Sean “Diddy” Combs—already a player in the spirits industry through his partnership on Ciroc vodka—says he will likely enter the Tequila category within the next year. Combs told E! Online he’s been making frequent trips to Mexico to find a potential Tequila brand with whom to partner. “In the next year, you will probably see me going toe to toe with (Patrón),” Combs said. We can hardly wait.
The post Sean Combs To Take a Shot at Tequila appeared first on Drinking in America.
Premium vodka brand, Cîroc, unveiled their new flavor last week and it’s sweet… like dessert sweet. Channeling the after dinner drink, Cîroc Amaretto, was revealed last week after a meeting with the brand’s main face, P. Diddy.
Amaretto will join the already successful Peach, Red Berry and Coconut flavors from the brand. No news on when the almond cordial flavored vodka is set to hit shelves but we can assure you there will be an extravagant, over priced and lavish party to celebrate it. P. Diddy wouldn’t have it any other way.
The post Cîroc Amaretto Joins the Collection appeared first on Drinking in America.
Now that December has started, hoops season is in full gear. In addition to the dunks and buzzer beaters, the basketball world is trying to put fans into the seats with booze. Now they’re talking our language.
The new toast of the NBA is Diddy’s Ciroc Vodka and the combination sounds like a slam-dunk. Diageo, who owns Ciroc, has become the official partner of the NBA and will supply all the spirits sold at arenas around the country. Who knows, Ciroc and soda could become the best duo since Jordan and Pippen.
In an effort to get more people in the seats for their woman’s basketball games, Louisville grabbed our attention with a brilliant idea: free beer. Women’s basketball coach Jeff Walz offered a voucher for a free beer for the first 2,500 fans in attendance at their recent game against LSU. Our new favorite coach claims he was trying to say, “the first drink’s on me. Thanks for coming out.” Thank you Coach Walz, anytime.
Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player who ever lived, has made the transition from player, to owner, and now to beer pong enthusiast. He was recently spotted playing beer pong against a groom celebrating his wedding on a visit to The Ritz-Carlton in Miami. Not only did this lucky guy play against MJ, who was casually smoking a cigar, he beat him. This has to be the greatest wedding story of all time.
Basketball is a game of teamwork, and we love that booze is the newest teammate. There is no sport we wouldn’t watch with a free beer. If you need us, we’ll be attending all of the Louisville women’s basketball games that we can.
The post The Basketball and Booze Dream Team appeared first on Drinking in America.
Sean “P. Diddy” Combs has it all – a music career, a clothing line, two restaurants, a vodka brand. And now the hip-hop mogul is putting his name on bottles of DeLeon Tequila.
Though both the brand and Diddy have been hush hush about the deal, the rumors are that he has teamed up with DeLeon to develop his own line of tequila. DeLeon Tequila was founded in 2008 and hit the U.S. on Cinco de Mayo 2009. Since it’s debut, the ultra premium tequila has been winning awards and gaining quite the reputation.
Diddy celebrated the new partnership with a few hundred of his closest friends who sipped DeLeon Tequila all night long. A bottle can cost anywhere from $140 to $825, aka we can’t afford it.
No word on when the Diddy/DeLeon tequila will launch but we’ll keep our eyes open. We’re sure the price tag will be high but if we know Diddy, the tequila will be damn good.
The post Diddy Expands His Booze Empire appeared first on Drinking in America.
We’ve talked before about liquor brands that celebrities get involved with, including the good, the bad and the ugly. Usually when we hear about a new celeb liquor, we roll our eyes and ignore the bottles when we see them on shelves. But sometimes, the booze and celebrity collaborations grab our attention. The most recent example: Diageo buying tequila brand DeLeon with Diddy, as well as a rebranding of Justin Timberlake’s tequila “901″ with the help of Beam Inc.
The details of these two deals are different, and we’ll discuss that in a second, but the overall theme is what we really have our eye on: the tequila market is booming in the United States and as widespread interest grows, big names are joining the tequila party.
The partnership between Diddy and Diageo is an extension of their already existing relationship and Diddy’s ability to gain support for luxury brands. He has already been working with Diageo on Ciroc and now that they’ve acquired DeLeon, they’ll have a luxury tequila brand to add to their portfolio. DeLeon is not cheap and it’s not the type of tequila college students will be grabbing for shots to pre-game; priced from $120.00 to over $1,000 per bottle, DeLeon is considered ultra-premium and is distributed in 18 U.S. states as well as D.C. “The joint venture… is Diageo’s latest step towards returning to a leading position in tequila in North America,” said Larry Schwartz, President of Diageo North America. If we know Diddy, he’ll make it happen.
