by admin | Feb 4, 2025 | IN THE NEWS
Company Will Also Release Limited-Edition Package and Label Design Created by Benchetler for its High n’ Wicked Whiskeys and Lágrimas Tequilas
Corona del Mar, CA (February 4, 2025) – Altamar Brands Founder and CEO W. L. Lyons Brown today announced a collaboration with artist, filmmaker, and pro skier Chris Benchetler and the company’s High n’ Wicked Whiskey brand in support of Mr. Benchetler’s Mountains of the Moon, an immersive experience coming out in fall 2025.
Earlier today, Benchetler unveiled the first episode in the “Ship of Fools” series, which offers backstage-access to the creativity, chaos, and ingenuity that is going into the making of Mountains of the Moon. The series is a raw and unfiltered look into the creative process featuring the cast, crew, and characters as they collaborate on this ambitious project. Subsequent episodes will drop each Tuesday for 32 weeks leading into Mountains of the Moon’s release.
“Chris’ skills as an athlete, a painter, a sculptor, and a filmmaker are beyond me to fairly describe in words. It is one hell of a compelling package,” said Brown. “We are grateful that he has an appetite to express his art in our medium. The combination of his expression with the art of our distillates will enhance the rare and collectible nature of our brands.”
“I’m thrilled to have such incredible support from partners like Lyons and Altamar Brands on this special project, which stays true to the authentic and experimental spirit that always came with it,” said Benchetler. “Pushing my creativity into the unknown inspires me as an artist, much in the same way Lyons and his team relentlessly pursue distinctive distillates for the incredible High n’ Wicked whiskeys.”
The partnership will also feature limited-edition packaging created by Benchetler for the distilled spirits company’s High n’ Wicked Whiskeys and Lágrimas Single Estate Tequilas. These will be sold online and in select U.S. markets later this year.
Brown and Benchetler previously collaborated on a private project for the Alterra Group, the owners and managers of Mammoth Mountain and IKON Pass, in which Altamar created a High n’ Wicked single barrel bourbon decorated with Benchetler’s work (pictured above). See more on that in the promotional video called ‘The Spark.’
About Altamar Brands LLC
Founded in 2005 by W. L. Lyons Brown, III, Altamar Brands is a small, entrepreneurial outfit founded to develop and import esoteric, artisanal spirits brands that offer unique and distinctive production stories in their respective categories. They include: Elvelo Tequila, Foursquare Rum, High n’ Wicked Whiskeys, Kubler Absinthe, Lágrimas del Valle Tequila, Probitas Rum, Right Gin, and R.L. Seale’s Barbados Rum.
Brown founded High n’ Wicked in 2019. The firm’s mission is to present premium whiskeys that honor traditional methods of delivering complex flavors. High n’ Wicked produces two flagship offerings – a straight bourbon whiskey and straight rye whiskey – in addition to singular limited releases featuring cask strength, single barrel, and double wood finishes.
Lágrimas demonstrates that the centuries old concept of “terroir” exists in agave fields as well as in the vineyards of France. It celebrates the distinctive characteristics of single ranches of agave grown at different altitudes in different micro-climates in different regions of Mexico. Produced in collaboration with third generation Master Distiller “Chava” Rosales Trejo, at Cascahuin, each bottling carries a familiar profile but will be distinctly unique in flavor and aroma based on its terroir. Most brands aim to create a consistent taste profile, Lágrimas embraces the uniqueness of each individual ranch and delivers a diversity of character. Its expressions are available throughout the U.S. and online.
For more information, please visit https://altamarbrands.com/
With Cocktailing, Quality Bests Quantity.
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by admin | Feb 3, 2025 | IN THE NEWS
“La Loma” Plata and Reposado Expressions are a Celebration of Terroir
Corona del Mar, CA (February 3, 2025) – Lágrimas del Valle, the award-winning tequila which celebrates the unique and distinctive characteristics of the very best single ranches of the blue agave, has launched its newest ranch. Known as “La Loma” (The Hill), the new Plata and Reposado expressions represent the fourth field harvested for the brand, but the first to come from the state of Michoacán, which was selected for its high-quality agave.
