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Bulleit Shoots a New Premium Rye Into the Market

Filed under: Spirits

When Bulleit Bourbon hit the shelves in 1999, it's high Rye content, as well as its unique apothecary-style bottle put it on the map right away with Bourbon fans. A dram more than a decade after it started rolling through the market, Bulleit has come forth with a straight rye.

Rye is on the rise, especially with bartenders who seem to have rediscovered it in the last couple of years. But rising popularity is still relative. Heaven Hill, for example, says it can produce a year's worth of its Rittenhouse Rye in about a day. Some of the popularity and increased consumption is coming about because of new brands and expressions, though, like Jim Beam's Ri1.

Straight rye whiskey must have at least a 51 percent rye mashbill. But Bulleit Rye is 95 percent with the remaining 5% from malted barley. That contrasts with Bulleit Bourbon, which is just 28 percent rye.

Tom Bulleit, founder of the brand, says he has been working on the rye for seven years. The company says that it sources its rye from Germany, Sweden, Canada and the United States. Bulleit Bourbon is made at the Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, Four Roses Distillery.

Bulleit Rye is aged in new, white-oak barrels that are charred to the maximum #4 level, says the company, before being filled. The whiskey is bottled at 90 proof (45 percent alcohol by volume), the same as Bulleit Bourbon. And the suggested retail price is $27.99.

Tags: bourbon, Bulleit rye, jim beam, ri1, rittenhouse rye, spirits

Willem Dafoe Stars in Ad For Jim Beam

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Premium Bourbon Jim Beam has tapped actor Willem Dafoe for an unusual TV ad campaign.

Directed by Dante Ariola and created by New York ad agency StrawberryFrog, the ad uses Dafoe to talk about the choices we make in life and how they define who we are. "Life boils down to a series of choices," says Dafoe in the voiceover. "All choices lead you somewhere; bold choices lead you where you are supposed to be."

In between the statements, the commercial surprises and amuses the viewer with images of Dafoe as chess player, circus clean-up man, fashion designer, plant manager, sumo wrestler and trapeze artist. The commercial's last image is of a bottle of Jim Beam, suggesting this is the bold choice bourbon drinkers must make.

Tags: alcohol, bourbon, Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, spirits, StrawberryFrog, whisky, willem dafoe

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Jim Beam Parent Fortune Brands Set For Breakup

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Fortune Brands (NYSE-FO), according to press reports in The Wall Street Journal and Associated Press is planning to spin off its golf and home security businesses to shareholders, while maintaining its portfolio of liquor brands, including Jim Beam Brands, Maker's Mark, Courvoisier Cognac, Laphroaig single-malt Scotch whisky and Harvey's Sherry, as a public company.

The company will spin off its golf products business, led by Titleist, as well as its security business led by the MasterLock brand. It's home products business, also to be spun off, includes Moen plumbing fixtures.

The spirits business is about a 2.5 billion operation in terms of annual revenues.

Fortune Brands board of directors has been pressured to maximize the value of the company by activist investor Bill Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, who holds an 11% stake in the company.

Fortune Brands has long been viewed as a 20th-century style conglomerate ripe for break-up. It's disparate businesses have no real synergies and are worth more broken up than hey are run together, Ackman has argued.

Fortune Brands is trading around its 52-week high of $61 a share, up substantially from its 52-week low of $37.05. Ackman's intervention has been the chief driver of the stock.

Tags: Fortune Brands FO, Jim Beam, Laphroaig, Makers Mark, Moen, Titleist

Holiday Shopping Guide: Ten Great Whiskies To Buy

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

There are few things a whiskey connoisseur likes better under the tree than a long, festively wrapped box containing something special.

It has been a good year for new whiskey expressions, so there is no shortage of options. And I would recommend something new to the market to help the receiver usher in a new year.

