Welcome back to our monthly guide to all things whisk(e)y. Please check out our more in-depth looks at new releases here.
This isn’t necessarily a new release (it came out in 2023), but I was surprised to see this after talking with the CEO of Sovereign Brands a few years back, where he noted that they had no plans to release a whisky “unless [we] have a product that I can compare against X, Y, Z and do better or something different.” So what’s the difference maker here? It’s a blend of both smoky Speyside and peaty Islay malt whiskies, encased in a cool copper bottle and featuring a retail price of just $40. OK, so that is different — and overall, it’s a nice blend of fruit (mainly orange), biscuit, butterscotch and campfire smoke.
Admittedly, it’s not difficult to make an Old Fashioned, but even I’ll occasionally reach for a ready-made one. The Minneapolis distillery is utilizing its Keeper’s Heart Irish + American whiskey here with a bit of demerara syrup and Angostura bitters. Coming in at 35% ABV, it’s sweet at the start (and bitters-forward), but pour over a big ice cube and let it sit: the dilution brings out the malt, dark fruit and vanilla/caramel notes.
LAGG distillery only opened on the southern tip of the Isle of Arran, in Scotland’s western shoreline, in 2019. Two expressions were recently launched in the U.S., including the limited-edition Corriecravie (55% ABV) and this bottle, the Kilmory Edition (46% ABV). These are heavily peated expressions, with the Kilmory spending its lifetime in 100% ex-bourbon barrels. Non-chill filtered, this single malt is extremely light in color with a heavy amount of campfire and fruit on the nose. The fruit continues on the palate along with a heavy dose of vanilla, malt, pear and bonfire smoke. Delicious stuff.
Why call it 15 Stars? It represents the 15th state, Kentucky. This blend of straight bourbon, rye and wheat whiskeys is aged at least 11 and up to 15 years. Bottled at 107 proof, this one has a real kick. It’s full of caramel, tobacco, vanilla, oak spice, nutmeg and candied fruit, with a hint of the rye’s peppery spice on the finish.
This expression came out in the fall of 2023, but it only recently won a Double Gold at this year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Hidden Barn’s releases are all distilled at Neeley Family Distillery and blended by Jackie Zykan, formerly of Old Forester. Batch 23B is a blend of 20 barrels aged five to six years old using a mashbill of 70% corn, 20% rye and 10% malted barley. Bottled at 110.1 proof, it’s a bit like a nutty banana bread at first, with hints of cherry, caramel and allspice, with the rye spice eventually taking over on the palate (think cracked pepper, peppermint, anise).
How to (Maybe) Buy a Bottle of Old Forester’s 2024 Birthday Bourbon
The best chance you have is a sweepstakes that runs now through Aug. 21
The sweepstakes for (possibly) getting a chance to buy a bottle of this annual must-have release is over, but you might find Birthday Bourbon out in the wild if you’re lucky (and willing to spend well above the $199.99 MSRP). As always, the Birthday Bourbon releases all hail from one day’s production from a particular year; this year’s release is 12 years old and comes in at 107 proof. It’s like a spice cake with vanilla or buttercream frosting and a hint of baked apple and cinnamon.
A collaboration between Glenmorangie’s Director of Whisky Creation, Dr. Bill Lumsden, and Japanese botanical artist Azuma Makoto, this 23-year-old single malt certainly looks beautiful. An “ode to all-natural elements,” this bottle features some of the Highlands distillery’s first whisky finished in Chardonnay white wine casks (along with some whisky matured in ex-bourbon barrels). The floral/incense and fruity notes (pear and peach) are readily apparent on the nose and palate. Still, as you sip further, there are earthier undertones and some bourbon barrel influences (oak spice, caramel).
A second limited release from Old Forester! This Rum Finish expression from the Louisville distillery features a finishing of Old Forester in barrels that have matured rum for a minimum of four years. Bottled at 95 proof and only available in 375ml bottles — and only at the distillery’s retail shop and to a few states via the brand’s online store — the rum maturation here adds some tropical fruit notes and a bit of coconut and red licorice.
Westward Whiskey offers several annual releases only available to its Whiskey Club members. The Portland (Oregon) distillery keeps it fairly straightforward with its latest club release, offering up a bottled-in-bond release, which means it was made by one distiller in one season, aged at least four years in one bonded facility and comes in at 100 proof. For this release, you’re getting a seven-year-old American Single Malt full of malty, chocolate biscuit upfront and dark fruits, lemon, ginger and a touch of herbaceousness on the finish.
This Seattle distillery — which we happened upon randomly two years ago during a family visit and quite enjoyed — just released its first bourbon. Aged six to eight years and coming in at 47% ABV, this bourbon (which utilizes grains sourced from two organic farms in Eastern Washington and features a relatively high amount of wheat and rye in the mashbill) features notes of maple syrup, vanilla, graham cracker and buttery oak.
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