by admin | Apr 27, 2023 | IN THE NEWS
Stellum Fibonacci Rye is Named a Finalist for “Best in Class” Plus Three BCS Expressions Strike Double Gold for a Second Time
Louisville, KY (April 27, 2023) – Barrell Craft Spirits® (BCS) and Stellum™ Spirits were awarded four Double Gold and seven Gold medals at the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC), the largest international spirits competition in the United States. With two decades of experience, the SFWSC has become one of the most respected competitions in the world. Judging is blind and done by a prestigious panel of nationally recognized distilled spirits judges, each selected for their distinct and trusted palate.
As the original independent blender of unique aged cask strength whiskey since 2013, BCS was very happy with this year’s results, which recognizes products from various parts of its portfolio. The team was especially pleased to learn that one of its expressions – Stellum Fibonacci Rye #1 – is a finalist for “Best in Class” and that three of its expressions have now twice received Double Gold medals – Barrell Seagrass (2021), Stellum Rye (2021) and Barrell Dovetail (2022) in recent years.
“Winning 11 Double Gold and Gold medals from this internationally-acclaimed competition further validates our blending expertise and quest to become the most creative and progressive blenders in the nation,” said BCS Founder Joe Beatrice. “It’s incredibly satisfying to have our full portfolio of Barrell Craft Spirits and Stellum Spirits products recognized, from our batches and limited-releases to ongoing and private releases.”
The full list of BCS and Stellum Spirits awards includes:
- Double Gold Medal Winners
- Barrell Seagrass, a blend of American and Canadian rye whiskeys, meticulously sourced and finished separately in Martinique Rhum Agricole casks, apricot brandy casks, and Madeira barrels. (60.19% ABV) $90.
- Barrell Dovetail, whiskey finished in rum, port, and Dunn vineyards cabernet barrels. (62.71% ABV) $90.
- Stellum Rye, a whiskey rooted in a 95% Rye Indiana mash bill which incorporates small amounts more barley-forward rye and choice barrels from KY and TN. (58.12% ABV) $55.
- Stellum Fibonacci Rye #1, featuring six separate rye blends which were combined in accordance with the sequence. (57.56% ABV) $100.
- Gold Medal Winners
- Barrell Bourbon Batch 034, a blend of straight bourbon whiskeys ranging from six- to 15-year-old American White Oak barrels distilled and aged in TN, KY, and IN. (57.31% ABV) $90.
- Barrell Bourbon Batch 035 (not yet released) started with a multi-mashbill blend of spicy and earthy, high-rye, high-proof, oak forward barrels and a blend of softer, lower-proof barrels with concentrated notes of dark cherry and butterscotch. (58.75% ABV)
- Barrell Private Release Whiskey QJC1, finished in a Cognac Park XO Cask. (60.95% ABV) $110.
- Barrell Bourbon Private Release Bourbon GXA1, features 5, 7, 9, and 14-year bourbons and shows a pronounced sweet and earthy Kentucky Bourbon influence (59.97% ABV) $110.
- Barrell Whiskey Private Release Whiskey DJA2 finished in a St. Agrestis Brooklyn Amaro Cask, (61.61% ABV) $110.
- Stellum Bourbon, highlights three Indiana Bourbon mash bills, (two of which are high rye, with the third being almost exclusively corn) along with older barrels from KY and TN. (57.49% ABV) $55.
- Stellum The Lone Cypress Rye, a savory and delicate rye blend defined by notes of dried herbs and pine (57.67% ABV) $100.
Collectively, BCS has won 25 Double Gold and 20 Gold medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, while Stellum Spirits has won two Double Gold and four Gold medals. In 2021, the team took home eight Double Gold and six Gold medals including “Best Small Batch Bourbon Up to Five Years” and “Best Over-Proof Rum.” In previous years, BCS captured the 2020 awards for Best Bourbon and Best Small Batch Bourbon – both overall and within the 6–10-year category (Barrell Bourbon Batch 021) and the 2017 awards for Best Bourbon and Best Small Batch Bourbon, (Barrell Bourbon Batch 011) and Best Over Proof Rum (Barrell Rum Batch 001).
For more information, follow Barrell Craft Spirits® on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram 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.
Barrell Craft Spirits®, Barrell®, Barrell Bourbon® and Barrell Rye® are registered trademarks owned by Barrell Craft Spirits LLC.