When it comes to Justin Timberlake, he laid the groundwork for his tequila pairing with Beam. Justin launched his “901″ tequila in 2009 (a nod to his hometown’s area code), and now he’s partnering with Beam Inc. for a makeover of sorts under their Sauza name. The actual tequila will remain unchanged, but the name will now be “Sauza 901″ and will be jointly owned by Timberlake and Beam Inc. Also, instead of competing with Diddy’s tequila in the ultra-premium sector, Sauza 901 will be placed in the super premium category. Super premium has seen the strongest growth when it comes to tequila and Sauza 901 will be about $30 a bottle. Sorry Diddy, but JT’s tequila is more our financial speed.
Although these two tequila brands have famous faces behind them, we think there’s room for both of them in the market since they’re trying to attract different drinkers. All of you luxury yacht owners can afford a bottle of DeLeon while us normal folk will enjoy a bottle of 901 Sauza.
The post Battle Royale, Tequila Style: Diddy vs. Timberlake appeared first on Drinking in America.
October may have already begun, but we are still holding on to September—or at least some of it. Take a look at what we think are the top 10 spirit launches from last month:
The post Top 10 Liquor Launches of September 2014 appeared first on DRINKING IN AMERICA.
Top o’ the mornin’ to ya! It’s St. Patrick’s Day!
In honor of this legendary Irishman, we have some extra special drink suggestions for you to get luck on your side. Ciroc has (oddly enough) come out with some green cocktail recipes, and we have to admit, they sound pretty darn delicious. So pucker up, and bring out your inner green.
read moreThe post Drink With Me, I’m Irish! appeared first on DRINKING IN AMERICA.
There is a recurring Hollywood trend that has refused to die for over 10 years. It’s the celebrity liquor brands. There is no known reason why celebrities feel the need to launch their own liquor line but here are a few theories:
read moreThe post Drink Like a Celeb With These Celebrity Liquor Brands appeared first on DRINKING IN AMERICA.
Sean “Diddy” Combs—already a player in the spirits industry through his partnership on Ciroc vodka—says he will likely enter the Tequila category within the next year. Combs told E! Online he’s been making frequent trips to Mexico to find a potential Tequila brand with whom to partner. “In the next year, you will probably see me going toe to toe with (Patrón),” Combs said. We can hardly wait.
The post Sean Combs To Take a Shot at Tequila appeared first on DRINKING IN AMERICA.
Premium vodka brand, Cîroc, unveiled their new flavor last week and it’s sweet… like dessert sweet. Channeling the after dinner drink, Cîroc Amaretto, was revealed last week after a meeting with the brand’s main face, P. Diddy.
Amaretto will join the already successful Peach, Red Berry and Coconut flavors from the brand. No news on when the almond cordial flavored vodka is set to hit shelves but we can assure you there will be an extravagant, over priced and lavish party to celebrate it. P. Diddy wouldn’t have it any other way.
The post Cîroc Amaretto Joins the Collection appeared first on DRINKING IN AMERICA.
Now that December has started, hoops season is in full gear. In addition to the dunks and buzzer beaters, the basketball world is trying to put fans into the seats with booze. Now they’re talking our language.
The new toast of the NBA is Diddy’s Ciroc Vodka and the combination sounds like a slam-dunk. Diageo, who owns Ciroc, has become the official partner of the NBA and will supply all the spirits sold at arenas around the country. Who knows, Ciroc and soda could become the best duo since Jordan and Pippen.
In an effort to get more people in the seats for their woman’s basketball games, Louisville grabbed our attention with a brilliant idea: free beer. Women’s basketball coach Jeff Walz offered a voucher for a free beer for the first 2,500 fans in attendance at their recent game against LSU. Our new favorite coach claims he was trying to say, “the first drink’s on me. Thanks for coming out.” Thank you Coach Walz, anytime.
Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player who ever lived, has made the transition from player, to owner, and now to beer pong enthusiast. He was recently spotted playing beer pong against a groom celebrating his wedding on a visit to The Ritz-Carlton in Miami. Not only did this lucky guy play against MJ, who was casually smoking a cigar, he beat him. This has to be the greatest wedding story of all time.
Basketball is a game of teamwork, and we love that booze is the newest teammate. There is no sport we wouldn’t watch with a free beer. If you need us, we’ll be attending all of the Louisville women’s basketball games that we can.
The post The Basketball and Booze Dream Team appeared first on DRINKING IN AMERICA.
