Recently, London-based The Spirits Business announced the 2023 Top 50 Innovative Spirits list of the world's best innovative spirits, taking stock of the 50 most innovative spirits launched in the world in 2023. They cover whiskey, vodka, rum, RTDS (ready-to-drink cocktails), and more.
Below, we will give you a brief introduction to the wines on the list in 5 installments, and let's introduce the 41st-50th ones first.
50.Ardbeg the Rollercoaster
The Abbey Distillery on Islay, Scotland, closed on 25 March 1981 and did not resume operations until October 1989, when it was acquired by Allied Distillers. However, in 1996 the distillery closed again. It was acquired by the Glenmorangieicon Company in 1997. After that, it ushered in its own glorious era. To commemorate the two turning points of fortune in 1981 and 1989, in December 2023, Abbe Distillery launched a set called Ardbeg The Rollercoaster, which includes two very rare whiskies, limited to 143 sets and priced at £100,000 each.
Among them, one was taken from the last cask before the distillery closed on March 25, 1981, with a peat value of about 110ppm, and the barrel type was bourbon, cask No. 1, and on August 30, 2006, the cask was transferred to the refilled oloroso sherry cask until it was bottled on June 20, 2023, with a 42-year-old age and 47 alcohol content3%abv。The other is one of the first single malts distilled into casks in December 1989, with a peat value of about 33-35ppm, matured in bourbon barrels, cask number 17, transferred to refill bourbon casks in August 1999, and bottled on June 20, 2023, 33 years old, 45 alcohol content3%abv。
49.Altos infusionado
Pernod Ricard's Altos Tequila has launched a new collection: Altos Tequila, which comes in two flavors: Cítricos and Café Natural. The former features citrus and lemon, while Café Natural has "subtle" flavors of coffee, cinnamon and Mexican piloncillo (a pure cane sugar ingredient). Both wines have an alcohol content of 35% ABV, 700 ml, and are priced at $42.
48.Sierra tropical chilli-flavored agave
Sierra Tequila is a Mexican agave brand owned by Borco Marken Import Matthiesen, a hamburg-based spirits company. Launched since 1981, it's known for its signature wide-brimmed hat. The Sierra Tropical Peppers are based on Sierra Silver Agave with tropical fruits and 18% ABV by volume, with hints of mango, passion fruit and a hint of chili pepper. It is priced at 15 euros.
47.Bacardí Mango Chile
Bacardi Rum has added a new version to its flavor range, called Chilean Mango, inspired by the sweetness and spiciness of a popular Mexican snack: fresh mango sprinkled with Tajikistani seasoning and lime juice at 35% ABV by volume for $13. This is the eighth in its flavour range, which has already been launched with coconut, lime, limón, pineapple, dragonberry, raspberry and tropical.
46.Captain Morgan 00 non-alcoholic spirits (captain morgan 0..)0）
This is the first dark "spirit" in Diageo's range of non-alcoholic spirits. Finalized by Diageo's innovation team over two years and from more than 400 recipes, it features the signature flavours of Captain Morgan Original Spiced Gold, starting with intense flavours of caramel, molasses, vanilla and warm brown spices, with a "complex layer of flavours", but without alcohol. It is priced at £15. Diageo's current range of non-alcoholic spirits also includes the addition of 00（tanqueray 0.0%) and Gordon 00（gordons 0.0%）。
45.Legent Yamazaki Cask Finish Blend
Created in 2019 by Kimbin Distiller Fred Noe and Suntory Master Blender Shinji Fukuyo, Le Jue Bourbon Whisky is aged in wine casks and sherry casks. The wine is matured in Kentucky for 8 years in French wine barrels and Spanish sherry barrels before being shipped to the Yamazaki Distillery in the suburbs of Kyoto, Japan, where it is finished in Yamazaki whisky barrels. Wine casks and sherry casks give the wine "rich notes and a vivid spiced aftertaste", while Yamazaki sherry casks bring "intense malty notes and subtle complexity". 57% ABV by volume and costs $200.
44.Reminoff's Rex Vodka (Lex by Nemiroff).
The ultra-premium vodka launched by Ukrainian vodka brand Reminov was developed after three years and more than 100 trials, made from wheat, local spring water, honey from local apiaries and linden flowers in the Podilla region of Eastern Europe, and filtered 13 times, including silver, platinum, shungite and amber. The resulting vodka has a "velvety" texture and mouthfeel, with a biscuit flavor and a "round, smooth" aftertaste. ABV 40% ABV for 80 euros.
43.White Claw Premium Vodka
For the first time, American hard seltzer brand White Paw has launched a vodka made from 100% American grains, distilled five times in a copper column still, and then used a unique "triple w**e filtered process" that uses the equivalent of three 30-foot waves of pressure to enhance the taste, aroma and mouthfeel of the liquor. The result is a complex nose and taste buds with a hint of citrus, followed by cereals and ending with a velvety aftertaste.
42.Grey Goose Classic Martini Cocktail
Bacardi launches the first bottled vodka martini on the market, which combines gray goose vodka, French dry vermouth and a small amount of orange bitters, 35% ABV by volume, 750 ml, simply add ice cubes, shake or stir, and garnish with olives or lemon shreds to make 8-10 martini cocktails. Priced at $30. There is also a 375ml format for $17.
41.Ardbeg Bizarrebq
This is another experimental piece of Abbe Whisky Creative Director Dr. Bill Justston, inspired by barbecue, matured in double-carbonized oak casks, PX sherry casks and the distillery's special barbecue barrels (oak is baked on an old-fashioned brazier filled with seaweed and birch and then made into oak casks) with an alcohol content of 509% ABV for £75. Aromas of charcoal and soot are intertwined with smoky wood, aromatic herbs and spices, while on the palate notes of barbecue ribs, ginger and fennel.
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