News Briefs for November 7, 2023

•High West is launching its collaboration with fellow Constellation label The Prisoner. The Prisoner’s Share is a blend of straight Bourbon and rye whiskeys finished in The Prisoner Red Blend wine barrels and bottled at 51% abv. Retailing at $175, The Prisoner’s Share is returning in limited quantities at the brand’s Utah distillery and Saloon locations, and will be distributed to retailers nationwide, with rollout beginning this month. High West was up 16% to 170,000 cases in the U.S. last year, according to Impact Databank.

•Bowmore single malt Scotch whisky, part of the Beam Suntory portfolio, is debuting its Masters’ Selection Third Edition in the U.S. Retailing at $400 a bottle, the newcomer is a 22-year-old malt double matured in selected European Oak and Oloroso Sherry seasoned casks along with a mix of American Oak hogsheads and bottled at 51% abv. The Masters’ Selection is a collaboration with Bowmore luxury brand partner Aston Martin, with the latest edition created by Bowmore master blender Ron Welsh and Aston Martin chief creative officer Marek Reichman.

•Inspiro Tequila is expanding distribution into several new markets. After launching in Illinois in May of 2022 with Breakthru Beverage Group,, Inspiro is now the markets of Missouri (with Breakthru Beverage), Georgia (with United Distributors), Massachusetts (with M.S. Walker) and Michigan (with Benchmark Beverage Company as its sales agent). Additional markets are planned for the first quarter of 2024, including Florida with Breakthru Beverage. The ultra-premium 100%-agave brand includes Luna Blanco and Rosa Reposado variants.

•California’s Scharffenberger Cellars, part of the Roederer Collection, is getting a new look, which will roll out nationally ahead of the holiday season. The brand’s new label that features the California state flower, the poppy, in a nod to its Anderson Valley home and the vineyards of Mendocino County. Scharffenberger president Nicole Carter said the new packaging for Scharffenberger “will be eye-catching on shelf and on a restaurant table.” The 120-acre estate winery joined the Roederer Collection portfolio in 2004 and is exclusively represented by Maisons Marques & Domaines in the U.S.

•Shaw-Ross International Importers has announced the retirement of Daniel Hansen, vice president of the western region, effective November 30. On December 1, Jason Fabrizio, the current general manager of California and Hawaii, will succeed Hansen as vice president of the western region, which includes 14 states. Fabrizio joined Shaw-Ross in February of this year. He has nearly three decades of industry experience, having worked for Southern Glazer’s, Constellation, Palm Bay, Mionetto and, most recently, Terlato Wines. Hansen spent seven years with the company, and prior to that served with Palm Bay, 585 Wine Partners, and Beringer Blass among others.

Tagged : Beam Suntory, Bowmore, Breakthru Beverage, Constellation, High West, Inspiro Tequila, Roederer Collection, Scharffenberger Cellars, Shaw-Ross International, The Prisoner

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