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Top 10
Top 10 spirit launches in June
As summer gets into full swing, our list of the top 10 spirit launches in June are dominated by Scotch whiskies and ultra-premium expressions all striving to turn heads.
Opulence and Scotch dominate our list of the top 10 spirit launches in June
The first spirit launches of the summer have seen a host of travel retail exclusive releases making their mark, with Glenfiddich, Royal Salute, Singleton and Talisker ensuring that whisky lovers with wanderlust can explore new taste sensations.
Super luxury is also a theme for June, as creative partnerships between Johnnie Walker and Dunhill, and Maison Hardy and Lalique, launched ultra-limited editions that stimulate the senses, with the tastes and aroma of whisky and Cognac combining with the aesthetic and tactile appeal of its designer packaging.
Ireland’s Teeling Whisky Co. contributed to a strong Celtic connection when it came to the new whiskies on the scene, with Scotland’s The Balvenie also adding to a bustling marketplace with the next number in its Tun 1401 series.
Not to be outdone, the flavoured spirits revolution continued apace with a sherry-tinted rum and another dessert-inspired vodka giving their more traditional rivals food for thought.
Click through the following pages to discover the top spirit launches in June 2013.
Glenfiddich Cask of Dreams
Glenfiddich’s ethereally named Cask of Dreams is said to have a rich, sweet taste with hints of oak and vanilla, and a suggestion of cedar wood. Designed exclusively for the Nordic domestic and travel retail markets, this single malt whisky is said to be the first to have been matured in Nordic oak casks.
Officially launched aboard the Viking Line-owned ferry, MS Cinderella, a limited run of 3,600 one-litre bottles has been released, with 1,008 to be sold across travel retail markets by the ferry operator, and the remainder retailing in Nordic domestic markets.
Glenfiddich echoed the marketing campaign it employed for its US Cask of Dreams imprint through a tour of Scandinavia at the end of last year, during which whisky lovers were encouraged to inscribe their dreams directly on to the Nordic oak casks. One lucky scribe was selected to fulfil a long-cherished dream by attending the Isle of Man TT Races.
For more details about Glenfiddich Cask of Dreams, click here.
Royal Salute Diamond Tribute
Celebrating 60 years since the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, this blended Scotch whisky from Royal Salute was launched in suitably regal fashion on 4 June at the Tower of London, where it was perfectly timed to coincide with the 62-round Royal Gun Salute that commemorated the British monarch’s reign.
Fittingly, Royal Salute produced its first bottles in 1953, the year of the coronation. The company has since released blue, green and red glazed bottles to mimic the 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and five rubies set into the Imperial State Crown.
Said to evoke aromatic peaches and sweet poached pears, with a hint of sherry and a snap of liquorice, Royal Salute Diamond Tribute will be available worldwide in travel retail at a recommended retail price of US$270.
For more about Royal Salute The Diamond Tribute, click here.
Captain Morgan Sherry Oak Finished Spiced Rum
Following its impressive market performance last year, which saw it register 10 million case sales, Captain Morgan is looking to chart new waters with the release of this special imprint, intended to commemorate the eponymous pirate’s naval battle off the coast of Panama in 1671, in which he lost five of his ships, including his flagship, The Satisfaction.
Encased in an updated bottle design, with new branding and a purple label in a metallic sheen, the rum is said to have notes of vanilla caramel, dark cherry and cocoa, on top of its intimations of sherry from being finished in sherry oak casks.
Owners Diageo’s voyage into the development of sherry-flavoured spirits reflects a growing taste among consumers, who are recommended to take the drink on the rocks or with cola as a mixer. Retailing in at a recommended price of US$19.99, the 70% proof (35% abv) spirit is currently only available in the US.
For more on Captain Morgan Spiced Sherry Oak Cask Finish, click here.
The Singleton Reserve Collection
An exclusive addition to the travel retail market in the form of The Singleton Reserve Collection of single malt whiskies will give globetrotting whisky connoisseurs a selection of new tastes to savour. Created by master of malts Maureen Robinson, this permanent collection will retail at prices ranging from US$56 to $149.
The trio of expressions, from the Glendullan, Dufftown and Glen Ord distilleries, will each be sold in a selected world market. The Glen Ord single malt is now being sold in the Asia Pacific region, and Dufftown is retailing across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, while Glendullan will be available in the Americas from July.
As The Spirits Business reported in April, Singleton recently teamed up with Professor Charles Spence of Oxford University to study drinkers’ sensory perceptions of the taste of whisky. Initial findings showed that sipping The Singleton single malt in environments designed as a complementary foil for the drink enhanced the taste by up to 20%.
For more on the Singleton Reserve Collection whiskies, click here.
