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TOTC’s best new spirits and cocktail ingredients

A higher-ABV shōchū, a single-origin coffee liqueur and an English vermouth – here are the top 10 best new spirits and cocktail products as longlisted by Tales of the Cocktail’s Spirited Awards 2020.

Tales of the Cocktail’s 2020 Spirited Awards names its best new spirit and cocktail products

Earlier this week, Tales of the Cocktail (TOTC) revealed its top 10 Spirited Awards nominees, including the products in the Best New Spirit or Cocktail Ingredient category.

From a spirit made with smoky chillies from Mexico to a Japanese shōchū designed for cocktails, there were a number of new spirits that attracted the attention of TOTC’s judges.

An English vermouth made by a bartending duo and an environmentally friendly calvados from the founder of Healthy Hospo also feature on the list.

The Spirited Awards shortlist (top four) will be released on 1 June. In the meantime, we profile each product that grabbed a worthy spot in the Best New Spirit or Cocktail Ingredient category.

Click through the following pages to see the products in alphabetical order.

Avallen

Avallen Calvados is made without the addition of sugar, caramel or boisé (a wood extract that can be used to add colour to Calvados) and has been aged in French oak barrels for two years.

Avallen, which means ‘apple tree’ in the old Cornish language, was launched by Healthy Hospo founder Tim Etherington-Judge and wine and spirits specialist Stephanie Jordan in April 2019.

The expression is packaged in a bottle chosen for its “bartender friendliness”, which is also one of the lightest on the market in an attempt to reduce the brand’s environmental impact through shipping.

Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal Las Milpas

Part of Del Maguey mezcal’s core village series, Las Milpas (46% ABV) is crafted by roasting ripe agave espadin in a clay oven. The roasted agave is milled using a horse-drawn windmill and fermented using only ambient microbes and yeasts in open-air wooden fermentation tanks and double distilled in small copper stills.

Las Milpas is said to offer a nose of “slate and minerals, balanced by tropical fruit and citrus notes, with rose petal florals, lavender, tarragon, and pea shoots, that evolves into a long and pleasantly dry finish”.

In August 2017, French firm Pernod Ricard completed its acquisition of a majority stake in Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal for an undisclosed sum.

Empirical Spirits Ayuuk

The brainchild of experimental Danish distillery Empirical Spirits, Ayuuk (43% ABV) was released in October last year.

According to the Copenhagen-based producer, Ayuk is made with pasilla mixe chilli from Oaxaca in Mexico. The chillies are macerated in low wine, distilled, blended with spent pasilla mixe kombucha, and finished in oloroso casks for five days. The base of purple wheat and Pilsner malt is said balance the chilli’s natural earth tones and pleasant spice.

Fever-Tree Refreshingly Light Cucumber Tonic Water

Fever-Tree Refreshingly Light Cucumber Tonic has been created with natural cucumber essence, extracted using a low-temperature distillation process.

The expression is said to have a “refreshing taste and aroma”, which pairs with fresh and floral gins.

The cucumber-flavoured tonic was released in the off-trade in June 2019.

Heaven Hill 7 Year Bottled-in-Bond

Heaven Hill Distillery released its seven-year-old Bottled-in-Bond Kentucky Bourbon whiskey in October last year.

Made from Heaven Hill Distillery’s traditional Bourbon mash bill and bottled at 50% ABV, the seven-year-old offering exceeds the minimum four-year ageing requirement for a bottled-in-bond expression.

The origins of Heaven Hill’s eponymous Bottled-in-Bond brand dates to 1939.

The whiskey was released in California, Texas, New York, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, South Carolina and Colorado.

Hendrick’s Midsummer Solstice

In February 2020, William Grant & Sons-owned Hendrick’s gin expanded its portfolio with the launch of Midsummer Solstice.

The limited edition expression had been inspired by the “mysterious and ephemeral delights” of floral blooms during the summer solstice.

The gin is infused with floral essences and flavours that capture the “aromatic intensity of a midsummer day”.

Iichiko Saiten

Japanese shōchū Iichiko Saiten, produced on Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost main island, was “optimised” for cocktails to encourage bartenders to experiment with the category.

Sanwa Shurui Company created the expression with insight from leading US bartenders. Shōchū is normally bottled at around 25% ABV and is distilled from barley, sweet potatoes, rice or buckwheat – but Iichiko Saiten has an ABV of 43%.

Mr Black Single Origin Columbia

The first expression in a new range from Australian coffee liqueur producer Mr Black is made with coffee grown in Finca Villa Betulia near Hulia, Colombia.

The coffee for Single Origin Colombia was grown by Luis Aníbal Calderón and his family, who have more than 60 years of experience in growing coffee.

The brand said it was “natural” to release a range that “celebrates the terroir of top-growing regions around the world”. Demand for single origin grew 4% in the first six months of 2019, outpacing the total premium coffee segment, according to Nielsen figures cited by Mr Black.

Schofield’s Dry Vermouth

Launched in September last year, Schofield’s Dry Vermouth was created by bartending brothers Joe Schofield and Daniel Schofield, and London-based spirits producer Asterley Bros.

Joe Schofield joined the vermouth and amaro maker in September as its creative director for the development of new products for Asterley Bros, including a range of “approachable” vermouths.

Schofield’s Dry Vermouth (16% ABV) is made using a blend of English Bacchus, Chardonnay and Seyval Blanc wines, along with 28 botanicals. It is described as “aromatic, fragrant and elegant”.

The English vermouth is designed to be served in a gin or vodka Martini, in a white Negroni, or as an apéritif over ice with tonic water and a slice of lemon.

Tequila Fortaleza Winter Blend 2019

Tequila brand Fortaleza is made in the estate of Destilería La Fortaleza in Tequila; home to master distiller Guillermo Sauza’s family and their three distilleries for more than five generations.

Described as “robust yet delicate”, the Fortaleza Winter Blend for 2019 is Tequila aged in both used American whiskey barrels for six months and new French oak barrels for 10 months. The product has an ABV of 45.7%.

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