This week’s new spirits launches – 15-19 May 2023

SPECIAL OFFER FOR MAY ONLY – 20% OFF GLOBAL DRINKS INTEL ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION. CLICK HERE FOR FULL DETAILS

Here’s a round-up of the new launches from spirits brand owners in the week commencing 15 May.

Diageo’s Johnnie Walker The Master’s Cut blended Scotch

The former master blender for Johnnie Walker, Jim Beveridge, has come out of retirement for this one-off iteration

Scotch whisky, blended, comprising single grain whisky from Diageo’s Cameronbridge distillery and single malt from Roseisle, 40% ABV
On sale from an unspecified date later this year, exclusively from the Johnnie Walker visitor centre in central Edinburgh
SRP of GBP1,000 [US$1,240] per 70cl bottle, limited to 1,000 units

Barcardi’s Bombay Sapphire Citron Pressé flavoured gin

Bottle of Bombay Sapphire Presse with three cocktails — Two years on from Bombay Bramble, Bacardi’s gin flagship adds Citron Pressé to its portfolio

• Gin, flavoured with lemons from the Mediterranean region, 40% ABV
• Available from this month in Canada in the off-premise channel as well as in “select” bars across the country
• SRP not disclosed

Moët Hennessy’s Belvedere 10 vodka

Bottle of Belvedere 10 vodka — The Belvedere distillery, in Żyrardów, Poland, was founded in 1910, hence the name for this extension, which will be produced annually using rye from one field in north-east Poland and in one harvest, then allowed to rest for ten months

• Vodka, Poland, 40% ABV
• Rolling out over the summer to high-end on-premise venues in Europe before expanding worldwide – including the US – in September
• In the UK, SRP of GBP180 [US$225] per 70cl bottle

Thomas Ashbourne Craft Spirits’ The After Hours Espresso Martini premix cocktail

Less than a year after debuting its Thomas Ashbourne premix brand, the namesake company has teamed up with actor & producer Neil Patrick Harris for the Espresso Martini extension

• RTD, premix cocktail, Espresso Martini, 12% ABV
• Launching in the US this month to the off-premise channel through Total Wine & More, among others
• SRP of US$13.99 per 37.5cl bottle, $19.99 per four-pack of 20cl cans

Method and Madness Garryana Oak Edition Irish whiskey

• Irish whiskey, single pot still, no age statement, aged in ex-Bourbon casks then finished for between four and 12 months in new casks made from Garryana oak grown in the Pacific Northwest of the US, 45% ABV
• On sale from this week in Ireland, the UK and the global travel retail channel. Also heading to the US later this year
• In Ireland, SRP of EUR95 [US$102] per 70cl bottle, available in limited numbers

Campari Group’s Appleton Estate 17 Year Old Legend rum

Bottle and box of Appleton Estate 17 Year Old Rum — The expression is based on an estate-sourced 17-year-old rum from the 1940s that, according to Campari, was the base for the first Mai Tai cocktail serve

Rum, Jamaica, 17 years old
Debuting as an NFT with online retailer BlockBar – 36 bottles available – then through selected off-premise sprits specialists globally from June
SRP of US$500 per bottle, limited to 1,500 units

Pernod Ricard’s Royal Salute Jodhpur Polo Edition blended Scotch

Royal Salutes ‘Polo Collection’ has a fifth member, comprising a 21-year-old blended Scotch that has been finished in new oak casks

Scotch whisky, blended, 21-year-old,
Released this month “in limited quantities” – specific numbers were not disclosed – through specialist spirits off-premise operators worldwide
SRP of US$160 per unit

Forbidden white corn- & white winter wheat-sourced Bourbon

An industry first, according to its founders, Forbidden is distilled from a mix of white corn and white winter wheat and uses a “non-traditional, low-temperature fermentation”

American whiskey, Bourbon, Kentucky, five years old, 60% ABV
On sale this month in limited numbers in Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee in the US
SRP of $129 per 75cl bottle

Pernod RIcard’s Redbreast Dream Cask Port to Port Edition Irish whiskey

The sixth bottling in Redbreast’s Dream Cask series contains two casks – one ex-Bourbon with 27-year-old whiskey, one ex-ruby Port with 28-year-old liquid – that have been brought together in an ex-tawny Port cask for three months

