Pick of the Launches

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

Château de Haute-Serre Cahors 2012

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Brand owner Georges Vigouroux GFA

RRP €20, £18.50, US$25

Markets Asia, US, Canada, Europe, French duty free

Contact Cecile Lavaud-White, T: +44 (0)1444 870575, cecile@vigneronsdefrance.co.uk

Château de Haute-Serre is a blend of 90% Malbec, 7% Merlot and 3% Tannat from the estate in Cahors, south west France.

It is claimed to be the highest and oldest vineyard of the mountain of Cahors, set on a single 100ha.

Located between the 44th and 45th parallel, the Haute-Serre vineyard “enjoys a privileged location halfway between the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Pyrenees.

The geology, soil depth, altitude and distance from the river Lot is said to give Haute-Serre a complex terroir of clay and Kimmeridgian limestone, favourable to producing great wines for ageing.

ADNAMS RISING SUN GIN & RYE HILL VODKA

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Brand owner Adnams

RRP Rising Sun Gin – £28.99/Rye Hill Vodka – £26.99

Markets UK

Contact callcentresales@adnams.co.uk

Both spirits have been produced from rye grown by Adnams chairman Jonathan Adnams at his farm in Reydon, Suffolk.

Rye has been grown in Reydon for centuries and the village’s name is derived from the Old English words ‘rey’ meaning rye, and ‘don’ meaning hill. Due to its position, the crop is among the first rye to catch the early morning sun as it rises. The spirits’ names were, said the company, natural choices: Rising Sun and Rye Hill.

Rising Sun gin (42% abv) is made from malted rye using the London Dry method. Adnams has added Japanese matcha tea and lemongrass with a specially selected blend of botanicals. Rye Hill Vodka (42% abv) uses 80% rye and 20% barley to create “a smooth and rich spirit with a hint of pepper”.

MONIN POPCORN

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Brand owner Bennett Opie

RRP £6.99

Markets UK

Contact sales@b-opie.com

Claimed to be an industry first commercially-produced popcorn syrup, Monin Popcorn syrup is the newest addition to Monin’s range of more than 140 syrups, liqueurs, sauces, fruit mixes and frappe powders.

It has been developed to meet the growing trend for replicating dessert and snack flavours in beverage form.

TIMORTIMOROUS BEASTIE 40 YEARS OLD

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Brand owner Douglas Laing & Co

RRP £199 (+VAT), €237 (+ tax)

Markets Global, excluding US & Australia

Contact Chris.Leggat@douglaslaing.com

This is Douglas Laing’s first aged Remarkable Regional Malt Limited Edition bottling, and its first ever limited edition of Timorous Beastie Highland Malt scotch whisky.

Just 1,080 70cl bottles exist globally from specialist retailers. Timorous Beastie 40 Years Old (54.7% abv) is described as a marriage of single malts from the Scottish highlands. The vatted highland malt has no colouring and is not chill-filtered.

Douglas Laing said it will offer this liquid to as many scotch whisky enthusiasts as possible, via a competition at douglaslaing.com. One hundred taster bottles will be given away with consumers being invited to make their own tasting notes.

Master blender Fred Laing will then select his favourite with the winner rewarded with an exclusive, one-of-only-one gold bottle of Timorous Beastie 40 Years Old. The competition is open for entries at douglaslaing.com.

AMIGOS TEQUILA BEER

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Brand owner Global Brands

RRP £3.65

Markets UK

Contact info@globalbrands.co.uk

Global Brands has a new look for its Amigos tequila beer (50cl, 5.1% abv).

Senior brand manager Christian Sarginson, said: “The new visual identity is a chance for Amigos to really connect with its audience. The change is designed to articulate the vibrant zing of limes and the Mexican taste of tequila. With a bright colour palette and nods to street art and Latin culture, the identity update is a statement of intent for where we plan to take the brand in 2017 with our #StreetCerveza campaign.”

HOUSE OF ELRICK GIN

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Brand owner House of Elrick

RRP £38.50

Markets UK

Contact houseofelrick.com

This gin is claimed to be of Scottish heritage but is currently distilled in Surrey, while the company’s own distillery is under construction.

It’s USP is the use of rose petal, heather and Loch Ness water. Other botanicals include: juniper, sweet fennel, coriander, angelica root, orange and lemon citrus.

LEEUWIN ESTATE 2013 PRELUDE VINEYARDS CHARDONNAY

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Brand owner Leeuwin Estate

RRP US$ 37.50, £27.99, €33

Markets Global

Contact Simone Furlong, simone@leeuwinestate.com.au

Leeuwin Estate is under the direction of two generations of the founding family and exports to more than 30 countries.

Vinification: Cool crushed fruit with some skin contact. The juice was settled for three days, racked and inoculated with yeast. 100% of the juice was barrel fermented in French barriques and the lees stirred regularly. There was no malolactic fermentation. After 10 months in barrels the various components were blended, fined, cold stabilised and bottled.

Winemaker’s tasting notes:

“Restrained on the nose with aromas of nashi pear, cut lime, white peach and lemon blossom, alongside notes of sesame, pecan, wheat biscuits and nougat. The palate shows flavours of lemon, grapefruit, pear skin and blanched almonds, with a bright, natural acidity. Oak adds a hint of spice and subtle creaminess.”

ANCNOC STACK

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Brand owner Inver House Distillers

RRP £52, €62

Markets Western Europe and Scandinavia

Contact sallison@interbevgroup.com

A European exclusive with only 6,000 bottles being produced, Stack is matured for more than 10 years in American oak ex-bourbon barrels. It is said to have a full-bodied smoky finish owing to its phenol content of 20ppm.

The term ‘stack’ refers to the last step in the gathering process, where the peat blocks are stored together to dry ahead of being burnt. The Knockdhu distillery in the Scottish highlands is said to be a region rich in peat which, combined with the spring water from nearby Knock Hill, creates the base for all AnCnoc’s peaty expressions. The liquid is pale gold and “gently pierced by accents of lemons and oranges”. The citrus sharpness is said to slowly give way to honey and vanilla.

LITMUS ORANGE

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Brand owner Litmus Wines

RRP £20

Markets UK only, for first vintage

Contact Nick Connell, nick@litmuswines.com.

Litmus Orange is an English still wine, made at Denbies wine estate in Surrey from 100% Bacchus from the 2015 vintage. Using a historical production method that was popular particularly in Italy until the 1950s, the grapes are hand-picked, fermented and aged on the skins before being pressed. After pressing, the wine was transferred to French oak barriques for a further nine months. This gives the wine its distinctive orange hue.

MAKER’S MARK PRIVATE SELECT

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Brand owner Beam Suntory

RRP $70

Markets Americas and Asia Pacific travel retail

Contact BeamSuntoryGTR@ldrlondon.com

Exclusive to travel retail, Maker’s Mark Private Select is claimed to give consumers a “new understanding of the complexities of creating a unique tasting bourbon that wanders in intriguing ways from the traditional taste profile, while still being distinctively Maker’s Mark”.

It is made using cask strength Maker’s Mark and finished in five-stave barrels. Beam Suntory says Maker’s Mark Private Select begins with fully-matured, uncut cask strength Maker’s Mark before being finished in barrels created using a combination of five oak staves, each of which has been selected by the retailers based on their ability to accentuate Maker’s Mark’s tasting notes.

With countless possible combinations, each stave intensifies the flavours found in the liquid to create unique expressions with different taste profiles.

Two of these expressions have been created using staves selected by customers in America, Australia and New Zealand.