News Briefs for April 3, 2024
April 3, 2024•Diageo has unveiled the latest release from the Orphan Barrel Whiskey Distilling Co., Indigo’s Hour. The 18-year-old Straight Bourbon is made from a mash of 68% corn, 28% rye, and 4% malt. Distilled in Indiana, the whiskey matured in Kentucky before bottling in Tennessee at 45% abv. The label pays tribute to the whiskey’s journey, featuring a butterfly from Indiana, a tree from Kentucky, and a landscape inspired by the area around Cascade Hollow in Tennessee. Orphan Barrel Indigo’s Hour is now available in limited quantities, priced at $225 a bottle.
•Spirits incubator WES Brands and actor and singer Jamie Foxx have returned BSB Whiskey to the market, with a new look and taste. The 35% abv flavored whiskey went through a two year redesign, according to the company, resulting in a new matte black bottle with a glow-in-the-dark label. The whiskey is blended and bottled in Tennessee and is now available in select retailers, as well as through the brand’s website, retailing at $25 a 750-ml.
•Kobrand is extending Alizé liqueur with a new grape expression. Made with French vodka, the new entry is bottled at 16% abv and retails at $23 a 750-ml. It joins Alizé Gold Passion, Bleu Passion, and Red Passion in the liqueur brand’s lineup. Alizé has had U.S. volume of approximately 200,000 cases in recent years.
•2XO Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, the collaboration between Prestige Beverage Group and Dixon Dedman, has announced the Kiawah Blend, the fourth release in the brand’s limited Icons Series. Named for the Charleston, South Carolina barrier island, The Kiawah Blend brings together two different Bourbons, one made from a mashbill with 35% rye and one with 18% rye. After its initial maturation, the higher rye whiskey is matured in a second charred new oak barrel. The whiskey is bottled at 52% abv and carries a suggested price of $100 a bottle. The new release from 2XO will be available across the U.S. and for online ordering through ReserveBar.
•WX Brands’ Bread & Butter has officially introduced its Sliced offshoot in the better-for-you wine category. Sliced is a new Chardonnay with 85 calories per serving and 9% alcohol by volume. It’s rolling out nationwide this spring, retailing at $16 a 750-ml. Bread & Butter earned Impact “Hot Brand” honors for its 2023 performance, with U.S. volume up 15% to above 1.5 million cases. SND recently caught up with WX Brands chief commercial officer Jeff Ngo for an update.
•Atlanta-based Blue Ridge Spirits & Wine Marketing has named Lou Conrad as chief sales and marketing officer. Conrad joins Blue Ridge from Rémy Cointreau, where he was chief commercial officer for the U.S. and Canada. Blue Ridge’s portfolio includes Brockmans Gin, JJ Corry Irish Whiskey, Loch Lomond and Glen Scotia Scotch whiskies, Coppercraft Bourbon, Heering Cherry Liqueur, and Enchanted Rock Vodka among others.
Subscribe to Shanken News Daily’s Email Newsletter, delivered to your inbox each morning.Tagged : 2XO, Alizé, Blue Ridge Spirits & Wine, Bread & Butter, BSB, Diageo, Kobrand, Orphan Barrel, Prestige Beverage Group, WES Brands, WX Brands
