Pick of the Launches

Here is the pick of the launches from last month, as featured in Drinks International Magazine February edition

LAGAVULIN SINGLE MALT 1991

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Brand owner Diageo

RRP £1,494

Markets Bottles can only be purchased via a special ballot on the Whisky Exchange

Contact malts.com/thewhiskyexchange.com/feature/lagavulinlimitededition

Lagavulin distillery’s 200th anniversary celebrations conclude with the sale of 520 bottles of a 1991 Lagavulin (52.7% abv), which will be sold via a special ballot. A further bottle will be kept for the Diageo archive and another will go to auction.

The single cask bottling of a 24-year-old whisky will see all proceeds, expected to exceed £500,000, divided between seven charities on Islay.

Cask 6148 was selected from three by Diageo CEO Ivan Menezes and a special team including Lagavulin distillery manager Georgette Crawford and Diageo’s head of whisky outreach Nick Morgan, who masterminded the project.

Crawford said: “We will all be raising a dram to years gone by and an exciting future ahead of us and this incredible island, as we close a year of spectacular celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the distillery.”

LOUIS XIII THE TIME COLLECTION, THE ORIGIN – 1874

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Brand owner Rémy Cointreau

RRP €5,000, US$5,260, £4,340

Markets Global

Contact Lyndea Dew, marketing director lyndea.dew@remyasia.com

Louis XIII is said to travel back through time with the launch of the Time Collection, a series of exclusive limited editions that pay tribute to the history of Louis XIII, which will be released every two years. Rémy says this cognac has been present at many of the most significant events of the past 120 years.

SPYTAIL BLACK GINGER RUM

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Brand owner Biggar and Leith

RRP €26, £25, US$23

Markets Global

Contact Elwyn Gladstone: elwyn.gladstone@gmail.com

Black Ginger Rum (40% abv) is described as a Caribbean rum imported into France, then aged, spiced, blended and bottled in Cognac.

The bottle is based on the shape of a Bathysphere – a primitive form of submarine. The brand is a tribute to the underwater explorers of France – and their submarines. The world’s first mechanical powered submarine was invented near the distillery and it is said Jules Verne based his famous novel, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, on this.

The strategy is to try to trade up consumers who drink spiced rum, dark rum, whisky and flavoured whisky by offering them a premium product with a unique flavour profile – ginger.

LE SERRE NUOVE DELL’ORNELLAIA 2014

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Brand owner Ornellaia

RRP US$64.99, €61, £53

Markets Global

Contact armitwines.co.uk

Coming primarily from the estate’s younger vineyards, Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia is a true ‘second vin’, says the company.

A blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc & Petit Verdot, Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia is said to “combine generosity and depth of flavour with an engaging and vibrant personality.”

2014 will be remembered in Tuscany for the summer that never was and as one of the most unusual. A warm and rainy winter was followed by a mild and dry spring, a distinctively average July and a cold and rainy August. All of this created difficult conditions for the ripening of the grapes. September and October, however, brought perfect conditions, with mostly sunny and dry weather, offering excellent conditions for ripening, particularly for Merlot.

While there was a lot of extra work to do in the vineyard, the combination of the estate’s varied subsoils, the varieties and the team’s detailed knowledge of the terroir, all worked in favour of Le Serre Nuove dell’Ornellaia, say the owners.

FERNANDO DE CASTILLA VERMUT

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Brand owner Bodegas Rey Fernando de Castilla

RRP €15, £16, US$22

Markets Europe, America

Contact fernandoromero@fernandodecastilla.com

Fernando de Castilla says it has restored the old tradition of sherry-based vermouth, using natural botanicals, aged in sherry cask, to give it that Italian bitter character.

It is made with old Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso sherry combined with 27 natural botanicals.

GLENMORANGIE GRAND VINTAGE MALT 1990 BOND HOUSE NO 1 COLLECTION

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Brand owner Moët Hennessy

RRP £495, US$600, €570

Markets Global

Contact emily.harris@mayfox.co.uk

The Bond House No 1 Collection is an exclusive collection of vintage expressions, all said to be exceptionally smooth, complex and elegant.

The collection, which celebrates Glenmorangie’s most prestigious aged whisky, is said to have been created for connoisseurs and collectors.

CHAMPAGNE ARMAND DE BRIGNAC BLANC DE NOIRS A2

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Brand owner Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter

RRP £675, US$1,000

Markets Global

Contact Cellar Trends www.cellartrends.co.uk

Just 2,333 bottles of Armand de Brignac Blanc de Noirs A2 were created and disgorged on June 20, 2016. Every bottle has been labelled with its own number in this small-batch production, in addition to its disgorgement date, showcasing the rarity and exclusivity.

Blanc de Noirs A2 has rested in the cellars in France since it was bottled in early 2011. It is an assemblage of 100% Pinot Noir from the 2008, 2009 and 2010 vintages.

Champagne Armand de Brignac is described as a range of prestige cuvées that claim to offer uncompromising quality and taste, crafted by 11th-generation champagne growers, the Cattier family.

Each bottle is finished by hand with the application of French pewter labels and hand polishing. A team of just 14 people touch a bottle from pressing the fruit to departure from the cellars in France.

BALLANTINE’S 21 YEAR OLD AMERICAN OAK

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Brand owner Pernod Ricard

RRP US$143

Markets Global Travel Retail Asia

Contact anika.greblo@talkpr.com +44 (0)207 268 5534

Ballantine’s 21 Year Old American Oak (40% abv) is the second edition of its Signature Oak range. Exclusive to global travel retail, this limited release is said to be an exceptionally smooth prestige whisky.

Before receiving a first fill of bourbon whiskey, the barrels are charred to release the flavours of caramel and vanilla within the oak.

They are then shipped to Scotland, where they become a catalyst for the flavour and aroma of Ballantine’s whisky.

RAMPUR INDIAN SINGLE MALT WHISKY

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Brand owner Radico Khaitan

RRP £40.95, €47, US$50

Markets UK, US, Germany, UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Malaysia and Japan

Contact Sanjeev Banga, president – International Business, Radico Khaitan: bangas@radico.co.in

Brand owner Radico Khaitan considers Rampur the ‘Kohinoor’ of single malts. The whisky is described as a super-premium single malt (43% abv) from Uttar Pradesh in India.

It says it is handcrafted and aged in India’s oldest distillery dating back to 1943 in the foothills of the Himalayas.

CONNEMARA TURF MÓR

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Brand owner Beam Suntory

RRP €50

Markets Selected European airports

Contact bowmore@ldrlondon.com

Beam Suntory will expand its portfolio of Irish whiskeys this November, with a new expression from the peated Irish single malt, exclusive to European travel retail.

Remaining true to its Gaelic name, which means ‘big peat’, Connemara Turf Mór (46% abv) is 50ppm giving a profound peat flavour and a long, full-bodied smoky finish, according to the company, which offers a more unusual flavour profile for an Irish whiskey. Neither ‘classically’ Irish nor from the peated homeland of Islay, Beam Suntory says Connemara is best described as “Islay meets Ireland” as it retains the distinctive taste of Irish whiskey with the smoky taste of Islay malt whiskies.

Tasting note: “Lightly golden, aromas of fresh char with a hint of sweetness, spice and citrus. Smooth and sweet to start, intensifying to unveil a richness and flavours of peat, malt, oak and spice.”