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by admin | Apr 20, 2023 | IN THE NEWS
New Series of Releases Features a Blend of Rye Whiskey Designed for its Unique Finishing Cask
Louisville, KY (April 20, 2023) – Barrell Craft Spirits® (BCS), the original independent blender of unique aged, cask strength whiskey since 2013, will add Rye to its already expansive Private Release offerings, as it continues to lead the industry in micro-blending unique expressions for whiskey enthusiasts. For this special series, BCS selected Rye whiskeys from Indiana and Canada and then blended them into unique recipes with variations on a theme. Beginning this month with 10 initial selections, each release will feature a blend of Rye whiskey designed for its unique finishing cask.
The BCS Private Release Rye Series includes:
- Rye Whiskey finished in an Armagnac Cask
- Rye Whiskey finished in a Bourbon Whiskey Barrel
- Rye Whiskey finished in an XO Cognac Cask
- Rye Whiskey finished in an Oloroso Sherry Barrel
- Rye Whiskey finished in a Madeira Barrel
- Rye Whiskey finished in a Ruby Port Barrel
- Rye Whiskey finished in a Barbados Rum Cask
- Rye Whiskey finished in a Sauternes Barrel
- Rye Whiskey finished in a Tokaji Barrel
- Rye Whiskey finished in a Pedro Ximenez Sherry Barrel
Known best for blending award-winning, unique aged spirits at cask strength, BCS’ Private Release Series showcases the team’s blending expertise while maintaining a single barrel-like scale controlled entirely by hand and by palate. Private Release barrels also offer retailers, bourbon clubs and whiskey aficionados something truly unique.
“We’ve expanded our successful Private Release program to include rye whiskeys featuring unique finishing barrels and casks from around America and the world,” said BCS Founder Joe Beatrice. “For more than 10 years, we’ve led the industry in micro-blending and have proudly pioneered many of these finishes being utilized by other producers today.”
Each offering in the Private Release Series is produced as a limited release, has a distinct flavor profile, and contains between 150-180 total 750ml bottles, with an SRP of $109.99.
Click the link below for more information: https://www.barrellbourbon.com/privaterelease
For more information, follow Barrell Craft Spirits® on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram 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.
Barrell Craft Spirits®, Barrell®, Barrell Bourbon® and Barrell Rye® are registered trademarks owned by Barrell Craft Spirits LLC.
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by admin | Apr 17, 2023 | IN THE NEWS
Distilled Spirits Veteran Sets His Sights on the Company’s Next Phase of Growth
Los Angeles, CA (April 17, 2022) – Infuse Spirits Group, a portfolio of award-winning spirits brands, today appointed Simon Burch as its new Chief Executive Officer. In this role, Burch will oversee day-to-day operations for Infuse Spirits Group, parent company of Broken Barrel Whiskey Company, as well as develop commercial strategies, achieve revenue goals, and manage the organizational structure.
An industry veteran with 20 years of experience in distilled spirits, Burch most recently served as CEO of Green River Distilling in Charleston, South Carolina, where he led a dramatic expansion agenda for the organization, culminating in a sale to Bardstown Bourbon Company last year. He also held multiple executive leadership positions at Pernod Ricard, Diageo, and Moët Hennessy. While at Diageo, Simon led the USA Tequila, Rum, and Vodka brand portfolios before transitioning to Global Head of Smirnoff Vodka, the world’s largest Spirits brand. Subsequently, he joined Moet Hennessy as CMO of Belvedere Vodka.
As part of the agreement, Burch will become a major shareholder in the company and join the current Executive Board of Directors, alongside former Founder & CEO Seth Benhaim, who will assume the new title of Founder & Chief Creative Officer.
“What began as a typical customer-supplier relationship has grown into a natural partnership between Seth and I,” said Burch. “This new role allows him to be laser-focused on what he does best – enhancing and transforming spirits through his own innovative ideas and process. His concepts are perhaps the most exciting I’ve come across in my career. The company’s brands are in great shape with Broken Barrel recently being awarded ‘World’s Best Tasting Finished Kentucky Bourbon,’ and I look forward to accelerating the growth of these award winning, world-class brands.”
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to have Simon join our team,” said Benhaim. “He is a proven leader with a successful track record of building and selling iconic spirits brands. With an incredibly unique proposition and a fierce passion for these brands, this was the perfect time and a necessary transition to take us to the next level.”
