Old Elk Distillery

Evanston, Illinois-based Few Spirits is celebrating its tenth anniversary with new release Few Bottled In Bond Bourbon Whiskey. It’s made from a mashbill of 70% corn, 20% rye, and 10% malted barley and bottled at 50% abv after aging in oak for a minimum of 4 years. An initial 2,000 cases are being released this month to the New York, Illinois, California, Florida, and Colorado markets, as well as direct-to-consumer online, with wider distribution planned for next year and a suggested retail price of $50 a 750-ml.

Glenmorangie is introducing a special edition 18-year-old single malt in collaboration with Tokyo-based floral artist Azuma Makoto. The newcomer, which retails at $140 a 750-ml., showcases a special display, Dancing Florals of Glenmorangie, created by Makoto on its giftbox and label featuring over 100 blooms and confetti-like petals meant to evoke the whisky’s nuances.

Brown-Forman has launched Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Special Release, Coy Hill High Proof, the 2021 iteration of the company’s limited edition barrel program. The whiskey—ranging from 68.7% abv to 74.15% abv—is the highest proof bottling the distillery has ever released. It’s drawn from barrels matured in the highest levels of the Coy Hill barrel house, which is located on the highest hill at the distillery. The whiskey is rolling out now across the U.S. for a suggested retail price of $70.

Frankfort, Kentucky’s Castle & Key Distillery has partnered with the Black Bourbon Guild to release a brand new series of whiskies, with 100% of sales going to the Diversity in Kentucky Distilling Scholarship program, a new initiative launched by the distillery and guild. The Untold Story of Kentucky Bourbon, Chapter 1 is bottled at 53.3% abv and is made from a mashbill of 73% corn, 10% rye, and 17% malted barley. Each year a new Untold Story will be introduced, with each release highlighting the contributions of Black Americans throughout Bourbon history. Chapter 1 retails for a suggested price of $150 a 750-ml. and only 425 bottles will be released.

Diageo’s George Dickel has teamed up with Colorado craft distiller Leopold Bros. to create the George Dickel x Leopold Bros Collaboration Blend, a new blend of rye whiskies. The 50% abv whiskey brings together Leopold Bros. Three Chamber rye (named for the type of still used to distill it) and George Dickel’s column still rye whiskey and carries a suggested price of $110 a 750-ml. The George Dickel x Leopold Bros Collaboration Blend is rolling out now in limited quantities in select markets across the U.S.

American Highway Bourbon, a new brand from country music star Brad Paisley, is set to hit shelves across the U.S. this month. The 48% abv whiskey was distilled at Bardstown Bourbon Company and is blended from two 3-year-old whiskies, plus a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old. In a unique twist on the maturation process, American Highway spent part of its life on the road with Paisley, aging in a 53-foot trailer that accompanied the musician on his 2019 tour. For the first batch, 30,000 bottles will be released for a suggested price of $100. American Highway will be available in 21 markets across the U.S. and online through Seelbachs.

Fort Collins, Colorado-based Old Elk Distillery is releasing a limited edition expression called Old Elk Infinity Blend. It’s a blend made up of 60% Six Year Old Elk Blended Straight Bourbon, 24% a 12 year old Kentucky vintage, and 16% an 11 year old Kentucky vintage. The distillery plans to use this blend in future releases, continuing annually. Old Elk Infinity Blend will be distributed by Southern Glazer’s for a national limited release, available at select retailers for $150 a 750-ml.

Beam Suntory has launched Baker’s Exclusive Selection, a new limited-time spinoff for the Bourbon brand. This release is bottled at 53.5% abv and the chosen barrels aged for over 11 years. Like the standard Baker’s, the Exclusive Selection is a single barrel whiskey. It’s rolling out now in select locations across the U.S. with a suggested price of $100 a 750-ml.

