First legal SC moonshine on the way

• From Reuters

GREENVILLE, SC -- Two entrepreneurs are taking advantage of South Carolina's new micro-distillery laws to make traditional moonshine whiskey legally in the state for the first time.

The Dark Corner Distillery will open here next month, where engineer Joe Fenten and longtime homebrewer Richard Wenger will produce and sell small batches of 100-proof moonshine from a custom-made copper still.

The distillery, housed in a 1925 building, will also include a tasting bar and a museum dedicated to the history of the Dark Corner, the local mountains that were once full of moonshiners, feud and mayhem, Fenten, 27, told Reuters.

The area was settled, along with the nearby Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, by Scots, Irish and Welsh who migrated down through the Appalachian mountain chain from Pennsylvania in the 1700s.

[Go here for the full story.]

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Whiskey history anthology out in September

Dept. of Shameless Self-Promotion:

Sterling Publishing of NYC will be going to market in September with "Barrels & Drams: The History of Whisk(e)y In Jiggers and Shots," an anthology tracing the people, politics and products of the global industry.

The "self-promotion" part is that I edited and co-wrote the book. What the "editing" part consists of includes selecting material by established writers, doing condensations and text editing, creating the thematic scope and flow of the book, and reviewing and signing off on the design, illustrations and overall look of the book. (Note: The writing part was easier.)

Among other authors I chose as contributors are such spirits-industry stalwarts as F. Paul Pacult, David Wondrich, James Rodewald and 20 others, including a gentleman with a literary place in history by the name of Tom Wolfe. His essay on NASCAR legend Junior Johnson's endeavors as a moonshine runner is a gem.

The hardcover book is 232 pages, and priced at $18.95 in the U.S. and $22.95 in Canada.

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Mount Gay launches higher-proof rum

Mount Gay Rum this month is releasing a new, higher-proof expression to the market.

Mount Gay Rum Eclipse Black is admittedly targeting a younger demographic, the company says. It is made from a blend of single- and double-distilled rums aged from two to seven years, resulting in a rum that is 50% abv (100 proof).

Master blender Allen Smith ages Eclipse Black in lightly-charred Kentucky white oak casks.

The blend will be available at a suggested retail price of $24.99 for the 750ml bottle.

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Aussies begin voluntary liquor warnings

• From The Associated Press

SYDNEY, Australia -- Australia's liquor industry today (tomorrow, Aussie time) launched a voluntary program to label its products with health warnings, possibly to preempt future criticism that it is contributing to excessive drinking that is part of the national culture.

About 80% of alcohol sold in the country -- beer, wine and spirits -- will carry the warnings, primarily aimed at teenagers and pregnant women, said Trish Worth of DrinkWise Australia, a group funded by the alcohol industry.

The group, founded in 2005, aims to overturn the traditionally benign view that Australians have had of drinking, even among teenagers. According to DrinkWise, the average Australian starts drinking alcohol at 15½ years of age and more than a quarter of 14- to 19-year-olds are putting themselves at risk of harm at least once a month.

"We see physically mature teenagers and assume that their brains are mature, but they are not," Worth told reporters. "We have to challenge ideas that are so traditional and historic in Australia."

The first few products with warning labels are already in stores but most others will introduce them gradually over the next few months, she said.

The three principal messages are "Kids and Alcohol Don't Mix," ''It is Safest Not to Drink While Pregnant," and "Is Your Drinking Harming Yourself or Others?"

The voluntary move comes ahead of an expected government decision later this year to make warnings mandatory in Australia, similar to some 14 other countries including the U.S.

[Go here for the full story.]

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Benromach unveils trio of new whiskies

The new trio of products.

Benromach, the Scottish whisky maker, has added three new expressions to its portfolio.

• Benromach Wood Finish Hermitage is a smoky single malt matured in sherry and bourbon casks, before being transferred into oak casks for 22 months.

• Benromach Cask Strength is a single malt with a peaty edge, bottled at 59.9% abv (119.8 proof).

• Benromach 30 Years Old is a single malt matured in sherry casks with a hint of peat.

David Urquhart, joint managing director of Gordon & MacPhail, owners of the boutique distillery, said, "While different in taste, they all have that recognisable Benromach quality, which is achieved by using the finest malted barley, pure spring water from the Romach Hills and the highest quality casks."

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For $200K, this Tribute can be yours

William M. Dowd illustration

• This is part of "Gotta Have ...", an ongoing series of occasional postings on unusual spirits products.

