Top 10 spirits launches from December 2024
The spirits world closed up 2024 with a flurry of eye-catching releases in December, which included Bimber's first age-statement whiskies and a Dry January-ready non-alcoholic 'spirit'.
There were also high-aged whisky blends from Johnnie Walker and Ballantine's, while Mirror Margarita upped its convenience levels with the launch of a canned variant, and Tarquin's dipped its toes in the low-and-no category. Here are our top 10 spirits that were released in December.Side Hustle Select Barrel Double Añejo
Side Hustle in the NoMad London hotel, known for its Latin-American drinks, teamed up with El Tequileño for a Tequila that the bar could call its own in December. Named Side Hustle Select Barrel Double Añejo, the expression is a blend of Tequilas that have been aged in two different types of wood: 18 months in ex-Bourbon barrels, and then an additional 19 months in new, medium-char American oak barrels. The Tequila is only available at Side Hustle, purchased by the bottle for £180 or found in some of its cocktails.Barry Island Spirits
If the artwork on this line of spirits looks familiar, it's because – Gavin & Stacey fan spotted – they are inspired by the British sitcom.
Consisting if a gin, pink gin, rum, and a vodka, the range was created by Barry Island Spirits Co founders Claire and Tim Whalley to commemorate the final episode of the show, which aired on Christmas day.
Some of Gavin & Stacey was filmed around the corner from the Welsh brand's shop and the founders say that Rob Brydon, who plays the character Uncle Bryn, even gave the designs a "thumbs up".
Johnnie Walker Aged 52 Years
A new Johnnie Walker seems to be a magnet for attracting attention, and the release of the Diageo-owned whisky brand's 52-year-old blend was no different.
In sourcing the blend, Dr Emma Walker, Johnnie Walker master blender, took liquid from Diageo's closed distilleries, including six rare malt whiskies and two grain whiskies: Cambus, Carsebridge, Blair Athol, Glenury Royal, Glenlochy, Glen Albyn, Dalwhinnie and Brora.
The whisky marked Walker's first ultra-rare release as master blender and as you'd expect, it doesn't come cheap, at £23,500 (US$25,000).
Tarquin’s Non-Alcoholic 'Spirit'
English producer Southwestern Distillery got into the low-and-no game with its Tarquin’s Cornish Dry Non-Alcoholic 'Spirit', a timely release with Dry January on the horizon.
The expression was developed by master distiller Tarquin Leadbetter and intended to replicate the same taste as the distillery's dry gin, sans the booze content. Leadbetter said it took three years to find a result to his liking and he distilled the 0.5% ABV 'spirit' with local botanicals from the Cornish coast, such as sea salt, gorse flowers, seabuckthorn and violets.
Fuji 50th Anniversary Single Malt
Fuji Gotemba Distillery turned 50 last year and to celebrate the milestone, the brand created a special anniversary whisky using distillate from its inaugural production run in 1973.
The single malt blends the distillery's' liquid from over the years, ranging from 12- to 50-years old, in its production, with the liquid then aged in a combination of barrels that include Bourbon, beer, oloroso Sherry, and French oak red wine. It has notes of caramel, brown sugar syrup, apricot and melon, and is priced at US$500.
Noble Share
Two Constellation Brand's owned producers High West Distiller (whiskey) and Casa Noble (Tequila) combined their resources to create a Tequila-finished rye in December.
Called Noble Share, the product was made by finishing High West's rye in Casa Noble’s Marques Añejo French oak barrels for six months. The Tequila finish is said to give the whiskey ‘subtle’ agave and lemongrass notes, thus 'bridging the worlds' between the two spirits, Casa Noble founder and maestro tequilero Pepe Hermosillo said.
Canned Mirror Margarita
The Mirror Margarita caters to all shapes and sizes, which was underlined by the release of a canned version in December.
The ready-to-drink serve is made using 100% Cazcabel blanco Tequila, which is mixed with blended citrus oils and organic malic acid. For the new format, founder and agave expert Deano Moncrieffe lowered the serve’s ABV to 10% and also added light carbonation to better fit it for on-the-go consumption.
Bimber age-statement whiskies
The anticipation was palpable for London distillery Bimber's first age-statement offering, of which it released two eight-year-old single malts: Harmony of Eight and Single Cask Edition.
Marking the start of a new chapter for the distillery, the Harmony of Eight was made with single-farm barley floor-malted at Warminster Maltings and distilled in directly-fired copper pot stills, and Single Cask Edition, which was matured in an American oak ex-Bourbon cask.
Café Solo PX
There are many coffee liqueurs on the market, but there is only one that is finished in a Pedro Ximénez (PX) Sherry cask, Café Solo said of its latest launch.
Dubbed as a 'world first', Café Solo finished its coffee liqueur in PX casks, which have given the liquid ‘residual sweetness and rich, dried-fruit notes’. If this one piqued your interest, keep an eye out on the brand's future developments as it noted more cask-finished coffee liqueurs are in the works.
Ballantine's 40 Year Old Masterclass Collection
Chivas Brothers-owned Ballantine’s unveiled edition number two in its Masterclass Collection in December, the second in a series of what will be five 40-year-old whiskies.
Each edition is said to pay tribute to the knowledge of the brand’s five past and present master blenders, and for this release, current master blender Sandy Hyslop drew on what he learnt from former master blender Jack Goudy, hand-selecting liquid from casks laid down by Goudy to create a blend that has a 'powerful experience of flavour depth and intensity’.
The whisky's name is The Waiting, which is a reference to the patience needed when creating high-age Scotch and the ability to recognise the time it takes for the liquid to reach its 'maximum potential' – all things Hyslop was taught under Goudy's apprenticeship.
