A Peaky Blinders-inspired spirits range, a vodka containing the “shimmering tears” of a mermaid and the ‘world’s first’ Tequilas aged in Speyside whisky casks are among our top product launches from November 2017.

SB presents the top 10 spirits launches in November 2017

Last month, Proximo Spirits created a new brand of single malt Irish whiskey, called The Sexton, and Diageo launched Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare, an expression made using whiskies from iconic “ghost” distilleries that have long since closed.

In a series of firsts, wine brand Echo Falls entered the spirits category with the launch of a new flavoured vodka line, and the Lost Loch Distillery unveiled the first absinthe to be produced in Scotland.

Click through the following pages to explore our full round-up of top spirits launches in November.

Which new spirits products caught your eye last month? If we’ve missed your favourite, let us know in the comments below.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare

Blue Label Ghost and Rare is the first in a series of special releases which will be made using whiskies from “ghost” distilleries that have long since closed.

Created by Johnnie Walker master distiller, Jim Beveridge, Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare is a blend of whiskies from eight distilleries in Diageo’s portfolio, including three “ghost” whiskies.

The new blend includes whisky from Royal Lochnagar, Clynelish, Glenkinchie, Glenlossie and Cameronbride as well as spirit from the silent Cambus, Pittyvaich and Brora distilleries.

For more information, click here.

Mermaid Tears Vodka

Firebox’s Mermaid Tears Vodka is the latest addition to Firebox’s ‘Mythical Tears’ spirits portfolio, and follows the release of Phoenix Tears Rum and the recent relaunch of sister spirit, Unicorn Tears Gin Liqueur.

The expression is made from French grain vodka and blended with the “glistening tears of line-caught Mermaid shoal”. Firebox recommends serving the vodka in cocktails or on the rocks.

For more information, click here.

Echo Falls Summer Berries Vodka

Wine brand Echo Falls made a move into the vodka category with the launch of a flavoured vodka line in the UK, which it hopes will replicate the commercial success of its Fruit Fusions range.

Echo Falls Summer Berries Vodka, bottled at 37.5% abv will be supported by a £5 million investment package to advertise the brand in a “large-scale way”.

The bottle’s label replicates that of Echo Falls Fruit Fusion, a range of fruit-infused wines with a lower abv.

For more information, click here.

Freya Woodsmoke

Pure Wild Spirits has launched the first line extension for its birch tree sap spirit Freya, called Freya Woodsmoke.

Freya Woodsmoke builds on the original Freya Birch Spirit with a “smoky infusion” of apple, chestnut and birch wood that has first been soaked in pure birch sap, to give “earthly and woodland” flavours.

The infused woods are burnt and the smoke infused into Freya to create the new expression.

For more information, click here.

The Sexton

Proximo Spirits’s new brand of single malt Irish whiskey The Sexton has been aged for four years in oloroso Sherry butts.

The Sexton has been created using liquid distilled at the Old Bushmills Distillery, which was acquired by Jose Cuervo in 2014 in exchange for giving previous owner Diageo full control of Don Julio Tequila.

The whiskey has been triple-distilled in copper pots and then aged in first-, second-, and third-fill oloroso casks, giving it an “approachable” profile.

For more information, click here.

Murmichan

The Lost Loch Distillery has launched what is thought to be the first absinthe produced in Scotland, called Murmichan.

Based on traditional Swiss absinthe, Murmichan uses natural botanicals for both flavouring and colouring the spirit.

Named in honour of a wicked Scots fairy, Murmichan is made with traditional and Scottish botanicals, such as grande wormwood, green aniseed, fennel seed, star anise, bramble leaves and heather flower, all contributing to Murmichan’s ‘unique’ flavour.

For more information, click here.

UWA Tequila Platinum Blanco and Reposado

Scottish company UWA Tequila launched what are thought to be the world’s first Tequilas aged in Speyside whisky casks.

The two super-premium 100% blue weber agave Tequilas are Platinum Blanco and Reposado, an expression aged for seven months in a Speyside whisky cask.

The company also plans to launch a 14-month aged añejo to the market in spring next year.

For more information, click here.

Sadler’s Ales Peaky Blinder range

Craft brewery Sadler’s Ales has created a Peaky Blinders-inspired spirits range to celebrate the launch of the latest series of the hit BBC show.

The range includes a “a bold, smooth and triple-distilled Irish whiskey”, a nod to the TV gang’s favourite spirit, and a spiced London Dry gin, which the brewery hopes “compliments the famous Indian cuisine that is ever-present in the Black Country”.

Finally, a black spiced rum gives is modernised with essences of orange, nutmeg, vanilla and raisin.

For more information, click here.

Bowmore 1966 50 Years Old

The latest expression from Islay distillery Bowmore is a limited-edition 50-year-old single malt whisky. Limited to 74 bottles, Bowmore 1966 50 Years Old began maturation the same year Bowmore was bottled for the first time.

It has been maturing in a single ex-Bourbon hogshead cask in Bowmore’s No. 1 Vault since 1966 and has been nurtured over the years by distillery manager Eddie MacAffer, who joined the distillery in the same year.

This is the third release from Bowmore’s Old Vaults Legends Collection, a series honouring the distillery’s first single malts which began ageing in the No. 1 vaults in the 1960s.

For more information, click here.

Jim Beam Distiller’s Cut

Jim Beam Distiller’s Cut is a limited-edition Kentucky straight Bourbon aged for five to six years and bottled at 100 proof.

The expression features a “medium” body and combines “caramel sweetness with charred oak, enriched with light fruit notes”.

After ageing, Bourbon typically goes through a chill filtration process, which involves forcing the liquid through a dense filter to remove fatty acids formed during distillation. Jim Beam Distiller’s Cut removes this step, resulting in a “fuller taste”.

For more information, click here.