Category: Spirits

Bourbon Women Association Launch Amber Circle Diversity & Inclusion Initiative

Furthering its educational mission, the Bourbon Women Association has announced its new Amber Circle Diversity & Inclusion Initiative.

This new scholarship program builds on the organization’s Amber Circle mentoring program that started in 2019. It strives to empower women and those from underrepresented communities in the bourbon and spirits industry.

“We are so fortunate to be able to work in an industry that is always embracing change, and opening the doors to others so they can join us is one of the core missions of the Bourbon Women Association,” says Bourbon Women President Maggie Kimberl. “I am thrilled to be able to use the power of this first-ever female whiskey consumer organization to support women in growing their careers.”

The Amber Circle initiatives aims to create programs that benefit a more diverse and inclusive membership within Bourbon Women, and throughout the spirits industry. The program’s mission recognizes the importance of representation from all facets of human experience, including BIPOC women LGBTQIA+ women, and women of different abilities, educational levels and backgrounds.

The inaugural Amber Circle Diversity & Inclusion group of a dozen women will receive training through the Stave & Thief program. Founded in 2014, Stave & Thief was the first bourbon certification program recognized by the bourbon industry, the organization says, and is designated by the Kentucky Distillers Association as its “Official Bourbon Education Course.” The training is by Louisville-based Moonshine University.

“Discovery happens when you push boundaries,” says Board Chair Heather Wibbels. “Amplifying the voices and experiences of the underrepresented in the bourbon community encourages the bourbon industry to reach out and invite more diversity in their outreach to consumers and their own companies. We’re reaching out to members of our community and the whiskey spirits industry to support this initiative to advocate change from the ground up.”

The initiative kicks off with a donation campaign to raise scholarship funds. Individual donations of $250 and corporate donations of $1,000 or more are encouraged, the organization says.

Donations in these amounts may be made through Bourbon Women’s website on the Amber Circle page. For larger donations, contact Maggie.kimberl@bourbonwomen.org.

The Bourbon Women Association is a registered nonprofit organization.

#womeninspirits #womensupportingwomen #womenleaders #bourbon #womeninbourbon #BourbonWomenAssociation #womeninbusiness

iDealwine, France’s Top Wine Auctioneer for 6 Consecutive Years

The CVV has confirmed, for the sixth year running, that IWA (International Wine Auction, a subsidiary of iDealwine), is the leading wine auctioneer in France (for the sixth consecutive year), now boasting a 42% market share.
iDealwine has held 41 auction sales in 2020 (one auction every 9 days) with over 175,000 bottles auctioned for a total of €23.4 million including tax – meaning over 40% of all wine sold at auction in France (up from 37% in 2019). Auctions aside, iDealwine’s fixed price sales, which include wine sourced directly from partner properties at cellar door prices, have increased by 46% to reach €10m.  In total, iDealwine generated €33 million in sales in 2020 (+15%).

Despite the tumultuous year, the fine wine auctions market has remained comparatively stable, with iDealwine itself widening the gap in terms of market leaders. In France, wine auctions generated €47 million excluding commission (2019: €47m, 2018: €46m), which represents just 4% of the entire art and collectors’ items category. The art and collectors’ items category itself recorded a significant 22.4% drop in sales. IWA (and therefore iDealwine) has risen to rank as the eighth most important auction house in France in the art and collectors’ item category. Of course, much of this movement was accelerated by the pandemic. As a purely digital player in wine auctions, iDealwine was well placed to deal with the unique situation.
Cyrille Jomand, CEO of iDealwine, said: “We are delighted by this announcement. iDealwine recently welcomed new investment from entrepreneurial fund Capital Croissance. With this, we look forward to increasing iDealwine’s footprint not only in the fine wine world, but also in spirits via our new platform Fine Spirits Auction platform, which sees whiskies, cognacs, rums, and other fine spirits go under the hammer in partnership with La Maison du Whisky. iDealwine is also focused on its new bespoke cellar consultation and management service, offered to wine lovers, collectors, and investors.”
iDealwine has been named the number one wine auctioneer in France for the sixth consecutive year by the regulatory body for auctions in the country.
@idealwine_official #wine #winelovers #wineauction #vin #vinstagram #instawine #wineauctions #vinsbourgogne #burgundywine #bordeaux #wineinvestment #spiritsauction #winecollectors #wineinvestors #spirits #finewine #champagne

Writing the Foreword to an upcoming Book on Women in the Rum Industry

I am deeply honoured to write the Foreword to a book about women rum distillers, which is set to be released at the end of this year or early next year.  I’ve finished the draft and sent it to my colleague and his partner in Amsterdam.

