Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1787
H unting season for beverage buyers varies for specifi c catego- ries. In spring, the population of light rums or liqueurs may be plentiful. In summer, one expects packs of tequilas to generate exquisite, refreshing cocktails. In autumn, migrating global gins and vodkas are always abundant. And in winter, the target is herds of brown spirits. But new brown spirit Red Stag is an all-season animal. Introduced in June, it has a unique fl avor and an approachable character that give it the agility to leap into cocktail glasses all year long. "The idea behind Red Stag was created by a true Kentuckian," says Kelly Doss, Senior Director, U.S. Bourbons and Whiskies, for Beam Global. "An individual from our R&D department at Beam in Cler- mont, Kentucky, created it for his personal use and took the spirit camping and hunting." The Red Stag elk actually roamed the Kentucky's eastern moun- tains in the days of Jacob Beam, in the late 18th century. Hunted nearly to extinction, the giant deer were reintroduced in regional forests in 1997, and happily the species is thriving. The concept of mixing cherries with bourbon is not a new one. "It is not uncommon to see huge vats of bourbon on bar counters," Doss points out, "and in those over-sized jars are cherries, soaking up the fl avors of the whiskey. Red Stag mirrors that fl avor profi le, with a heritage." The cherry-bourbon infusion needed an identity, and the scientist's formula was a natural evolution for this species. "Jim Beam four-year-old bourbon provides the stamp of bour- bon authenticity and quality in Red Stag," Doss tells THE TASTING PANEL. "The natural black cherry infusion is a twist on bourbon, a contemporary take on an American spirit." Cover Story Henry "Hammerin' Hank" Hakim shows o≠ his Red Stag–based Bourbon Blossom at Mi Piace in Pasadena, CA. PHOTO: DAVID GADD Rock