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Top 10 spirits launches in July 2020

From Buckingham Palace’s own gin to rare whiskies for Johnnie Walker’s 200th birthday, there were a number of new products for spirits fans to get excited about last month.

Johnnie Walker and The Macallan created new whiskies last month

July was a busy period for spirits producers with a number of new products that tapped into the latest trends, as well as innovative cask finishes and commemorative bottlings.

For Johnnie Walker’s 200th anniversary this year, the brand unveiled four new expressions, while Brewdog Distilling joined the hard seltzer category with its vodka-based Clean and Press range.

Meanwhile, the latest celebrity to move into spirits was actor Shay Mitchell, who created a Tequila-based ready-to-drink product.

Click through to the following pages to discover our favourite spirits launches from last month.

Glen Moray Distillery Edition 2020

Glen Moray has unveiled three new limited edition wine cask-finished expressions for its annual Distillery Edition release. This year, the range will be available to buy through a phone service for fans who can’t visit the Speyside site in person.

The trio of single cask bottlings are the oldest wine cask-finished whiskies from Glen Moray to date. The new expressions comprise: Chardonnay Cask (cask 7670), Burgundy Cask (cask 213) and Chenin Blanc Cask (cask 431).

The three whiskies have been matured in the ex-wine casks for between 16 and 17 years, after being laid down between 2003 and 2004 in Glen Moray’s Warehouse 1.

For more information, click here.

Brewdog Clean and Press

The past few months have seen a number of producers tap into the hard seltzer trend, including Scotland’s Brewdog Distilling.

In July, Brewdog unveiled its Clean and Press range, which is available in three flavours: Cactus and Lime, Crushed Black Cherry, and White Peach and Mango.

Each expression has an ABV of 5%, contains 90 calories and is made with no sugar. Each hard seltzer is made with Brewdog’s Rogue Wave Vodka.

For more information, click here.

Johnnie Walker birthday bottlings

To mark its 200th anniversary this year, Scotch whisky brand Johnnie Walker has created four new limited edition expressions.

The new whiskies comprise: Johnnie Walker Blue Label 200th Anniversary Limited Edition Design, Johnnie Walker Blue Label Legendary Eight, John Walker & Sons Celebratory Blend and John Walker & Sons Bicentenary Blend.

The Bicentenary Blend is made with rare whiskies, all aged for at least 28 years, including liquid from ‘ghost’ distilleries such as Port Ellen, Pittyvaich and Cambus.

The limited edition whiskies will launch from October 2020 onwards.

For more information, click here.

Ginquila

Inspired by the Tequila‐based Cantarito cocktail, Skeptic Distillery’s latest expression, Ginquila, is a gin that has been finished in Tequila barrels for seven months.

Bottled at 40% ABV, Ginquila is made with juniper, cinnamon, thyme, arbol and chipotle peppers, lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit and papaya.

It is recommended served over ice with grapefruit soda, or in a Tequila cocktail.

For more information, click here.

Lakes The One Orange Wine Cask and The One Sherry Cask

As part of The One collection of whiskies, English producer The Lakes Distillery unveiled two new limited edition expressions: The One Orange Wine Cask and The One Sherry Cask.

The One Orange Wine Cask (46.6% ABV) was finished in first-fill American oak casks, seasoned with Vino de Naranja (orange wine). This ‘rare’ wine is made exclusively in Huelva, Andalusia, on the southern coast of Spain.

Meanwhile, The One Sherry Cask was finished in PX and oloroso Sherry casks.

For more information, click here.

Buckingham Palace Gin

Fans of the British Royal Family were able to snap up a bottle of a gin made with botanicals from Queen Elizabeth II’s garden last month.

Buckingham Palace Gin is made with 12 botanicals, including lemon verbena, hawthorn berries, bay leaves and mulberry leaves from the private garden at Buckingham Palace in London.

The gin, sold by Royal Collection Trust, was so popular that it had sold out within eight hours. It will be available to order again later in the year.

For more information, click here.

Macallan Double Cask 15 and 18

Single malt Scotch brand added two new expressions to its Double Cask range last month – a 15-year-old and an 18-year-old.

The series uses American and European oak Sherry-seasoned casks to mature the whiskies. The new bottlings join the 12-year-old in the range.

The casks used to mature each whisky in the Double Cask range use wood from northern Spain and the French Pyrenees, and new oak from Ohio, Missouri and Kentucky in the US.

For more information, click here.

Onda

This 5% ABV Tequila-based canned drink is the brainchild of Pretty Little Liars star Shay Mitchell, who is chief brand officer for Onda.

Mitchell created the ready-to-drink product in collaboration with Noah Gray (CEO), Max Dworin (chief operating officer) and Kelli Adams (chief creative officer).

Onda is made with blanco Tequila and consist of two flavours: lime and grapefruit. Each 355ml can is bottled at 5% ABV, contains 100 calories and is free from sugar or carbohydrates.

For more information, click here.

Teeling 37 Years Old

Last month, Irish whiskey producer Teeling unveiled a 37-year-old bottling as part of its Vintage Reserve Collection.

The single malt is the oldest whiskey in Teeling’s limited release Vintage Reserve Collection. Only 175 bottles of the 37-year-old whiskey have been created.

The 41.3% ABV whiskey was distilled in 1983 and matured exclusively in an ex-Bourbon cask for 37 years.

For more information, click here.

Camus Caribbean Expedition

Last month, Cognac house Camus unveiled a limited edition expression matured at sea, which will be limited to 4,500 bottles.

After four years of maturation in Cognac, France, at the end of 2018 Camus loaded 10 sealed casks of Cognac onto a ship that would sail through the transatlantic route that leads to Barbados in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies.

After 45 days at sea, the casks arrived in Bridgetown and were received by Richard Seale, master distiller of Foursquare, to undergo one more year of maturation in tropical climate conditions.

For more information, click here.

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