GSN Spirited News: November 23rd 2021 Edition

Glenmorangie, part of the Moet Hennessy portfolio, is launching A Tale of Winter, a new innovation from the single malt Scotch whisky brand. Finished in Marsala wine casks from Sicily, the 13-year-old single malt retails at $100 and is bottled at 46% abv. 

Cognac Frapin is introducing two new offerings in the U.S., a VSOP and VIP XO. Frapin’s VSOP is made of 100% Grande Champagne Cognac, aged in limousin oak, and retails at $70 a 750-ml. The VIP XO expression, higher up the ladder, is a blend enhanced with very old Cognacs from the family cellars and retails at $250.

The Singleton is releasing a new 39-year-old single malt Scotch whisky from The Singleton of Glen Ord Distillery. Aged in a blend of casks including Port, red wine, Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherries, and then finished in French Bordeaux casks, the new luxury malt was bottled at 46.2% abv and retails at $2,680 a bottle, of which 1,695 are being released globally. The Singleton 39-Year-Old follows on from The Singleton 38-Year-Old within the Diageo brand’s Epicurean Odyssey Series.

Italy’s Villa Massa has launched Vermouth Giardino. The new label is debuting with two options, Vermouth Giardino Mediterranean Dry by Villa Massa and Vermouth di Torino Rosso Traditionale by Villa Massa. The former is a contemporary-style dry vermouth made with Sorrento lemon peels, at 18% abv and retailing for $25 a 750-ml. The latter is a Torino-style sweet vermouth, at 16% and the same price point. They are available now in the U.S. The vermouths join Villa Massa Limoncello and Amaretto in the brand’s lineup.

Alameda, California-based St. George Spirits is releasing its annual single malt. A yearly tradition since 2000, St. George Single Malt Whiskey, Lot 21 is blended from 26 barrels of single malt that St. George has distilled over the years, selected by head distiller and blender Dave Smith. With a 100% barley mashbill, the liquid spans batches aged 4.5 to 10 years across Kentucky Bourbon barrels, Tennessee whiskey barrels, apple brandy casks, and California Sauternes-style casks. It’s at 43% abv. The distillery produced 700 cases, with a 750-ml. bottle priced at $100 and available at fine spirits retailers nationally.

Bob Dylan’s Heaven’s Door whiskey brand has partnered with MGM Resorts International on a new exclusive bottling, 777 Blend. The new entry consists of three 7-year-old straight whiskeys: Heaven’s Door’s previously unreleased wheated Bourbon; a low rye Bourbon; and a straight rye whiskey. The 46.8% proof offering is now available at MGM Resorts’ Las Vegas properties including Bellagio, ARIA, MGM Grand, Park MGM, Mandalay Bay and The Mirage, as well as MGM National Harbor in Maryland.

Jefferson’s Bourbon, part of the Pernod Ricard portfolio, has debuted Ocean Voyage 24, the latest offering in its Ocean: Aged At Sea series. For this release, Jefferson’s whiskey traveled by boat through ports in the Caribbean and Central America, resulting in barrel exposure to high heat and tropical humidity. Retailing at $80 a 750-ml., Jefferson’s Ocean Voyage 24 is now available nationwide. Pernod Ricard acquired Jefferson’s along with the rest of Castle Brands for $223 million in 2019.

Conecuh Brands is introducing four new expressions under its Clyde May’s Whiskey label. They include: Clyde May’s Single Barrel Straight Bourbon 5-Year-Old (102 proof, $50); Special Reserve Straight Bourbon 6-Year-Old (110 proof, $60); 13 Year Cask Strength Alabama Style Whiskey (120 proof, $140); and Kentucky Straight Bourbon 15-Year-Old (112 proof, $200). 

Ireland’s Waterford Whisky, founded by industry veteran Mark Reynier, is rolling out a new bottling called Luna, made from biodynamically grown Irish barley. Luna is the latest whisky in Waterford’s Arcadian Series, which showcases rare barleys and forgotten ways of farming. Retailing at $125 a 750-ml., Luna is matured in a combination of 35% first-fill U.S. oak; 17% virgin U.S. oak; 26% premium French oak; and 22% Vin Doux Naturel oak. At 50% abv, it’s debuting in the U.S. in a supply of approximately 21,000 bottles (1,750 cases).

