TX Whiskey

Heaven’s Door Spirits, the whiskey label from Bob Dylan, is releasing Bootleg Series Vol. III. Named in reference to Dylan’s collections of unreleased music, this edition of the Bootleg Series features a cask-strength 13-year-old Kentucky Bourbon finished in Vino de Naranja casks for nearly a year. Bootleg Vol. III comes in a ceramic bottle illustrated by a painting of Dylan’s called Sunday Afternoon, and comes in an individually numbered leather journal. It’s at 60.6% abv and only 3,949 bottles are available at $545 a 750-ml. The Bootleg Series Vol. III is available on Reserve Bar and at select retailers nationwide.

Booker’s Bourbon is releasing the fourth and final batch of its 2021 collection. Dubbed Noe Strangers Batch, it pays homage to the personability of former master distiller Booker Noe. Bottled at 62.2% abv, it was aged 6 and a half years in charred white oak barrels. Stranger’s Batch is available nationwide in limited quantities at $90 a 750-ml. Previous releases in the 2021 Batch Collection include Donohoe’s Batch, Tagalong Batch, and Bardstown Batch.

A new distillery called Wolf Point Distilling has popped up in the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago. The co-owners are Victoria Polvino and Pavlos Dafnis, each with little prior experience in the spirits business. Right now they’re offering Florence Field gin ($31 750-ml), Jackscrew vodka ($21), and Wolf Point Single Barrel Bourbon ($45). Distribution thus far is limited to the state of Illinois.

Tullahoma, Tennessee-based Cascade Hollow Distilling Co. is releasing Cascade Moon 13 Year Old Rye. It follows two previous Cascade Moon expressions released late last year in celebration of the 150-year anniversary of George A. Dickel & Co. The 13 Year Old Rye comes from liquid that’s been aging in Cascade Hollow’s rickhouses since 2012, bottled at 50% abv. The limited release is rolling out now to shelves in Tennessee, Texas, and California where it will be priced at a suggested $299 a 750-ml.

Dorinda Medley, entrepreneur and cast member of the Real Housewives of New York, has launched Bluestone Manor Bourbon. The 45% abv wheated Bourbon is aged for a minimum of five years before blending and bottling. The whiskey, named for Medley’s Massachusetts home, is now available to pre-order through the brand’s website and can ship to 32 states. Bluestone Manor Bourbon will be available in retailers nationwide beginning next year with a suggested retail price of $45 a 750-ml.

Quebec City, Quebec-based Stadaconé is bringing its gin to the U.S. The brand’s gin line-up comprises Stadaconé Bleu (C$38 a 750-ml.), Stadaconé Rouge (C$42), and Stadaconé Noir (C$52), all of which are 40% abv. The distillery plans to bring Stadaconé Noir to the U.S. next year. In late 2022, it also plans to launch its Gingria canned cocktail stateside. This Quebecois spin on sangria is made with Stadaconé Rouge gin and cranberry juice.

Captain Morgan is continuing its relationship with celebrity jeweler Ben Baller with the Captain Morgan x Ben Baller Holiday Cocktail Kit. Available through delivery service Cocktail Courier, the kit includes Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum and other ingredients needed to make Baller’s signature cocktail The OG Spice & Ice as well as a set of stainless steel ice cubes. Along with the kit, the brand is running a contest to win a custom chain made by Baller, the third in the Captain on Ice collection curated by the jeweler. The cocktail kit is available for purchase now on Cocktail Courier for $68.

Louisville, Kentucky’s Stellum Spirits, from Barrell Craft Spirits, has launched Black Label Bourbon and Rye whiskies. The new releases, which follow the brand’s flagship Bourbon and rye whiskies released earlier this year, are limited edition offerings bottled at barrel proof (54.61% abv for the Bourbon; 57.13% abv for the rye.) The whiskies will be allocated across the U.S. for a suggested price of $99 a 750-ml.

Jim Beam is launching a new Bourbon Cream expression. The new, limited-edition product is made with cream liqueur and Jim Beam’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and is at 15% abv. Accompanying its launch, the company is kicking off a holiday-focused ad campaign called “Get to the Good Stuff” that centers around blazing past holiday formality to focus on real quality time with loved ones; actress Emily Hampshire (Stevie from Schitt’s Creek) is partnered on the initiative to create social content. Jim Beam Bourbon Cream is available now at select retailers nationwide for $20 a 750-ml.

