The monthly round-up of what’s new in low/no, beer, cider, wine, spirits, RTDs and mixers. SPIRITS Dunnet Bay Mapmakers spiced rum £35 USP: Dunnet Bay Distillers is launching its first-ever rum. It combines Dunnet’s house rum, Carribbean rum, Loch Calder water and local botanicals, resulting in notes of banana, toffee and salted caramel with a “light peppery…

A new trade association has launched in the whisky sector to protect people who buy and sell casks. The Cask Whisky Association is made up of two boards of members and advisors, including cask whisky businesses, distilleries, independent bottles and whisky experts, alongside legal and insurance professionals. Chairman of the advisory board and spokesperson, Colin Hampden-White, said the CWA’s goal is to uphold the overall…

Fife-based retailer The Whisky Barrel has pioneered a new digital authentication process to reduce the risk of purchasing counterfeit whisky, while also releasing the “world’s first” single-cask Scotch with full digital provenance certificate (NFT).  Alastair and Chris Brown – the brothers behind The Whisky Barrel – created the authentication process in collaboration with Aberdeen-based tech start-up CD Corp using blockchain technology. In recognition…

Bacardi is to release a rum aged in sherry casks in September. The limited edition Bacardi Reserva Ocho Sherry Cask Finish is the first in a series of rums aged in different types of cask that the brand will bring to the market over the next five years. The rum has been aged in American oak for 8-12 years and finished in oloroso sherry casks…

Bushmills Irish Whiskey has announced the release of the Bushmills Original Cask Finish range, a new series that “delivers a fresh perspective” on the iconic Bushmills Original Irish Whiskey. The first two premium innovations from the range, the Caribbean Rum Cask Finish and the American Oak Cask Finish, are the newest additions to the Bushmills family and the latest creations from Bushmills Master Blender, Helen…

Irish Whiskey Hyde is launching in the UK for the first time. Hyde has been produced by a family of independent ‘bonders’ of Irish whiskey, who have 380 years of family drinks history. It is currently run by brothers Conor and Alan Hyde. The family hand-selects the finest Irish whiskeys made by the distilleries they believe are the best in Ireland, and these and then…

Cask Liquid Marketing has been appointed as the UK distributor for the Australian whisky brand Starward. The whisky – founded in 2013 – has been in the UK market for four years and was previously handled by Axiom Brands. Scott English, Starward’s commercial sales director, said: “We’re excited to actualise our ambitions and grow the footprint of a Melbourne-made, Australian whisky. “Our whiskies offer a…