BEEFEATER 24

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Brand owner Pernod Ricard

RRP $39/£31/€36

Markets Global

Contact pernod-ricard.com

Pernod Ricard has given Beefeater 24 a makeover. The new design is said to reflect “the product’s super-premium quality” and is hoped to “increase its visibility on shelf”, while “reinforcing the difference between Beefeater 24 and Beefeater Dry”.

Inspired by the Arts & Crafts movement of the 20th century, the decoration is said to mirror the gin’s 12 botanicals. The bottle’s colour pays homage to one of the UK’s oldest crown jewels, the 170-carat Black Prince’s Ruby centrepiece in the Imperial State Crown. The history of the precious stone is intertwined with the Tower of London and the Yeoman Warders who guard it.

The figure of a Beefeater has been introduced alongside the signature of Beefeater founder James Burrough. The Tower of London raven, historically said to protect the crown, is visible on both the front and reverse of the bottle.

Global brand director for Beefeater, Eric Sampers, said: “Our new Beefeater 24 design will capture the consumer’s attention, with a striking red colour which makes it clearly stand out from its competitors.”

OLD PARTICULAR QUEEN OF THE HEBRIDES

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Brand owner Douglas Laing

RRP £150

Markets Global

Contact Jenny.rogerson@douglaslaing.com

Douglas Laing & Co has unveiled Old Particular Queen of the Hebrides, one of a series of expressions under the umbrella Consortium of Cards Single Cask Scotch Whisky Collection. This, the first limited-edition series within Old Particular, is themed around a deck of playing cards.

Four releases are planned for 2017, and the series launches with the Queen of the Hebrides, an Old Particular Laphroaig 18 Years Old.

JA RENAULT COLLECTION HERITAGE PETITE CHAMPAGNE 1989

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Brand owner JA Renault

RRP $266/£214/€250

Markets Global

Contact Jérôme Durand, Jerome.durand@cognac-larsen.fr

JA Renault has launched Collection Heritage Petite Champagne 1989, the first of a new series. Six hundred bottles of the expression have been produced. According to JA Renault, 1989 was an “exceptional year” for cognac and one that is a favourite of Renault master blender David Croizet. He said: “The Petite champagne has remarkable finesse and shows off the greatness of this terroir. 26 years of ageing in our humidity-controlled cellars, in fine-grained, lightly toasted oak has amplified the fruit flavours and the aromatic potential and produced an incredibly smooth, velvety cognac.”

JOHN WALKER PRIVATE COLLECTION 2017

Brand owner Diageo

RRP £550, €650, US$690

Markets Global through specialist retailers

Contact johnniewalker.com

Diageo has unveiled the fourth John Walker & Sons Private Collection expression.

The 2017 edition, Mastery of Oak (46.8% abv), is available in Harrods and other specialist retailers. The recommended retail price is £550. There are 5,588 numbered decanters. The 2017 Edition is said to celebrate the full richness of cask character.

Mastery of Oak comes in a glass decanter with rings representing oak and an angled cut to reflect the Johnnie Walker slanted label. The series showcases the Walker house style and gives its blending, team led by Jim Beveridge, the opportunity to experiment and show their knowledge and expertise through small batch, one-off blends of rare and experimental whiskies.

Master blender Beveridge and fellow blender Aimée Gibson are said to have hand-picked exceptional casks of malt and grain whiskies to create three vattings from which to make the final blend. Each was designed to contribute certain flavours from a different aspect of oak management.

LITMUS RED PINOT 2014

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Brand owner Litmus Wines

Produced in England

RRP £33

Markets UK

Contact Nick Connell, Litmus sales manager, +44 1306 879829 or nick@litmuswines.com

Litmus Wines makes four branded still wines aimed at showcasing the best that can be produced in England.

The Pinot is produced only when the fruit is fully ripened and of the highest quality, which last happened in 2011, 2014 and, most recently 2016.

