Category: Beverages

On Tuesday, Diageo announced this year’s release of Talisker 30 Year Old, a limited-edition single malt Scotch. The expression was first launched by the Isle of Skye distillery in 2006 as part of Diageo’s Special Releases collection, though it has since become a highly sought-after annual release.

According to The Drinks Business, the whisky “captures three decades of maturation” and offers flavors like red apple, stone fruit, and pecan fudge that fade into wood spice and vanilla pod notes. The three-decades-old expression was described by Diageo as the “pinnacle of Talisker’s range of whiskies.”

“This new release of Talisker 30-Year-Old holds all the classic characteristics of the single malt, yet elevated to new heights,” Ewan Gunn, senior ambassador for Diageo’s single malt Scotch whiskies, told The Spirits Business. “Soaring with sweet smoke and pointy notes of pepper, this latest release is an elegant and complex expression. The 30-year-old is a consistently exceptional release.”

Bottled at 49.8 percent ABV, only 2,610 bottles of Talisker 30 Year Old are in circulation, making this year’s release the most limited expression in the collection to date. The whisky is currently available at select retailers and online at Malts.com and ReserveBar.com for €1,300 ($1,690). Interested buyers can also reach out to the private client team at Justerini & Brooks, according to Diageo.

“Talisker 30 Year Old is always eagerly anticipated and consistently adored by whisky fans and collectors,” Gunn said in an interview with The Drinks Business. “Talisker always embeds such a palpable sense of place in the hearts and minds of those who taste it, and this 30-Year-Old release delivers that with aplomb — with each nose and every taste you are pulled closer and closer to the mountain views of Skye.”

In some ways, Rioja is the Bordeaux of Spain. It’s the country’s most celebrated wine region, known primarily for the red Tempranillo grape, which, like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in Bordeaux, produces elegant, medium-bodied wines that lend themselves to lengthy barrel aging.

In fact, there’s a strong connection between Bordeaux and Rioja. The idea of barrel aging, as practiced in Bordeaux, was introduced to Rioja in the late 1700s but really took off in the mid- to late 1800s and is standard today.

Beyond that, when phylloxera swept through Bordeaux in the mid-1800s, the Bordelais turned to Rioja as a source of wine and brought their winemaking practices with them. Others had learned from Bordeaux winemakers, among them Don Camilo Hurtado de Amézaga, who founded the Marqués de Riscal winery in 1860; and Don Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta, a Chilean by birth who would become the founder of R. López de Heredia in 1877.

López de Heredia, in Haro in the Rioja Alta subregion, is arguably the most famous domaine in Rioja. It’s known for its traditional winemaking and long aging of its wines — well beyond the time required for the various levels of Rioja, not only for the reds, but the whites and the rosés as well.

You’ll find the classification of the wines on their labels: All will list the “cosecha,” or vintage date. Beyond that, the wines are categorized simply as “Rioja,” with no aging requirements, or as “Crianza,” “Reserva,” or “Gran Reserva,” which denote the minimum aging required in barrel and bottle, with Gran Reservas aged the most.

Rioja, which lies in north-central Spain, is divided into three regions: the higher-elevation, cooler-climate Rioja Alta in the west, where many of the most storied wineries are found; the more moderate Rioja Alavesa in the center, and Rioja Oriental (formerly Rioja Baja) in the southeast, the warmest area of the three.

The Ebro River and its tributaries course through Rioja and form the valleys of the region, whose soils include limestone, calcareous, and iron-rich clays as well as alluvial soils, resulting in bright acidity and good structure in many of the wines.

In terms of grape varieties, Tempranillo accounts for more than three-quarters of the vines planted in Rioja, with Garnacha (Grenache), Graciano, and Manzuelo as supporting players that often appear in Rioja blends. While long barrel aging is the classic method (in American and increasingly French oak), some winemakers have turned to a more “modern” style, with longer grape maceration and less oak, resulting in darker, fruitier wines. Examples of both styles are in the list below.

Here are eight of the best Rioja red wines:

Muriel Rioja Crianza 2019

Plum and sweet dark berries are the dominant aromas and flavors of this delicious Crianza from Rioja Alavesa. The wine was aged for 12 months in new and used American and French oak barrels, lending hints of cinnamon and powdered cocoa with medium, chalky tannins.

