Yamazaki 25

A new upscale Tequila brand, Calirosa, has aligned nationally with Southern Glazer’s and rolled out to an initial 14 states. The brand debuts with a Rosa Blanco finished for 30 days in California red wine barrels and an Anejo aged in red wine barrels for 18 months, with retail pricing ranging from $49-$74. Calirosa is made in Jalisco, Mexico by the Real family. Calirosa partners Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo have invested in the family-owned distillery. The brand is slated for wider distribution both in the U.S. and Mexico later in the year.

Minnesota’s Phillips Distilling Company has launched a new vodka brand, Cubist, amid a host of brand updates aimed at boosting UV Vodka and Revel Stoke whiskey. The new brand—dubbed “The World’s Most Refreshing Vodka” and packaged in a bottle that turns blue when the vodka is properly chilled—will launch in August in Minnesota and Arizona for around $25 a 750-ml. The company has also redesigned the bottle for UV Vodka, packing the spirit in bottles featuring photosensitive ink that appears in sunlight.

Luxury Tequila brand Clase Azul is adding its former limited edition Gold bottling to its permanent lineup starting next month. Clase Azul Gold combines Clase Azul Plata with Clase Azul Reposado matured in French oak casks and an eight-year-old Extra Añejo aged in ex-Bourbon casks and finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. It’s housed in a decanter fusing glass and ceramic elements, with the ceramic base bound with two handcrafted 24 karat gold ribbons. Clase Azul Gold is bottled at 40% abv and retail priced at $300 a 750-ml.

Beam Suntory has relaunched Yamazaki 25 with a new blend of Japanese whiskies. The 43% abv bottling is now blended from spirits matured for 25 years or longer in American, Spanish, and Mizunara Oak casks bringing it in line with its younger siblings, the Yamazaki 12- and 18-year-old releases. Yamazaki 25 is now available across the U.S. for a suggested price of $2,000 a 750-ml. The relaunched Yamazaki 25 joins Hakushu, Hibiki, and Toki in Beam Suntory’s Japanese whisky portfolio.

Information courtesy of Shanken News Daily