by admin | Oct 21, 2025 | IN THE NEWS
Expressions Feature Original Label Artwork by Artist & Pro Skier Chris Benchetler
Corona del Mar, CA (October 21, 2025) – Altamar Brands Founder and CEO W. L. Lyons Brown today shared new details of the previously announced collaboration with artist, filmmaker, and pro skier Chris Benchetler, leading into the launch of Mountains of the Moon (MOTM), an immersive experience which explores the unseen connections between sport, life, music, and the living earth—set to the timeless tunes of the Grateful Dead.
In addition to Altamar Brands’ sponsorship of the MOTM experience, the partnership will feature limited editions of new High n’ Wicked Warlander Blended Straight Whiskey and Lágrimas Single Estate Plata Tequila, featuring original artwork by Benchetler. A fusion of art, nature, and creation combine to make spirits that aren’t just exceptional, but also unforgettable. Both expressions are now available online and in select U.S. markets.
Lágrimas “La Sabina” Plata (Benchetler No. 2)
Lágrimas del Valle is a terroir-driven tequila brand, highlighting agave from single ranches—each offering a rare and honest expression of place. This special-edition release, code-named Lágrimas Benchetler No. 2, comes from a high-altitude ranch (La Sabina) in state of Guanajuato, Mexico, which yields slow-growing, intensely flavorful agave. Lágrimas is produced in collaboration with Tequila Cascahuin (NOM 1123) and 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. This expression was double distilled, blended, and bottled at 92 proof (46% ABV) and is available for the suggested retail price of $59.99.
High n’ Wicked Warlander Whiskey (Benchetler No. 3)
Warlander blends three-and four-year old Kentucky Straight Rye and Bourbon whiskeys, melding the fruit forward and baking spice notes of Kentucky Straight Rye with the depth and spice of High-Rye Kentucky Straight Bourbon. The result is a bold, layered, and intentional blend, which was conceived after a number of blind tastings alongside bartenders, distillers, blenders, and Spirits experts as having the greatest complexity and ultimately showing more character than the individual elements themselves. After marrying, the whiskey was rebarreled in a combination of its own ex-bourbon and ex-rye casks and allowed to rest for just over two months to encourage deeper integration of flavor. Like the whiskey, Benchetler’s original design is raw, refined, and fearless. Wild in spirit like the hybrid horse it’s named for, Warlander is a category defying whiskey which honors tradition while breaking through it. Bottled at 99 proof to best showcase the whiskey’s full complexity and balance, this limited release retails for the suggested retail price of $54.99.
The Bent Bus Mobile Bar
The partnership also highlights The Bent Bus Mobile Bar—hand-painted by Chris Benchetler—which will serve up samples and cocktails featuring High n’ Wicked Warlander Whiskey and Lágrimas Plata Tequila at various locations in the U.S. throughout the fall and winter (dates and locations to be announced soon).
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/
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by admin | Oct 20, 2025 | IN THE NEWS
Exceptional Cask Selection is a 16-Year Double Maturation Single Blended Rum Aged for 10 Years in Ex-Bourbon Barrels and Then Transferred into Ex-Port Pipes for an Additional Six Years
Corona del Mar, CA (October 20, 2025) – Foursquare, the legendary rum distillery located in Barbados, has launched Mark XXIX “Mandamus”, the newest expression in the Exceptional Cask Selection (ECS) Series. The bottling is a 16-year Double Maturation Single Blended Rum aged for 10 years in Ex-Bourbon Barrels and then transferred into Ex-Port Pipes for an additional six years. This marks just the third time Master Distiller and Master Blender Richard Seale has released an ECS using Ex-Port Cask – the first being the original US release “Mark II, Port Cask Finish” (June 2014) and the second being “Mark XIV, Détente” (August 2020).
Exceptional Cask Selections represent the unique, limited, and rare offerings of Foursquare Rum Distillery which Richard Seale hand selected. They are only released when he feels they are of exceptional quality. Each is one-of-a-kind, only available for a limited time, and showcase truly unique approaches to both Rum blending and maturation.
All blending, bottling, and aging occurred entirely on-site by Richard Seale. No added color, sugar, filtration, or flavor additives. Mark XXIX Mandamus was bottled at 114 proof (57% ABV) and is available throughout the U.S. and online for the suggested retail price of $159.99.
Foursquare Rum Distillery is located on a former sugar plantation that dates back to approximately 1720, within the tiny Caribbean Island of Barbados. The distillery was re-opened by the Seale family in 1996, distilling operations and blending are currently directed by Richard Seale, 4th Generation Trader/Distiller of R.L. Seale & Co.
For more information, please visit https://altamarbrands.com/brands/foursquare-rum-distillery/ and Foursquare on Instagram
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, Witches’ Tree Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey, 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 | Oct 14, 2025 | IN THE NEWS
Limited Release Blend of Whiskeys Were Finished in Jamaican, Barbados, and St. Lucian Rum Casks
Louisville, KY (October 14, 2025) – Barrell Craft Spirits® (BCS), the original independent blender of unique aged, cask strength whiskey since 2013, today launched a Hazmat Triple Rum Cask Finish Whiskey. The limited-release blend of whiskeys was distilled in Indiana, Tennessee, and Canada and then finished in Jamaican, Barbados, and St. Lucian Rum Casks.
The BCS team created this unique blend by selecting a diverse set of whiskeys sourced from both the United States and Canada, with some barrels aged for as long as 25 years. Each of these whiskeys was then meticulously finished in a distinct rum cask originating from one of three Caribbean nations—Jamaica, Barbados, or St. Lucia—imparting unique tropical and molasses-driven characteristics to the spirit. After the individual finishing processes were complete, the team skillfully blended the various components, harmonizing the bold spice of the whiskey with the rich, exotic sweetness of the rum casks to create a complex and layered final expression.
The Hazmat Triple Rum Cask Finish Whiskey is now available for purchase online via the BCS website at barrellbourbon.com and at select retailers for the suggested retail price of $199 per 750ml bottle. The expression was expertly blended and bottled in Kentucky at 142.24 proof (71.12% ABV).
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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