Price: $18
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Ramón Bilbao Rioja ‘Edición Limitada’ 2019

This “limited edition,” 100 percent Tempranillo is fruit- and mineral-driven, with black plum and blackberry flavors, a hint of balsamic, and vibrant acidity. The wine is purplish and the oak influence is muted, so even though it’s from 2019, the wine still tastes fresh and young. A good example of how Rioja, with its acidity, can hold its own with tomato-sauce pastas and other Italian-inspired dishes.

Price: $21
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Familia Torres Altos Ibéricos Rioja Crianza 2019

From the Torres family, this wine from Rioja Alavesa is marked by red fruit and dark cherry flavors with touches of vanilla and leather on the long finish. With air, darker fruits begin to emerge. It was aged for 12 months in mostly used French and American oak barrels. An excellent, under-$20 value.

Price: $15
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R. López de Heredia Rioja Viña Cubillo Crianza 2016

This stellar wine — a blend of 65 percent Tempranillo and 35 percent Garnacha, Graciano, and Mazuelo — is from the winery’s Viña Cubillas vineyard, one of the original parcels purchased by its founder, Don Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta. The winery describes it as “a vineyard that produces exceptional wines sold as Crianza,” adding that “these wines could easily be marketed as Gran Reservas due to the exceptional combination of soil, aspect and vines.” The 2016 bears that out, with enticing aromas of cedar, meat, leather, earth, blueberry compote, and overripe strawberry. On the palate it’s softly tannic with a streak of acidity cutting through. This is a chance to experience the greatness of López de Heredia at a reasonable price.

Price: $30
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La Rioja Alta Viña Alberdi Rioja Reserva 2019

From another Rioja Alta producer that goes back well over a century, this wine is soft, subtle, and delicious. Aromas and flavors include blueberry, vanilla, caramel, green olive, and black licorice. There’s an herbal note on the finish. The wine grew on me as it opened up.

Price: $23
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Compañón Arrieta Rioja ‘Herrigoia’ 2022

This is a different take on Rioja — a young wine from old vines made without oak and fermented with the carbonic maceration technique common in Rioja Alavesa (and, of course, in France’s Beaujolais). The result is a delicious, “grapey” wine that almost demands a chill. Dark berry fruit flavors like just-picked blackberry, earth, and chewy tannins are its signature. It’s also an under-$15 bargain.

Price: $13
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Bodegas Ollauri Conde de los Andes Rioja 2016

From Rioja Alta, this is a more fruit-driven expression that maintains its freshness despite its age. It shows mainly red fruit notes, including spicy red plum and cherry with hints of cinnamon and chocolate. Aged in French oak barrels for 14 months, the oak is nicely integrated and doesn’t call attention to itself.

Price: $50
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Montecillo Rioja Gran Reserva 2015

From another century-plus-old Rioja winery, this is a stunning wine, quite Bordeaux-like in character and marked by balance and a fine tannin structure. Blueberry and redcurrant aromas are accented by cedar and a hint of tomato leaf. It’s sheer elegance on the palate with bright acidity. (Don’t confuse this with Montecillo’s stunning, black-labeled “22 Barricas” Gran Reserva, which will set you back $150.)

Price: $36
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Next up: the white wines of Spain’s Rueda.

In the current era of craft beer, it’s safe to say that drinkers can expect the unexpected. Shop shelves are lined with cans that boast wild graphics, clever names, and strange ingredients. It takes a lot to stand out in the sea of brightly colored 6-packs and hyped-up collab brews, but there’s one add-in that still has some shock value: Anchovy hops.

To uncover the story behind this somewhat unsettling ingredient, VinePair tapped Matt Storm, co-founder of Fast Fashion Brewing, the Washington brewery that originally gave the hop its provocative name.

The origins of this controversial ingredient can be traced back to lower Yakima Valley’s Segal Ranch, a third-generation family farm that produces popular hop varieties, as well as some more experimental plantings. In September 2020, one of Segal’s more out-there strains, then dubbed 24B-05, grabbed the attention of two up-and-coming brewers visiting the farm: Fast Fashion Brewing’s owners Storm and Brian Strumke. The pair examined and sampled six or seven hop examples to potentially brew with, and landed on the experimental 24B-05 due to its intriguing aromas. The farm offered a program where brewers could pay up front to grow the hops to later use them, and with Fast Fashion Brewing’s investment, the variety was scaled up from one row of hop vines to a full acre.