Calirosa Tequila, produced in Jalisco, Mexico, is launching a limited-edition Extra Añejo expression in the U.S. The newcomer is made with 100% blue agave and aged three years in California red wine barrels. Joining Calirosa’s existing lineup of Rosa Blanco and Añejo, Extra Añejo is at 40% abv and is priced at $200 a 750-ml. It’s available to pre-order now on ReserveBar. Calirosa is backed by Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine and his wife, model Behati Prinsloo.

Denver-based Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey has launched the second edition of Mountain Angel, the distillery’s 10-year-old, limited edition single malt whiskey. Batch 2 is bottled at 47.3% abv and matured entirely in new charred American oak casks. The whiskey carries a suggested retail price of $130 and is available in very limited quantities (roughly 600 bottles for this release) at Stranahan’s distillery and in select retail locations. It joins the company’s original expression and sits alongside other limited releases like Snowflake.

The Whistler Irish Whiskey has announced the annual release of its Imperial Stout Cask and Calvados Cask whiskies. This year’s version of The Whistler’s Imperial Stout Cask Finish—dubbed Batch 002—was made in collaboration with O’Hara’s Brewery in Bagenalstown, Ireland. It’s a blend of 50% wheat whiskey, 35% malt whiskey, and 15% grain, aged six months in casks from O’Hara’s that originally housed sherry, and bottled at 43% abv. Calvados Cask Finish is a continued collaboration with Chateau du Breuil composed of 35% malt whiskey and 65% grain whiskey, aged 15 months in the Chateau’s Calvados casks and also bottled at 43%. Only 3,000 bottles from Batch 002 will be available in the U.S. for a suggested $40.

American Liquor Co. Vodka has expanded distribution into Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa, on the heels of its successful initial launch in Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. American Liquor Co. Vodka is a four-crop blend made from locally-grown Midwest winter wheat, light rye, Rio Grande potato, and white corn, and was co-founded and blended by master blender Chris Montana, who is also the owner of microdistillery Du Nord Social Spirits in Minneapolis. The brand retails at $24 a 750-ml.

Texas-based Marfa Spirit Co. has launched its inaugural product, Chihuahuan Desert Sotol. Led by entrepreneurs Josh Shepard, Seth Siegel-Gardner, and Morgan Weber in partnership with master sotolero Jacobo Jacquez, who is based in Janos, Mexico, the company aims to bring awareness to sotol with its debut product, which is distilled in Mexico and then processed and bottled in Marfa. Chihuahuan Desert Sotol (45% abv) is now available across Texas, retailing at $49 a 1-liter bottle.

Diageo has announced Johnnie Walker Masters of Flavour, a new ultra-limited release celebrating the vast stores of rare whisky available to master blender Jim Beveridge. The whiskies in the blend are all at least 48 years old and come from ghost distilleries like Glyn Albyn, Port Dundas, Brora, and Glenury Royal, as well as Cameronbridge, Blair Athol and Dalwhinnie. The release, one of Beveridge’s last before retiring at the end of the year, is bottled at 41.8% abv, and is limited to 288 bottles, priced at £20,000 (roughly $27,000).

Georgetown, Kentucky’s Blue Run Spirits has announced three holiday releases. First up is Blue Run’s Holiday Rye, available both as an individual bottle and as a gift set. The whiskey is a 53% abv special bottling of the company’s recently released Golden Rye, bottled at a higher proof (up from 47.5% abv) and retailing for $140 across Blue Run’s distribution footprint. Additionally, Blue Run will release a gift set version, with two tumblers from Aged & Ore, through online service Seelbach for $230. Finally, on December 1, Blue Run will kick off 12 Days of Single Barrel High Rye Bourbon, a series which will see bottlings from different barrels released each day. These will be available through Blue Run’s website and will retail for $140.

Casa Lumbre has launched Lost Irish, a new, internationally-minded Irish whiskey, that’s rolling out now in New York, Illinois, Texas, and California. The 40% abv whiskey is a blend of grain, malt, and pot still whiskies partially matured in six different cask types from around the world: South African brandy, Japanese Mizunara oak, European Sherry casks, Bourbon casks, North American rum casks, Australian Tawny Port casks, and South American rum casks. 

