News Briefs for September 27, 2023
September 27, 2023•Stella Rosa is adding to its range with a collection of sweet and spicy wines. Initially kicking off with a Pineapple & Chili flavor that the company says has become the fastest-selling flavored wine SKU to enter the market in 2023, the collection is now adding two new offerings: Lime & Chili and Mango & Chili. Each flavor blends Moscato D’Asti grapes and tropical flavors with Italian chili peppers and is bottled at 5% abv. Stella Rosa’s sweet and spicy wines retail at $11 and are distributed across most major retailers. Stella Rosa had U.S. volume of 4 million cases last year.
•Casa Komos Brands Group (CKBG) is introducing Superbird Tequila. The brand includes three expressions: Blanco ($30), Reposado ($30), and Fuego ($33), a jalapeño-infused spicy Tequila. The brand’s commercial operations are led by president of Superbird, Matthew Slosek. Prior to Superbird, Slosek worked at LVMH on Belvedere Vodka. Superbird Tequila is hitting select retailers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin, with additional markets launching later this year. CKBG’s portfolio also includes luxury-priced Tequila Komos. The company was created by Richard Betts and Joe Marchese.
•Buffalo Trace is launching The Prohibition Collection, an annual limited-edition, multi-bottle collection honoring its status as one of six distilleries granted a license to produce and sell medicinal whiskey by the U.S. government during Prohibition. The inaugural set features five whiskies, each created in tribute to a historic brand. They include Old Stagg, a barrel-proof (132.4 proof), uncut and unfiltered whiskey; Golden Wedding, a 107-proof rye; Three Feathers, a 100-proof, bottled-in-bond whiskey; Walnut Hill, a 90-proof high-rye Bourbon; and George T. Stagg Distillery Spiritus Frumenti, a 110-proof wheated Bourbon. Available at a suggested retail price of $1,000 as of October, the collection is housed in a custom wooden display case with each of the five 375-ml. bottles inspired by their Prohibition-era packaging and original bottle size.
•Gran Maizal, the Mexican whisky founded in 2020 by entrepreneurs Cesar Ayala and Gonzalo de la Pezuela, has launched in the U.S. The 43% abv whisky is distilled and aged at Destileria La Vibora in the Yucatan, Mexico, and is made from nixtamalized maize and matured with vanilla pods and cacao nibs. It’s rested in porous pots which, according to the company, keeps the oak influence in check and allows the flavors from the corn to shine through. The brand’s founders were assisted by Heather Greene, of Texas distiller Milam & Greene, and academic and fermentation expert Francisco Ruiz. The whisky is now available through the brand’s website for $57.
•Wyoming Whiskey announced the release of its new Bourbon: National Parks No. 3. The new whiskey pays tribute to Grand Teton National Park and supports the park’s philanthropic partner Grand Teton National Park Foundation. It’s a straight Bourbon aged a minimum of five years. It’s bottled at 52.5% and is priced at $80 a 750-ml., available in select markets. Also launching is The Grand collection. It’s made up of three different 10-year single barrels identified by master blender Nancy Fraley. Only 400 bottles of The Grand are available for sale in Wyoming, California, Colorado, and New York and they’re priced at $500 a bottle.
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