Old Elk

Grey Goose has unveiled Essences, a new range of vodkas infused with real fruit and cold-distilled botanicals. The lineup will initially include Strawberry & Lemongrass, White Peach & Rosemary, and Watermelon & Basil expressions. The new range is at 30% abv and has no gluten, artificial ingredients, sugar or carbs. It’s aimed at the fast-growing at-home cocktail segment. Grey Goose Essences are rolling out nationwide, retailing at $30 a 750-ml.

Louisville, Kentucky-based Michter’s will release another edition of its Barrel Strength Rye in March, the first barrel proof rye released since April 2019. The 2021 release comes in at an average abv of 55.15% and will retail at around $100 a 750-ml. This limited release will sit alongside Michter’s core US*1 portfolio and the company’s higher-end age-stated releases, all of which are currently allocated to help manage supply.

Crested Butte, Colorado-based Montanya Distillers has partnered with Louisiana-based Three Roll Estate to help meet rising demand. Under the partnership, Montanya will bottle a 50/50 blend of the Three Roll rum with Montanya Oro and Platino for a short period of time until Montanya replenishes its inventory after its distillery expansion. To introduce Colorado whiskey finishing notes, the blends will first age in Laws Whiskey House barrels. The new blends and bottles should start to hit stores in March.

Fort Collins, Colorado’s Old Elk has launched its first limited release of 2021: Sour Mash Reserve. The whiskey is distilled from a mash of 51% corn, 34% malted barley, and 15% rye and was distilled in New York. The first batch consists of 5,040 bottles that will be distributed in select markets by Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits. It will retail for a suggested price of $90 a 750-ml.

Welsh whisky maker Penderyn Distillery has announced two new single cask whiskies exclusive to the U.S. market, set to hit shelves on March 1, just in time for St. David’s Day, the national day of Wales. First up is Penderyn 15 Year Old Bourbon Matured Single Cask, a 59% abv whisky that matured in an ex-Buffalo Trace barrels. A very limited supply will be available for around $170 a 750-ml. The other new whisky is Penderyn 13 Year Old Rich Oak Single Cask, a 58.1% abv whisky matured in Buffalo Trace barrels before finishing in a European oak cask that was shaved, toasted, and re-charred. This whisky will retail for $150 and is also rolling out in very limited amounts. The whiskies are available in select states across the U.S.

Bumbu Rum Company is introducing Bumbu Créme, a new line extension joining its existing Bumbu Original and Bumbu XO expressions. Retailing at $35 a 750-ml., Bumbu Créme is a 15% abv blend of rum, spices, and real dairy cream and is recommended to be served chilled straight, on the rocks, or in cocktails.

Barrell Craft Spirits has launched Batch 028, the company’s latest Bourbon whiskey. The new release is a blend of 10- and 11-year-old whiskies distilled and matured in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana before blending and bottling at cask strength by Barrell. Batch 028 comes in at 54.43% abv and will retail for a suggested price of $90 a 750-ml. Barrell’s whiskies are currently available in 46 states across the U.S.

Mezcal El Silencio is entering the Tequila category with the introduction of a Cristalino expression called Dahlia. Retailing at $40, Dahlia is a 100%-blue agave Reposado Tequila, which is filtered through activated charcoal. Constellation acquired a minority interest in El Silencio for an undisclosed sum in 2019. The brand is known for its core Ensamble and Espadin mezcals.

Courtesy of Shanken News Daily

Biddeford, Maine’s Round Turn Distilling has launched Bimini Coconut, a new flavored gin. The 47% abv gin is made with juniper, grapefruit, and hops, before fat washing with coconut to naturally infuse the gin. Bimini Coconut is available in California, Maine, New York, and Massachusetts for around $35 a 750-ml. The new spirit sits alongside Bimini gin, Bimini Barrel Reserve No.-1, and Bimini Overproof in the distillery’s lineup.

Minnesota-based Phillips Distilling Co. announced the release of Douglas and Todd Small Batch Bourbon Cream Liqueur. As the name implies, the new product is made from the company’s Douglas and Todd Bourbon, aged a minimum of four years in new charred oak barrels, then blended with cream and vanilla bean flavors. It’s available now as a limited release retailing for $35 a 750-ml. at select retailers and coming soon to online sales. The Phillips Distilling portfolio also includes UV Vodka, Prairie Organic Spirits, and Revel Stoke Whiskies, among others.

Proximo Spirits has launched Bushmills 28-Year-Old Single Malt Cognac Cask, the first in the brand’s new Rare Casks series. The 46.7% abv whisky first aged in Bourbon and Oloroso Sherry casks for 11 years before spending an additional 17 years in Cognac casks. Fewer than 500 bottles of the whiskey will be available, exclusively in the U.S., for a suggested retail price of $500 a 750-ml.

Mystic, Connecticut’s Prima Barista has launched a new ready-to-drink hard coffee, made with vodka. The 12.5% abv drinks come in two flavors—Mocha Hard Iced Frappé and Vanilla Hard Iced Latte—and contain roughly the same amount of caffeine as a 1-ounce shot of espresso per 200-ml. bottle. Prima Barista’s coffee cocktails are now available in Florida and Indiana at retail for around $19-$20, and for direct shipping to over 30 states across the U.S.