Information courtesy of Shanken News Daily

GSN Spirited News: June 8th 2021 Edition

Campari America has launched the latest limited-edition whiskey from the Wild Turkey Distillery: Russell’s Reserve 13-year-old. The 57.4% abv Bourbon is non-chill filtered and bottled at barrel strength, and showcases the combined decades of experience in the industry from master distillers Jimmy and Eddie Russell. The whiskey is now available across the U.S. for a limited time at a suggested price of $70 a 750-ml.

Conecuh Brands has released two new whiskies in the Clyde May’s family. First up is Clyde May’s Special Reserve Straight Bourbon, a new 55% abv permanent addition to the portfolio. It’s aged for five years and retails for $70 a 750-ml. Conecuh has also unveiled this year’s edition of Clyde May’s cask strength release, a 13-year-old Bourbon bottled at 56% abv, which is available in limited quantities for $180 a 750-ml.

Brown-Forman has added a new single barrel rye to the Old Forester brand. The unfiltered rye whiskey is bottled at barrel proof and is the first expansion for Old Forester rye since the whiskey was introduced in 2019. Old Forester Single Barrel Rye is now available across the U.S. for around $80 a 750-ml.

Danish whisky brand Stauning, part of the Diageo-backed Distill Ventures portfolio, is launching in the U.S. Initial offerings include Stauning rye whisky (48% abv, $80), Stauning Kaos triple malt (46% abv, $90), and Stauning Smoke (47% abv, $100), a peated and heather smoked malt. Situated on a fjord in West Jutland on the west coast of Denmark, Stauning’s whiskies are made from local grain, floor-malted in-house, and distilled in 24 direct-fired small copper pot stills.

Roscoe, New York’s Do Good Spirits has announced the latest version of Bootlegger New York Craft Barrel Aged gin. The 46% abv spirit is made with juniper, orris root, coriander, lemon verbena, and bitter orange peels before maturing in 30-gallon barrels used to age the distillery’s Bourbon. Bootlegger Barrel Aged gin is available in limited quantities at the distillery’s tasting room and through its website for a suggested price of $55.

Beam Suntory has released the second bottling of Booker’s Bourbon for 2021: Tagalong Batch. This edition aged for six years and five months and comes in at 63.95% abv. Tagalong Batch gets its name from the story of Booker Noe learning the family business from his grandfather Jim Beam by tagging along to the distillery. The whiskey is rolling out now in limited quantities across the U.S. where it will retail for a suggested price of $90 a 750-ml

Courtesy of Shanken News Daily

GSN Spirited News: November 17th 2020 Edition

U.K.-based 6 O’Clock gin has launched in the U.S. through the company’s Tampa, Florida-based subsidiary. The initial rollout will cover cities in Florida and Georgia before expanding into other markets, and will bring four of 6 O’Clock’s gins—London Dry (43% abv), Brunel (50% abv), Damson (40% abv), and Sloe (26% abv)—to the market. In the U.S., 6 O’Clock gin is backed by banking executive Susie Martinez and her son Daniel, plus Robert Rothman, CEO of Black Diamond Capital and one of the owners of the Washington Football Team.

Bardstown, Kentucky’s Heaven Hill Distillery has announced a new limited edition Bourbon to celebrate the company’s 85th anniversary. The single barrel whiskey is bottled at 53.5% abv—a tribute to the distillery’s original barrel entry proof—and matured for 13 years. The whiskey comes in a custom wooden box with twin H’s on either side and blue satin interior trim. Heaven Hill 85th Anniversary 13-Year-Old Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey will be available soon at the company’s Bourbon Heritage center and in limited Kentucky retailers for a suggested price of $300 a 750-ml.

