Barbados' Famed Mount Gay Rum Gets a Redesign

One of our very favorite spirits, Barbados' Mount Gay Rum is getting a new look courtesy of a Parisian design firm. QSLD Paris was charged with giving the iconic brand a refresher while keeping it firmly rooted in the traditions of the 300-year-old distillery.

QSLD came up with a new oval-shaped bottle, designed to be uncluttered and very comfortable to handle. The company crest is engraved on the bottle face and the label has been redesigned for a cleaner feel, while the rum's signature red cap remains.

QSLD had already re-designed the brand's Extra Old and 1703 Cask Selection bottlings before turning its attention to the classic, known as Eclipse. Founded by Denis Boudard, QSLD has done design work for several luxury brands including Guerlain, Lacoste, Chopard, Oscar de la Renta, Veuve Clicquot and Hennessy.

The new design also contains cues to the rum's nautical heritage. A legend dating from the 1600s relates that in order to prove passage across the Atlantic from Europe to the "New World," sailors were obliged to bring back a barrel of Barbados rum.

As evidence of its "profound and privileged relationship with the sea, with sailors and with ships", every year Mount Gay Rum proudly sponsors over 120 regattas around the globe.

New Heineken glass for a perfect pour

A new glass for Heineken has been designed to ensure the beer is served with a continental style big head.

Heineken: over-sized pint glasses

The new glass is larger than a pint, with the pint level clearly marked for barstaff, following customer research which found a demand for “authentically served premium beers with the correct head size,” Heineken brand manager Julia

Rodger said.

The glass has been designed to retain the head for longer and, like the glassware for sister brands Foster’s and Strongbow, also carries alcohol content information to promote responsible drinking.

“Branded glassware is immensely important to both the brand and licensees because it optimises in-outlet quality and significantly enhances the consumer experience in a pub,” said Rodger.

The brewer is also investing in a training programme for barstaff called Glass Act, which it hopes will re-ignite the trade’s passion for perfect pouring techniques and glass care.

Posters in outlets will highlight the benefits to consumers.

Aussie Spirits trio promotes purity

The Aussie Spirits company is launching three new drinks into the UK market, following success in its homeland.

American Spirits line up

Vodka O, Tequila Blu and Kinkylux rum are being positioned as a high quality, but reasonably priced, alternative to mainstream brands.

Founder Julian Moss also claims that each of the spirits have lower levels of chemical impurities than their rivals and, therefore, have a better, smoother taste.

Moss founded the company six years ago with a chemical engineer in a bid to create spirits with low levels of impurities.

“Our passion for purity has been well received in Australia by consumers who seek the best and we look forward to introducing this to UK consumers in the coming months,” Moss said. “We want to shake up the UK market with our high quality, reasonably-priced products.”

Vodka O is made from whey and Australian water. It’s distilled four times and charcoal filtered.

Tequila Blu is distilled from the Mexican blue agave and aged for up to six months in oak, which gives it a rich, smoky flavour.

Kinkylux is a white rum made from sugar cane grown in Trinidad and Tobago. It is aged in oak for two years to create a smooth, mellow and refreshing spirit.

The company will be increasing brand awareness in the UK with a strategy of sampling at events such as Taste London and the Relentless Boardmasters surfing festival in Newquay, as well as celebrity endorsements.

Rare whisky duo launch

Two rare Japanese whiskies are set to hit UK shores this autumn. Both are available only as limited editions at around £70 to £80 a bottle.

Yamazaki: £70 to £80 a bottle

The non-age Yamazaki Puncheon single malt has been aged in American white oak and is non-chill filtered.

It is said to have aromas of red berries and sweet red berries on the palate.

The second, Hakushu single malt, is heavily peated and was distilled at the Suntory-owned Hakushu distillery.

Aromas include carbolic soap and in the mouth it is said to be salty and smoky.

High hopes for low-ABV wine range

Customers who don’t like the taste of alcohol now have another option.

Botany Creek is a lower-alcohol fruity wine made by Halewood International.

