Freeland Spirits

Lansdale, Pennsylvania-based Boardroom Spirits is introducing a new Vanilla vodka ($27 a 750-ml.), along with two vodka-based ready-to-drink bottled cocktails, the Blueberry Blush and the Spiced Vanilla Peartini (both $38 a 750-ml.). The Vanilla vodka is made with Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans and bottled at 32% abv, while the cocktails are at 21% abv. In addition to both bottled and canned cocktails, Boardroom’s range includes gin, Bourbon, rum, vodka, liqueurs, and flavored spirits.

William Grant & Sons has announced the latest release in the Balvenie Tun 1509 series, Batch 7. The 52.4% abv whisky is assembled from 21 casks—10 refill Sherry butts, 4 refill barrels, and 7 Sherry hogsheads—that were blended and left to marry for three months before bottling. Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 7 is now rolling out across the U.S. for around $410 a 750-ml.

Brooklyn-based Kings County Distillery is launching a 7-Year Single Barrel Bourbon. Distilled in July 2013 and bottled at 107 proof, this barrel was reduced by a 34% angel’s share and was matured in the “greenhouse-like upstairs aging room” in the company’s Brooklyn Navy Yard distillery. This release will be sold only at the distillery, but future offerings from Kings County’s Single Barrel series will be distributed to key accounts in New York and beyond.

Rumson, New Jersey-based Penelope Bourbon has launched Rosé Cask Finish, a new limited edition. The 47% abv whiskey is blended from three different mashbills using four grains before finishing in barrels previously used to mature French rosé made from Grenache grapes. Penelope Rosé Cask Finish joins a Straight Bourbon whiskey and a barrel proof offering in the brand’s portfolio. Penelope sources its whiskies from Lawrenceburg, Indiana’s MGP Ingredients. Only 2,400 bottles of the new whiskey will be released and it will retail for around $65 a 750-ml.

Diageo is launching a new line of limited whiskies from its Tullahoma, Tennessee-based Cascade Hollow Distilling Co. Cascade Moon Edition No. 1 is an 11-year-old whisky at 42% abv, which is being promoted via the tagline “Mellow as Moonlight.” It’s rolling out in Tennessee, California, and Texas, retailing at $90. Cascade Hollow general manager and distiller Nicole Austin blended the whisky to feature similar tasting notes to those found in a gose-style beer. A second release from the Cascade Moon series will follow later this fall.

Louisville, Kentucky-based Barrell Craft Spirits has introduced Barrell Armida, a blend of three straight Bourbon whiskies finished separately in Pear Brandy, Jamaican Rum, and Sicilian Amaro casks. Armida was bottled at 56.06% abv and is available at select retailers within the brand’s current 45 U.S. markets and online via the BCS website. A limited run of 3,700 750-ml. bottles is rolling out, retailing at $90. An independent blender and bottler of aged, cask-strength sourced whiskey and rum, Barrell Craft was founded by former marketing and tech entrepreneur Joe Beatrice in in 2013.

Portland, Oregon’s Freeland Spirits has introduced a new canned French 75 cocktail. The 15.5% abv cocktail is made with Freeland gin, lemon juice, and Inox Unoaked Chardonnay from Chehalem Winery. The combination is carbonated and packaged in 8.4-ounce cans. Four-packs are now available at Freeland’s tasting room and in retailers in Oregon, Washington, California, Florida, Illinois, and New York for around $17. Freeland’s French 75 joins American gin, Bourbon, Genever-inspired spirit Geneva, and a canned Gin and Tonic in the distillery’s portfolio.

Chopin Imports has launched a selection of spirits from Ireland’s Hinch Distillery in the U.S. For the initial rollout, Chopin has released Hinch Small Batch whiskey (matured in Bourbon casks and retailing for $30), Hinch 5 Year Old Double Wood (ex-Bourbon and new American oak, $40), Hinch 10 Year Old Sherry Cask ($55), and Ninth Wave gin ($30.) These spirits are now available in 11 states with national distribution (and an expanded lineup including Single Malt and Pot Still whiskies) to follow in February 2021.

Nashville, Tennessee’s Brown Water Spirits has launched O.H. Ingram River Aged Straight whiskey. The 46% abv whiskey matured in a floating rickhouse in the Mississippi River in Ballard County, Kentucky. This is the first release from Brown Water Spirits, and the company says the next offering in its River Aged series, a straight rye, will follow in November. O.H. Ingram River Aged Straight whiskey is now available in Tennessee with expansion into other markets coming as more of the whiskey becomes available.