Chivas Brothers is considered Scotch whisky royalty, so it seems fitting that the whisky and gin maker has created a new blend in homage to The Honours of Scotland, the oldest crown jewels on the British Isles.

The blend is an addition to the company’s Royal Salute whisky range, and has been sampled only by its creator, Master Blender Colin Scott. Just 21 bottles of what is being called Tribute to Honour have been created, an homage to mark Scott’s 21 years of service.

The blend’s whiskies -- all at least 45 years old -- were selected from the Royal Salute Vault at the Strathisla distillery in northeast Scotland. They are presented in a bottle, dressed in diamonds and gold from the Garrard jewellery brand.

Each flagon of Royal Salute Tribute to Honour will be available beginning in September 2011. They are individually numbered and priced at £124,000 (US$200,000).

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The Rickey, nation's capital official drink

A chilled Rickey.

WASHINGTON, DC -- While Congress and the White House continue their maddening lack of achievement when it comes to the nation's financial situation, politicians in the city that hosts them have come to agreement.

The District of Columbia City Council has unanimously proclaimed The Rickey the city's official drink.

The Rickey is anything but a newcomer to the cocktail scene. Popular lore has it that it was created in 1883 by one Colonel Joe Rickey who had a bartender at Shoomaker's bar add a lime to his daily dose of bourbon with lump ice and Apollinaris sparkling mineral water. It originally was called the Joe Rickey.

That's one version, anyway. Rickey, a popular gambler, Democratic lobbyist from Missouri and man about town, was quoted by a newspaper in 1900 as saying he never actually drank Rickeys. Oh, well.

By the 1890s, a gin version of the drink surpassed the original in popularity. The D.C. Craft Bartenders Guild celebrates July as "Rickey Month."

Shoomaker's was a well-known bar, opened in 1858 by Captain Robert Otto "Charley" Hertzog and Major William Shoomaker and located at 1331 E Street near the National Theater. Both German immigrants had served as officers in the Union Army in the Civil War, and had their names anglicized. After they died, Colonel Rickey, who had owned a piece of the business, bought full ownership in 1883.

In 1914, the bar operation moved to 1311 E Street. The stretch of E street between the Willard Hotel and 13th street was known as "Rum Row." Shoomaker's closed in 1917 shortly after passage of the Sheppard Act that caused the District to go dry prior to Prohibition.

A classic Rickey recipe:

• 2 ounces gin
• Juice of 1 lime
• Club soda
• Lime wedge for garnish

Fill a highball glass with ice. Pour the gin and lime juice over the ice.Top with club soda, Garish with lime and serve.

Obviously, the choice of gin brand is yours. And, adding a splash of other flavors such as fruit juices and liqueurs can make variations on a theme.

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Smirnoff adds coconut flavored vodka

Chalk up another flavored vodka offering from Smirnoff.

The world's top-selling vodka has added Smirnoff Coconut Flavored Vodka, an infused version of Smirnoff No. 21.

Like its predecessors, the new infused expression is triple distilled and filtered 10 times, then modified with natural flavorings.

"Coconut has taken the beverage category by storm, becoming a popular flavor that consumers are calling for," said David Tapscott, Smirnoff brand director.

Smirnoff Coconut is available nationwide at a suggested price of $12.99 per 750ml bottle.

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Santana buys into tequila producer

Santana at Casa Noble

The seminal Mexican guitarist Carlos Santana has become a shareholder and board member of the Casa Noble Tequila brand.

In a statement on his official website, the Grammy Award winning guitarist said he was drawn to the company -- which dates to the late 1700s -- because of his love for tequila, saying, "I feel at home with my new family at Casa Noble. They strive for excellence and don't take shortcuts. Just like the music of Santana, one note or one drop. they are the same thing. You have to feel each note from your heart."

Santana's family roots date back to Jalisco, the Mexican state where tequila first began being produced and where most of it still is produced.

"When I visited the distillery, I immediately felt spiritually connected to the Hermosillo family and Casa Noble," he wrote, noting that he will have a "hands-on role" in the company.

Jose Hermossilo, CEO of Casa Noble, said, "The linkage between Casa Noble and Carlos Santana will create broader recognition that Casa Noble's triple distilled, organically certified tequila is truly one of the finest ultra-premium spirits."

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Mescal is making its move

Mescal leaves.

• From The New York Times

ZUMPAHUACÁN, Mexico -- Eyes pop open, mouths contort, a chorus of crisp "ahhs" rings through the room.

