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Top 10 spirits launches in January 2018

A zero-percent spirit, a single malt aged in ex-rye casks and an Irish whiskey from the team behind The Dead Rabbit bar are recognised in our pick of the top spirits launched last month.

SB presents the top 10 spirits launches in January

In January, an iconic Scotch brand was revived after a 40-year hiatus with the launch of two whiskies, while The Oxford Artisan Distillery teamed up with a local university’s botanical garden on a new gin.

Glenmorangie launched its first single malt aged in ex-rye casks as part of the brand’s Private Edition range and Suntory unveiled experimental bottlings from the Yamazaki, Hakushu and Chita distilleries.

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

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

Glenmorangie Spios

The latest addition to Glenmorangie’s Private Edition range is Spios – the brand’s first single malt aged in ex-rye whiskey casks.

Spìos, named after the Gaelic for ‘spice’, is aged in first-fill American rye whiskey casks, which were hand-selected by Dr Bill Lumsden and shipped across the Atlantic to the Highland distillery.

Glenmorangie Spìos is non-chill-filtered, bottled at 46% abv and available from whisky specialists worldwide for £79 (US$110).

For more information, click here.

Physic Gin

The Oxford Artisan Distillery teamed up with the University of Oxford Botanical Garden on its latest expression, made using 25 botanicals sourced from the garden.

The formulation and design of Physic Gin aim to celebrate the history of the university’s botanic garden, the oldest of its kind in the country.

The new expression is the first spirit to be launched under a 25-year licence, which allows the distillery to produce alcoholic spirits for the world-famous university.

For more information click here.

John Crabbie whiskies

Halewood International revived the John Crabbie & Co whisky brand last month after a 40-year hiatus with the launch of two limited-edition single malts.

Crabbie 30 Year Old and Crabbie 8 Year Old are the first whiskies to launch under the John Crabbie & Co name since the 1970s.

Crabbie 30 Year Old is bottled at 48.6% abv and made using Speyside malt matured in Sherry butts. Crabbie 8 Year Old is based on John Crabbie’s original 8 Year Old, but “brought up to date” as a single malt.

For more information, click here.

The Essence of Suntory Whisky

Suntory has created a new Japanese whisky collection – called The Essence of Suntory Whisky – which includes experimental bottlings from the Yamazaki, Hakushu and Chita distilleries.

Yamazaki Peated Malt is bottled at 49% abv and has been aged for 12 years. Hakushu Rye Type (57% abv), aged for four years, is a rye-based grain whisky from Hakushu, which usually distils single malt for Suntory.

Chita Wine Cask Finish (49% abv) is a “rare” 16-year-old grain whisky that has spent four years finishing in an unspecified wine cask.

For more information, click here.

The Dead Rabbit Irish Whiskey

 

Sean Muldoon and Jack McGarry teamed up with The Dublin Liberties Distillery to launch a new Irish whiskey to mark the five-year anniversary of The Dead Rabbit bar in New York.

The Dead Rabbit Irish Whiskey is a five-year-old blend of Irish single malt and grain whiskeys. The expression is first aged in seasoned Bourbon casks for five years, and then finished in small virgin American oak barrels.

On the nose, it is described as light and aromatic with toasted oak notes and a hint of caramel. While the palate has a deep rich mellow feel, finishing with a long soft hint of vanilla.

For more information, click here.

Surendran & Bownes Edition Zero: Labdanum

Borough Wines & Beers partnered with Surendran & Bownes to launch a non-alcoholic spirit that “mimics the aromatic profile and complexity” of gin.

Edition Zero: Labdanum is the second release from the Surendran & Bownes collaboration and follows the release of Surendran & Bownes Santal Gin in December 2017.

It is described as following the ‘London Dry’ style, but with “added complexity” from the use of exotic aromatics that are commonly found in perfume making.

For more information, click here.

Johnnie Walker Blenders’ Batch Sherry Cask Finish

Diageo has expanded its Johnnie Walker Blenders’ Batch range with the launch of a Sherry cask-finished expression.

The travel retail exclusive blend has been inspired by Johnnie Walker Black Label, which has been crafted with an element of Sherry cask maturation.

Blenders’ Batch Sherry Cask Finish is made with whiskies from distilleries including Blair Athol, Cardhu and Strathmill and hopes to explore the fruity notes that Sherry cask maturation brings to whisky.

For more information, click here.

Renault Avec

Cognac brand Renault has launched a new expression designed specifically to pair with coffee, called Renault Avec.

Cellar master David Croizet created the Cognac, which is said to offer “enhanced notes of roasted mocha and vanilla and a structure that is smooth and round”.

To achieve the taste profile, Croizet and his team plunged barrels into tanks containing hot water before being brasero toasted. This process is repeated three times, which Renault says is a first for the Cognac industry.

For more information, click here.

Pampelle

New apéritif brand Pampelle is made using grapefruits from Corsica and is distilled in Cognac.

The brand claims to be “30% naturally lower in sugar” than other leading spirit apéritifs, and at 15% abv, is aiming to capitalise on the lower abv drinks trend.

“I also wanted to create a spirit that brings the apéritif back to France, the home of the apéritif occasion, and provide a product that will disrupt the Italian-heavy category,” said founder Patrick Borg.

For more information, click here.

 

Tanqueray & Tonic

Diageo has released a ready-to-drink (RTD) version of Tanqueray and Tonic in Australia – a first for the gin brand.

The pre-mixed beverage is packaged in 275ml green glass bottles and is available to purchase in the off-trade in packs of four.

Diageo hopes the RTD will entice new gin drinkers to the “second fastest-growing” spirits category with its new pre-mixed offering.

For more information, click here.

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