red Stag, Black, Devil’s Cut and Jacob’s Ghost expressions.

imagesBeam Inc. has launched its 2 Gingers Irish whiskey brand in the Chicago market. Previously available in other Illinois regions, the twice-distilled whiskey is also sold in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, priced at around $19.99 a 750-ml. Established by Minnesota-based entrepreneur Kieran Folliard in January 2012, 2 Gingers was acquired by Beam in December for an undisclosed sum. The brand, which is produced at Beam’s Kilbeggan Distilling Co. in Ireland, has quickly risen to become the fifth-largest Irish whiskey brand in the U.S., with sales of around 20,000 cases across 2,100 accounts last year.

imagesPernod Ricard has introduced its limited edition Absolut Mexico bottle in the U.S. market. The special edition, which contains unflavored Absolut vodka and retails at $19.99 a 750-ml., has been available in Mexico since last year. The Absolut Mexico package was designed by contemporary Mexican artist and tattoist Jeronimo Lopez Ramirez, also known as Dr. Lakra. According to Pernod, the design “combines three legendary icons from ancient Mayan culture—Hurakan (Hurricane), Kukulkan (Serpent) and Balam (Jaguar)—and brings them to life on the Absolut bottle through a modern artistic lens that represents Mexico today.”

All information courtesy of Shaken News Daily.