Targeted at women aged 25 to 45, the 7.5% ABV wine comes in two flavours —white with a hint of citrus & tropical fruits, and rosé with strawberry flavours.

“We’ve created a great-tasting wine that appeals to the original generation of RTD consumers, as well as women looking for an alcoholic drink without a strong alcohol taste, and consumers looking for a lower-ABV product,” said head of innovation, Richard Clark.

“We believe that Botany Creek bridges the gap between light wines or RTDs and traditional, higher-ABV wines.”

Diageo launches Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange

Diageo is launching an ambitious new initiative for its Smirnoff brand, in a bid to create buzz and excitement around the vodka globally.

Smirnoff Nightime Exchange: swap events

The Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project, aims to identify the best elements of a night out in 14 different countries and then take those elements to a different country to create a night out with a difference.

All of the swap events will take place on the 27 November this year but which countries will swap with each other remains a secret until late in October.

In the UK the company has enlisted the help of DJ Zane Lowe to help compile the best of a UK night out from suggestions made by consumers — ideas can be anything from music to cocktails to a fashion trend.

Brand ambassadors will be touring the UK to collect ideas in the next few weeks and consumers filmed as part of the tour will get a chance to star in the TV campaign which is launching this week to help promote the initiative.

The 14 countries taking part include the US, Brazil, India, Germany, South Africa, Poland and the UK.

Belvedere Vodka In Search of New Global Ambassador

Super-premium vodka Belvedere is holding a global competition to recruit its next global brand ambassador.

The public can apply via Belvedere's Facebook page, www.facebook.com/BelvedereDreamJob!!. Entrants can upload videos demonstrating why they think they have the right stuff. The campaign kicked off on the 'Chelsea Lately' show hosted by Chelsea Handler.

The cut-off date for uploading videos is October 16 for the chance to win a one-year $100,000 contract, and the opportunity to gain international recognition while traveling the world with current Belvedere ambassador Claire Smith!

After the polls close on October 16, the semi finalists in each region around the world will be contacted about the next challenge. In December, both Chelsea Handler and Claire Smith will join the celebrity judges panel during the Finalist Competition to determine who will win the role of the Belvedere Global Ambassador in 2011.

Belvedere, named after the presidential palace of Poland, comes from a century old distillery in the small town of Żyrardow, just West of Warsaw.

Dankowskie Gold Rye is the single grain ingredient, and it is distilled four times. It typically retails for around $40.00 for a 750 ml bottle.

This Whisky Tastes Like...

Is the whole really more than the sum of its parts (or in this case, ingredients)? You'd better hope so if you're going to be drinking this. While some low-quality whiskies might taste like – well... you know – here's a whisky that's actually made from human urine. From an elderly diabetic, no less.

The distillate is the work of one James Gilipin, a designer and researcher who took samples from his 73-year-old grandmother Patricia Gilipin, filtered it (extensively, we hope) through a modern water purification system, separated the sugars and added it to a cooked grain mixture. The yeast contained therein converted the sugar into alcohol, which he then blended with other whiskies to add flavor and color.

The result was unveiled at Design Interactions, an exposition held at London's Royal College of Art, and will go on tour to other shows as well. Thankfully no plans are in place for commercial availability, as the "Gilipin Family Whisky" is meant solely as a research project, but Gilipin has offered visitors to the expositions the opportunity to taste his product. Hey, it's all going to the same place anyway, right? 
[Source: Slashfood]

Highland Park Saint Magnus Single Malt

Whisky connoisseurs know Highland Park for its virtually unsurpassed richness and complexity of flavor, consistently rated among the best single malts to come from Scotland. Last year Hebridean distillery released theEarl Magnus, a particularly strong expression celebrating the legendary Earl of Orkney – the 11th century ruler of the archipelago which Highland Park calls home.

Now Highland Park is following up with the much-anticipated second release in the Magnus collection – itself a homage to the distillery's founder Magnus Eunson. Called Saint Magnus, this latest expression is named after one of the six canonized Norsemen during Orkney's Norwegian rule in the 11th and 12th centuries. More than 20 churches bear his name, and now the second in a series of three special Highland Park expressions bares his name.