Simon earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Durham University. A UK citizen with USA permanent residence, he currently lives in New York State.
About Infuse Spirits
Seth Benhaim started Infuse Spirits Group in his grandmother’s garage in 2012. The brand, which was named “Best Flavored Vodka” at the 2014 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, is the world’s only single-bottle infusion, made with real fruit in the bottle, and no added sugar, color, or artificial flavoring. To date, the brand has earned more than 75 industry awards and is currently sold in 35 U.S. states.
About Broken Barrel Whiskey Co.
Founded in 2017, Broken Barrel Whiskey is a portfolio of premium whiskeys sourced from Green River Distilling in Owensboro, Kentucky. The core expressions feature exclusively Kentucky Straight Bourbon and Rye Whiskey, which are further aged and finished using various types and combinations of barrel staves. For more information, please visit www.brokenbarrelwhiskey.com
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by admin | Mar 28, 2023 | IN THE NEWS
New Flagship Expression Aged for Eight Years Meets Increased Consumer Demand for Double Oak Whiskey
BARDSTOWN, Ky. (March 27, 2023) – Chicken Cock Whiskey – one of America’s oldest whiskey brands – has released a Double Oak Kentucky Whiskey, which was aged for eight years. This special release was created in response to the increased consumer demand for Double Oak whiskey which, according to Nielsen[1], is growing +18% compared to the overall whiskey category growth of 1% year over year. Double Oak was bottled in a Prohibition-era Chicken Cock replica apothecary-style at 92 proof (46% ABV).
“You can’t have great whiskey without great wood and this expression is the perfect marriage of age and wood,” said Matti Anttila, founder of Grain & Barrel Spirits, which owns Chicken Cock Whiskey. “That’s why we aged our eight-year-old whiskey in American oak barrels twice. This process allows us to extract all the great flavor within the oak to create a robust and intriguing sipper that’s likely to not last long on the shelves.”
The history behind Double Oak goes back to the 2014 barrel shortage when cooperages couldn’t make barrels due to unusually heavy precipitation that impacted logging. Distilleries continued to make whiskey, but they were forced to put their whiskey in used barrels. Because one of the key requirements to being labeled a Kentucky Straight Bourbon is that the liquid must be aged in new white American oak barrels, Chicken Cock Whiskey Double Oak is the combination of two distinct barrel finishings – seven-year-old Kentucky Whiskey which was aged in used barrels and then transferred into new white American oak barrels, which were placed on the top floor of the rickhouse at Bardstown Bourbon Company during one of the hottest Kentucky summers on record, which is perfect for aging whiskey. After about 18 months in the new American oak barrels, the team bottled Chicken Cock Double Oak making it an eight-year-old Kentucky Whiskey.
Tasting Notes
- Appearance: chestnut brown
- Aroma: dark chocolate covered berries, toasted coconut shavings and caramel coffee
- Flavor: vanilla bean, waffle cone, steeped berries, and warm baking spices
- Finish: round and balanced with creamy undertones and hints of crème brulée and cinnamon flan
Chicken Cock Double Oak is available nationally at retail and online at www.chickencockwhiskey.com, Caskers and ReserveBar for the suggested retail price of $99.99 per 750ml bottle.
When Chicken Cock Whiskey Founder James A. Miller started making whiskey in Bourbon Co., Kentucky in the 1830s, bourbon wasn’t even bourbon yet. Seeing the increasing value of his liquid creation, Miller formally established Chicken Cock Whiskey (thought to be named after the rooster feathers he used to stir his drinks with) in 1856. Chicken Cock hit peak prestige when it was served as the house whiskey at the Cotton Club in Harlem, one of Prohibition’s most legendary speakeasies. In 2012, Matti Anttila rediscovered the brand and set out to resurrect it to its Prohibition-era glory. Today, Chicken Cock Whiskey’s Master Distiller Gregg Snyder oversees all parts of the whiskey-making process from bark to barrel, bourbon to bottle, and the whiskey is distilled at Bardstown Bourbon Company’s Collaborative Distilling Program facility. The brand currently has two flagship products, Kentucky Straight Bourbon and Kentucky Straight Rye, as well as a number of creative limited edition releases, like the recently launched Double Oak Whiskey and Chanticleer.
