News Briefs for February 16, 2024
February 16, 2024•Heaven’s Door Spirits has announced the Exploration Series, the newest collection of limited edition whiskies from the Bob Dylan-affiliated brand. Each year, the company plans to add two whiskies to the series with this year’s initial release a Calvados barrel and French oak stave finished Tennessee whiskey. The whiskey, according to the company, is aged for at least five years and is bottled at 54% abv. The first whiskey in the Exploration Series is now available in select retailers across the U.S. for a suggested price of $80 a bottle.
•Connecticut-based importer Votto Vines has struck a national distribution deal with Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC). Votto’s leading brands include Castelli del Grevepesa, Poggio Stella by Vecchia Cantina, and Spritzatto. In addition to its national import range, it also serves as a wholesaler in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. Going national with RNDC marks an expansion of the two companies’ existing partnership, which dates back over a decade. Votto Vines is a partnership between the Votto family and Italian wine investment and marketing company Prosit Group, whose key properties include Torrevento (Puglia), Nestore Bosco (Abruzzo), Tenuta Collalbrigo (Veneto), Cantina di Montalcino (Tuscany), and leading bottler, Caldirola.
•When entrepreneur Ray Franklin unveiled news of his brand-new distillery, Garrard County Distilling Co., in once-dry Garrard County, Kentucky, back in January, he wasn’t yet ready to reveal the name of the master distiller behind the whiskey. Instead, he teased that it would be “big news, and very unexpected.” That name has finally come to light, with Lisa Wicker being announced as Garrard County Distilling Co.’s master distiller. In her new role, Wicker’s first priority will be the distillery’s existing All Nations brand; as the distillery’s own whiskey matures, Wicker has over 17,000 barrels of sourced whiskey at her fingertips. Whisky Advocate has the full story.
•Distill Ventures, the drinks incubator backed by Diageo, has added two brands to its pre-accelerator program. They include whiskey label Jackson McCrea and Ume Plum Liqueur. Jackson McCrea is a luxury whiskey from founders Sheila Jackson and Natasha McCrea. Based in Los Angeles, the flagship offering is a 5-year-old rye finished in French oak barrels that previously held Syrah wine. Ume Plum Liqueur was founded by New York-based Jenn Toyzer and Katy Brandes. It’s billed as a purple-hued spirit inspired by the tart and slightly sweet flavor of plum liqueurs found around the world.
•Dundee Hills, Oregon’s Sokol Blosser Winery has launched a pair of new aperitif wines. The aperitifs—one red, one white—are made from brandy distilled from unsold wines in Sokol Blosser’s Evolution line and macerated with botanicals like honeydew melon, citrus peel, and pomegranate seeds for the white and local cherries, marshmallow root, and Ceylon tea for the red. The white is at 16% abv and the red is at 16.5% abv and both are now available for $25 a 375-ml. bottle through the winery’s website and in their tasting room.
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