Luxury Tequila brand PaQui has debuted across six U.S. states, including New York, California, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The new brand includes 100%-blue agave Silvera ($50 a 750-ml.), Reposado ($60), and Añejo ($70) expressions and is made by master Tequilero Gilberto Jasso in Jalisco, Mexico. PaQui means “to be happy” in the Aztec language, and its bottle design is inspired by an Aztec pyramid. Founder John Chappell is a veteran of Banfi, Boston Beer, and Labatt USA.

Edrington’s The Glenrothes has announced its oldest whisky so far, a 50-year-old single malt distilled in November 1968. The whisky matured in ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry casks before bottling at 48% abv. Each bottle is sold in a lacquered black case and the whisky comes in a numbered crystal decanter. Only 50 bottles will be available globally, retailing at $35,000. Buyers will be invited to the Glenrothes estate (typically closed to the public) and enrolled in a 50-member club with the other buyers, offering the chance to purchase exclusive malts in the future.

Courtesy of Shanken News Daily

Portland, Oregon’s Freeland Spirits has launched Freeland Dry Gin, a new Navy Strength spirit. The 57% abv offering is juniper forward, and according to the company also has notes of mulling spices, green olives, citrus, and pine forest. To celebrate the launch, Freeland is selling $60 Martini kits from its tasting room and will host a virtual happy hour on Instagram at 5pm Pacific time on July 30. Freeland Dry Gin is rolling out now for around $35 in Oregon, Washington, California, Illinois, Florida, and New York.

Clase Azul Tequila is introducing a new high-end Gold expression. The new offering, limited to 6,000 bottles retailing at $300 each, is a blend of Clase Azul Plata and an eight-year-old extra añejo that was first aged in Bourbon barrels and then finished in Pedro Ximenez Sherry casks. It comes in a decanter that’s a combination of glass with high heat ceramic featuring a 24k gold trimming. The Clase Azul portfolio includes also includes Plata, Reposado, Añejo, Ultra Añejo, Mezcal, and La Pinta Pomegranate Liqueur made with Tequila.

Memphis, Tennessee’s B.R. Distilling Company has added a new expression to its Blue Note Bourbon line: Juke Joint. The 46.5% abv whiskey is a non-age-statement expression and joins the company’s 9-year-old Blue Note Premium Small Batch Bourbon (bottled at 46.5% and distilled in Tennessee). Juke Joint is sourced from Kentucky and bottled by B.R. Distilling after at least three years. It’s now available in Tennessee for $30 a 750-ml. with wider distribution to follow.

Lansdale, Pennsylvania-based Boardroom Spirits has launched several new products. A new rum brand called Ship’s Cat is available in two varieties, White Rum (40% abv, $22 a 750-ml.) and Navy Strength (64% abv, $28). Boardroom American Dry Gin (44% abv, $27) and cinnamon honey whiskey Fire Bear (35% abv, $27) have also joined the lineup. Like many other distillers, Boardroom has expanded its online sales capabilities with delivery and curbside pickup options as well and has begun selling prepared cocktails such as Passion Fruit Rum and Elderberry Cucumber Cooler (both $38 a 750-ml.). The distillery runs on 100% renewable energy.

Puerto Rico’s Destilería Serrallés has expanded its Don Q family of rums with Reserva 7 Años. The 7-year-old spirit is bottled at 40% abv and blended from both column and pot still distilled rums aged in American oak. The release is packaged in Don Q’s new bottle design—created by U.K.-based Stranger and Stranger—that features an updated logo for the brand. Don Q Reserva 7 Años will be available in select retailers across the U.S. beginning in August, for a suggested price of $25 a 750-ml.

F!ve Cocktails, a line of canned cocktails with spirits plus four or fewer ingredients, is now available nationwide. The company was founded by CEO Felipe Szpigel and CFO Roberto Schuback, both former AB InBev executives from the brewing giant’s craft beer division and ZX Ventures, respectively. The line includes Moscow Mule (9% abv), Margarita (10% abv), Mojito (9% abv), Gin and Tonic (11% abv), Watermelon Vodka Soda (5.9% abv), and Paloma (9% abv). All are now available across the U.S. in 4-packs for around $10.

Johnnie Walker is introducing four new offerings coinciding with the brand’s 200th anniversary.The first is Johnnie Walker Blue Label 200th Anniversary Limited Edition Design, which features special packaging illustrating some of the key scenes in the brand’s history. Johnnie Walker Blue Label Legendary Eight is a new blend of whiskies from eight legendary distilleries that all existed in 1820, including some whiskies from long-closed “ghost” distilleries. John Walker & Sons Celebratory Blend is billed as a complex Scotch inspired by the flavors found in the Walker family’s grocery store during the 1860s, and a blend of whiskies from distilleries operating at that time. Finally, John Walker & Sons Bicentennial Blend includes whiskies from ghost distilleries such as Pittyvaich, Cambus, and the soon to be re-opened Port Ellen, all aged at least 28 years. The new expressions will launch in October.