News Briefs for January 27, 2015
January 27, 2015•Campari America’s Wild Turkey Bourbon has promoted Eddie Russell to the role of master distiller. Eddie, who first joined Wild Turkey in 1981, is the youngest son of current Wild Turkey master distiller Jimmy Russell, who celebrated his 60th anniversary with the company in September. Prior to his promotion, Eddie served as Wild Turkey’s associate distiller, and before that, he was manager of barrel maturation and warehousing. According to the company, Jimmy and Eddie Russell will now work jointly as co-master distillers for Wild Turkey, with Eddie set to release the first Bourbon created in his new role some time this year. Additionally, both Jimmy and Eddie have collaborated to produce a new entry in Wild Turkey’s small batch Russell’s Reserve series, which is also slated to launch in 2015.
•The Napa County Sheriff’s office has recovered the majority of wines stolen from the French Laundry restaurant on Christmas Day, Wine Spectator has reported. No arrests have been made, and the police wouldn’t comment on how the stolen wine was discovered. The investigation is ongoing. On Monday, after three weeks of investigation, three detectives flew to Greensboro, N.C., to recover 72 of 76 stolen bottles, returning two days later. Capt. Doug Pike of the Napa County Sheriff’s Office told Wine Spectator that the wines were recovered from a wine buyer, and police suspect that the buyer didn’t know they had purchased stolen goods. Pike wouldn’t comment on exactly where the bottles were found, but he added, “We were told they were well taken care of.” Someone pried open the front door of chef Thomas Keller’s iconic Yountville restaurant while it was closed for remodeling. Once the theft was discovered, the restaurant team reported more than $300,000 worth of wine was missing, a total of 76 bottles, including 63 from the prized Burgundy producer Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.
•California’s Shannon Ridge Family of Wines has acquired a further 430 acres of vineyards in Lake County. The company’s recent purchases included 280 acres in Long Valley, which will be planted with Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir; 100 acres from three different properties in the Big Valley/Kelseyville area planted with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc; and 50 acres in the Red Hills AVA, planted with Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah.
•U.K.-based alcoholic ginger beer brand Crabbie’s has launched its first non-ginger offering—Crabbie’s Cloudy Alcoholic Lemonade—in the U.S. market. The debut entry in the new Crabbie’s Fruits lineup, Cloudy Alcoholic Lemonade is infused with tart, lemon flavor and packaged in four-packs of 11-ounce bottles. The 4.8%-abv product joins Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer Original and Spiced Orange in the brand’s existing U.S. lineup. Available across 43 states, the Crabbie’s range is handled in the U.S. by Massachusetts’ St. Killian Importing.
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Subscribe to Shanken News Daily’s Email Newsletter, delivered to your inbox each morning.Tagged : Campari America, Wild Turkey, Wine Spectator