Though some brewers stick with the numerical name of experimental hops once they’ve purchased them, when Storm and Strumke finally got their hands on the first harvest of 24B-05, they wanted to put their own stamp on it.

“The first beer we made with it was called Hot Pizza,” Storm says. “Brian thought to call the new hop ‘Anchovy’ since it would be like hot pizza with anchovies — the most ridiculous topping.”

So, to answer the burning question in everyone’s brains: No, the hop and the beer don’t taste like anchovies. Instead, they have an appealing, fruit-forward profile.

“It’s like a big punch of watermelon Jolly Rancher,” Storm says. “It has some of those classic Pacific Northwest flavors like citrus and pine, too, almost like cascade or centennial. But the thing that really jumps out is the watermelon.”

In fact, the pair originally planned to change out the hops as different “toppings” for the brew each year, but the Anchovy brew turned out so well, it became a staple in their frequently-rotating portfolio of beers. They even shared the hops with a few like-minded brewers to make their own limited-edition Anchovy brews, stirring up even more excitement for the new variety.

While the beer was a success, according to a report from DC Beer, Segal Ranch owner John Segal wasn’t too pleased with the naming decision. “Why don’t you just call the hop Sh*t?” Segal told DC Beer. “Because, as far as I’m concerned, there’s sh*t and then the next smelliest thing is an anchovy.”

The Fast Fashion Brewery owners admit the name does cause some occasional hesitation among guests, but overall, it’s just increased interest in the beer. “It’s so brash that people want to ask questions about it,” Storm says. “You have more people ask about hops than ever. In that regard, it’s a success.”

Despite the strange name, the nation’s new batch of Anchovy beers were so compelling that more U.S. breweries and international producers now seek out the hop. Some are even leaning into its fishy title with anchovy-themed beer labels. As a result, Segal Ranch has significantly increased its plantings of Anchovy to try to meet the growing demand.

Those interested in tasting the hop for themselves should venture to Fast Fashion Brewing’s annual Anchovy Hop Festival. The event celebrates beers that boast the unconventional hop with brews from across the country and, of course, some hot pizza with anchovies.

“I have quite literally gotten more calls this year asking about it than Blanton’s.”

What could be this whiskey unicorn that’s causing retailers’ iPhones to vibrate non-stop? The latest tater-ific Weller variant, perhaps? The new Russell’s Reserve 15 Year Old? Some single barrel picks from cult bottler Rare Character?

“The answer to your question isn’t going to be one you’re looking for,” a liquor store worker recently wrote on Reddit, responding to a user’s request for the “most trending” whiskey of 2024. “But the most trendy or hyped bottle this year has been Crown Royal Blackberry.”

Intentional and Typical

Though Crown Royal Blackberry was announced and released on March 13 of this year, Scott Pascoe says he had customers coming into his South Carolina liquor store looking for it a good two months before then.

“Totally intentional and typical of Diageo, honestly,” he says, referring to the conglomerate that owns the brand and that he believes is able to astroturf hype for certain products by sending bottles to, and sometimes even paying, influencers to post about them on social media before they’re available in stores.

Indeed, if you search TikTok you can find countless, mostly positive reviews of Crown Royal Blackberry posted well before that official release date. Some of these videos are simple tastings, while others include more advanced cocktails created with the product. And then there is general zaniness, like user izzydrinks’ February review in which he mixes the flavored Canadian whisky with Sprite and then stirs it with the foot of a chair. The latter video garnered some 1.1 million views.

Another TikToker went so far as to post 15 different videos featuring Crown Royal Blackberry paired with such offbeat partners as Squirt, Hypnotiq, and Skrewball, leading up to the release day.

“Crown Royal Blackberry is the drink of the SUMMER 🥃☀,” wrote one enthusiastic creator in February, netting 2.4 million views.

In its initial March 13 press release, Diageo even mentioned all this TikTok love, noting, in classic corporate speak, that Crown Royal Blackberry “has already taken social media by storm with consumers +21 sharing their love for the new flavor and exploring their own cocktail innovations.”

(To be clear, it’s not uncommon or even unethical for brands to send new product samples out to both writers and influencers before an official release.)

