Top 50 most innovative spirits launches of 2015: 30-21
Historic recipe replicas, high-end collaborations, and “the shot to end all shots” inspire the third instalment of our most innovative spirits launches list.
Click through the following pages to see the third instalment of our top 50 innovative spirits launches of 2015Not all spirits industry innovations are necessarily brand new concepts – in fact some of the most inspired spirits launches of last year were the product of noteworthy creations from the last century and beyond.
In this rundown we celebrate Glenfiddich’s replication of its 1963 Glenfiddich Straight Malt; commend Woodford Reserve’s experimentation with a white corn whiskey recipe from a bygone era; and marvel at Bache-Gabrielsen’s Le Sein de Dieu Cognac, made exclusively from liquid that pre-dates the phylloxera invasion in the mid-nineteeth century.
Highlights also include the “rum category equivalent” of a single malt whisky, and a range of gin-tailored cordials featuring flavours popular in the late 1800s.
Click through the following pages to see the third part of our top 50 innovative spirits launches of 2015, counting down from 30 to 21.
30. Kilbeggan 8 Year Old Single Grain
The launch of Kilbeggan 8 Year Old Single Grain, formerly known as Greenore 8 Year Old, marks the distillery’s first foray into the single grain whisky category as Ireland’s only aged single grain Irish whiskey.
The expression is distilled and matured for 8 years in ex-Bourbon casks in the 250-year-old warehouses at the Kilbeggan distillery in County Westmeath, which houses both a column and pot still for grain and malt whiskey production.
Made from 100% corn and matured in ex-Bourbon barrels, the whiskey is said to have a “soft and subtly sweet” flavour.
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29. Glenfiddich The Original
Glenfiddich launched The Original, a recreation of its historic 1963 Glenfiddich Straight Malt, at vintage motor racing festival Goodwood Revival last year.
It was during this year that Sandy Grant Gordon, the great-grandson of Glenfiddich’s founder William Grant, decided to promote Glenfiddich Straight Malt in the US; a market swamped with blended expressions.
To replicate the expression accurately, Glenfiddich’s malt master Brian Kinsman examined the family’s archives and researched the flavours predominantly used in the sixties.
The flavour profile of the whisky is said to be “pleasantly sweet, with lively fruit notes and a soft vanilla oakiness”.
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28. Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection 1838 Style White Corn
In a similar vein, Woodford Reserve scooped a spot on the innovative spirits list for its White Corn Bourbon, which reflects the production processes used by distillers Oscar Pepper and James Crow in the late-1830s to the 1850s.
Using original production records, master distiller Chris Morris created a white corn whiskey recipe similar to those created by Pepper and Crow, who distilled at the present day site of the Woodford Reserve Distillery.
Each of the Master’s Collection bottlings focuses on one of the five sources of flavour that create Woodford Reserve’s taste profile.
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27. Patron en Lalique: Serie 1
The Tequila house Patrón partnered with French crystal specialist Lalique to create Patrón en Lalique: Serie 1, which sees the brand’s signature bottle design “reimagined”.
The limited edition, extra añejo expression is housed in a pina-shaped crystal decanter which has been handmade by the Lalique’s master artisans, contrasting clear and frosted glass to create detail.
The liquid itself is described as an “exceptional blend” of the “oldest and rarest” tequilas selected from Patrón’s barrel ageing room at the Hacienda Patrón distillery. It is an example of the emergence of Tequila in the ultra-premium spirits category.
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26. Bacardi Single Cane Estate Rums
Touted from the get-go as a “breakthrough innovation”, the Single Cane Estate Rums range is crafted using ingredients from sugarcane estates across the Americas with a view to being the “rum category equivalent of a single malt” whisky.
The first two rums launched in the range, which is aimed towards the rum connoisseur, are Worthy Park Estate and Consuelo Estate.
Worthy Park Estate rum has been distilled in small batches using sugar cane harvested from the Lluidas Vale of Jamaica’s Cockpit Mountains and is aged in American white oak casks for between two and five years, while Consuelo Estate rum is made from sugar cane coastal plantations of south-eastern Dominican Republic.
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25. Le Sein de Dieu Cognac
Bache-Gabrielsen comes in at 25 with the release of its limited edition Le Sein de Dieu Cognac, made exclusively from liquid that pre-dates the phylloxera invasion, which destroyed many European vineyards in the mid-nineteenth century and prompted a change in the types of grapes used in production.
The distillates were sourced from the private cellar of Bache-Gabrielsen founder Thomas Bache-Gabrielsen, the oldest of which dates back to 1790.
Just 150 decanters of the Cognac were made available, packaged in a special wooden box with a book written by food and drinks journalist Martine Nouet.
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24. Crown Royal Single Barrel
In a breakthrough for Canadian whisky, Diageo’s Crown Royal became the first major brand to release a single barrel variant, which launched exclusively in Texas.
While around 50 different barrels are used to create Crown Royal Canadian whisky, the coffey rye barrel was selected for the brand’s first foray into the single barrel category, as Crown Royal’s “most notable” whisky component.
The expression is distilled in the brand’s coffey rye still, said to be the only known still of its kind in North America, to “honour the long-standing tradition of referring to local Canadian whiskies simply as ‘rye’”.
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23. Captain Morgan Cannon Blast
Marketed as “the shot to end all shots”, Captain Morgan Cannon Blast is a mix of Caribbean rum, natural flavours and a “bold spice blend” of citrus, chipotle and jalapeño pepper.
To launch the expression Captain Morgan hosted The Cannon Blast Bar Crawl, featuring “human cannonball” Brian Miser, who was fired from multiple cannons between numerous bars. With each blast, Miser was accelerated 110 feet through the air at 65mph before hitting a landing pad.
Dan Kleinman, vice president of marketing of rums at Diageo North America, described the experience as “one of the most unique and highly sharable things we have ever done”.
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22. Midleton Dair Ghaelach
The result of a six-year exploration by Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard, this is the group’s first Irish whiskey finished in virgin Irish oak and was launched as part of the Midleton single pot still range.
Meaning “Irish oak”, Midleton Dair Ghaelach is a combination of whiskey aged 15 to 22-years-old that has been aged in Bourbon casks, before being married together and aged in Irish oak hogshead for an additional year.
Part of Midleton Distillery’s experimentation into the affect of using native oak to age Irish whiskey, the brand’s master blender, Billy Leighton, and master of maturation, Kevin O’Gorman, sourced oak exclusively from sustainable forests in Ireland to create casks to age the whiskey.
The expression is said to have an increased flavour of vanilla, caramel and chocolate as a result of the higher levels of vanillin, vanillic acid, and furfural.
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21. Original Cordials for Gin by Sipsmith
Rounding off the third instalment of 2015’s most innovative spirits is Sipmith’s range of cordials. Taking inspiration from gin serves of days gone by, the range features flavours popular in the late 1800s.
The expressions, designed to perfectly complement Sipsmith London Dry Gin, are produced using traditional methodologies to fit the style of Sipsmith’s handcrafted, small-batch production values.
The range comprises The Original, a candied ginger cordial with a touch of orange bitters; The Gimlet, describe as delivering sweet florals with “punchy lime peel”; and The Bishop, Sipsmith’s take on Charles Dickens’ favourite cocktail – the Good Bishop.
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