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Top 10 spirits launches in November 2018

Patrón’s first single estate bottling, a scent-inspired gin range and the oldest Bowmore Scotch whisky to date are among the top spirits to launch last month.

We present our pick of top spirits launches from November

Also last month, East London Liquor Company released the first London-distilled whisky in 100 years, while Red Spot Irish whiskey returned to Irish Distillers’ Spot range.

Experimentation is a reoccurring theme among our new products list, with a new gin line made using the aromas of fresh rain and funfairs, while a new innovative spirits range “not constrained by category restrictions” made its debut.

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

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

Red Spot

Red Spot, which was discontinued in the mid-1960s, rejoined Green Spot and Yellow Spot in Irish Distillers’ Spot Whiskeys range last month.

The reimagined Red Spot is a triple-distilled, single pot still Irish whiskey that has been matured for a minimum of 15 years in a combination of casks pre-seasoned with Bourbon, oloroso Sherry and Marsala fortified wine.

Red Spot is bottled at 46% abv and has an RRP of €115 (US$130).

For more information, click here

TBGC Olfactor-y Gin range

That Boutique-y Gin Company (TBGC) unveiled a new range of scent-inspired gins last month, which included the aromas of fresh rain, forests, funfairs and even Egyptian mummies.

The collection, which has been created in collaboration with sensory specialist Lizzie Ostrom of Odette Toilette, consists of Fresh Rain Gin, Beware of the Woods Gin, Big Dipper Gin and Dead King Gin.

The Olfactor-y Gin range is available exclusively in Harvey Nichols for £42 (US$55) per bottle until 22 December 2018.

For more information, click here

Rebel Exile Spirits

London Distillery Company’s Matt McGivern and Dylan Bell launched a new “experimental” spirits line under the company’s Rebel Rabbet brand.

The Rebel Exile Spirits (RES) range, which is “not constrained by category restrictions”, consist of two expressions – RES1: The Holy Trinity and RES2: Misconception.

A new spirit will be released each month, with a total of 13 lined up for the series and all scheduled for release by the end of 2019.

For more information, click here.

El Destilado

Alex Wolpert, of East London Liquor Company, and Michael Sager and Marcis Dzelzainis, both of Sager + Wilde, have released the first collection under the new El Destilado brand, comprising 11 agave distillates and two sugarcane aguardientes.

The trio was inspired by their time visiting Latin America and hopes to create spirits collections that “express the terroir” of the places and producers they met along the way.

Each distillate in the first batch has been sourced from mezcaleros working outside the confines of Mexico’s Mezcal Regulatory Council.

For more information, click here

Morus LXIV

A bottle of gin believed to be the most expensive in the world went on sale at high end department store Harvey Nichols last month.

Morus LXIV is distilled from the leaves of an ancient Mulberry tree and is bottled at a cask strength of 64% abv. Each leaf is hand-harvested and individually dried before being blended with botanicals and distilled.

The 700ml bottle and stirrup cup is available for £4,000 (US$5,167).

For more information, click here

ELLC’s London Rye

East London Liquor Company (ELLC) released the area’s first whisky in over 100 years with the launch of its new London Rye.

ELLC’s London Rye has a mash bill of 42% rye and 58% extra pale malted barley, distilled in a combination of pot and column stills.

The expression, bottled at 46.8% abv, has been matured in three different cask styles: first in 30-litre and 60-litre new French oak with varying char levels, followed by two years in ex-Bourbon before being finished for one month in a PX cask.

For more information, click here. 

Bowmore 1965

Last month, Bowmore distillery launched its oldest whisky to date – a 52-year-old single malt with a price tag of £22,300 .

Bowmore 1965 joins the distillery’s Vaults Series, which explores the characteristics of Bowmore whiskies that have been aged in its No.1 Vaults maturation warehouse – the oldest in Scotland.

Bowmore has released just 232 bottles of the whisky, which has been aged in Sherry oak casks and is said to display the “rich and balanced smoke, so distinctive of 1960s Bowmore whiskies”.

For more information, click here.

Appleton Estate 30 Year Old

 

Appleton Estate created the 30-year-old blend following “popular demand” for the original bottling, which first launched 10 years ago.

The new Appleton Estate 30 Year Old contains liquid aged for at least 30 years along with 50-year-old rum.

The rum is limited to 4,000 bottles globally. Each bottle has a suggested retail price of £399 (US$522).

For more information, click here.

 Patrón Estate Release

Last month, Bacardi extended its Patrón Tequila brand with a limited edition expression that will be available only in the US.

Patrón Estate Release is the first single estate bottling from the Tequila brand and uses only crops grown on the grounds surrounding its distillery in Atotonilco el Alto.

The blanco Tequila is said to offer “herbal and citrus notes” from its unique harvest on the hacienda grounds.

For more information, click here.

Glen Moray Fired Oak

French drinks group La Martiniquaise-Bardinet introduced a new Fired Oak expression under its Glen Moray Scotch whisky brand.

The ‘sweeter’ single malt whisky is inspired by the popularity of Bourbon.

Glen Moray Fired Oak has been matured for 10 years in ex-Bourbon casks before being finished for 10 months in heavily charred virgin American oak casks – the same as those used to mature Bourbon.

For more information, click here.

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