by admin | Aug 25, 2025 | IN THE NEWS
Limited-Edition Offering Showcases the Company’s Blending and Finishing Expertise
Louisville, KY (August 25, 2025) – Barrell Craft Spirits® (BCS), the original independent blender of unique aged, cask strength whiskey since 2013, today launched the latest offering in its Barrell Bourbon Cask Finish Series: Armagnac. The limited-edition release utilizes the company’s blending expertise to make bespoke blends of straight bourbon whiskeys with unique finishes that showcase the influence of the finishing cask without compromising the integrity of the underlying blend. Previous cask-finished bourbons include Amburana, A Tale of Two Islands Rum Finish, Mizunara, Ice Wine, and P.X. Sherry.
Armagnac, one of the world’s oldest and most characterful brandies, imparts deep complexity when used as a finishing cask—infusing bourbon with notes of dried fruit, burnt sugar, clove, and tobacco. To complement these bold, spicy-fruity characteristics, the BCS blending team carefully selected bourbon whiskeys from Kentucky (10-year), Indiana (7, 8, 11 & 12-year), and Tennessee (9, 13, 14 & 15-year) that would both harmonize with and amplify the Armagnac cask influence. The result is a bourbon that is robust yet elegant, with layers of flavors—from dried plum and dark toffee to warm vanilla—culminating in a long, lingering finish.
Featuring a derived mash bill of corn (78%), rye (18%), and malted barley (4%), the new expression was bottled at cask strength (113 proof / 56.5% ABV) in Kentucky. It will be available for purchase online in September via the BCS website at barrellbourbon.com and in select retailers for the suggested retail price of $84.99 per 750ml bottle.
Founded in 2013 in Louisville, Kentucky, BCS selects and blends products that explore different distillation methods, barrels, and aging environments. BCS’s extensive stocks of high-quality casks mean it can craft extraordinary blends that maximize the nuances of each ingredient. Creative finishes and a liberated approach to blending guides every product release.
The award-winning line of BCS releases are sold in 49 US states, Puerto Rico, the UK, South Korea, the Ukraine, and Australia. Follow Barrell Craft Spirits on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, or visit barrellbourbon.com.
Barrell Craft Spirits®
Louisville-based Barrell Craft Spirits® is the original, pre-eminent independent blender of unique, aged, cask strength whiskey and rum. Recognized for our blending expertise since 2013, we skillfully design, produce, and launch leading, unique products that surprise and delight whiskey aficionados and novices alike. Our cask-strength small-batch and single-barrel releases have quickly become an influencing force in American whiskey, winning awards from the world’s most prestigious distilled spirits publications and competitions.
Barrell Craft Spirits®, Barrell®, Barrell Bourbon® and Barrell Rye® are registered trademarks owned by Barrell Craft Spirits LLC.
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by admin | Aug 5, 2025 | IN THE NEWS
“La Sabina” Plata and Reposado Expressions are a Celebration of Terroir
Corona del Mar, CA (August 4, 2025) – Lágrimas del Valle, the award-winning single ranch tequila which celebrates “terroir,” has launched its newest vintage, “La Sabina.” The Plata and Reposado expressions represent the fifth field harvested for the brand and the first to come from the state of Guanajuato, Mexico (La Romita).
Lágrimas del Valle is produced in collaboration with Tequila Cascahuin (NOM 1123) and current Master Distiller Salvador “Chava” Rosales Trejo. Their distilling tradition dates back three generations to 1904 in El Arenal, Jalisco, Mexico, in the heart of the “Valley” of Tequila. Each bottling carries a familiar profile but is distinctly unique in both flavor and aroma.
Lágrimas begins by selecting the best single ranch of Blue Weber Agave available – looking for ripeness, but also for signs of complexities of flavor. The agaves are then 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. 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.
“It’s remarkable that, for the first time, we’re truly tasting Tequila’s terroir—not just from Jalisco, which produces 95% of it, but also from Michoacán and now Guanajuato,” said Brandon Cummins, Director of Education for Altamar Brands. “It’s something entirely new, yet rooted in centuries of tradition. What’s even more impressive is that this has been achieved without relying on any industrial shortcuts.”
