Jameson Orange

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

Beam Suntory has launched Basil Hayden Toast, a new Bourbon featuring a brand new mash bill. The 40% abv whiskey swaps out rye for brown rice in the mash and a portion of the final whiskey is finished in toasted oak barrels after its initial aging period. Basil Hayden Toast is now available across the U.S. for a suggested price of $50 a 750-ml.

Diageo has announced the second round of releases in its Prima & Ultima collection of single malt Scotch whiskies, with registration now open for collectors to indicate their interest in the bottles. This release consists of eight bottles selected from Diageo’s Scotch distilleries and only 376 full sets will be released for a suggested price of £23,500 (including tax and duty), which converts to $32,641. Whiskies in this collection come from Convalmore, Auchroisk, Lagavulin, and Brora, among others. In September, Diageo will auction off the first set of bottles from this collection through Sotheby’s, with proceeds benefiting humanitarian agency CARE International.

Hall of Fame basketball player Scottie Pippen has teamed up with Dave Phinney’s Savage & Cooke for a new Bourbon. The brand, called Digits, is a 5 year old Tennessee Bourbon with a mashbill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley that is bottled at 46% abv. It’s available in the Chicago area, retailing at $70.

Código 1530 has announced a new, ultra-aged, luxury Tequila. The 13-year-old spirit is bottled at 40% abv with part of its extended maturation taking place in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels, which, according to co-founder and co-CEO Ron Snyder, have very dense grain, allowing the Tequila to slowly soak in flavors from the wood. Before bottling, the Tequila finishes for six months in Cognac casks to impart another level of flavor. Código 1530 13-year-old will be limited to 350 bottles, with each retailing for a suggested price of $3,300. It’s available through the brand’s website and in select high-end retailers.

The Dalmore has announced The Dalmore Decades, a new collection of rare Scotch whiskies drawn from the company’s collection of ultra-aged spirits. Three sets of whiskies—Nos. 4, 5, and 6—will be released in very limited quantities, with No. 4 selling for £100,000 ($138,825.50) and No. 5 for £200,000 ($277,651). The No. 4 Collection features four whiskies from 1979 onward and the No. 5 Collection is made up of five whiskies from 1967 and later. The Dalmore Decades No. 6 Collection is the rarest of the three, featuring six bottles from 1951 to 2000, that will be auctioned off by Sotheby’s Hong Kong beginning in October.

Nashville, Tennessee’s Brown Water Spirits has launched O.H. Ingram River Aged Flagship Bourbon Whiskey, the third release in the brand family. The 50% abv whiskey is available in select locations in Tennessee and Kentucky and is the inaugural release in a new annual series. Later this year, the company plans to launch a wheated Bourbon as the fourth release in the O.H. Ingram family. All of the brand’s whiskies are matured in a floating rickhouse on the Mississippi River.

Barrell Craft Spirits has released Barrell Bourbon Batch 030, a blend of straight Bourbon whiskies. The batch includes liquid from 5-, 6-, 9-, 10-, 11-, and 15-year old barrels distilled and aged in Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Wyoming, and bottled at a cask strength of 117.32 proof. Barrell Bourbon Batch 030 carries a suggested retail price of $90.

El Mayor Tequila, part of the Luxco portfolio now owned by MGP Ingredients, has added a new luxury expression: El Mayor Extra Añejo Sherry Cask Aged. The 40% abv Tequila matured for 38 months in Sherry casks and was distilled from hand-selected, estate-grown agave. The new Extra Añejo retails for around $130 a 750-ml. and is a limited release with roughly 5,000 bottles allocated across the brand’s distribution footprint. The new release is the third Extra Añejo Tequila from El Mayor, joining the brand’s American oak aged version and its Rum Cask Finish Extra Añejo.

Pernod Ricard is extending the Jameson portfolio with a new orange flavor, which will roll out in the U.S. next year. Jameson Orange combines the triple-distilled Jameson Irish Whiskey with natural orange flavoring and is bottled at 30% abv. The newcomer will debut in international markets like the U.K. and Russia, retailing at £24 ($33), before coming to the U.S. in 2022.

Information courtesy of Shanken News Daily