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Top 50 innovative spirits launches of 2016: 30-21

A micro cask-aged peated Scotch whisky, Nordic bitters, and a “winemaker’s approach” to gin: it’s the third instalment of our most innovative spirits launches list.

Scroll on to view the third part of our top 50 innovative spirits launches of 2016

As we journey through our run-down of last year’s creative spirits releases, some of the most noted trends crop up along the way – the demand for no- and low-alcohol drinks, beer cocktails and coffee creations (amongst others) sparking bespoke products like Seedlip, The Hopster and Cold & Blac.

Having said that, not all innovation is trend-led. Last year The Glenlivet became the first Scotch brand to release a series of 50-year-old expressions, while Adelphi Distillery expanded its range of hybrid Scotch and Japanese whiskies.

Click through the following pages to see the third part of our top 50 innovative spirits launches of 2016, counting down from 30 to 21.

To view 40 to 31, click here.

To view 50 to 41, click here.

30. Cold & Blac

The trend for coffee-flavoured liqueurs showed no sign of slowing in 2016 – but perhaps one of the most innovative releases of the year was four-step cold-brew coffee liqueur Cold & Blac.

Inspired by the Ethiopian roots of its creator, the liqueur is produced using both traditional and ‘state-of-the-art’ brewing techniques in a brew-room in Hackney.

The resulting liquid is described as an “incredibly smooth, balanced medium-strength brew”.

For more information, click here

29. Marka

Last January, Marcin Miller’s new Norwegian distillery Oslo Håndverksdestilleri – the first in the country since 1927 – launched its inaugural product, a digestive bitter named Marka.

A combination of 16 “indigenous, hand-foraged botanicals”including berries, leaves, flowers, roots and stems; the liquid is rested in oak barrels for several months before it is bottled.

It is named after the Nordmarka forest surrounding Oslo, and the word also doubles as a Nordic term for the ‘outdoors’.

For more information, click here

28. Calyx Gin

Californian distillery Ascendant Spirits collaborated with former sommelier Rajat Parr to launch Calyx Gin, to instil a “winemaker’s approach” to its spirits production.

Made with a set recipe of 14 botanicals and bottled at 47.5% abv, the Calyx flavour profile will differ each year depending on weather and climate, creating a distinct annual production of the handcrafted gin.

For more information, click here

27. Seedlip Garden 108

The “world’s first” distilled non-alcoholic spirit Seedlip has launched its second product in May last year, in the form of Seedlip Garden 108.

Inspired by the English countryside, the liquid is a “green and floral” blend of copper-pot distillates including handpicked peas and hay from the founder’s family farm, as well as spearmint, rosemary and thyme.

For more information, click here

26. The Glover 18

The Glover 18 is the third age statement expression in a range of hybrid Scotch and Japanese whiskies from Adelphi Distillery, and follows the launch of The Glover 22 and The Glover 14 – which sold out “almost immediately”.

To create the range, which pays homage to 19th century industrialist Thomas Blake Glover, the distillery used whisky from Scotland’s Longmorn and Glen Garioch distilleries, as well as “rare” whisky from the Hanyu distillery in Japan.

For more information, click here

25. Ailsa Bay

In February 2016, William Grant & Sons launched the first single malt whisky from its Ailsa Bay Distillery – a micro cask-aged peated expression that demonstrates “optimal control” methods used at the site with a “unique balance of smoke and sweetness”.

Peter Gordon, director of William Grant & Sons and great great grandson of its founder William Grant, pioneered the distillery and its inaugural single malt, saying it “very specifically” marks the firm’s play in peated whisky.
For more information, click here

24. The Glenlivet Winchester Collection Vintage 1966

In 2014 The Glenlivet became the first Scotch brand to release a series of 50-year-old expressions, titled The Winchester Collection.

This year, Chivas Brothers unveiled the Vintage 1966 edition, of which 100 bottles were created with an RRP of US$25,000.

The whisky was created by former master distiller for The Glenlivet, Robert Arthur, in 1966 and has aged under the stewardship of current master distiller Alan Winchester.
For more information, click here

23. Vidda Tørr Gin

A creation from Marcin Miller’s new distillery, Oslo Håndverksdestilleri (OHD); Vidda Tørr Gin is made with botanicals foraged from the Norwegian wilderness including meadowsweet, heather and bilberry.

Vidda is painted as a Nordic interpretation of a traditional British dry gin and its name translates as ‘mountain plateau’.

On the nose the expression offers “intense” juniper with floral aromas along with notes of pine, while on the palate it is earthy, sweet, peppery and herbal. Vidda is said to have a clean, herbaceous finish, with a floral and honey sweetness.
For more information, click here

22. 3 Marlenas Tequila Barrel Aged Apple Brandy

Kentucky-based Copper & Kings American Brandy Company released this apple brandy in August, matured for two years in former Tequila barrels.

“This is quite a restless spirit,” said founder Joe Heron. “It has a little “Thelma & Louise” rebelliousness, long-limbed and sexy. Perhaps the ghost of a wild Frida Kahlo. It’s just a cool interpretation, unusual, adventurous and lots of rock and roll in an Arizona desert.

Flavour-wise, head distiller Brandon O’Daniel says the core spirit “holds its own as the foundation and essence”, letting the Tequila “wrap its arms around it and give it a nice deep, sexy smooch”.
For more information, click here

21. The Hopster

Last summer, Cornish drinks producers Sharp’s Brewery and Tarquin’s gin collaborated to produce a limited edition hop-flavoured gin, made using three types of hops – Crystal, Cascade and Pilot.

The expression was distilled in ‘Tamara’, the brand’s flame-fired copper still, and presented in a custom bottle design in the Sharp’s Brewery dark blue branding.
For more information, click here

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