press release - BourbonSphere

Woodford Reserve Unveils $1000 Charitable Julep Cup for 2022 Kentucky Derby

Versailles, KY – The Woodford Reserve $1,000 Mint Julep™ charity program, one of the Kentucky Derby’s most distinctive annual traditions, this year honors the connections between Kentucky and France. A total of 148 cups, honoring Derby 148, will be available for purchase at woodfordreservemintjulep.com. Cups must be picked up at Churchill Downs on Derby Day at the $1,000 Mint Julep Experience. […]

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Versailles, KY – The Woodford Reserve $1,000 Mint Julep charity program, one of the Kentucky Derby’s most distinctive annual traditions, this year honors the connections between Kentucky and France.

A total of 148 cups, honoring Derby 148, will be available for purchase at woodfordreservemintjulep.com. Cups must be picked up at Churchill Downs on Derby Day at the $1,000 Mint Julep Experience.

Handmade by Louisville-based jeweler From the Vault, the cups feature red rubies in the shape of a horseshoe. One side of the cup is engraved with a thoroughbred, representing Versailles, Kentucky, where Woodford Reserve Distillery is located and where many of the world’s best thoroughbreds are bred and raised. The other side includes a nod to Versailles, France.

Of the 148 cups, 18 are gold and retailing for $2,500 and 130 Silver and retailing for $1,000.

Proceeds will benefit Old Friends Farm, where famous thoroughbreds, including past Derby winners, are sent to retire peacefully. The charity was started by Mike Blowen, a retired journalist from The Boston Globe.

This year’s $1,000 Mint Julep cocktail features ingredients found at France’s Palace of Versailles, once home to three of the country’s kings from the House of Bourbon: Kings Louis XIV to XVI. The cocktail brings together the flavors of orange, lemon and pomegranate with Woodford Reserve Bourbon.

“The French connections to Kentucky are significant – from Versailles, the home of our distillery – to Louisville, KY, the city where the Derby is run and which was named after King Louis XVI,” said Woodford Reserve Master Distiller Chris Morris. “Cheers – or as the French would say “Sante” – to Derby 148.”

The French Mint Julep

2 oz. Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

2 tsp. honey syrup (½ part Honey from Versailles, France and ½ part water)

1 lemon peel

1 orange peel

2 fresh pomegranate arils, plus more for garnish

1 bunch fresh lemon Mint sprigs, garnish

Directions: In the Julep cup, add honey syrup, 1 peel each of the lemon and orange, 2 pomegranate arils, and muddle. Then fill the cup ⅔ of the way with crushed ice. Add Woodford Reserve and top the cup off with more crushed ice. Garnish by tucking in a fresh bunch of lemon mint, lemon and orange peels on the side. Top with fresh pomegranate arils and serve.

Woodford Reserve^® is the Presenting Sponsor of the Kentucky Derby^®. The cups are now available for sale via www.woodfordreservemintjulep.com. Woodford Reserve is crafted carefully. Please drink it responsibly.

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FINALLY! U.K. Set To Remove Retaliatory Tariff On American Whiskey, Ending Years Long Brutal Dispute

Free at last, free at last…Finally, the nasty tariff stand-off between USA and UK will soon come to an end. UK has officially agreed to lift the 25% American Whiskey tariff on June 1st, 2022. This is extremely significant being U.K. is a top tier export market of American Whiskey. The devastating tariffs slashed AW […]

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“Distillers throughout the United States are cheering the end of this long tariff nightmare. We toast the Biden administration for its resolve in bringing a stop to these punitive tariffs on American whiskeys and securing the return to duty-free trade in spirits across the Atlantic.”
– Chris Swonger, DISCUS PRESIDENT AND CEO

Swonger would also note, “We also appreciate the longstanding support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Secretary Vilsack for highlighting the negative impact retaliatory tariffs have on value-added agriculture exports, including distilled spirits. American Whiskey producers have a close relationship with their farmer partners who are also hailing an end to these devastating tariffs.”

We’ll drink to that.

Background:

Since the imposition of the 25 percent retaliatory tariff on American Whiskeys, exports to the UK, the fourth-largest market, have declined by 42 percent, from $150 million to $88 million (2018-2021).

In October 2021, the U.S. and the EU announced an agreement to suspend for two-years the EU’s 25 percent retaliatory tariff on American Whiskeys in the steel-aluminum dispute.

In June 2021, the U.S. reached separate agreements with the EU and UK in the WTO Boeing-Airbus disputes to suspend tariffs for five years on U.S. rum, brandy and vodka, Single Malt Scotch, Single Malt Irish Whisky from Northern Ireland, liqueurs and cordials from the UK, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain, and certain Cognacs and other grape brandies from France and Germany.

NOTE: Information was provided by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS).

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Maker’s Mark 46 is Getting a New Look

The following materials were provided verbatim in a Press Release by Maker’s Mark. WHAT: The Maker’s Mark Distillery is proud to unveil a new Maker’s Mark 46® bottle and design that highlights the brand’s handmade values and helps better tell the story of the beloved and distinguished liquid fans have come to know and love. The new […]

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The following materials were provided verbatim in a Press Release by Maker’s Mark.

Maker's Mark 46 Bourbon Whisky — Current Maker’s Mark 46 bottle

WHAT:

The Maker’s Mark Distillery is proud to unveil a new Maker’s Mark 46® bottle and design that highlights the brand’s handmade values and helps better tell the story of the beloved and distinguished liquid fans have come to know and love. The new design puts the uniqueness of the liquid on full display, differentiating itself in the proprietary French oaked process that gives Maker’s Mark 46 its characteristic layers of faceted flavor. While the bourbon inside the bottle remains the same, the new bottle design reinforces consistency of the brand’s visual identity and more tangibly brings to life its premium legacy.

WHEN:

March 2022

WHY:

French oaked for layers of flavor, Maker’s Mark 46 is the taste vision of Bill Samuels, Jr., that helped him make his mark on the family legacy. After over a decade in its original packaging, the new bottle better aligns with the visual identity comprising the full Maker’s Mark suite and better clarifies what makes the Maker’s 46 liquid special – French oak – while making clear to consumers that the liquid they love has not changed by so much as a drop. By more boldly leading with descriptions of “French oaked,” bourbon drinkers new and old can understand what flavor profiles they can expect to find behind the label.

MORE ABOUT MAKER’S MARK 46:

Originally released in 2010 under the taste vision of Bill Samuels, Jr., son of the Maker’s Mark® founders, Maker’s Mark 46 was the first new major expression to be created at the Distillery since its original bourbon went into production in 1953, and the first offering from the brand’s wood-finishing series. The innovative wood-stave-finishing process starts with fully matured Maker’s Mark at cask strength. Ten seared virgin French oak staves are then inserted into the barrel and left to mature for an additional nine weeks in the Maker’s Mark limestone cellar. The result is Maker’s Mark 46 with amplified layers of caramel, vanilla and baking spice, with a longer finish. Tireless experimentation, expertise, passion and persistence paid off in the creation of the Maker’s Mark 46, with a complex taste that amplifies all of Bill Jr.’s favorite flavors while staying true to the original. With this exterior makeover, Maker’s Mark 46 looks almost as good as it tastes.

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Four Gate Whiskey Company Announces Release #11, RUBY RYE SPRINGS, FULL PRESS RELEASE

FULL PRESS RELEASE: Four Gate Whiskey is releasing its 11th batch of whiskey, and once again presenting a popular 7-Year Old Indiana Straight Rye Whiskey, this time finished for forty two days in Ruby Port-Rum casks.