La Sabina Tasting Notes:
Plata is wildly unique with bright green herbs, and hints of palo santo, chalk, guava, and lightly roasted parsnip.
Reposado is rested for three months in ex-Bourbon barrels. The expression showcases notes of lightly toasted marshmallow, pumpkin pie filling, and rich custard – highlighted by hints of violets, citrus, and cream soda, with a sweet round character
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)
- “What tequila is supposed to taste like” -Doug Price, Agave Social Club
- El Sabino (2023)
- 30 Best Tequilas for 2024, Vinepair, 96 points (Plata)
- Top 100 Spirits of 2024, Wine Enthusiast, 94 points (Reposado)
- La Loma (2024)
- Agavos Awards, Double Gold (Plata)
- International Wine & Spirits Competition, Double Gold, 98 points (Reposado)
Lágrimas del Valle “La Sabina” Plata and Reposado tequilas are double distilled, blended, and 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 High n’ Wicked Whiskeys, Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selections Rums, Probitas Rum, R.L. Seale’s 12-Year-Aged Barbados Rum, Elvelo Tequila, Kubler Absinthe, Right Gin and Lágrimas del Valle Tequila. For more information, please visit https://altamarbrands.com/
With Cocktailing, Quality Bests Quantity.
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by admin | Aug 4, 2025 | IN THE NEWS
Boston Bartender Wins a 7-Day Trip to Barbados Including a Deluxe Pass to the Annual Barbados Rum Experience
Corona del Mar, CA (August 4, 2025) – Probitas, the award-winning multi-island white blended rum which has set a new gold standard for use in cocktails, crowned Gustav Hossain-Endl of Shore Leave restaurant in Boston, the grand prizewinner of its “Home & Away” drink recipe contest at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans last week. Gustav edged out five other finalists with his signature cocktail, the “H&E Frozen Daiquiri,” and will receive a seven-day trip to Barbados, including a Deluxe Pass to the annual Barbados Rum Experience.
The inaugural competition challenged bartenders to create a unique Daiquiri-inspired cocktail, blending “Home” (local) and “Away” (distant) flavors into one unforgettable cocktail – just like Probitas Rum, a fusion of rums from Barbados and Jamaica. Participants submitted a daiquiri-inspired cocktail recipe which included Probitas White Blended Rum and combined the contrasting themes and flavors derived from home (a familiar place such as where participants live, grew up or consider a “home place”) and away (somewhere new and different). Entries were judged on persuasiveness and effectiveness of capturing the Competition theme; quality of instructions for preparation of cocktail; originality and creativity; and “balance” of flavors in the cocktail. Gustav’s winning cocktail included: Probitas, Spiced Hazelnut Falernum, lime juice & zest, Jaggery, and Saline.
“Probitas has been my go-to rum for a daiquiri for a long time so when I created my drink, I wanted to add some of myself without losing the quality of the rum, or the essence of a daiquiri,” said Hossain-Endl. “In part, my inspiration was the daiquiri itself, its Cuban origins and its evolution. But my primary influence was my family; the union of two very different cultural heritages, meeting in the middle and creating something unique. This same spirit is very present in Probitas itself being a meeting of two different cultures of rum production.
“The energy, creativity, and sincerity of the bartenders were thrilling,” said rum expert, award-winning distiller, and judge Maggie Campbell. “In my 20 years in the industry, I could not have dreamed up the innovative and delicious ideas the competitors had. From corn silk, to clay water, to cooling cumin notes in a blended daiquiri, I’ll remember these Probitas creations forever.”
A version of Gustav’s daiquiri will be available at Shore Leave in Boston, a restaurant best known for Asian inspired dishes paired with an array of tiki cocktails.