Johnnie Walker Blue Label Dunhill Trunk
There are limited editions, and then there is Johnnie Walker’s Dunhill Trunk. Available only through exclusive retailers, just 500 of the luxury line, a collaboration between Johnnie Walker and the design brand Alfred Dunhill, have been released.
Comprising a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label and a Dunhill hunter flask, surrounded by four engraved crystal glasses, ice tongs and a whisky funnel, the set is presented in a blue birch wood case designed to resemble a classic Dunhill vintage car trunk.
With the global luxury market forecast to hit nearly $400 billion by 2017, and the luxury alcohol sector driving this growth in most top markets, Johnnie Walker looks to capitalise on this trend with the Dunhill Trunk set, plus two other more widely available associated products: an exclusive travel retail gift pack, and a limited edition bottle of Blue Label.
Read more about the Johnnie Walker Blue Dunhill Trunk here.
Pinnacle Strawberry Shortcake
Pinnacle, owned by Beam Inc., has released another dessert-themed flavoured vodka in the form of Strawberry Shortcake, adding to its Willy Wonka-like collection of over 30 sweet and often surprising flavours such as Cherry Lemonade, Cookie Dough, Key Lime Whipped Cream, and its other 2013 release, Rainbow Sherbet. Dreamt up to celebrate National Shortcake Day on 14 June, the product has a 35% abv, and is available throughout the US, retailing at US$12.99.
The brand has proved adept at engaging with customers through Twitter and Facebook, and lists inventive recipes on its website to entice cocktail lovers, such as its Strawberry Shortcake-based Summer Berries & Cream concoction with strawberry flavoured Schnapps, cranberry juice and Half and Half (the American dairy product that is half whole milk and half cream).
Take a look at the recipes for Pinnacle Strawberry Shortcake cocktails here.
The Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 8
After making its debut at the Balvenie Whisky Fete in London in June, The Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 8 was launched exclusively in the UK and Europe, following its predecessors, Batch 6 and Batch 7, which were available only in the US and the travel retail markets respectively.
The blended whisky from William Grant, which has an abv of 50.2% and will be sold at a recommended retail price of £200, is said to have notes of brown sugar, vanilla and spice on the nose, with underlying hints of ginger, cinnamon, vanilla, maple syrup and citrus.
Married from 12 casks of the Speyside distillery’s aged whiskies, William Grant will be hoping Batch 8 can match the success of previous UK releases, such as its Batch 5.
Read more about the casks used in The Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 8 here.
Teeling Vintage Reserve
The Teeling Whiskey Co. has launched a Vintage Reserve collection of single malt Irish whiskies, starting with the 21-year-old Silver Reserve, which is said to be the first Irish whiskey ever to be finished in Sauterne casks.
Although available exclusively in Ireland at present, the product is expected to be rolled out across the UK and the rest of Europe, as well as New Zealand and Canada, later in 2013. The spirit, retailing at €180 (£150) and bottled at 46% abv, has been brought out in an initial batch of just 250 bottles, part of a total run of 5,000, so Irish whiskey lovers will need to snap it up while they can.
Teeling has recently made its business even more of a family affair with the news that Stephen Teeling, who headed the relaunch of Kilbeggan for Beam Inc., had left his post to join brother Jack at the firm. As reported by The Spirits Business in February, Teeling is currently looking to establish its own distillery in Dublin.
Read more about the Teeling Whisky Co. Vintage Reserve range here.
Maison Hardy Lalique
Maison Hardy could rightfully style itself a brand for all seasons with the launch of a series of four spectacular carafes of a rare Cognac. Created by the world-famous French glass designers Lalique, the special edition bottles are dubbed Printemps, Eté, Automne and Hiver (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter), with the first, Printemps, released in a limited run of just 400 bottles.
The Printemps bottle, with its curved shape and finely sculpted, almond green-hued stopper, is intended to echo the perfume bottles designed by the celebrated René Lalique at the beginning of the last century. Each carafe, filled with a blend of small batch Grand Champagne, is presented in a front-opening white pastel leather case.
The collaboration between Hardy and Lalique would no doubt have pleased Hardy’s English founder, Anthony Hardy, who established the company in 1863. So devoted was he to all things French that he chose the French cockerel as his company’s emblem, and even changed his first name to Antoine.
Read more about the opulent Maison Hardy in Lalique here.
Talisker Dark Storm
Another storm is brewing – or, more accurately, being distilled – at Talisker, as it releases an addition to its Storm range in the form of this 45.8% single malt Scotch whisky. Available exclusively within the travel market priced at £42 for a one-litre bottle, the brand is currently being rolled out across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Diageo-owned Talisker calls the whisky its smokiest ever, and has given the spirit its dramatic name as a tribute to the coast of the Isle of Skye, where the whisky is distilled. Its maturation in charred oak casks is said to lend Dark Storm its overtones of smoke and spice.