Irish whiskey, single pot still, 27 years old, 56.3% ABV
On sale through an online ballot from 22 May to members of the brand’s ‘The Birdhouse’ club
SRP of EUR580 [US$630] per 50cl bottle, limited to 870 units

Luxco’s Ezra Brooks 99 Straight Rye Whiskey, reformulated Ezra Brooks Bourbon Cream

Luxco’s Lux Row Distillers unit has added two expressions to the Ezra Brooks American whiskey portfolio

American whiskey, rye, 42.5% ABV. Bourbon Cream is a Bourbon-based liqueur with a 16.5% ABV
Released in the US later this month
SRPs of $24.99 per bottle of the rye whiskey, $21.99 for Bourbon Cream

Los Magos Barrel-Aged Sotol WhistlePig Edition #1

The tie-up between Los Magos and WhistlePig sees a batch of the former’s blanco sotol spend a year in barrels previously used by WhistlePig to age its ten-year-old rye whiskey

Sotol, aged for “over” 12 months in ex-rye whiskey oak barrels from Vermont-based WhistlePig, 43% ABV
Launched next month in the US in the off-premise channel as well as online
SRP of $89.99 per 75cl bottle, limited to 941 numbered units

Bacardi Mango Mojito, Raspberry Mojito RTDs

According to Bacardi, ‘Mojito’ and ‘Piña Colada’ both appeared in a top ten of Google search results for ‘cocktails’ in Europe last year

RTDs, rum-based, 5% ABV
Rolling out to the UK this month, Mango Mojito initially through off-premise multiple Sainsburys, both variants on sale online with “other major retailers to follow”, including Tesco and Waitrose
SRP of GBP2 [US$2.50] each, per 25cl can

Espanita Tequila Co’s Espanita Signature Infusions flavoured Tequila

The three-strong flavour extension of Espanita’s namesake Tequila brand uses Mexican-grown fruits in an “at least” 45-day maceration

Tequila, blanco, fruit flavoured [Grapefruit, Lime and Pineapple], 35% ABV
Launched earlier this month in the US, in states including Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Oklahoma as well as the District of Columbia. More US markets are planned between now and the end of 2023
SRP of $33.99 per 75cl bottle

Beam Suntory’s Clermont Steep single malt American whiskey

Named after its hometown, Clermont Steep marks the first single malt from Beam Suntory’s James B Beam Distilling Co Bourbon division

American whiskey, single malt, Kentucky, five years old, 47% ABV
Rolling out to selected US states next month through the off-premise channel as well as online
SRP of $59.99 per 75cl bottle

Bacardi’s Dewar’s Double Double 37-Year-Old blended Scotch

The oldest release to date from Dewar’s is a blend of 37-year-old single malts with Double Double 36-Year-Old that is then finished in ex-Oloroso Sherry casks, which previously held Bacardi’s Aultmore single malt Scotch

Scotch whisky, blended, 46% ABV
Debuting this month as a two-month global travel retail-exclusive at Singapore’s Changi Airport
SRP of SGD3,200 [US$2,390] per 50cl bottle

ICB’s Rozél Rosé vodka

The ‘blush’ vodka takes inspiration from the flavours of rosé wine from Provence and hopes to tap into the “popularity of pink drinks” among consumers

Vodka, flavoured, grapefruit, peach & raspberry, 37.5% ABV
Launching this week in the UK, initially online only through Amazon
SRP of GBP26 [US$32.50] per 70cl bottle

Luxco’s El Mayor Extra Añejo Bourbon Barrel Aged Tequila

The high-end expression commemorates the 25th anniversary of Destiladora Gonzalez Lux’s master distiller, Rodolfo Gonzalez

Tequila, extra añejo, finished for 39 months in ex-Bourbon American oak barrels
Rolling out nationwide in the US in July through selected specialist spirits retailers
SRP of $129.99 per 75cl bottle, limited to “approximately” 6,000 units

Diageo’s Orphan Barrel Whiskey Co Scarlet Shade rye whiskey

The first straight rye from Diageo’s Orphan Barrel Whiskey Co unit was distilled in Indiana, aged in Kentucky and bottled in Tennessee

American whiskey, straight rye, 14 years old, 45% ABV
Released in limited [unspecified] numbers this month in the US through off-premise spirits specialists and online
SRP of $199.99 per 75cl bottle

Announcing the Global Drinks Intel ESG Awards 2023