News Briefs for May 15, 2024
May 15, 2024•Maryland’s Sagamore Spirit has released Small Batch Rye, the first rye whiskey made entirely at the company’s Baltimore distillery.
The whiskey is blended from two ryes—one with a higher rye mash and one with a lower rye mash—made from grains sourced via Sagamore’s farm-to-table approach to whiskey-making. The whiskies are aged between four and six years before blending in 20 gallon barrels and bottling at 46.5% abv. Sagamore Spirit Small Batch Rye carries a suggested price of $40 and is now available in select retailers across the U.S. Last fall, Illva Saronno Holding S.p.A. took a majority stake in Sagamore, with the Italian company moving Disaronno International LLC’s headquarters to the Baltimore area.
•Louisville, Kentucky’s Michter’s has announced the latest release of the company’s 10-year-old rye. The single barrel whiskey is bottled at 46.4% abv from barrels selected by Andrea Wilson, Michter’s master of maturation and the company’s master distiller Dan McKee. The limited release is now available in select retailers across the U.S. for a suggested price of $200. In addition, Michter’s plans to allocate a small portion of the 10-year-old rye for its export markets.
•San Francisco’s Hotaling & Co. has expanded Junipero Gin with a new smoked rosemary expression. The new release is made with a variety of botanicals including lapsang tea and dried rosemary and is bottled at 49.3% abv. The new gin is rolling out now across the U.S. in 750-ml. bottles for a suggested price of $35.
•Sparkling hard tea brand Loverboy has announced new expansions with both Walmart and Total Wine. Loverboy has released two new variety packs to stores nationwide, including to 1,500 Walmart locations across the U.S. (Walmart stores will also sell 6-packs of Loverboy’s Lemon Iced Tea and White Tea Peach.) The Cool Classics pack contains Loverboy’s lemon iced tea, half & half tea, black cherry vanilla tea, and strawberry lemonade tea; and Vacay Vibes features white tea peach, pineapple hibiscus tea, mango pear tea, and hibiscus lime tea. All of Loverboy’s varieties contain 90 calories per can and are at 4.2% abv. The variety 8-packs carry a suggested price of $15. In addition to the variety packs, Loverboy has teamed up with Total Wine to create national endcap program for the brand, giving Loverboy prominent placement in Total Wine’s stores.
•Zing Zang has launched a bottled Cesar cocktail, a new Canadian-exclusive from the RTD and mixer brand. The 6% abv cocktail blends vodka, vegetable juices, Worcestershire sauce, clam broth, and spices, and comes in two varieties: Original and Blazing, a spicier version. The new cocktail comes in 1.75-liter bottles and is now available throughout Alberta.
