Welcome back to our monthly guide to all things whisk(e)y. Please check out our more in-depth looks at new releases here.
The 10th oldest licensed distillery in Kentucky — reintroduced two years ago and now owned by Bardstown Distilling Co.— just released a full-proof variation of its core bourbon, a blend of five-to-seven-year barrels selected from curated areas of Green River’s Owensboro tile warehouses (tile warehouses hold temperature better than traditional wooden rickhouses). A high-rye bourbon coming in at 117.3 proof, this one is robust and full of barrel spice, honeycomb, vanilla, cherry, mint and cinnamon.
A whiskey for tea drinkers, or vice versa? Illinois’s FEW Spirits partnered with Chicago alt-rock legends The Smashing Pumpkins on this collaborative whiskey expression. It’s a 93-proof bottling of FEW’s straight bourbon, aged four years, and cut to bottling strength using Midnight Rose black tea from Madame Zuzu’s Emporium, the independent, boutique tea shop run by The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan and his wife Chloé Mendel Corgan. Interestingly, you’re getting a lot of floral and melon notes along with vanilla, caramel, sandalwood and black tea.
The Baltimore-based distillery (we’re fans) just released its first 100% Maryland-distilled rye. It’s a blend of both high- and low-rye mash bills, triple distilled, aged four to six years and comes in at 93 proof (and just $40). First sips are promising; you’ll find a lot of apple, baking spices, eucalyptus, caramel and vanilla.
Hailing from the first new distillery on the Isle of Skye in 190 years, Torabhaig started distillation in 2017 and is one of only two single malt distilleries on the island. Cnoc Na Mòine (Gaelic for “hill of peat”) is, natch, a peated single malt and the distillery’s first use of sherry cask maturation (along with some ex-bourbon barrels). Coming in at 46% ABV, this one is a melange of brine and sweetness with a nice underlying campfire smoke and notes of orange, tobacco and vanilla.
This limited edition “stave-to-stove” collaboration with Solo Stove features a blend of aged wheat and grain-to-glass rye whiskeys, finished with a proprietary Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 barrel toast. Available as part of a number of bundles with an actual Solo Stove, CampStock itself is 43% ABV and feels ideal for summer; it’s a lighter, brighter liquid full of citrus, vanilla, toasted oak and a hint of ginger.
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Started in 1798, this iconic Orkney-based distillery just released the fifth edition in its Cask Strength series. Coming in at a whopping 64.7% ABV and matured in both ex-Pedro Ximénez and ex-bourbon casks, this one is both sweet and smoky, delivering a lot of red fruit, caramel, cloves, cocoa, black licorice and tobacco.
This Brooklyn craft distillery spent years creating heirloom corn (“Baby Jane”) to use for their bourbon. Aged four to six years and coming in at 91 proof, Baby Jane is non-chill filtered and proofed with the pure limestone mineral water from the Rosendale Mines of New York. This isn’t your typical bourbon — here, you’ll find notes of star anise, stone fruit, caramel and allspice.
A blend of straight bourbon whiskeys distilled and aged in Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee — and featuring a selection of seven-and-a-half, eight, nine, 10 and 15-year-old barrels — Batch 36 also marks a new label on Barrell’s bottle that showcases more information and even includes the derived mash bill (79% corn, 16% rye, 5% malted barley). The rye is surprisingly prominent in the mix, along with notes of cherry, caramel, mint, chocolate and orange.
Best known for their vintage releases, Pinhook’s latest is a cask-strength Kentucky bourbon that’ll sit alongside its two current core bourbon and rye expressions. Coming in at 118.2 proof and distilled and aged at Frankfort, KY-based Castle & Key for five years, there’s a slight nuttiness here and some subtle citrus notes. But for the most part, you’re getting classic bourbon flavors of caramel, vanilla and allspice with that extra-proof kick behind it.
A Beam small batch release, the brand is calling this their “first extra-aged rye whiskey” and promises it’ll be a permanent addition to their portfolio. Aged in new, maximum charred American oak barrels for a decade and coming in at 100 proof, you’ll definitely get a lot of that barrel char along with toasted rye bread, caramel, a hint of apple and vanilla.
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