GSN Spirited News: November 16th 2021 Edition

Beam Suntory has launched a new collection, the Mundial Limited Edition Series, as part of the El Tesoro collection of Tequilas. The first release in the series is an Añejo expression finished in Laphroaig barrels. The single barrel Tequila is bottled at 40% abv and matured for 13 months in total—nine months in ex-Bourbon barrels and four in Laphroaig casks—and will retail for around $125 a 750-ml. El Tesoro Mundial Collection: The Laphroaig Edition is rolling out now in select markets across the U.S.

Mezcal Amarás has launched the Logia Collection, comprising three new limited-release expressions in the U.S. First up is Logia Cenizo, a 43% abv mezcal made from 14-year-old agave durangensis plants that will retail for $85 a 750-ml. The second release is Logia Sierra Negra, a mezcal made from 12-year-old agave americana plants. Sierra Negra, also bottled at 43% abv, is made with pink peppercorn and chili peppers mixed in with the volcanic rock and oak used to cook the agave. It carries a suggested price of $125. The final release—Logia Tobalá—is made from 12-year-old agave potatorum plants and will retail for $150. Like the other mezcals, Logia Tobalá is bottled at 43% abv.

Louisville, Kentucky’s Buzzard’s Roost Whiskey has debuted its first Bourbon. The company’s namesake Bourbon is a blend of two 4-year-old high-rye whiskies sourced from Indiana and bottled at 57.2% abv, barrel strength. Buzzard’s Roost Bourbon carries a suggested price of $85 a 750-ml. In addition to launching a new whiskey, the company has announced a new home at Bardstown Bourbon Company. Going forward, the company’s whiskies, which are chosen and rebarreled by Buzzard’s Roost, will be aged and bottled at Bardstown Bourbon Company.

A new organic Tequila brand, Hermosa, is debuting across 10 states. Hermosa includes Silver ($45), Reposado ($53), and Añejo ($60) expressions, with the Reposado and Añejo spending eight and 18 months in American oak barrels, respectively. It’s made at family-owned Tequilas Las Americas NOM 1480, a third-generation distillery and agave grower based in Amatitán, Jalisco. Founder Will Elger said the inspiration for the brand came from an old bottle of homemade Tequila given to his father, who was a local hotel manager. The name “Hermosa” was written on the label of that bottle from 1939.

Teeling Irish whiskey has announced a 30-year-old single malt, the latest in the brand’s series of extra-aged whiskies. The 46% abv whiskey was distilled in 1991 and first matured in ex-Bourbon barrels before spending nine years in Sauternes casks before bottling. The release is limited to 4,000 bottles and will be available at the Teeling Distillery in Dublin this month and the U.S. in January 2022 for a suggested price of $2,200 a 750-ml.

Mezcal brand Vamonos Riendo has entered California and Illinois, partnering with RNDC for the former and Southern Glazer’s for the latter. The new partnership will see the super-premium priced mezcal sold in chains like Total Wine and Binny’s, plus independent stores in California and Chicagoland. Vamonos Riendo is an ensemble mezcal triple distilled from Tobala and Espadin agaves (with fruit added for the final distillation) and bottled at 42% abv. It’s available for a suggested price of $60 a 750-ml.

Savage & Cooke, the Mare Island, California distillery from Dave Phinney, has launched its winter seasonal whiskey: Bad Sweater. The whiskey is a blend of four-year-old Bourbon with cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, cacao nibs, and vanilla bean, and bottled at 40% abv. This year’s edition, the third, features a sweater draped around the bottle’s shoulders. It’s available through December for $38 a 750-ml.

Information courtesy of Shanken News Daily

GSN Spirited News: October 6th 2020 Edition

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.

Courtesy of Shanken News Daily

GSN Spirited News: May 26th 2020 Edition

Absolut has launched a new collection of ready-to-drink cocktails. The new releases are split into two lines, Absolut Vodka Sodas and Absolut Cocktails. The 5% abv vodka sodas come in three flavors—Lime & Cucumber, Grapefruit & Rosemary, and Raspberry & Lemongrass—all at 97 calories per serving. Absolut Cocktails include a Mango Mule and a Grapefruit Paloma at 7% abv, and a Berry Vodkarita at 10%. Absolut’s new RTDs are now in national distribution, retailing at around $13 a 4-pack of 12-ounce cans.

Teeling Irish whiskey is launching a special Father’s Day edition of its single malt expression. Selling exclusively on ReserveBar through June at $60 a bottle, the limited edition is finished in five different types of wine casks. $5 from every bottle sold will go to the Raise Your Spirits campaign supporting bars and restaurants.

Brown-Forman has teamed up with Whiskey Barrel Foods to create Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Cocktail Bitters, designed to complement Jack Daniel’s flavor profile when used in cocktails. The bitters are at 46.9% abv and bring flavors of vanilla, wood, berry, ginger, and maple. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Cocktail Bitters are now available on Whiskey Barrel Foods’ website for $15 a 3-ounce bottle.

Five midwestern distilleries have teamed to create Distiller’s Handshake, a new blended whiskey sold to benefit Iowa’s service workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. The 50% abv blend is acollaboration among Iowa’s Templeton Rye, Cat’s Eye Distillery, Cedar Ridge Distillery, Mississippi River Distilling Company, and Illinois’ Blaum Bros Distilling Company. The whiskey retails at $50, with all proceeds going to the Iowa Restaurant Association and bartenders throughout the state.

Loveland, Colorado-based craft distiller The Family Jones has unveiled Ella Jones Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The newcomer has a mashbill of 75% corn, 15% rye, and 10% malt—all sourced from Colorado—and is a blend of whiskies with an average age of 2.8 years. Bottled at 47% abv, Ella Jones is rolling out in Colorado at a retail price of $55 a 750ml.

Courtesy of Shanken News Daily

GSN Spirited News: April 7th 2020 Edition

In Ireland, Teeling Irish Whiskey, minority owned by Bacardi, has released a limited edition bottling with all profits benefiting a range of charities that support front line workers battling the coronavirus. Teeling Front Line Heroes is a 48.5% abv whiskey aged in Irish oak, a first for Teeling. Only 300 bottles will be available in Ireland for €75 (roughly $81).

San Francisco-based importer ImpEx Beverages has introduced Penderyn 10-Year-Old Madeira Cask-Finished, a single barrel release from Welsh whisky maker Penderyn Distillery. Retailing at $110 and at an abv of 58.1%, it’s exclusive to the U.S. market.

Bardstown, Kentucky-based Grain & Barrel Spirits has added a straight rye whiskey to the Chicken Cock family. The 45% abv whiskey was distilled by Bardstown Bourbon Co. from a mash of 95% rye and bottled with non-chill filtering. The whiskey retails for $70 and is initially available in Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Courtesy of Shanken News Daily