“Neat, it tastes heavily artificial and even medicinal like cough syrup. Mixed it’s great — I mean it’s low proof and sweet; you can’t really go wrong.”

Whatever the case, and however you want to look at it, just as Diageo had done with Crown Royal Peach — the whiskey unicorn of the year in 2021, of which I was the first to cover — this online tactic has likewise worked extremely well with Crown Royal Blackberry.

“I certainly am getting more calls about Crown Blackberry than other allocations now,” says A.J. (last name withheld for professional reasons), who works at a liquor store in a large college town in Missouri. He notes that it was allocated from the get-go, with his particular store only getting five cases upon release. “I think Diageo is certainly part of the hype,” he adds.

Today, some five months after it was released, Pascoe says he still gets at least five calls a day for Crown Royal Blackberry and it still sells out the second it’s put on shelves. He mostly sees older zoomers and younger millennials buying it, though not of the typical whiskey tater type, he’s quick to note.

For Pascoe’s part, he doesn’t think the liquid lives up to the hype. “If you were ever given Dimetapp as a kid for allergies, you have tasted this foul stuff,” he says.

Low Proof and Sweet — Can’t Go Wrong

Indeed, Crown Royal Blackberry isn’t exciting snobby whiskey fans, nor appearing on online secondary markets where Pappy and bottles from the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection are wheeled and dealed (though it is sold illegally on Craigslist). Neither is it making appearances on the menus at elite cocktail bars across our fair nation.

Nevertheless, it has its diehard fans, as did Crown Royal Peach. “Are you drinking it straight?,” wrote one fan on Reddit, in response to a hater. “If so that’s your problem. It slaps as a mixer hence the popularity.”

“I think all the flavors trend, they’re just seasonal.”

Even whiskey connoisseurs like A.J. see its certain charms. “Neat, it tastes heavily artificial and even medicinal like cough syrup. Mixed it’s great — I mean it’s low proof and sweet; you can’t really go wrong,” he says. “Almost everyone I have sold it to raves about it mixed with lemonade, as per the recipe on the box, which recommends 6 ounces of lemonade to 1 and a half ounces of whiskey.”

Not coincidentally, that’s the same way most of the TikToker influencers chose to drink in their pre-release videos. (Mixed with Sprite is probably the second most common usage on the platform.)

Meanwhile, people clamor for it on forums, message boards, and Reddit. Stores boast about their supply. Residents living in control states like North Carolina and Ohio offer tips for what stores have bottles in stock. It even makes appearances on NSFW corners of the internet.

What else can be said? It’s yet another flavored whiskey hit from Crown Royal and Diageo. Should we be surprised any more?

All the Rage, All the Hype

As I wrote back in 2021, the fervor around Crown Royal Peach “made me explicitly aware that people who write about whiskey and read about whiskey and collect whiskey … are in a serious snob bubble and sometimes not aware what regular people are really drinking these days.”

“We found there was a huge, untapped market for people who aren’t what I like to call ‘flavor snobs,’” Nicky Heckles, former vice president of Crown Royal, told me at the time. (I was unable to speak to her or any one at Diageo for this story.)

A similar, but slightly less viral, example is Buchanan’s Pineapple, another flavored whiskey, this time of the Scotch variety, but also owned by Diageo. Though it goes through spurts of solid sales, it doesn’t touch Crown Royal Blackberry at the moment, according to retailers I spoke to. Still, the mere fact Diageo can turn something as unlikely as a Latin-inspired, pineapple-flavored blended Scotch into a hit speaks to how good the global conglomerate is at crafting flavors, or hype. Or perhaps both.

“I think all the flavors trend, they’re just seasonal,” says A.J., who notes that while Crown Royal Blackberry is ideal for summer, Crown Royal Vanilla and Crown Royal Salted Caramel always pick up in sales once winter comes.

But true unicorns don’t live on seasonal sales alone, and as Pascoe tells me, unlike, say, Pappy Van Winkle or Weller or Blanton’s, Crown Royal Blackberry will lose its hype fairly soon, whether summer ends or not.

“When I first came to work for [the liquor store] a couple of years ago, [Crown Royal] Peach was still all the rage,” he explains. “We would get a case and it was a ‘one bottle per customer’ type of thing. Then one Saturday I get to work, and we had 20 cases of Peach. Ever since then, it barely sells.”