LONDON — A new world record has been achieved for the world’s most expensive whiskey collectors’ set, following the global unveiling of the highly anticipated ‘The Emerald Isle Collection’ by The Craft Irish Whiskey Co., in partnership with Fabergé.
The inaugural launch of these highly limited boxes has set a world record at $2million USD. The final bid and private sale of the first Emerald Isle box to be released was secured jointly on St Patrick’s Day (17th March) by Houston-based Fabergé collectors, James and Korrine Whipkey, and a group of private investors led by Scott H. Weissman. As part of this sale, all proceeds will go to the Correa Family Foundation, a charity supporting children affected by cancer, chaired by Major League Baseball star, Carlos Correa.
The remaining six Emerald Isle experiences boxes will be released at auctions and events in key cities throughout 2021.
Jay Bradley, Founder, The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. commented: “My company shares the same brand vision as Fabergé – to create timeless beauty and a lasting legacy. I am delighted to have set a world record, for the second time in three months and proud to be able to donate the full proceeds of this sale to the Correa Family Foundation, a cause which is very close to my heart as my own daughter was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a rare form cancer, when she was just five-months old. Thanks to the charities like the Correa Family Foundation, she is now a healthy 19-year-old and I am honoured to be able to support the foundation through this contribution.”
Carlos Correa, Chairman of the Correa Family Foundation said, “I’m very thankful to The Craft Irish Whiskey Co. and Jay Bradley to be generous enough to donate the first release of The Emerald Isle to our foundation. This is a huge contribution to the Correa Family Foundation and will change thousands of lives. Seeing a sick child battle cancer and what it does to their families in normal times is heart-breaking, and something that Jay and his family have experienced first-hand but going through it during a global pandemic is truly unimaginable.”
The generous donation will support underserved childhood cancer patients. The charity helps cover daily expenses including food, transportation and rent for over 15,000 children with cancer.
‘The Emerald Isle Collection’ is The Craft Irish Whiskey Co.’s second release, following the launch of The Devil’s Keep – a triple distilled, 29-year-old single malt whiskey – which also set a world record for most expensive inaugural release when it sold at auction in November 2020 for $60,000 USD (approximately £46,000/€51,000 Euros). ‘The Emerald Isle Collection’ now takes the crown as the oldest and rarest triple distilled Irish single malt in the world, comprising a seven-piece custom-made whiskey set which celebrates the ‘Seven Wonders of Ireland’.
Beautifully presented in a dark walnut experience box, each set features a bottle of ultra-rare, single cask, 30-year-old, triple distilled single malt Irish whiskey, accompanied by two exclusive creations from Fabergé – the first-of-its-kind Fabergé Celtic Egg and bespoke 1/1 Fabergé watch. Each collection also includes a humidor with two limited edition and sold out, ultra-rare Cohiba Siglo VI Grand Reserva (2009) cigars. Top rated scoring 100/100, it is the holy grail of cigar collectibles and has increased by over 1,200% in value in the last decade. It also features a gold-plated cigar cutter, gold plated water pipette, pure obsidian whiskey stones, a hip flask with a sample of the Emerald Isle whiskey, and a carafe filled with Irish spring water from the same region where the whiskey was made.
Each experience box has been inspired by the shape of an emerald, and features an illustration of one of the ‘wonders’ of Ireland and its geographical coordinates, making each box one of a kind. Inside each box is the pièce de resistance, the hand-crafted whiskey bottle containing the ‘liquid gold’ – a collector’s item in its own right, design inspired by the Imperial Fabergé Hen Egg from 1885. All bottles of whiskey are accompanied by a bespoke – first of its kind – Fabergé Celtic Egg. Each egg is handcrafted from 18k yellow gold and features Fabergé’s legendary guilloché enamel in a pastel green; the green, white and gold colors of the egg symbolising the Irish flag. Inside, a unique surprise awaits in the form of a rough, uncut Gemfields Zambian emerald. This represents a feature that is truly historical, as it is the first time Fabergé has ever featured an uncut gemstone as the egg’s surprise. The uncut gem can be customized by Fabergé into an exquisite one-of-a-kind piece of Fabergé jewelery.
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HOOD RIVER, Oregon — Hood River Distillers, the oldest and largest importer, distiller and marketer of distilled spirits in the Northwest, announced the launch of its newest brand, Timberline Vodka. Created in Hood River, Oregon, a world-renowned epicenter of outdoor recreation, Timberline reflects the spirit and love of the outdoors and those who thrive in it – The “Outer Class.”
