Welcome back to our monthly guide to all things whisk(e)y. Please check out our more in-depth looks at new releases here, including bottles from Angel’s Envy, BHAKTA, The Macallan, Octomore, SirDavis, Row 94 and more.
Tennessee Whiskey | 122-137.5 Proof | Aged 10 Years
The third “hazmat” release from Jack Daniel’s features the classic Old No. 7 mashbill (80% corn, 12% malted barley, 8% rye) but matured at the Tennessee distillery’s highest elevation point and bottled at barrel strength. These barrels hail from a slightly lower floor in the rickhouse and the proof, while ridiculous, is lower than previous Coy Hill releases (ABV will vary and our sample was at the higher end of 134.7 proof). Master Distiller Chris Fletcher notes there’s almost a savory note here — which he calls a “barrelhouse funk” — to go along with the toffee, cherry, cloves and charred oak characteristics. While Coy Hill releases are powerful on the nose, the fruitier notes shine with a few added drops of water.
Malt Whiskey | 93 Proof | No Age Statement
This innovative Illinois distillery just launched a malt whiskey that serves as an homage to the rebirth of Chicago after the big fire of 1871, made from cherrywood-smoked malted barley and rye grain. As a fan of smoked American whiskeys — see below for a mesquite-smoked single malt from Arizona’s Whiskey Del Bac — this one is more subtle but certainly contains a campfire quality, along with hints of cacao, vanilla, malt and cherry.
Irish Whiskey | 92 Proof | Aged 18 Years
The 18-year is a brand new addition to the Irish single-pot still whiskey distillery’s core lineup. Crafted from malted and unmalted barley and triple distilled in traditional copper pot stills, this expression has been aged in a cask combination of ex-bourbon, oloroso sherry, cream sherry and ruby port casks. Wait, cream sherry? That’s simply a sweetened sherry which Master Blender Dave McCabe suggests adds “dark chocolate, blackcurrants and hazelnuts.” Certainly true, with some additional notes of vanilla, ginger, orange and anise.
Tennessee Whiskey | 110-120 Proof | Aged 7 Years
The first limited release in the Tennessee distillery’s “Lost Chapter” series — where a bottle purchase offers customers access to unreleased chapters of Uncle Nearest founder Fawn Weaver’s new book Love & Whiskey — is a seven-year-old barrel strength whiskey between 110-120 proof, honoring the brand’s seventh anniversary. It’s full of cinnamon, cloves, caramel and vanilla. Only 7,000 bottles are available.
Bourbon | 105 Proof | No Age Statement
A brand dating back to 1856, Chicken Cock was revived in 2017 through a collaboration with Bardstown Bourbon Company. We’re fans and excited by the fourth edition of the historical brand’s limited annual tin release, which (natch) comes in a decorative tin. It’s a Kentucky Straight Bourbon finished in rare Mizunara (Japanese) oak, and that wood really comes through, with notes of sandalwood and coconut rounding out the classic caramel, oak and vanilla notes of the bourbon.
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A detailed rundown of our favorite bourbons, ryes, wheaters and Tennessee whiskeys ideal for celebrating the USA
Rye | 92 Proof | Aged 2-3 Years
We’re big fans of Whiskey Del Bac, which specializes in mesquite-smoked American Single Malts (often produced at very young maturations, which actually benefit the smokiness). Here, the Tucson distillery tries something a bit different; it’s a blend of two- and three-year-old rye whiskeys sourced from Indiana and finished on freshly harvested Whiskey Del Bac mesquited barrel staves. The mesquite-infused rye is then filtered across a bed of mesquite charcoal using the Pima County Process (similar to the Lincoln County Process in Tennessee whiskey, made famous by Jack Daniel’s). It sounds complicated, but the result is a delicious and spicy rye with a hint of campfire smoke and a surprising sweetness and rich mouthfeel.
Bourbon | 114.3 Proof | Aged 9 Years
The latest release in this ambitious vintage series from whiskey blenders Pinhook — which follows a single group of MGP-sourced bourbon barrels as they mature from 4-12 years of age — lands on the ninth year of maturation. Last year we called the 2023 bourbon close to perfect, noting that it had started to “garner sweeter caramel and butterscotch notes as it matures along with oak spice and burnt orange peel.” If anything, the latter two notes are coming in stronger now, with hints of cardamom, milk chocolate and cherry. Still excellent, though I do wonder if the series has hit its peak here, as the wood is starting to make more of an impact (guess we’ll find out in a year).
American Single Malt | 100 Proof | No Age Statement
This well-liked Virginia distillery just launched a limited-edition series of American Single Malt whiskies finished in beer casks from Chicago’s Goose Island Brewery and Richmond, VA’s Hardywood Park Craft Brewery. The former contributed their famed Bourbon County Brand Stout barrels, while the latter offered up Gingerbread Stout casks. The Goose Island collab is full of brown sugar, coffee, vanilla and cinnamon notes. The Gingerbread Stout has a surprisingly strong baked apple note, with obvious gingerbread overtones and some lingering chocolate. Both are nice autumnal sippers.
Bourbon | 119.3 Proof | Aged 7-20 Years
The latest installment of this annual, limited-release series is, as usual, overseen by Freddie Noe, eighth generation master distiller of the Fred B. Noe Distillery (and great-great-grandson of Jim Beam). But this is a unique release, featuring whiskey laid down by three generations of Noe family master distillers: Booker Noe, Fred Noe and Freddie. And Infinite will be an ongoing series, with a foundation barrel of the line extension coupled with new liquid added to every future release. To start, the inaugural edition features bourbons aged 7, 8, 14 and 20 years married together. The final result is a nice mix of stone fruit, smoke, vanilla and caramel with plenty of oak spice.
Bourbon | 125.9 Proof | 8-14 Years Old
Booker’s releases barrel-strength, uncut and unfiltered bourbon and puts as much emphasis on the location of the barrels in their warehouses as anything else. Seventh-generation master distiller Fred Noe oversees the whiskey — but much like Little Book above, there’s now a spinoff. This new, annual release commemorates Booker Noe is an 8 to 14-year-old blend of bourbons (all with the requisite warehouse locations of the barrels), but this release will be released in smaller quantities than the four yearly Booker’s releases and use fewer and older barrels in the blend. The charred oak is strong here but tempered by a nice amount of caramel, vanilla and baking spices.
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