The “world’s first” whisky made using artificial intelligence, a low-abv ‘spirit drink’ and the first line extension from Sailor Jerry rum were namechecked in our pick of top spirits launched in May.

SB presents the top spirits to launch last month

Last month saw a number of drinks producers move into new categories including Swedish cider maker Kopparberg with its new fruit-flavoured gins, and tonic producer Fever-Tree’s debut in the ready-to-drink market.

Meanwhile, soft drinks giant The Coca-Cola Company also debuted its own range of mixers for dark spirits, and Diageo tapped into the super-premium gin market with the launch of Villa Ascenti.

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

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

Kopparberg’s new gins

Last month, Swedish cider Kopparberg made its debut in the spirits category with the launch of a London Dry style gin flavoured with strawberries and lime.

Bottled at 37.5% abv, Kopparberg Premium Gin also features juniper, lemon zest and coriander botanicals.

The launch of the strawberry and lime-flavoured gin was swiftly followed by another new limited edition expression – Kopparberg Mixed Fruit Premium Gin.

For more information, click here.

The Macallan Estate

Bottled at 43% abv, the “rich and complex” Macallan Estate whisky was created to celebrate the brand’s provenance and heritage.

It contains spirit made from the Speyside brand’s home-grown barley, which is distilled once a year over seven days.

The 485-acre Easter Elchies estate has been the home of The Macallan since 1824. The barley fields are located on the banks of the River Spey.

For more information, click here.

Fever-Tree RTDs

Mixer producer Fever-Tree became the latest brand to join the ready-to-drink (RTD) category last month with the launch of three new expressions.

The range consists of three expressions: Premium Indian Gin & Tonic, Refreshingly Light Gin & Tonic, and Elderflower Gin & Tonic, which will all be packaged in 275ml glass bottles.

Fever-Tree worked with Thames Distillers’ Charles Maxwell to create gins that complement the respective mixers.

For more information, click here.

Jägermeister Scharf

Jägermeister Scharf, which means ‘hot’ or ‘spicy’ in German, is said to be a “new interpretation” of the classic herbal liqueur bottling with a “more intense ginger flavour”.

Bottled at 33% abv and made with the same blend of 56 botanicals as the original Jägermeister, Scharf has its “hot headnote” intensified with additional ginger and galangal.

For more information, click here.

The Balvenie Stories

The latest range from single malt Scotch brand The Balvenie is inspired by stories of “endeavour, craft and unexpected twists”.

The Balvenie Stories range includes 12-year-old The Sweet Toast of American Oak, 14-year-old The Week of Peat, and 26-year-old A Day of Dark Barley.

Each whisky has been designed to communicate the stories of the workers at the Dufftown distillery.

For more information, click here.

Villa Ascenti

Diageo tapped into the “fast-growing” super-premium gin category with the launch of Villa Asenti gin.

The launch of Villa Ascenti follows the completion of the €420,000 (US$469,000) Distilleria Santa Vittoria in Italy.

To make the gin, Moscato grapes are harvested in August and September, and are distilled three times.

For more information, click here.

Sailor Jerry Savage Apple

Bottled at 40% abv, Sailor Jerry Savage Apple marks the first line extension from the spiced rum brand since it launched 19 years ago. The apple-flavoured spiced rum has notes of vanilla, cinnamon and apple.

The bottle design pays tribute to Navy veteran Norman ‘Sailor Jerry’ Collins and features a drawing of a tiger from his original artwork. Collins was known for inking soldiers and sailors during World War Two.

For more information, click here.

Whyte & Mackay Light

Whyte & Mackay Light (21% abv) has been created to appeal to “younger, lighter consumers” and is said to meet the “greater demand for lower abv drinks”.

Ruairi Perry, head of brand at Whyte & Mackay, said: “It’s a different product, built with the same younger, lighter consumer in mind. We see a different type of drinking occasion emerging – and Whyte & Mackay Light has been developed to satisfy that occasion.”

The low-abv ‘spirit drink’ will launch in Tesco stores in the UK from early June.

For more information, click here.

Coca-Cola Signature Mixers

Soft drinks giant The Coca-Cola Company moved into mixers with the launch of a new range, designed to be mixed with dark spirits.

The Coca-Cola Signature Mixers range features four new flavours, created by four bartenders from around the world.

The American firm challenged the bartenders to take the flavour of its flagship soft drink brand Coca-Cola and experiment with more than 200 ingredients for the new mixer range.

For more information, click here.

Mackmyra’s AI whisky

Swedish distillery Mackmyra unveiled the “world’s first” whisky using artificial intelligence (AI) last month.

The whisky has been created in collaboration with tech giant Microsoft and Finnish consultancy Fourkind.

Mackmyra has created machine learning models that are powered by Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform and AI cognitive services, and are fed with Mackmyra’s existing recipes, sales data and customer preferences.

For more information, click here.