Lágrimas del Valle is produced in collaboration with the Rosales Family (of Tequila Cascahuin NOM 1123) and current Master Distiller Salvador “Chava” Rosales Trejo, the third generation of his family. Their distilling tradition dates back to 1904 in El Arenal, Jalisco, Mexico, located within the heart of the “Valley” of Tequila. Each bottling carries a familiar profile but will be distinctly unique in both flavor and aroma.
Lágrimas begins by selecting the very best Single Ranch (Rancho Unico) of blue agave available – looking for ripeness, but also for signs of complexities of flavor. The agaves are then cut, broken down, and loaded into their small 12-16-ton steam powered masonry ovens. Cascahuin utilizes a unique intermittent cooking method for eight hours per day, then stopping until the following day, and repeating over the course of four days. This allows for deep layers of flavor to be developed. The cooked agaves are then removed from the ovens, and their “agua miel” (honey waters) extracted. For Lágrimas, 70% of the agaves are crushed utilizing a roller mill and then fermented in stainless steel tanks, while the other 30% are crushed using a Tahona, and fermented in open air wooden tanks. A unique blend is determined through multiple rounds of blind tastings alongside the family.
“Lágrimas demonstrates that terroir exists in the blue agave and tequila,” said Brandon Cummins, Director of Education, Altamar Brands, which collaborated on the development as well as imports and sells Lágrimas del Valle in the U.S. “While many brands aim to create a consistent profile year over year, Lágrimas embraces the uniqueness of each individual ranch and produces in such a way as to emphasize that distinct character. We do this intentionally, to demonstrate the rich complexity of the Blue Weber Agave.”
La Loma Tasting Notes:
- Plata showcases an agave forward presence, with hints of citrus peel, ripe melon, roasted pine nuts, and clover – with a creamy and rich palate, bright citrus notes, subtle minerality and rich agave throughout.
- Reposado is rested for just three months in ex-Bourbon barrels. The vintage showcases notes of tangerine, canela, and lemongrass, all around a core of roasted agave, anise, salted caramel, and cantaloupe.
Previous Lágrimas del Valle releases include:
- Palo Verde (2022)
- Top 100 Spirits of 2022, Wine Enthusiast, 94 points (Plata)
- Best Sipping Tequilas of 2024, Men’s Journal (Plata)
- El Chiqueño (2022)
- “This is what tequila is supposed to taste like” -Doug Price, Agave Social Club Podcast
- El Sabino (2023)
- 30 Best Tequilas for 2024, Vinepair, 96 points (Plata)
- Top 100 Spirits of 2024, Wine Enthusiast, 94 points (Reposado)
Lágrimas del Valle “La Loma” Plata and Reposado tequilas are double-distilled, blended, and always bottled at 92 proof (46% ABV). Each bottle notes the vintage date of harvest, name of the single ranch, as well as details pertaining to its elevation, location, and distinctive characteristics. Both expressions are available throughout the U.S. and online for the suggested retail price of $59.99 and $64.99, respectively.
For more information, please visit https://altamarbrands.com/brands/lagrimastequila/
About Altamar Brands LLC
Founded in 2005 by W. L. Lyons Brown, III, Altamar Brands is a small, entrepreneurial outfit founded to develop and import esoteric, artisanal spirits brands that offer unique and distinctive production stories in their respective categories. They include: Elvelo Tequila, Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selections Rums, High n’ Wicked Whiskeys, Kubler Absinthe, Lágrimas del Valle Tequila, Probitas Rum, Right Gin, and R.L. Seale’s 12-Year-Aged Barbados Rum.
For more information, please visit https://altamarbrands.com/
With Cocktailing, Quality Bests Quantity.
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