About Probitas White Blended Rum
Probitas comes from two of the most iconic distilleries in two of the most respected islands in the Caribbean for rum making – Foursquare Rum Distillery in Barbados and Hampden Estate in Jamaica. This is the first time that a White Blended Rum has been made entirely in the Caribbean, from multiple islands and producers, with components selected by the rum makers themselves. Probitas is a blend of three distinct rums, blended by Master Distiller and Master Blender Richard Seale of Foursquare Rum Distillery in Barbados and marks the first time there has been a joint venture between Caribbean distilleries to produce a blended rum. The components include Unaged Pot Still Rum from Hampden Estate in Jamaica selected by Mr. Vivian Wisdom (Hampden’s Master Distiller at the time of blending), along with Unaged Coffey Still Rum and Two-year Aged Pot Still Rum from Foursquare Rum Distillery in Barbados, selected by Richard Seale. Probitas is distilled, matured, blended, and bottled in the Caribbean. No sugar, flavor, color, nor neutral/multi column spirit added. The expression was bottled at 47% ABV (94 proof) and is available throughout the U.S. and online for $29.99. For more information, please visit https://altamarbrands.com/brands/probitas-rum/ and Probitas on Instagram.
About Barbados Rum Experience
For more information, please visit https://barbadosrumexperience.com/
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 High n’ Wicked Whiskeys, Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selections Rums, Probitas Rum, R.L. Seale’s 12-Year-Aged Barbados Rum, Elvelo Tequila, Kubler Absinthe, Right Gin and Lágrimas del Valle Tequila. For more information, please visit https://altamarbrands.com/
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by admin | Aug 1, 2025 | IN THE NEWS
Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Honey Barrels Features the Art of Fusion
Memphis, TN (August 1, 2025) – Blue Note Bourbon™, the award-winning whiskey portfolio which is artfully crafted to honor the rich blues music that is synonymous with Memphis, has brought back its wildly popular Honey Bourbon Cask, which sold out in a matter of days last year. The expression began its journey by embracing the art of fusion. American oak barrels used for finishing were repurposed to produce delicious, barrel-aged honey. The team then returned the whiskey, which was aged for a minimum of three years, to the honey-infused casks for another round of aging to create a distinct and harmonious profile. Crafted in Memphis, the new expression features a mash bill of 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley, which was bottled at 113.86 proof (56.93% ABV), unfiltered.
Honey Bourbon Cask Tasting Notes
- Nose: vanilla, cedar, and nut
- Taste: leather, pear, cedar, wildflower, and honey
- Finish: gentle and warm with lingering hints of wildflower and honey
Blue Note Honey Bourbon Whiskey is now available for purchase online at BlueNoteBourbon.com and in select U.S. markets. Only 1,800 bottles are available for the suggested retail price of $64.99. Blue Note’s whiskey portfolio is distilled in partnership with Lofted Spirits (parent company of Green River Distilling Company) and then aged just north of downtown Memphis where the Mississippi and Wolf Rivers collide. The long summers filled with infamous Memphis heat and cooler evenings forces the whiskey deep into the oak, creating an unmistakably rich flavor that’s bold yet smooth.
Over the years, Blue Note has introduced several highly awarded limited-release offerings, which include Premium Small Batch, Single Barrel Reserve, 17-year, and Special Reserve. These expressions are in addition to the award-winning flagship Blue Note portfolio which includes Juke Joint ($34.99), Crossroads ($44.99), Uncut ($49.99), and Straight Rye Whiskey ($34.99).
Production Facility & Tasting Room
Blue Note’s 110,000 square foot production facilities, located on Royal Avenue just North of downtown Memphis, are open from Monday through Friday from 10am – 4:00pm and include a unique and intimate tasting room. Guided tours are available on Thursdays and Fridays for $10 plus tax & fees. Guests can add a Tasting Flight Experience for an additional $5. For more information and to book a guided, behind-the-scenes tour, visit www.bluenotebourbon.com. Please follow Blue Note on Facebook and Instagram.
About B.R. Distilling Company
Founded in 2014 in Memphis, TN, B.R. Distilling Company is the oldest licensed distillery in Memphis, TN, and producer of world-famous Blue Note Bourbon. Currently, the company produces four flagship expressions, along with regular limited releases, which are distributed across 22 U.S. states, including AL, AR, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MS, MO, NY, NJ, OK, RI, SC, TN, TX, and Washington, DC as well as online at BlueNoteBourbon.com via Bevstack, which can be shipped to: AK, AL, AZ, AR, AS, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
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