AVEC

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Brand owner Renault Cognac

RRP €45, $56, £40

Markets Asia/Europe/Travel Retail-Duty Free/UK

Contact Jérôme Durand + 33 680248029/Jerome.durand@cognac-larsen.fr

Developed by Renault cellarmaster, David Croizet, Avec (40%) was specifically created to drink with coffee. It is said to have enhanced notes of roasted mocha and vanilla and a structure that is smooth and round. Avec is targeting the new generation of coffee houses that are looking to gain alcohol licences.

Avec was created using Croizet’s new process of cask-making that involves triple steam and brasero toasting.

Croizet said, “We have created a taste that is totally new to Renault and has never been seen in cognac before. Our signature style has always been a balance of fruit and spice. I wanted to see if we could achieve specific aromas with notes of torréfaction…roasted notes of mocha and vanillin. On the palate, Avec is incredibly smooth and soft. We were not looking for a big, powerful cognac but one that complements good coffee.”

HIGHLAND PARK THE DARK

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Brand owner Edrington

RRP €214, £190, $266

Markets Global

Contact highlandparkwhisky.com/product/the-dark

The Dark (52.9% abv) is a special release of 28,000 bottles. It is said to “share the story of the noble Viking warriors who are our ancestors, of our contrasting island seasons and of the intense balance of our whisky”.

The Orkney Island scotch whisky is described as having a natural cask-driven colour of deep russet and taste of dried fruits, cinnamon, toasted almonds, cedar wood and fruit cake with light smoke.

GLENMORANGIE SPIOS

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Brand owner Moët Hennessy Global

RRP €89, £79, $110

Markets Global

Contact lvmh.com

Glenmorangie Spios is the latest member of the Private Edition and the first Glenmorangie to be fully matured in rye whisky casks

The single malt scotch whisky has undergone double distillation in the Scottish Highlands

Dr Bill Lumsden, director of distilling, whisky creation & whisky stocks at Glenmorangie, provided his tasting notes: “Its fresh, herbal nose hints at cherry, clove and scents of green grass. The rye’s spice bursts on to the palate, as toffee, clove and cinnamon mingle with buttery vanilla, before a sweet and lingering finish – a single malt whisky which is unmistakeably Glenmorangie, yet exquisitely different.”

RON ABUELO FINISH COLLECTION

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Brand owner Varela Hermanos

RRP €70-€75, £60-£66, $84-$92

Markets Europe and the Americas (North, Central and South America)

Contact Alexis Guerrero, Europe Area manage, +34 618 977709

The Finish Collection is a series of three 15 Year Old Panamanian rums (40% abv) that have been finished in European sherry, cognac and port casks. The three expressions – Napoleon, Oloroso and Tawny – are all made with 100% Panamanian sugarcane and contain what Abuelo believes are its most treasured reserves. The liquids have been aged in American oak barrels in the Pesé region of northern Panama, then finished in European casks.

ASAHI SUPER DRY

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Brand owner Asahi

RRP €6.78, £6 for 4x330ml

Markets Europe

Contact asahibeer.com

Asahi has relaunched its Super Dry range throughout Europe after the company gained access to the exact brewing standards of that in Japan.

Asahi Super Dry (5.2% abv) is a super-premium lager brewed with Asahi yeast, hops, barley and rice at Peroni’s brewery in Padua.

The expression was first produced in 1987 specifically to “cleanse the palate and complement any type of food” and it has returned to Europe after an extended sabbatical.

BEEFEATER PINK

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Brand owner Chivas Brothers

RRP €14.95, £13.24, $18.53

Markets: Global

Contact beefeaterdistillery.com

Beefeater Pink (abv 37.5%) is the brand’s latest expression to be created by master distiller Desmond Payne. It looks aesthetically pleasing and comes with a hint of strawberry flavour. The gin has been launched in 12 countries initially, before going global and Beefeater says it has been created to attract the new generation of drinkers.

Sophie Gallois, managing director of The Gin Hub, said: “There is a real appetite for new and innovative expressions that offer consumers a different drinking experience.

“In Spain, for example, the pink gin trend accounts for 40% of all value growth within the total gin category, so there is huge potential to tap into.”

TANQUERAY RANGPUR

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Brand owner Diageo

Markets Global

RRP €28, £25, $35

Contact (trade): Tanqueray@smartscommunicate.com

Tanqueray, the bartenders’ favourite gin according to Drinks International Brands Report 2018, has unveiled a new look for Tanqueray Rangpur (41.3%) alongside the news that it’s extending its distribution into new markets.

Tanqueray Rangpur is already an established gin in most of Europe, USA and Canada. However, it will now be available in Brazil, Australia, Colombia, and Greece.

Its new bottle design will also be released in the UK across all markets and uses citrus imagery and for the first time hosts the signature of the brand’s founder – Charles Tanqueray.

COPPERHEAD GIN THE GIBSON EDITION

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Brand owner Copperhead Gin & The Gibson Bar

RRP £35-£40, €26-€32

Markets UK, soon to be Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore, Costa Rica and US

Contact: UK: Info@10degreesc.com, International: info@copperhead.be

Marian Beke, owner of The Gibson Bar London, has partnered with Copperhead, the ultra-premium gin from Belgium, to create a new style of savoury gin.

Its production will be ongoing and the gin uses five original Copperhead botanicals of juniper, coriander seed, cardamom, angelica and orange peel, combined with 14 other spices.

The Gibson Bar has featured in The World’s 50 Best Bars for two consecutive years since its launch.

GLENDALOUGH

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Brand owner Glendalough Distillery

RRP Double Barrel Irish Whiskey £34, 7 Year Old Single Malt, £50-plus 13 Year Old Single Malt £85-plus

Markets Europe

Contact: GaryM@GlendaloughDistillery.com

Glendalough Distillery’s Double Barrel (42% abv) has been aged for three years in bourbon barrels before being transferred to oloroso casks from Montilla for up to a year.

The 7 Year Old Single Malt (46% abv) gets its flavour from Dublin craft porter barrels, and the 13 Year Old (46% abv) is the first Irish whiskey to use Japanese Mizunara oak.

GLEN GARIOCH 17 YEAR OLD RENAISSANCE

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Brand owner Beam Suntory

Markets UK only

RRP £100

Contact: glengarioch.com/contact-us

Beam Suntory’s Glen Garioch has been making whisky for more than 200 years in Aberdeenshire and claims to be one of the oldest operating distilleries in Scotland.

The 17 Year Old Renaissance (50.8% abv) is the third expression in a series of four to be released by the distillery. The latest product has spent 17 years maturing in ex-bourbon and sherry casks, resulting in “layers of creamy Highland toffee and honeyed toast with baked apricots, malted caramel and an orange marmalade finish”.