The mescal, the Mexican firewater best known in the United States for the worm in the bottle, has incinerated the tongue, scorched the back of the throat and begun its lava flow to the stomach.

No shots here; the drink is sipped and savored, swirled about the mouth like the finest of wines, inducing a chaser of haughty adjectives.

"Citrusy." "Honey-scented." "Woody," come the assessments from the gathering. Far from a college dorm party, it is a group of mostly 20- and 30-something professionals discovering the finer points of the artisanal version of the drink at a recent tasting in this farming village two hours from Mexico City.

"This is clean liquid," Fructuoso Garcia, 84, one of a handful of producers in this region, stood and declared to the group. "We don’t put anything in to beef up the flavor. This is nothing like you get from the factory."

Mr. Garcia is one of several local producers fighting to share in the boom in Mexican spirits, with mescal, against all odds, taking a star turn.

It is moving a bit out of the shadow of tequila, the far more popular and, let’s face it, smoother spirit that has won fans (and hangovers) around the world.

[Go here for the full story.]

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'Orkney Inga Saga' 3rd bottling debuts

Earl Haakon, the third expression in the Highland Park distillery's "Orkney Inga Saga," is being released worldwide.

The first two bottlings in the series celebrated the influential 11th Century Earl Magnus who was canonized to become Saint Magnus only 20 years after his death. Haakon was the man who ordered the execution of Magnus.

Earl Haakon is an 18-year-old cask strength single malt, made in one vatting at 54.9% abv (109.8 proof). Only 3,300 bottles are being made available worldwide. They are available from specialist independent whisky retailers throughout the UK, at the Highland Park distillery and online at a price of £160 (US$261).

The bottle is black glass, made in the same way as the previous two bottlings, Earl Magnus and Saint Magnus, and is presented in an open black wood gift box.

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Drambuie introduces new premium version

Drambuie Liqueur has come up with a new blend of old Speyside malts called Drambuie 15.

It is a slightly drier expression of the standard liqueur, bottled at 43% abv (86 proof).

"We have more than 100 years experience in laying down malt reserves to be used in the production of Drambuie," said Cherie Koster, senior brand manager. "From these reserves we have hand-selected the very best rare 15-year-old Speyside malts to infuse with the elixir, creating a premium new product."

Drambuie 15 was introduced to coincide with the annual Tales of the Cocktail event in New Orleans. It now will be rolled out nationally. Suggested retail price is $56 for the one-liter bottle.

The original Drambuie was created more than 260 years ago exclusively for Prince Charles Edward Stuart of Scotland. It is a unique combination of aged whiskies, heather honey and a proprietary blend of herbs and spices, a recipe kept secret since 1745. The name is from the Gaelic "an dram buidheach," meaning "the drink that satisfies."

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Pumpkin pie liqueur available for autumn

All sorts of exotics fruits have been used in liqueurs and infused spirits in the past decade as the scramble for consumer attention ratchets up. But, Heaven Hill Distilleries has reached back for an old-fashioned American ingredient.

It is rolling out Fulton’s Harvest Pumpkin Pie Cream Liqueur for fall sales nationally. It is billed as "the first-ever pumpkin pie cream liqueur and is immediately reminiscent of homemade pumpkin pie complete with the flavors of rich vanilla, brown sugar and spices."

The liqueur had been tested in limited markets as a seasonal September-November product. This year it will be available during that period in 750ml bottles, at 12.5% abv (25 proof) for a suggested retail price of $9.99.

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Caviarcube the latest cocktail garnish

Looking for a way to make your cocktail party stand out from the crowd? How about a caviar-tini?

The Petrossian caviar house is offering the Caviarcube, cubes of -- what else? -- caviar packaged 16 to 18 per oil-filled glass jars.

Petrossian suggests alternating the cubes on a cocktail skewer with a cocktail onion and a caviar-stuffed olive or small balls of cucumber instead of onions.

Caviarcubes are available online at $45 per jar.

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Rescuing Ireland's potato vodka history

Non-historian Leary.

On his current national tour, the comedian/actor/writer Denis Leary rarely hits a wrong note, verbally or musically.

However, in a visit to Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" this week, he stepped in it, historically.

Leary, there to publicize the final-season debut of his FX channel show "Rescue Me," got to talking about potato vodka. Quoth he: "The thing for Irish guys is we're always amazed. ... We can't believe we had potatoes for years and we didn't invent potato vodka."

Well, Denis, "we" did.

