News Briefs for September 18, 2023

•Stoli Group’s Kentucky Owl has unveiled Maighstir Edition, the latest collaborative limited release from the high-end American whiskey brand. The new offering was made by departing master blender John Rhea and the brand’s new master blender Maureen Robinson and, according to the company, is inspired by Scotch whiskies. Maighstir Edition blends 4-, 5-, 8-, and 9-year-old Kentucky Bourbons and is bottled at 50% abv. The limited edition whiskey carries a suggested price of $150.

•Gonzalez Byass USA CEO Nicolas Bertino has departed the company, effective last Friday, September 15. During his 15 years with the group, Bertino served as international sales director and, following that, as CEO of Gonzalez Byass USA. Coinciding with Bertino’s departure, the company has named Andrew Sinclair as vice president, sales and marketing for Gonzalez Byass USA. Sinclair, a veteran of the Spanish wine and spirits group since 2006, will report to Enrique Murillo, another company veteran, who was recently named CEO Americas for Gonzalez Byass.

•Renegade Rum has expanded its distribution, adding nine new states. The brand has partnered with Empire Distributors to add Tennessee, Georgia, and Colorado; Slocum & Sons in Connecticut; Frederick Wildman in New York and New Jersey; Horizon in Massachusetts, Greenlight in Texas; and Heritage in Kentucky. Renegade’s new markets will also receive the brand’s newly launched flagship rums: All-Island Cuvée, Nova, Single Farm Cuvée: Dunfermline, Cuvée: Aura, and MicrOrigin: Hope. All of Renegade’s rums are produced at its distillery on the Caribbean island of Grenada. Texas-based Morf Brands is the brand’s importer.

•New York-based importer and distributor Skurnik Wines & Spirits has been named the exclusive distributor of Yarden Wines in California. Yarden is the premier label and flagship brand of Israel’s Golan Heights Winery. Skurnik says the new partnership comes at an opportune time as interest in Israeli wines continues to grow in the United States, with the category leveraging distinctive taste profiles, innovation, and historical significance.

•American independent bottler Lost Lantern has revealed its latest whiskies: the Fall 2023 Single Cask Collection. The five whiskies come from Balcones, Smooth Ambler, New Riff, Corbin Cash, and Andalusia Whiskey Co. The Balcones release is a single malt finished in peated whiskey casks at 60.2% abv with 241 bottles available; from Smooth Ambler comes an 87-bottle release of a Straight Bourbon at 60.7% abv; the New Riff bottling is a 58.1% abv Straight Bourbon with 196 bottles available; the Corbin Cash cask offers up 146 bottles of a 7-year-old rye at 64.9% abv; and the Andalusia bottling comes out to 177 bottles of American single malt at 52.6% abv. All carry a suggested price of $100 a bottle, except for the Corbin Cash release at $120.

Tagged : Empire, Frederick Wildman, Gonzalez Byass, Greenlight, Heritage, Horizon, Kentucky Owl, Lost Lantern, Renegade Rum, Skurnik, slocum, Stoli

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