BURLINGTON, Vermont(March, 2021) Finally, a whiskey you can enjoy by the pint. Two Vermont-based companies, WhistlePig Whiskey and Ben & Jerry’s, have stirred up a ganache-topped ice cream concoction called Whiskey Biz. The Whiskey Biz™ Topped flavor is a brown butter bourbon ice cream with blonde brownies & WhistlePig Whiskey-infused caramel swirls, topped with white chocolatey ganache & white fudge chunks. It is the first Vermont-sourced ingredient for Ben & Jerry’s since chocolate chip cookie dough in the early 1990s.
NEWPORT, Oregon — Warmer, longer days means it’s time to head outside and have a cocktail and Rogue’s line of sparkling canned cocktails has made it easy to do just that. It’s time to liberate the cocktail experience and enjoy an authentic, high-quality cocktail anytime, anywhere – whether that’s on top of a mountain, by the pool or on the golf course. Rogue Ales & Spirits, one of the original craft breweries and distilleries, continues to grow its sparkling canned cocktail line with the recent launch of a Lemonade Iced Tea Vodka Soda and the 
NEW YORK – To support Diageo North America’s growth strategy in the Ready-to-Drink (RTD) category, the company announced plans to expand its manufacturing footprint and install two can lines at a new facility in Plainfield, Illinois. With an investment of approximately $80 million, the site will have the capacity to produce over 25 million cases of RTDs per year, including Smirnoff seltzers and the newly launched spirits-based RTD cocktails from Crown Royal and Ketel One Botanicals.
PORTLAND, Oregon — Eastside Distilling is expanding its premium spirits line with the new “Eastside Brand” and the new Eastside portfolio of spirits products. The Eastside special products will build on the Company’s inspiration to offer the most unique, highest quality, hand-crafted, small-batch products to our loyal consumers. All products will be limited-edition and will be available in limited markets. Product will ship in late March and should be on shelves by April of this year.
Milton, Delaware – One of America’s earliest craft distilleries, Dogfish Head Distilling Co. announces the coast-to-coast* launch of its scratch-made, ready-to-drink Canned Cocktails. The distillery’s lineup of Canned Cocktails includes three off-centered recipes –Blueberry Shrub Vodka Soda, Strawberry & Honeyberry Vodka Lemonade and Cherry Bergamot Whiskey Sour. Each recipe was crafted using Dogfish Head Distilling Co.’s house-made spirits combined with all-natural, high-quality culinary ingredients to create a liquid masterpiece that tastes as if it was poured straight from a bartender’s shaker tin. Dogfish Head Distilling Co.’s scratch-made Canned Cocktails begin hitting shelves in 4pk/355ml slim cans this week.
LAWRENCEBURG, Indiana — MGP has launched the New Year with the release of their 2021 George Remus Bourbon Single Barrel Program. George Remus Single Barrel selections will be offered at cask strength in two mash bills that reflect MGP’s signature high-rye bourbon character. Participating accounts in the Single Barrel program are invited to connect virtually with the distillery team in Lawrenceburg to taste, select and order their preferred mash bills. Participating retailers can also opt to customize the label on their 2021 Single Barrel Selection to enhance the collectible aspect of this special offering. George Remus Bourbon Single Barrels are available for pre-sell until March 15.
“The Remus Family of Bourbon Whiskies exemplifies MGP’s expertise in distilling, aging and blending. Our Single Barrel program offers an exciting complement to our Bourbon portfolio and allows us to showcase our historic high-rye mash bills,” says Andrew Mansinne, Vice President of Brands, MGP. “We’re thrilled to expand this year’s program with a renewed commitment to support our partners with marketing support tailored to reach the most discriminating Bourbon consumers.”
LOS ANGELES – Lynxx Spirits, an emerging California-based company launches Lynxx Bourbon, an ultra-premium spirit. An innovative drink selection focused on female taste preferences, the introduction of Lynxx modernizes this historically masculine category and continues to drive forward the growing demand for women leaders within the spirits industry.
The custom wheated, hand-crafted mashbill isn’t commonly used and is made of corn, wheat, and malted barley which leads to a complex taste profile. Of note, the brand is further lauded for being a pure spirit with no added colors, preservatives, rye, sugar, or gluten.