Edrington-owned Highland Park single malt Scotch whisky has launched Cask Strength No.-1, the first release in its new cask-strength collection. This edition comes in at 63.3% abv and matured in Sherry-seasoned American oak casks for a range of years before blending and bottling. The non-chill-filtered whisky will be released yearly. Highland Park Cask Strength No.-1 retails for around $90 a 750-ml. and will be available online and in specialty retailers across the U.S.

Kahlúa is extending with a new Blonde Roast Style liqueur. Made with medium roast coffee and hints of caramel, toffee and citrus flavors, Kahlúa Blonde Roast Style is at 20% abv and suggested to be served with tonic or coconut water. Pernod Ricard-owned Kahlúa posted 6% growth in NABCA channels in the 12 months through June.

Dan Aykroyd and John Alexander’s Crystal Head vodka has launched Onyx, a new vodka distilled from Blue Agave. The new brand extension is bottled at 40% abv in an opaque black bottle. The agave for the spirit is sourced from a single farm in Mexico and the final product is bottled without additives or sweeteners. Crystal Head Onyx will retail for around $55 a 750-ml. and joins the brand’s original release, made from Canadian corn, and Aurora, made from English wheat, in the full-time lineup.

High West, part of the Constellation portfolio, has introduced two bottled whiskey cocktails, Barrel-Finished Manhattan and Barrel-Finished Old Fashioned. Both are made using a blend of Bourbon and rye, then finished in rye barrels. The Old Fashioned is at 43% abv, while the Manhattan is at 37% abv. Rolling out nationwide, High West’s new bottled cocktails retail at $50 a 750-ml. (containing 12 cocktails) and $30 a 375-ml.

Mount Gay Rum, part of the Rémy Cointreau portfolio, is launching a new limited edition, Master Blender Collection: The Port Cask Expression. Created by master blender Trudiann Branker, the new bottling is a blend of rums distilled in a traditional column still and aged for five years in Tawny Port casks, together with rums double distilled in a copper pot still and aged for 14 years in American whiskey casks and finished in Tawny Port casks for one year. Retailing at $175 a 750-ml., Mount Gay’s new luxury Port Cask expression is a cask-strength at 55% abv and is limited to 2,100 bottles in the U.S.

Código 1530 Tequila is releasing a new limited-edition extra añejo expression, the George Strait Origen. The new expression aged over six years in French white oak barrels that previously held Napa Valley Cabernet. The 40% abv spirit will retail for $350, with only 1,200 bottles available nationwide. The six barrels used to create the Tequila were hand-selected by Código co-founder and country music legend George Strait. Código 1530 reports that it’s seen rapid gains in the year-to-date, registering growth of 40%.

Diageo is bringing back Cîroc vodka’s White Grape expression for the holiday season. Five times distilled from French grapes, Cîroc White Grape is rolling out now. Cîroc slipped 9% to 1.4 million cases in the U.S. last year, according to Impact Databank, amid intense competition in the U.S. vodka category. In Diageo’s full fiscal year through June, the brand’s net sales fell by double-digits, with the decline partially offset by good results for limited-time offers like White Grape.

Minnesota’s Tattersall Distilling has launched a bottled Manhattan, made from 100% Minnesota grown rye, aged in charred American white oak barrels, and blended with Tattersall Italian-style liqueur, Sherry, and bitters. This is the distillery’s fourth ready-to-drink cocktail, joining Old Fashioned, Bootlegger, and Salty Dog. It retails at $35 a 750-ml. and carries an abv of 35%. The new entry will roll out first in Minnesota, with Wisconsin to follow shortly after. Tattersall’s portfolio is distributed to 30 states.

Whiskeysmith Co., a new line of flavored whiskies from Colorado-based Old Elk, has launched nationally via Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits. The line is launching with three flavors—Chocolate, Banana, and Pineapple—and all come in at 30% abv. Beverage director Melinda Maddox said the brand is aimed at home and on-premise mixology, and as a one-step home cocktail alternative. Whiskeysmith is now available across the U.S. and retails for between $25 and $30, depending on the market.

Brown-Forman has launched Woodford Reserve Baccarat Edition, a new ultra-limited luxury release from the American whiskey brand. The newcomer is bottled at 45.2% abv and, after its initial maturation in American oak, aged for an extra three years in ex-Cognac casks. The whiskey is bottled in a handmade crystal decanter from Baccarat that’s reminiscent of the standard Woodford bottle but engraved in gold with both Woodford’s and Baccarat’s logos. It’s now available in limited quantities for $2,000 a 750-ml.

Teeling Irish whiskey has announced a new addition to the distillery’s portfolio, Blackpitts Peated Single Malt whiskey. The 46% abv whiskey is triple distilled and matured in a combination of ex-Bourbon and ex-Sauternes casks. According to managing director Jack Teeling, the smokiness of triple distilled peated whiskey is quite distinct; he described it as more like “barbecue-style smoke,” compared to the briny or medicinal peated whiskies of Islay, Scotland. Blackpitts Peated Single Malt whiskey will launch globally in January 2021, for a suggested price of $75 in the U.S.