Irish Distillers (Pernod Ricard) has announced the return of the Blue Spot, the fourth entry in the Spot family of single pot still Irish whiskies. The cask strength whiskey is coming back to market after a 56-year absence and completes the family of luxury-priced whiskies. The Blue Spot is blended from whiskies aged in Bourbon, Sherry, and Madeira casks and bottled with non-chill filtering. The Blue Spot is rolling out in Ireland, UK, France, Canada, Northern Ireland, and Global Travel Retail now, and will launch in the U.S. in February 2021 with a suggested retail price of around €80 (around $94.50).

Conecuh Brands has announced the latest three additions to the Clyde May’s whiskey portfolio. First up is Clyde May’s 6 Year Single Barrel Bourbon, a 51% abv whiskey retailing at $50 a 750-ml. Joining the new Bourbon is an 8-year-old straight rye whiskey, bottled at 52% abv and made from a blend of 8-, 9-, and 10-year old rye whiskies. Finally, the company is releasing Clyde May’s 12 Year Cask Strength Alabama Style Whiskey, a 60% abv whiskey finished with apple flavoring. The cask strength 12-year-old whiskey will retail for around $130 and only a few thousand bottles will be available across the U.S.

Ready-to-drink, bag-in-box cocktail brand BarBox is debuting across the Florida, California, Colorado, Illinois, and New York markets. Retailing at $25, each BarBox contains 14 four-ounce cocktails, with initial offerings including a Cosmopolitan (24% abv), Negroni (26% abv), and Vodka Sour (20% abv), recommended to be served over ice. The St. Petersburg, Florida-based company was founded by brothers Matthias and Jacob Kozuba.

Courtesy of Shanken News Daily

GSN Spirited News: February 4th 2020 Edition

RumChata is extending its range with a new Limón expression. Retailing at $20 a 750-ml., the newcomer is a blend of Caribbean rum with dairy cream, vanilla, and lemon, packaged in a bright yellow version of the RumChata bottle. Designed to be served on the rocks, in hot or cold coffee, or in cocktails, RumChata Limón will roll out nationally by April, backed with a TV, print, and social media campaign.

MGP Ingredients has debuted single barrel offerings for its George Remus Bourbon and Rossville Union Rye whiskies. Bottled at cask strength, George Remus Single Barrel Straight Bourbon whiskey will be available through participating accounts for $60 a 750-ml. Rossville Union Single Barrel Straight rye whiskey, meanwhile, is a bottled-in-bond expression retail priced at $50. Both labels are offered in two different mashbills, with pre-sale open until March and shipping expected by September.

Angel’s Envy has announced the second release in the Louisville-based distillery’s Cellar Collection, Angel’s Envy Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Tawny Port Wine Barrels. The 55.8% abv whiskey was aged for 10 years before finishing for 10 months in Tawny Port barrels. Only 5,400 bottles will be available, beginning February 8. The limited release will be sold in Kentucky, California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Tennessee, as well as the Angel’s Envy Distillery, at a suggested price of $250.

NFL legend Terry Bradshaw is launching his own Bourbon brand. Bottled at 51.9% abv, Terry Bradshaw Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is sourced from an unnamed third-generation master distiller and will roll out nationally in the coming months, retailing at $40 a 750-ml. The brand is a collaboration between Bradshaw and Silver Screen Bottling Company, which has also partnered on spirits labels with franchises like Showtime series Ray Donovan, Star Trek, and the movie Predator.

Glenmorangie is launching The Cadboll Estate, billed as the single malt label’s first “single estate” whisky. Aged for 15 years in first-fill American white oak Bourbon casks, the new offering was made with barley grown on the Glenmorangie Cadboll Estate in the Scottish Highlands, chill-filtered, and bottled at 43% abv. Retailing at $85 a 750-ml., it’s debuting across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico beginning March 1.

Conecuh Brands is bringing J.&J. McConnell’s Irish Whisky back to life 60 years after the original distillery folded. Conecuh says the brand—which spells “whisky” without an “e” in a nod to the original product—was at its peak in pre-Prohibition America and is returning to the U.S. after a 90-year absence. The new release is distilled at Great Northern Distillery and aged for five years in American oak before bottling at 42% abv. The brand will continue to be produced by Great Northern until Conecuh’s new Belfast distillery is completed. McConnell’s Irish Whisky retails for a suggested price of $33 a 750-ml.

Courtesy of Shanken News Daily