The Highland Park Saint Magnus is bottled at an exceptionally strong 55% abv, matured in Spanish oak casks for over twelve years. Only 11,994 bottles will be produced, and offered to the public at £85 per bottle.

Justin si Tequila

De curand, Justin Timberlake a lansat propriul brand de tequila - 901 Silver. Dupa ce a inspectat peste 10 distilerii, s-a oprit la producatorul Tequilera Newton din Jalisco, Mexic, ce venea cu o experienta de peste 60 de ani in domeniu. Noul brand nu doreste de a se folosi de numele lui Timberlake pentru a se promova, de aceea nici nu va fi amintit pe sticla. Mai degraba, brandul se adreseaza cunoscatorilor, celor ce cauta o abordare noua, moderna a tequilei.
Denumirea de 901 are dubla semnificatie, reprezentand, atat codul ariei in care Timberlake are casa in Memphis, cat si momentul in care incep activitatile nocturne.
Momentan, 901 se va  comercializa in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas si St. Louis, dar poate va ajunge si la noi, sa vedem cu ce fel de bautura si-a asociat numele domnul Timberlake. 

De la productie ilegala la brand

Cu mult timp inainte ca George Smith sa infiinteze distileria Speyside in 1824, parohia din Glenlivet avea, deja, o reputatie in distilarea whisky-ului, chiar daca, la acea vreme, ilegal.

Din momentul in care Smith si-a luat licenta de producator in zona Glenlivet, singurul lui tel a fost sa-si indeparteze concurenta, la vremea aceea formata din contrabandisti, si sa creeze asa numitul "Original Single Malt". Chiar daca multi au dorit sa se poata folosi de numele zonei (din cauza altitudinii, whisky-ul capata o savoare aparte), in 1884, whisky-ul Smith capata dreptul de a se numi "The Glenlivet", iar din 1888 acest drept devine unul exclusiv - trademark.

In prezent, "Original Single Malt" s-a axat pe definirea unei linii de productie a whisky-ului de calitate, fiecare marca produsa pastrandu-si stilul caracteristic, dar fiind toate sub patronajul "The Glenlivet". Chiar de la inceput, cand George Smith si-a deschis distileria, el a marcat un nou standard in aceasta industrie, whisky-ul sau definind gustul Speyside. Plecand de la The Glenlivet 12 Year Old  si ajungand la The Glenlivet Nadurra 16 Year Old Glenlivet este, in acest moment, parte a stilului rafinat si isi mentine pozitia dobandita inca din 1824.

Carlsberg Vintage No. 2

Daca ar fi sa ne ghidam dupa reclama am spune "Carlsberg - Probably the Best Beer Probably in the World... Ei bine, in acest caz vom spune "Carlsberg Vintage No. 2 - Probably The Most Expensive Beer In The World". De ce? Raspuns simplu: 250 euro/sticla.

Editia limitata Vintage No. 2 reprezinta a doua bere din trilogia Vintage, fiind produse doar 600 de sticle. Vintage No. 1 a debutat anul trecut, fiind startul unei campanii de promovare a berii, in segmentul de lux, ca si rivala a vinului.

Vintage No. 2 este o Baltic Porter, ce isi are originile in Imperial Stout, secolul XVIII si a fost facuta pentru tarina Ecaterina cea Mare. Aceasta bere a fost maturata intr-o asa numita crama inca din 1847 si a fost tinuta timp de 100 de zile in butoi de stejar. Are ca data de expirare anul 2059.
Vintage No. 2 se tine la 15-20°C si se poate servi alaturi de stridii, crustacee, sunca de Parma si branza, dar si cu dulciuri, ciocolata sau crema de zahar ars.

Cam atat... ne ramane sa asteptam Vintage No. 3.

PS: Sper ca pana atunci sa nu apara pe la noi nici un Vintage la draft....