NEGRITA ANEJO RESERVE

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Brand owner Bardinet Markets Global

RRP US$20, €18, £15

Contact Laure Habbouse, international marketing: laure.habbouse@bardinet.fr

Negrita Añejo Reserve (37.5% abv) is a new expression of Negrita Carribean rum comprising the “finest blend of Caribbean rums”. Bardinet describes it as a “dry but smooth rum with notes of vanilla, citrus and wood on the nose and cooked fruits on the palate”.

HEDONIST

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Brand owner Hedonist Spirits

RRP £27/€31/$33

Markets US, Australia, NZ, UAE, Switzerland, Germany, South Africa. Re-launching in selected European markets with new packaging.

Contact Opus Cellars, Alexander@opuscellars.com, or Hedonist Spirits

Hedonist is a 29% abv liqueur made from a blend of cognac, natural ginger and a hint of Madagascan vanilla. It is a blend of 35 eaux de vies from the three crus: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne & Borderies. The cognac is infused with root ginger, filtered and then reinfused with fresh vanilla pods. The added sugar is made from the grapes used to make cognac, Cépage Ugni Blanc. The mixture is aged for four to six months, then bottled.

KI NO BI KYOTO DRY GIN

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Brand owner Kyoto Distillery

RRP £50/€57/JPY5,000

Markets Japan, UK, Austria, France, Holland, Hong Kong, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, selected travel retail markets

Contact sophie@qcltd.co.uk

The Kyoto Distillery, Japan’s first dedicated “artisan gin distillery” founded by industry veterans Marcin Miller and David Croll in 2015, has launched Ki No Bi Kyoto Dry Gin (45.7% abv). Demand has outstripped supply in the domestic market to the extent that the international launch was delayed until now. Ki No Bi (meaning ‘the Beauty of the Seasons’) is said to be inspired by Japanese tradition and distilled, blended and bottled in Kyoto.

Head distiller Alex Davies uses the soft waters of Fushimi, famed for sake production, and botanicals incuding yellow yuzu, hinoki chips (Japanese cypress), bamboo, gyokuro tea and green sansho (Japanese peppercorn).

The botanicals are separated into six categories (base, citrus, tea, herbal, spice and floral). Each category is then steeped in rice spirit before being distilled individually.

The distillates are blended together before being left to marry in a process said to allow the disparate flavours to harmonise, giving balance.

BUSHMILLS 16 YEAR OLD & 21 YEAR OLD

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Brand owner Jose Cuervo

RRP (16 Year Old) $93/€87/£75, (21 Year Old) $208/€196/£168

Markets UK, Ireland, US, Canada, Mexico, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Russia, Portugal, Israel, Japan, Australia

Contact Natasha Deeney, natasha.deeney@smartscommunicate.com (028) 90 39 55 55

The 16 Year Old Single Malt Irish whiskey is triple-distilled from 100% malted Irish barley, matured in oloroso sherry and bourbon-seasoned American oak casks, then rested in port wine barrels. The 21 Year Old is matured in bourbon barrels and sherry casks for at least 19 years before two further years in former Madeira wine casks.

GLENMORANGIE BACALTA – LATEST RELEASE IN PRIVATE EDITION RANGE

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Brand owner Moët Hennessy

RRP $98/£79/€92

Markets Global

Contact sophie@qcltd.co.uk

Glenmorangie has released its eighth annual Private Edition range. Gaelic for ‘baked’, Bacalta is the first Glenmorangie expression finished entirely in sun-baked Malmsey Madeira casks.

The inspiration for this limited-edition came more than 20 years ago with the release of Glenmorangie Madeira Finish, the world’s first whisky extra-matured in Madeira casks, according to Moët Hennessey.

American oak casks were heavily toasted then seasoned with Malmsey wine – the sweetest Madeira – and baked under the sun.

Emptied, shipped to Scotland and filled with Glenmorangie spirit already matured in ex-bourbon barrels, the Malmsey casks lend “complex layers of sweetness” to Glenmorangie Bacalta.

The brand’s Bill Lumsden said: “For years I had longed to create the best Madeira-finished whisky possible. Realising that ambition took time and dedication, as every step of extra-maturation was tailored to our specifications – rather like haute couture.”