Fort Worth, Texas-based TX Whiskey is launching TX Blended Straight Bourbon, the third expression in its TX Experimental Series. Following previous releases TX Experimental Rye and TX High Rye Texas Straight Bourbon, Blended Straight Bourbon includes 4-year-old rye Bourbon aged in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels, 4-year-old wheated Bourbon, and a 2-year-old wheated Bourbon. It’s at 50% abv and is available now for purchase at the company’s Whiskey Ranch in Fort Worth for $40 a 375-ml.

Information courtesy of Shanken News Daily

On the Rocks Premium Cocktails, part of the Beam Suntory portfolio, is introducing a limited edition Manhattan expression made with Basil Hayden Dark Rye. Weighing in at 32.5% abv, the Manhattan offering is available in select stores nationwide and online through Drizly with a suggested retail price of $13 a 375-ml bottle. The On the Rocks range also includes a Cosmopolitan (made with Effen vodka), Mai Tai (Cruzan rum), Old Fashioned (Knob Creek Bourbon), Margarita (Hornitos Tequila), Jalapeño Pineapple Margarita (Tres Generaciones Tequila), and Aviation (Larios gin).

MPL Brands has expanded the Rancho La Gloria line of wine-based RTDs with two new lower calorie Margaritas. The new Rancho La Gloria Skinny Margarita comes in Classic Lime and Strawberry with both at 9.9% abv and 90 calories per 5-ounce serving. They’re made with lime juice and other flavoring, and agave wine. The new cocktails have launched in Target stores nationwide for $9 a 750-ml., with expansion into retailers like HEB, Kroger, Harris Teeter, and Safeway set for early 2022.

Brooklyn, New York’s Q Mixers has launched Tropical Ginger Beer, the company’s third release in the category, following its original ginger beer and a hibiscus-flavored offshoot. The new release is made with ginger, agave, mango, passion fruit, and pineapple, and is currently available in Kroger and through the company’s website. Q Mixers is planning to expand the release in 2022.

Fort Worth, Texas-based TX Whiskey is launching three canned cocktails. The new trio of RTDs are TX Whiskey & Cola, TX Whiskey Ranch Water, and TX Whiskey & Sweet Tea, all 7% abv. They are made with TX Blended Whiskey and are available now exclusively in Texas, where a 4-pack of 12-ounce cans retails for a suggested $13.

Mesa, Arizona-based Cider Corps is releasing a seasonal version of its popular Fruit Salad cider. Made in collaboration with local package store Bottleshop 48, the Winter Fruit Salad cider features flavors of cranberry, plum, blackberry, blueberry, cherry, and pomegranate. It’s at 6.5% abv and is available now at the Cider Corps taproom and at specialty bottle shops around the state.

Port house Croft has launched Pink & Tonic, a new RTD made with rosé Port. The 5.5% abv canned cocktail comes in 250-ml. cans and is made using a house-developed tonic water. The RTD is now available across the U.S. in 4-packs for a suggested price of $18.

Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Drake’s Organic Spirits is launching an addition to its Boxtail lineup. The newcomer to the array of boxed wine-style RTDs is Drake’s Perfect Margarita Boxtail, which joins Minted Mojito, Watermelon-Tini, Mango Punch, and Black Cherry Limeade. It’s made with Drake’s Organic Tequila, triple sec, and lime and other citrus juice. Drake’s Margarita Boxtail is at 12% abv and retails for $20 a 1.75-liter within the company’s 44-state distribution area.

San Diego, California-based Coronado Brewing Company is launching Coronado Hard Cider. The company will start with a duo of flavors called Nice & Dry and Super Fruit. The former is at 6% abv and is intended as a classic, crisp cider, while the latter is at 5.5% abv and is made with acai berries and blueberries; both are certified organic. They will be available on draft and in 4-packs of 16-ounce cans starting December 10 at the Coronado Bay Park Tasting Room and will hit San Diego County retailers in early January 2022 with wider California distribution coming online in the spring.

New York-based Drifter Spirits is adding to its Drifter Craft Cocktails lineup with a fourth flavor. Created by the team that brought Svöl Aquavit to the U.S., the new line extension is Nordic Style Gin & Tonic (7% abv), which celebrates aquavit with its inclusion in the cocktail. Formulated in partnership with bartender Steva Casey, the Nordic Gin & Tonic features Svöl Danish-Style Aquavit and Perry’s Tot Navy Strength Gin from the New York Distilling Company along with pear juice and allspice. The new G&T joins Drifter’s existing Spicy Margarita, Moscow Mule, and Passion Fruit Caipirinha RTDs, retailing for $20 a 4-pack.

Information courtesy of Shanken News Daily