About Grain & Barrel Spirits
Based in Charleston, South Carolina, Grain & Barrel Spirits is an innovative-driven global spirits portfolio that develops and scales authentic brands – connecting the best artisans with markets and consumers around the world. The company’s core brands include: Chicken Cock Whiskey, a historically significant whiskey brand established in Paris, Kentucky, in 1856; Tequila Eterno Verano, a range of ultra-premium tequilas made for adventurous souls; Dixie Vodka, the leading premium homegrown vodka produced in the Southeast, having won the prestigious 2019 and 2020 and 2021 “Rising Star” Growth Brands Awards from Beverage Dynamics magazine; High Goal Luxury Gin, a small batch, ultra-premium gin produced in Charleston; Elvis Whiskey, Elvis Presley-inspired whiskeys; and Virgil Kaine Lowcountry Whiskey. Grain & Barrel Spirits has been named to the prestigious Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing privately held companies in America three years in a row.
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[1] Nielsen Latest 52 Weeks 10/29/22 Total US Liquor
by admin | Mar 28, 2023 | IN THE NEWS
New Offering at the Company’s Tasting Rooms and Online Features a Trio of Different Types of Whiskey Finished in Unique Wine Cases
Traverse City, MI (March 27, 2023) – Traverse City Whiskey Co. (TCWC), a portfolio of premium whiskeys and bourbon made in Michigan, today unveiled “The Finishing Series,” a set of three types of whiskey finished for up to 12 months in unique wine cases.
“Starting with three of our award-winning whiskeys, we further aged them using various wine cases, and captured fond memories of folks’ time here in Traverse City in a bottle,” said Chris Fredrickson, Co-Founder and President, Traverse City Whiskey Co. “Here in Northern Michigan, we don’t just distill whiskey; we distill the spirit of Traverse City itself.”
Here’s a look at the lineup:
- Port Barrel Finish – a bourbon whiskey featuring TCWC’s classic straight bourbon mashbill (75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley) aged for five years and rested for nearly 12 months in massive 300L Ruby Port wine barrels. The dryness of the casks meld perfectly with the sweetness of the bourbon. 100 proof (50% ABV)
- Nose: Very light, stone fruit and buttercream, hint of orange
- Body: Sweet and silky; tart cherries, vanilla, sweet fennel, hint of toasted marshmallow
- Finish: Tannic but slightly sweet, burnt sugar and toasted orange peel
- Cab Franc Barrel Finish – TCWC’s 100% straight rye whiskey aged for five years and rested for nearly 12 months in Cabernet Franc barrels from an artisan northern Michigan winery. 97.5 proof (48.75% ABV)
- Nose: Sweet cherries, lemongrass, wintergreen, milk chocolate
- Body: Dry and lightly buttery; caraway seed, toasted sesame, and a hint of bitter orange
- Finish: Tannic, whole grains fading to 100% cocoa nibs
- Sherry Barrel Finish – a unique high-rye bourbon whiskey featuring a mashbill of 60% corn, 36% rye and 4% malted barley, which was aged for five years in new American Oak barrels and then rested in Pedro Ximenez sherry wine barrels for nearly 12 months. 95 proof (47.5% ABV)
- Nose: Caramel, sassafras (root beer), cinnamon, andraisins
- Body: Light andnutty; walnut, toasted almond, green cardamom, and a hint of vanilla bean
- Finish: Mild, toasted rye bread andtobacco
Whiskey enthusiasts can now purchase the complete set of three or individual 750ml bottles at the company’s two tasting rooms (in Traverse City and Ferndale, MI) and online at tcwhiskey.com for $59.99/each.
Known as the “Whiskey of the North,” the TCWC draws upon its early family roots in the distilled spirits industry dating back to the late 1800’s, sourcing all their grains from the Midwest. The distilling team, led by Chris Fredrickson, strives to make quality products, inspired by patented distilling techniques invented by Fredrickson’s great grandfather that were approved by the US PTO during the prohibition era.
For more information, please visit www.tcwhiskey.com and follow the brand on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @tcwhiskey
About Traverse City Whiskey Co.
Traverse City Whiskey Co. is an independent and locally owned distilled spirits company based in Traverse City, Michigan, that’s dedicated to producing approachable premium to super-premium whiskey and bourbon. Known as “The Whiskey of the North,” the upstart company draws upon its early family roots in the distilled spirits industry dating back to the late 1800’s, sourcing all grains from the Midwest.
Traverse City Whiskey Co. is a proud member of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS).
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