Long, long ago, "our" (those of us with Irish linege) forebears did more with potatoes than just boil, bake, fry or mash them. As far back as the 16th Century they were distilled to create a clear spirit spelled variously poitin, potcheen and probably several other ways but pronounced "put-cheen." It is a vodka and Ireland's version of moonshine.

The potato was introduced to Ireland in 1589 by the adventurous Sir Walter Raleigh at his Myrtle Grove estate in County Cork. It quickly became a staple of the Irish diet, and was used in combination with malt yeast, barley, sugar and water to create a baor (beer) after fermentation for several weeks in wooden barrels. Later, some of it was distilled into the clear spirit that goes by many names in many countries, but all boils down to vodka.

Today, Boru is the top-selling Irish potato vodka.

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Puerto Rico getting new rum distillery

The former pharmaceutical complex.

CIDRA, Puerto Rico -- Commonwealth officials are hoping the opening of a new rum distillery in this central island town will help offset the economic blow created by the shift of Captain Morgan rum to neighboring St. Croix.

The Club Caribe LLC distillery is scheduled to open in early 2012 with projected output of 2 million gallons of rum its first year as part of a 20-year deal, according to Alberto Rivra, the senior vice president.

The local company is affiliated with, a Puerto Rican company that distributes Coca-Cola products in the U.S. territory.

Club Caribe expects to employ 25 people and invest $10 million in machinery and equipment when it moves into the former Glaxo Smith Kline pharmaceutical factory.

"We're going to have a significant production of rum on a global level," said Jose Perez-Riera, Puerto Rico's economic development secretary.

Puerto Rico's rum industry employs about 4,500 workers and generates $400 million annually, more than 70% of which comes from Bacardi.

The U.S. territory is expected to lose $140 million next year as a result of the lucrative production of Captain Morgan rum moving to the neighboring U.S. Virgin Islands.

The new distillery eventually will produce up to 10 million gallons of rum, both to sell in bulk and as private labels including Club Caribe, a white rum; Black Roberts, a spiced rum; and Carlos Rum, a gold rum, Rivera said. The company will target the U.S. mainland market.

The anticipated production of 2 million gallons eventually will generate $20 million in revenue for the island, said Jorge Junquera, deputy executive director of the Puerto Industrial Development Company, a state corporation that promotes business on the island.

Diageo PLC's Captain Morgan distillery that opened late last year was created in exchange for a portion of the Amrican Virgin Islands' excise-tax revenue, estimated at $2.7 billion over 30 years. It is expected to generate more than $100 million a year in revenue for the next 30 years.

"We are losing a mountain of money with Diageo's departure," Junquera said, referring to Diageo terminating its rum production contract in Puerto Rico.

All but 25 cents of the $13.50 in federal excise taxes levied on per proof gallon of rum produced in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands goes back to the local governments to spend on infrastructure and public services.

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There's a new, young bourbon in town

LITTLE ROCK, AR -- Rock Town Distillery, Arkansas' first legal distillery since prohibition, today announced the debut of its first product -- Arkansas Young Bourbon Whiskey.

The spirit was pot distilled from a mash of corn and wheat grown in Arkansas, then aged in 5- and 10-gallon new charred oak barrels at the distillery.

"Young" bourbon is a particularly accurate description since it was aged just three to six months. The distillers refere to their process as "accelerated maturation techniques that includes small barrels and temperature cycling."

"Bourbon has a great southern tradition," said distillery owner and head distiller Phil Brandon, "and we wanted to make our bourbon from native Arkansas grains and age the whiskey in small barrels coopered in Arkansas. It's the first Arkansas Bourbon."

About 114 cases of this first release were bottled, at 46% abv (92 proof). They will be sold in Arkansas, Tennessee and Illinois at a suggested retail price of $24.99 for a 375ml bottle.

Rock Town Distillery is distributed by Glazers of Arkansas, Maxwell Street Trading in Illinois, and United Liquors Corp in Memphis.

The distillery is located in downtown Little Rock at 1216 East 6th Street. Phone: (501) 907-5244.

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Michter's eyeing Louisville site

• From the Louisville Courier-Journal

LOUISVILLE, KY -- Michter’s Distillery is considering establishing a 20,000 square-foot facility here where the company would make whiskeys like single barrel ryes, small-batch bourbons and single-barrel bourbons, according to the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and Greater Louisville Inc., the metro chamber of commerce.