Information courtesy of Shanken News Daily

Edrington has added a new 30-year-old whisky to The Macallan’s Double Cask line. The 43% abv single malt is blended from whiskies matured in Sherry-seasoned casks made from European oak sourced from France and Spain, and American oak from Ohio, Missouri, and Kentucky. The company has teamed up with photographer Erik Madigan Heck to capture the spirit of the whisky in a series of photos tied to the release. The Macallan Double Cask 30-Year-Old is packed in a presentation box and is rolling out now around the world for a suggested price of $4,000 a 750-ml.

Maker’s Mark has debuted its newest limited edition bourbon, Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series 2021 Limited Release: FAE-02. Retailing at $60, the new offering was bottled at 109.1 proof. FAE-02 was made by finishing fully-matured, cask strength Maker’s Mark in secondary barrels fitted with double-heat-treated virgin French Oak barrel staves that undergo an infrared exposure prior to a flame toast finish.

The Dalmore has launched a new, ultra-limited, 30-year-old whisky in the U.S. The Dalmore 2021 Edition is bottled at 42.8% abv and matured in ex-Bourbon barrels before finishing in Tawny Port pipes from Graham’s. Only 200 bottles of the 2021 Edition will be released in the U.S., available at retailers like Total Wine, Wally’s, and Wine.com, among others, for a suggested price of $5,500.

Edrington has announced Highland Park 15-year-old Viking Heart, the latest permanent addition to the Orkney-based distillery’s portfolio. The 44% abv whisky is a new creation and blends Sherry-seasoned European and American oak barrels with a little bit of whisky matured in refilled barrels previously used to age Highland Park’s malts. The whisky comes in an embossed ceramic bottle and will retail for around $110 when it hits shelves across America around the beginning of November.

Beam Suntory has launched a limited edition bottling of Jim Beam Black to celebrate the 43rd Ryder Cup. The new bottle features imagery from Whistling Straits, the Wisconsin course where the Cup is currently being contested, and will be available in select retailers in Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Minnesota, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Wisconsin for around $23 a bottle. Jim Beam Black is an extra aged variant of the distiller’s standard white label whiskey and is bottled at slightly higher abv of 43%.

The Producer, a new mezcal brand, is rolling out now in the U.S., making its debut with two expressions: Ensamble ($47) and Tepeztate ($98). The 40.2% abv Ensamble is made from 7-year-old Espadin agave plants and 9-year-old Cuishe agave plants that are distilled in a copper pot still following open-air fermentation. Tepeztate is also bottled at 40.2% abv and is made from agave plants sourced from Sierra Sur, Oaxaca, a coastal region. The wild agave for this mezcal is harvested after roughly 16 years.

Fort Collins, Colorado’s Old Elk Distillery has launched its Whiskeysmith line of flavored spirits in markets across the U.S. The brand launched last October with three flavors—chocolate, banana, and pineapple—and, since then, has added four more flavors: blood orange, salted caramel, peach, and coconut. All seven flavors come in at 30% abv and are pitched to consumers as “cocktails in a bottle” or as ingredients to add new flavors to mixed drinks.

BenRiach single malt Scotch whisky, part of the Brown-Forman portfolio, is debuting two new offerings. The first, Malt Season, is the first expression in a century to be produced entirely using barley malted from the distillery’s floor maltings. Retailing at $149 a 750-ml., it was matured in Bourbon and Virgin Oak and is bottled at 48.7% abv. The second new product, Smoke Season, retails at $72 and is bottled at 52.8% abv. It’s billed as the most intensely smoked whisky ever released by BenRiach.

Chicago-based Inspiro Tequila has introduced its first expression, Luna Blanco, a gluten-free and additive-free 100%-Blue Weber agave blanco Tequila containing zero sugar and zero carbs. Inspiro’s initial offering is rested in American oak barrels for a lunar quarter and packaged in a custom-designed bottle. Retailing at $53, it’s currently available online, with distribution to select local markets coming soon. Inspiro was founded by former attorney Mara Smith.

Information courtesy of Shanken News Daily