Sean “P. Diddy” Combs has it all – a music career, a clothing line, two restaurants, a vodka brand. And now the hip-hop mogul is putting his name on bottles of DeLeon Tequila.
Though both the brand and Diddy have been hush hush about the deal, the rumors are that he has teamed up with DeLeon to develop his own line of tequila. DeLeon Tequila was founded in 2008 and hit the U.S. on Cinco de Mayo 2009. Since it’s debut, the ultra premium tequila has been winning awards and gaining quite the reputation.
Diddy celebrated the new partnership with a few hundred of his closest friends who sipped DeLeon Tequila all night long. A bottle can cost anywhere from $140 to $825, aka we can’t afford it.
No word on when the Diddy/DeLeon tequila will launch but we’ll keep our eyes open. We’re sure the price tag will be high but if we know Diddy, the tequila will be damn good.
The post Diddy Expands His Booze Empire appeared first on DRINKING IN AMERICA.
We’ve talked before about liquor brands that celebrities get involved with, including the good, the bad and the ugly. Usually when we hear about a new celeb liquor, we roll our eyes and ignore the bottles when we see them on shelves. But sometimes, the booze and celebrity collaborations grab our attention. The most recent example: Diageo buying tequila brand DeLeon with Diddy, as well as a rebranding of Justin Timberlake’s tequila “901” with the help of Beam Inc.
The details of these two deals are different, and we’ll discuss that in a second, but the overall theme is what we really have our eye on: the tequila market is booming in the United States and as widespread interest grows, big names are joining the tequila party.
The partnership between Diddy and Diageo is an extension of their already existing relationship and Diddy’s ability to gain support for luxury brands. He has already been working with Diageo on Ciroc and now that they’ve acquired DeLeon, they’ll have a luxury tequila brand to add to their portfolio. DeLeon is not cheap and it’s not the type of tequila college students will be grabbing for shots to pre-game; priced from $120.00 to over $1,000 per bottle, DeLeon is considered ultra-premium and is distributed in 18 U.S. states as well as D.C. “The joint venture… is Diageo’s latest step towards returning to a leading position in tequila in North America,” said Larry Schwartz, President of Diageo North America. If we know Diddy, he’ll make it happen.
When it comes to Justin Timberlake, he laid the groundwork for his tequila pairing with Beam. Justin launched his “901” tequila in 2009 (a nod to his hometown’s area code), and now he’s partnering with Beam Inc. for a makeover of sorts under their Sauza name. The actual tequila will remain unchanged, but the name will now be “Sauza 901” and will be jointly owned by Timberlake and Beam Inc. Also, instead of competing with Diddy’s tequila in the ultra-premium sector, Sauza 901 will be placed in the super premium category. Super premium has seen the strongest growth when it comes to tequila and Sauza 901 will be about $30 a bottle. Sorry Diddy, but JT’s tequila is more our financial speed.
Although these two tequila brands have famous faces behind them, we think there’s room for both of them in the market since they’re trying to attract different drinkers. All of you luxury yacht owners can afford a bottle of DeLeon while us normal folk will enjoy a bottle of 901 Sauza.
The post Battle Royale, Tequila Style: Diddy vs. Timberlake appeared first on DRINKING IN AMERICA.
October may have already begun, but we are still holding on to September—or at least some of it. Take a look at what we think are the top 10 spirit launches from last month:
1. Glenmorangie Taghta
Translating to “the chosen one” in Gaelic, this limited edition spirit is the first crowd-managed single malt whisky in the world. Created through Glenmorangie’s Cask Masters program, avid fans of the brand from more than 30 countries helped influence every stage of this whisky’s production, from its packaging design to its name. With only 12,000 bottles globally available, Taghta’s flavor consists of salt, caramelized citrus, oak, and olives with an after taste of chocolate and dates.
2. Greenall’s Sloe Gin and Wild Berry
For the first time in 250 years—since the company began making gin in 1761—Greenall has introduced two new products, Sloe gin and Wild Berry gin. While the wild berry flavor is a hearty combination of English blackberries and raspberries, the sloe berry is a welcoming touch to Greenalls’ original eight botanicals. Whichever you choose, Greenall’s gin is a warming beverage ideal for the upcoming autumn and winter seasons.
3. Martell Premier Voyage
For the company’s 300th birthday, Martell released a limited edition blend of cognac using eaux-de-vie sourced from winegrowing families whose ancestors supplied Martell in 1735—1742. Sticking with the company’s age, this spirit is matured in barrels crafted from a 300-year-old tree. Also 300 bottles have been produced, and if you’re lucky enough to buy a bottle, you’ll also receive an accompaniment of minimalist steel artwork by artist Bernar Venet.