Sure, you can buy your Glenmorangie or Glenlivet loving gift recipient a bottle of 12-year old. But put a bit more thought into it, and a bit more brass, and you can turn a grin into a broad smile. For holiday gift-giving, I always thing it's better to give someone a limited edition or otherwise special expression of the brand they prefer. The other route to go is to introduce them to something unique in the category that will capture their interest and sense of curiosity.

These days, almost every brand of Scotch, Irish or American whiskey has a "special," whether it's a single-barrel, cask-strength, extra-aged or barrel-finished.

Here are some gift suggestions of new whiskies Luxist has tried this year and reviewed. Most of these will be found at better whiskey shops in major cities, as well as duty-free travel retail, rather than the corner store.

Gallery: Holiday Shopping: Ten Great Whiskies

Tags: Amrut, Ballantines Scotch, Bowmore, Compass Box, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, Glenmorangie, holiday gift guide, Jim beam, Whiskey gifts, whisky gifts, WhistlePig

Continue reading “Holiday Shopping Guide: Ten Great Whiskies To Buy”

Fortune Brands Breakup Would Put Premium Spirits Brands In Play

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Activist investor Bill Ackman has been given a four-week deadline to propose changes to the board of Fortune Brands, the company that is parent to Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Laphroaig and Courvosier, as well as Pinnacle and Scotty Cameron golf equipment, which could lead to the break-up of the conglomerate.

Since disclosing his holding last month, Mr Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, has kept quiet about his plans. However, his record suggests he wants Fortune's board to explore breaking up its stable of consumer brands starting with its spirits business, which includes Jim Beam whiskey and that distillery's small-batch Bourbon brands, and Courvoisier cognac.

Ackman holds an 11% stake in the company, which has always been viewed as an odd throw-back type conglomerate of disassociated businesses. Besides the spirits brands, and golf equipment, Fortune also operates home and home-security businesses and brands such as Moen, Masterlock, as well as kitchen cabinet brands.

In the past month, Ackman has held talks with Fortune's management about its corporate structure, shareholder value, etc. Ackman has four weeks to file a slate of his own candidates for the company's board to be voted on at the general meeting in April.

The most obvious buyers of FB's liquor businesses are drinks giants Diageo and Pernod Ricard of France. Gruppo Campari, which owns Wild Turkey and other brands, also could be interested in acquiring some of the brands. Bacardi would also be a factor in bidding. It is possible that Fortune Brands spirits brands would go to different companies, each looking for its own strategic additions.

Fortune's other brands include Cruzan Rum, Canadian Club, Effen Vodka, Ardmore single-malt, Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry, Teacher's Scotch Whiskey and DeKuyper spirits.

Fortune Brands shares are trading around $60.00, up more than 10% since October 7, and up from its 52-week low of $37.05

Tags: alcohol, Bill Ackman, bourbon, Courvosier, Fortune Brands, Jim Beam, Knob Creek, Laphroaig, Makers Mark, Masterlock, Moen, Pinnacle, scotty cameron, spirits, whiskey, whisky

Jim Beam Introduces Six-Grain "Signature."

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Bourbon maker Jim Beam has introduced a new six-grain expression. Available only through travel retail (duty-free), Jim Beam Signature comes from mingling spirits distilled from corn, rye, barley, wheat, triticale and brown rice.

From Jim Beam: "This product is a result of us mingling different Bourbons together. Each were made from a standard Bourbon recipe (high percentage of single grains). For instance, we distilled a high wheat, small grain Bourbon; a high triticale, small grain Bourbon; and a high brown rice, small grain Bourbon. Each were barreled separately and then mingled together prior to bottling.

In European duty-free outlets, the suggested retail price is 29.99 Euros. Beam has produced 13,800 bottles.

Beam says Signature is six-year old Bourbon, and has been bottled at 89-proof.

The taste profile: Nuttier tasting than most Bourbons. And there is a cereal taste that pokes through. Drier in the mouth than you get with most Bourbons. Faint notes of root-beer. It is a sophisticated taste not just something novel.

