News Briefs for March 6, 2023

•Roberto Ramirez Laverde has been named global senior vice president of Bacardi rum. Succeeding Ned Duggan, who last year was appointed global CMO at Bacardi Ltd, Ramirez Laverde will be based between the brand’s offices in Miami and global headquarters in Bermuda. Formerly serving with Bacardi from 2013-2019, he now rejoins the brand from Mastercard in Latin America and the Caribbean where he served as senior vice president marketing and communications for the last four years.

•Champagne Bollinger has announced the release of R.D. 2008, the newest vintage in the Champagne house’s line of luxury wines. The wine is a blend of 71% Pinot Noir and 29% Chardonnay sourced from across 18 crus in the region. Bollinger’s R.D. releases spend at least 13 years on the lees and during secondary fermentation the bottles are hand riddled and disgorged by hand as well. Champagne Bollinger R.D. 2008 is now available for a suggested price of $440 a bottle.

•Brown-Forman has announced the 2023 release of Woodford Reserve’s limited edition Kentucky Derby bottling. This year’s bottle celebrates the 50th anniversary of Secretariat’s 1973 run. The art was created by Kentucky-based artist Jaime Corum. The bottle—which contains Woodford’s 45.2% abv flagship Bourbon—carries a suggested price of $55 a bottle. Last year, Woodford Reserve was up 14.2% to just under 1.3 million cases in the U.S., according to Impact Databank.

•The Boston Beer Company has expanded its line of Hard MTN Dew RTDs, adding a new flavor called “Livewire.” The orange and other citrus flavored drink is at 5% abv and is made without caffeine or added sugars. Each serving contains 100 calories per 12-ounces. Hard MTN Dew Livewire is now available in 24-ounce cans in Florida, Iowa, Tennessee, Arkansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Las Vegas, and Virginia.

•Rémy Cointreau’s Westland Distillery has announced Solum Edition 1 American Single Malt Whiskey, the final release in the company’s Outpost Range. The whiskey is bottled at 50% abv and made from American peated malt from Washington’s Skagit Valley. Before bottling, the whiskey matured in a combination of Cooper’s Reserve new American oak, Cooper’s Select new American oak, and first fill ex-Bourbon barrels. Solum Edition 1 is a limited release with only 4,044 700-ml. bottles released globally. Each bottle carries a suggested price of $150.

Tagged : Bacardi, Bollinger, Boston Beer, Brown-Forman

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