4. The Glenlivet Winchester Collection
The Glenlivet is the first Scotch whisky brand to release an exclusive collection of rare 50-year old whiskies. Although the collection will be in limited supply, the number of single malts to be released as part of the assortment is yet to be confirmed. Still, each bottle is considered to be a classic, so keep your eyes peeled for this vintage variety.
5. Killer Queen
Owned by none other than the band, Queen, this vodka is intended to pay homage to the group’s late front man, Freddie Mercury. According to Queen guitarist, Brian May, Mercury loved vodka so much that he used to carry around a cooler of the spirit while on tour. Named after the 1974 hit single, Killer Queen is distilled 7 times and bottled at 40%, a process Mercury would surely approve of.
6. Ciroc Pineapple
P Diddy has done it again. The release of the singer’s 5th flavor of his collection has been a notable one. Having a rich pineapple taste with a touch of vanilla, Ciroc pineapple is perfect if you’re fishing for a cocktail with a tropical finish.
7. The Balvenie 50 Year Old
William Grant & Sons released two 50 year old bottlings for The Balvenie, one being from cask 4567 and the other from 4570. Even though both are created from whiskey distilled on the same day back in May 1963, each bottle still tastes significantly different. There are only 131 bottles from cask 4567 and 128 from cask 4570, so if this interests you, we’d recommend keeping a lookout.
8. Cotswolds Gin
A London dry gin, Cotswolds Distillery created this spirit by infusing pure wheat spirit with juniper, angelica root and coriander for 24 hours. After this process the product is mixed with other botanicals such as black pepper, lavender, bay leaf and grapefruit to produce a unique and irreplaceable taste.
9. Old Forester Birthday Bourbon
Celebrating its founder George Garvin Brown, who founded both the company and the bourbon more than 140 years ago, this product marks the 13th annual birthday bourbon release. A vintage dated spirit, old forester birthday bourbon contains a creamy vanilla taste with after notes of cinnamon, maple and citrus.
10. The Ardmore Legacy
This no-age-statement single malt is ideal for whiskey drinkers looking for something new to experiment with. It has a creamy vanilla-spice flavor that is mixed with that of smoky, sweet honey. Finally, its dry, tangy finish compliments this whisky, proving that its name should indeed be a legacy.
Have you already sipped on some of these spirits? Let us know how you liked them!
The post Top 10 Liquor Launches of September 2014 appeared first on DRINKING IN AMERICA.
Top o’ the mornin’ to ya! It’s St. Patrick’s Day!
In honor of this legendary Irishman, we have some extra special drink suggestions for you to get luck on your side. Ciroc has (oddly enough) come out with some green cocktail recipes, and we have to admit, they sound pretty darn delicious. So pucker up, and bring out your inner green.
1.25 oz. CÎROC Ultra Premium Vodka
1 barspoon of Green Chartreuse
4 Lime Wedges (1/2 lime)
¾ oz Simple Syrup
¾ oz CÎROC Apple
¾ oz CÎROC Ultra Premium Vodka
¾ oz Fresh Lemon
½ oz Brown Sugar Syrup
1 oz Granny Smith Apple Juice
6 Basil Leaves
The post Drink With Me, I’m Irish! appeared first on DRINKING IN AMERICA.
There is a recurring Hollywood trend that has refused to die for over 10 years. It’s the celebrity liquor brands. There is no known reason why celebrities feel the need to launch their own liquor line but here are a few theories:
Theory #1: They’re trying to be a quadruple threat.
Theory #2: Their career has hit a lull so they’re thinking, “Maybe this will put me back on the map?”
Theory #3: Their career is at its peak so they’re thinking, “I can literally do whatever I want and everyone will still love me.”
And last but not least, Theory #4: They are actually, genuinely doing this because they are passionate about the industry and this is a serious endeavor.
We may never know the exact reason behind every new celebrity brand liquor, but if you can name a wine “Ferguson Crest” after yourself (s/o to Fergie), why not? If you wanna be sippin on some hollywood drinks here are 5 celebrity liquor brands to try:
We aren’t hating on these celebs for their unique endeavors. Some become really successful brands. George Clooney just made a pretty penny selling his Casamigos brand. Maybe we’re just jealous we don’t have an alcohol brand named after us… But hey, never say never.
The post Drink Like a Celeb With These Celebrity Liquor Brands appeared first on DRINKING IN AMERICA.