Tags: Bourbon, Duty-Free, Jim Beam, Jim Beam Signature, Jim Beam Six-Grain

Beyond the Mint Julep: Ten Great Pours for Kentucky Derby Day

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

This weekend is Kentucky Derby Day. That means Mint Juleps, parties at and around Churchill Downs, as well as at people's homes across the country.

Bourbon sales spike in late April as people get ready for their parties, just like Champagne sales climb in the two weeks before New Years Eve.

To make a perfect pitcher of Mint Julep, start with 4 cups of Bourbon, 2 bunches of spearmint, one cup of distilled water, one cup of granulated sugar, and some powdered sugar.

Remove about 40 leaves from the spearmint bunch, and cover with 3 oz. of Bourbon. Allow the leaves to soak for 15 minutes. Wring the mint out over the bowl you have put the whiskey in. Dip the mint bundle into the bowl several times more.

To prepare the simple syrup, mix a cup of granulated sugar and once cup of distilled water in a small sauce pan. Heat to dissolve the sugar. Stir constantly so it doesn't burn. Set aside to cool.

To prepare the Mint Julep, pour 3 1/2 cups of Bourbon into a large pitcher. Add one cup of the syrup to the Bourbon.

Now begin adding the mint extract you made one tablespoon at a time to the pitcher. Once that is done, pour the whole mixture into a bottle with a stopper, and chill for 24 hours to marry the flavors.

To serve, fill each glass (or silver Julep cup, over shaved ice and a sprinkle of powdered sugar to the top of the ice. Add a sprig of fresh mint. Choose your horse wisely.

Here are eleven great pours for Derby Day to have straight or use as the basis of your Juleps.

Gallery: Eleven Great Pours For Kentucky Derby

Tags: Blantons, Bookers Bourbon, Bourbon, Evan Williams, Jim Beam, Kentucky Derby, kentucky derby cocktails, mint julep, Mint Juleps, Rusells Reserve, Wild Turkey

Celebrating Derby Day With Jim Beam

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits, Events, Sports

With the Kentucky Derby coming up on May 2 we start thinking seriously about bourbon. As Fred Noe, Jim Beam's seventh-generation distiller, puts it, "It ain't a Derby without bourbon, and it ain't bourbon if it's not from Kentucky." Noe knows whereof he speaks, given that Jim Beam, which dates back to 1795 and is now he world's No. 1-selling bourbon, is located in Louisville not far from Churchill Downs where the Derby has been held since 1875. In addition to the classic Jim Beam Bourbon we're all familiar with however, there are some other variations which are well worth trying on an important bourbon-drinking occasion like the Derby: Jim Beam 7-Year, Jim Beam Black, and Jim Beam Choice (above, left to right).

Jim Beam Black is the oldest of the trio. Eight years of aging make for a complex, sophisticated taste, with aromas of toffee and tobacco and flavorful notes of oak and toasted grains. Jim Beam Choice, aged five years, is rounded and mature with added complexity and depth from charcoal filtering. The strong aroma of oak and sweet nuttiness is balanced by a rich, creamy flavor. Jim Beam 7-Year is ideal for drinking straight up or on the rocks, and it makes a mean mint julep, with notes of caramel and vanilla. In 2008, Derby-goers consumed nearly 10,000 bottles of bourbon, mixed into 120,000 mint juleps, the Derby's official drink.

To help celebrate on Derby Day, here's a new variation on the mint julep which you can make with your favorite variety of Jim Beam. Bottoms up:

Jim Beam Jule-Up
4 parts Jim Beam Bourbon
3 parts Simple Syrup
3 parts Fresh Lime Juice
6 each Fresh Mint leaves (Medium size)
*note: 1 part = ½ oz.

Tags: bourbon, horseracing, Horses, Jim Beam, JimBeam, Kentucky, Kentucky Derby, KentuckyDerby, whiskey, whisky

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