You will find plenty of books about whisky/whiskey in the marketplace, but finding books focused on rum are comparatively few and far between. The ones I did managed to find included: how to drink rum, classic rums, new-generation rums, rhum agricole, premium aged rums, international rums and rum cocktails, but never has there been a book published on women rum distillers, until now!   Watch this space for further details.

#womenleadingrum #masterblender #womenleaders #womenempowerment #womenempoweringwomen #womenempowerwomen #womeninspiringwomen #womenofimpact #inspirationalwomen #rum #rhum #rumlover #rumlove #rumlife #rumstyle #rumwomen #womeninspirits #womensupportingwomen #mondaymotivation #book #rumbook #booklaunch #monday #mondayvibes 

House Bill 1409 Makes Indiana Rye Whiskey Official

A new bill passed today declared Indiana Rye to be a legally-binding, regional designation whiskey from today.

“July 1, 2021, is a moment of history in the world of whiskey and the world of Indiana Whiskey,” says Hard Truth Distilling Co Master Distiller Bryan Smith.

Craft distillers in Indiana scored a big win this week when a new bill was passed allowing distillers to label their product with the term “Indiana Rye” whiskey.

With more than 30 distilleries currently producing rye whiskey in the state, Indiana provides the lion’s share of the rye whiskey consumed on today’s market, with its famous MGP distillery alone knocking out ryes for Bulleit, WhistlePig, Angel’s Envy, High West, Redemption, and more.

From the start of July, almost 174 years since MGP first opened its doors, Indiana distillers have finally won the right to own and regulate their unique style of whiskey. The aim is to establish Indiana Rye in a similar way to how the state of Kentucky has promoted Bourbon.

According to the new bill, in order for a whiskey to be called an “Indiana Rye,” it must be either a sour or sweet mash with at least 51% rye as the base ingredient. The juice has to come off the stills at 80% ABV or less, go into the barrel at no more than 62.5% ABV, and be bottled at 40% ABV and above. The whiskey must be aged for a minimum of two years in new white American oak barrels.

Crucially, the bill allows local distillers to label their product with the term “Indiana Rye” whiskey and have it be a legally binding regional designation.

The move is also a play to transform Indiana into a whiskey tourist destination, with state rep Chris May, who spearheaded the legislation, saying: “We want Indiana to become as popular for its rye whiskey as it is for its basketball and racing. Establishing that market, both in sales and tourism, might one day put the success of our state’s distilleries on par with that of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.”

#Rye #RyeWhiskey #distillerytrail #indiana #indianaryewhiskey #whiskey#craftspirits

Glenmorangie releases a single malt designed to be paired with cake

Glenmorangie is celebrating the joy of a ‘cake moment’ with its latest release. The sweet and indulgent single malt, Glenmorangie A Tale of Cake is inspired by memories of baking, birthdays and more, with flavours of honey, vanilla and the fruit notes.  The idea for the spirit began with Dr Bill Lumsden, Glenmorangie’s director of whisky creation, thinking back on how some of his happiest memories involved cake. He experimented by finishing Glenmorangie in wine casks from the Tokaji region of Hungary, which lent their sweet honeyed notes to the smooth and fruity whisky.

Dr Bill said: “Like so many of us, some of my favourite memories come from cake, whether it be helping my granny in her kitchen, or the pineapple birthday cake my daughter surprised me with one year. By finishing whisky in Tokaji wine casks, I’ve captured the joy of those indulgent cake moments in Glenmorangie A Tale of Cake. The liquid is a rich copper, but the taste is pure technicolour – luscious, sweet and complex with multi-layered bursts of honey, white chocolate and fruits with a hint of mint.”

The whisky is finished in Tokaj wine casks, which is intended to help it develop flavours of honey, white chocolate and fruit. Glenmorangie has partnered with famed baker Dominique Ansel and bartender Jeremy Le Blanche to create a cocktail and cake pairing to mark the Scotch’s launch.

The cocktails will be made with a range of Glenmorangie whiskies including  The Original, The Lasanta and The Quinta Ruban.

The ‘CakeTail’ pairings will be available at Ansel’s bakery in New York, but the pair will also create recipes that whisky fans can make at home, which will be shared on Glenmorangie’s social channels.

Glenmorangie website: https://www.glenmorangie.com/en-gb