Richland rum

William Grant & Sons is releasing the second offering in The Balvenie’s series of Single Barrel Scotch whiskies, a 15-year-old Single Barrel Sherry Cask. The new Balvenie entry has been matured exclusively in a single European oak Sherry butt for at least 15 years. No more than 650 hand-numbered bottles are drawn from each cask, and each bottle carries the number of the cask in which it was matured. Launching to select U.S. markets this month, Balvenie 15-year-old Single Barrel Sherry Cask is 47.8% abv and retails at $100 a bottle. The newcomer joins 12-year-old Single Barrel First Fill (launched early last year) in the Single Barrel series, which will add its final installment, a 25-year-old Balvenie matured in refill American oak barrels, this fall.

Diageo’s Captain Morgan rum has introduced a new limited edition. Rolling out this month, Captain Morgan 1671 Commemorative Blend Spiced Rum pays tribute to privateer and brand namesake Captain Henry Morgan, who raided and captured Panama City’s Fort San Lorenzo in 1671. The 35%-abv offering features a blend of spices and is finished in Spanish oak. Captain Morgan 1671 Commemorative Blend Spiced Rum will be available nationwide, priced at $19.99 a 750-ml.

Richland, Georgia’s Richland Distilling Co. has formed a new marketing tie-up with Florida-based The Action Group USA (TAG) to introduce its flagship Richland rum ($55) into key southeastern markets. TAG USA will initially expand the rum’s reach into Florida and South Carolina, with additional rollouts in Texas and along the Eastern seaboard to follow. The new states will join existing markets Georgia and Tennessee. Produced using natural, estate-sourced sugar cane syrup, Richland rum is a small-batch spirit aged in virgin American oak barrels. The rum is the sole entry for Richland Distilling, which expects to release around 8,000 cases this year.

Diageo’s newly launched Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Company is releasing a third expression of its craft Bourbon nationwide in limited quantities. The new whiskey, named Rhetoric, will be progressively aged and released over the coming years, with its inaugural 20-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon launching in June, and a 21-year-old expression set for release in 2015. The initial 45%-abv offering will be available in limited supply for a suggested retail price of $85 a 750-ml. bottle. Stocks of Rhetoric were found in warehouses at the Stitzel-Weller facility in Louisville, Kentucky and it was bottled at Orphan Barrel’s headquarters in Tullahoma, Tennessee. Rhetoric joins Orphan Barrel’s 20-year-old Barterhouse and 26-year-old Old Blowhard whiskies.

CIL US Wine & Spirits, the U.S. subsidiary of Cognac producer Camus Wine & Spirits, has partnered with Canada’s Domaine Pinnacle for the U.S. release of Ungava Canadian Premium Gin. Launched in 2012, Ungava has grown to reach 60 counties and will be available in Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky in June, with expansion to 18 states anticipated by the end of the year. Ungava is distilled in northern Québec and is made in small batches with six botanicals handpicked by the native Inuit tribe for a yellow coloring, according to the company. Ungava Canadian Premium Gin is 43.1% abv and will retail for about $32.99 a 750-ml. bottle.

Heaven Hill Distilleries is extending Evan Williams Bourbon with the summer release of Evan Williams Kentucky Slush to select test markets. The 12.5%-abv pre-mixed cocktail is made with the brand’s Bourbon along with Lemonade, Orange Juice and Sweet Tea flavors and will retail for about $14.99 a 1.75-liter bottle. Running under the marketing tagline of “For Seriously Refreshing Bourbon … Just Chill,” Kentucky Slush will be available June through August in Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Evan Williams Bourbon earned 2013 Impact “Hot Brand” honors with 15% growth to 1.65 million cases for the year.

Devotion Spirits is debuting a new tea flavor for its line of vodkas, Tiki Tea. Billed as gluten-free and sugar-free vodka made 100% from corn, Tiki Tea joins Devotion’s range of flavors that includes Wild Cherry, Coconut, Blood Orange, Black & Blue and the Perfect Cosmo. The new flavor will be launched over Memorial Day weekend in New Jersey, with a phased national rollout throughout this summer and fall. Devotion partnered with Allen Flavors, the maker of Arizona Iced Tea, for flavoring within its vodka range, which retails for $19.99. In January, Devotion Spirits announced nationwide distributions plans and can now be found at retailers such as Publix, Kroger, Albertsons, Whole Foods and Total Wine & More, among others.

All information courtesy of Shanken News Daily

Sugar-free and gluten-free vodka brand Devotion has added Wild Cherry and Coconut expressions to its flavored lineup. Priced at $19.99 a bottle, the two new offerings join Devotion’s existing sugar- and gluten-free Blood Orange, Black and Blue and The Perfect Cosmo flavors, as well as the brand’s flagship unflavored entry. Devotion vodka, which first launched in 2009, is currently available throughout 24 states.

Los Angeles-based Greenbar Distillery has unveiled three new craft spirits—Grand Poppy aperitive liqueur, Tru Garden vodka and Fruitlab Ginger liqueur. All three offerings will be available in select markets, priced at $29 for Grand Poppy and Fruitlab and $35 for Tru Garden vodka. They join Tru organic vodka, Tru organic gin, Ixa Organic Tequila, Slow Hand organic whiskey, Crusoe organic rum, Fruitlab organic liqueurs and Bar Keep organic bitters in the Greenbar portfolio.

Heaven Hill Distilleries is extending its Fulton’s Harvest seasonal liqueur brand with a new apple pie offering. Rolling out this September, Fulton’s Harvest Apple Pie Cream liqueur blends apple pie flavors with notes of cinnamon and caramel. The 12.5%-abv entry will be available for a limited time through November, priced at $10.99 a 750-ml. Apple Pie Cream is the second liqueur in the Fulton’s Harvest range, which debuted in 2010 as a seasonal Pumpkin Pie Cream offering, also only available from September through November.

Phillips Distilling is adding to its Prairie Organic line with two new spirits—Prairie Organic Gin and Prairie Cucumber-Flavored Organic Vodka. Both will be priced at $19.99 a 750-ml. and join the original Prairie Organic Vodka in the brand’s lineup. The Prairie Organic line of spirits is produced in a partnership between Phillips and a co-op of over 900 Minnesota farmers, all of whom are stakeholders in the Prairie Organic brand.

blah

The Richland Distilling Co. has partnered with Carter Distributing Co.’s wine and spirits division, Premium Brands, to launch its Richland rum brand in southeastern Tennessee. Richland rum will be available in select retail stores, bars and restaurants across Carter Distributing’s footprint beginning this month. The rum is produced in Richland, Georgia, and also has a presence across the state.

blah

Beam Inc. is ramping up the focus on its Irish whiskey brand 2 Gingers (roughly $25 a 1-liter) with plans to aggressively expand its U.S. distribution this year and next. Currently available in 10 markets, the label is expected to launch in Texas, Louisiana, Washington, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Oregon, Vermont, New Hampshire and Indiana later this year. An additional five markets—including New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.—are slated to follow in 2014. The brainchild of Minnesota-based entrepreneur Kieran Folliard, 2 Gingers is a blended, 40%-abv whiskey produced at Ireland’s Kilbeggan Distillery Co. (Cooley Distillery).