Michter’s, a division of New York-based Chatham Imports, traces its roots to Pennsylvania, but it is currently distilled and bottled in Bardstown, Ky.

The expansion into Louisville would create 10 jobs paying an average of $20 an hour, including employee benefits, according to Michter’s application for state and local tax incentives.

The company could collect up to $200,000 in tax incentives over 10 years if it goes through with project.

Michter’s could get an additional $180,000 in sales tax rebates on building costs associated with the $7.7 million project.

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Leftover mash leads to new dishes

Innovative chef Peter Smith at work.

• From The Huffington Post's food section.

Sustainability advocates have a hard time with hard liquor. Normal liquor distillation is energy- and water-intensive, so spirits tend to be intrinsically less environment-friendly than wine or beer.

This fact has led many producers to try to find ways to produce greener liquor. They've done everything from producing locally to diverting excess water for agricultural irrigation.

But until recently, no one had come up with a good use for the solid leftovers -- the mash -- of gin production. That's where Peter Smith, the chef at PS7 restaurant in Washington, DC, comes in.

His idea, which he debuted at this year's Aspen Food and Wine Classic, is to extract flavor from the botanicals and herbs in the mash by infusing it in neutral oil.

He gets leftover mash from two local distilleries, and then uses his oil in various dishes on the PS7 menu. So far, he's added the gin mash oil to “Ginola," a gin-scented version of bresaola, and “GinBelly,” which gives analogous treatment to pancetta. He even makes the mash into a powder, which he sprinkles on halibut.

This last dish may be the first to prompt the question, "What wine goes well with gin?"

[Go here for a profile of PS7 chef/owner Peter Smith.]

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High price of drinking Down Under

From the Council's April magazine edition.

As of July 1, it became even more expensive to drink alcoholic beverages in New Zealand. On that day, a 4.55% increase in excise tax became effective.

The beverage industry's Distilled Spirits Association says that means bars, restaurants, liquor stores and other outlets will be required to add relevant mark-ups just to stay even, according to DSA chief executive Thomas Chin.

Chin notes that the new tax rate means about 75% of the retail price of a standard bottle of alcohol now goes to the national government in some form of taxation.

Support for the increased taxation came from a combination of forces, including those opposed to the growth in problem drinking.

There is a troublesome drinking culture in this south Pacific nation where 18 is the legal drinking age. According to statistics from the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand:

• 85% of New Zealanders ages 16 to 64 drank alcohol in the past year.
• 61.6% past-year drinkers consumed more than the Counci recommends (a maximum of six standard drinks for males and four for females on a drinking occasion) at least once during the last year.
• 12.6% past-year drinkers consumed more than the recommended guidelines more than once a week during the last year.
• 17.7% adults (aged 15+) have a potentially hazardous drinking pattern.
• 28.7% of women who had been pregnant in the past three years reported that they had consumed alcohol while pregnant.
• 10% of adult drinkers reported planning to get drunk on their last drinking occasion.

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Micro-distillery's future rides on a relic

Dennis Downing with the 'new' equipment.

Q: How do you increase your distillery output by 1,000%?

A: Fire up a still that hasn't been in operation for about six decades.

That's the outlook at the Artisan Spirits division of the New Holland Brewing Company in Holland Township, MI.

There, distilling operations manager Dennis Downing is working to bring online an 80-year-old, 800-gallon still built in the waning days of Prohibition.

"I’m still learning how to use her," Downing told a reporter. "The still had been mothballed for 60 years, and there wasn’t any operating manual in the paperwork we got."

The company bought the contraption five years ago off the Internet. It was built by Columbia Copper Works of Patterson, NJ, and installed in a barn on a New Jersey fruit farm to make applejack.

The American Distilling Institute ranks New Holland Artisan Spirits as the No. 1 distiller in Michigan and among the top 20 micro-distillers in the country.

MLive.com has a good story on the project. You can access it here.

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B-F buys another Finnish vodka brand

In terms of acquisitions, it isn't huge news, but it's a buy nonetheless.

Brown-Forman Corporation yesterday announced the acquisition of the Maximus Vodka brand from Altia Plc. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Louisville, KY-based drinks giant purchased the Finlandia Vodka brand from the same company in 2004 and has served as exclusive distributor of Maximus in the lucrative Polish market since then.

"While Maximus is a relatively small acquisition and investment for our company, it is important to our strategy for the Polish market," said Paul Varga, Brown-Forman CEO. "We know the owners, the brand, and its primary market well, and we believe there is nice growth potential for Maximus going forward."

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