whiskey

If you’re a whiskey fan, you’re likely familiar with Evan Williams as the ubiquitous, inexpensive, black-labeled bourbon brand from Kentucky distillery Heaven Hill that you can find in every liquor store and on every back bar around the country. There are, however, some higher-end expressions from Evan Williams as well and the latest is the new Single Barrel Vintage Bourbon, which is available in limited numbers now.

Of course, cheap bourbon doesn’t mean bad bourbon—on the contrary, Evan Williams is a great whiskey that you can often find for around 20 bucks per bottle, depending on what part of the country you live in. And Heaven Hill is no stranger to great whiskeys, which Elijah Craig, Larceny, and Old Fitzgerald in its stable of brands.

For Evan Williams, there are other expressions in the lineup beyond the flagship, including bottled-in-bond bourbon, experimental batches made at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, and single barrel bottlings. The new Single Barrel Vintage Bourbon combines the latter two concepts, in a sense. It was released to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience on Whiskey Row in Louisville, the brand home that also houses a small still where those alternate mashbill whiskeys are made. It’s a 10-year-old bourbon that was barreled in August, October, or December of 2013 and matured on the second floor of a warehouse at Heaven Hill’s Schenley location. The bourbon was made from a mashbill of 78 percent corn, 12 percent malted barley, and 10 percent rye, and bottled at a high 110 proof.

“We are proud to be one of the leaders in returning Whiskey Row to its original glory in the heart of downtown Louisville,” said Jodie Filiatreau, artisanal distiller at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, in a statement. “This commemorative bottle of Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage is a completely unique offering fitting of such a momentous occasion.” The new Single Barrel Vintage is available now (SRP $110) at the brand home in Louisville and at select retailers.

For more information please visit https://evanwilliams.com/plan-your-trip

The very first “Black Friday” bourbon will be released on Black Friday.

Great Lakes Distillery will be releasing its Still & Oak Black Friday straight bourbon whiskey finished in imperial stout beer barrels on Black Friday. The two-year-old bourbon was finished with an additional two years of aging in barrels that previously aged Lakefront Brewery’s Black FridayTM imperial stout.

“Over the years, we’ve done several collaborations with Lakefront, including our Pumpkin Spirit that we make, using barrels that aged their pumpkin beer,” says Guy Rehorst, founder of Great Lakes Distillery. “We had the idea to take some of their Black Friday imperial stout beer barrels, and we filled it with some of our Still & Oak straight bourbon. This imperial stout has a big flavor to begin with, and we thought it would make a really cool combination with our bourbon.”

Most whiskeys, if finished in another type of barrel, usually aren’t aged for two years, as the Black Friday was aged. “Most people don’t age in an alternative finish for two years, but we’ve found that longer time in those finishing barrels can result in some pretty neat stuff,” Rehorst says. “This is really unique, and the finish on this whiskey from the imperial stout barrels is really unique and has a ton of flavor.”

This very limited release, which will be sold first on Black Friday at the distillery’s Milwaukee tasting room, will have a suggested retail price of $79, and after Black Friday, it will be sold, in limited quantities, at liquor stores and other locations.

What the finishing barrels do, Rehorst says, is impart an extra layer of flavors that you wouldn’t get in regular barrels, which for bourbon are new, charred oak barrels for at least two years. Only two barrels worth of bottles will be released, though Great Lakes has aged additional bourbon in the Lakefront Black Friday imperial stout barrels, and that will likely be released in another two years.

“It’s really a limited supply,” Rehorst says.

And, in order for this bourbon to be named Black Friday, Great Lakes had to lease the name from Lakefront Brewery, which trademarked it. “Lakefront has had a huge success with their Black Friday beer, and they were smart enough to trademark the name as it relates to alcohol,” Rehorst says. “So, I talked to Russ (Klisch), owner of Lakefront, and I tell him ‘Hey, our bourbon’s been sitting for a couple of years in these barrels, could we call it Black Friday?’”

The whiskey boasts notes of malt, chocolate and caramel before the notes of oak and vanilla of the bourbon shine through. “Because it is so limited, not many people have tasted it yet,” Rehorst says. “Most people who have tried it go ‘Wow. I don’t even want to mix this in a cocktail.’”

As such, Rehorst recommends drinking it straight up or just with a little bit of ice. “But if you do want to put it in a cocktail, I would say put it in a Manhattan,” Rehorst says. “Just a little bit of vermouth and bitters.”

While this might be the splashiest collaboration with Lakefront, Rehorst says he has other spirits aging in some unique barrels. “We’re not ready to announce those collaborations yet, but we have some interesting spirits coming,” Rehorst says.

For more information please visit https://www.greatlakesdistillery.com/

What’s described as Bardstown Bourbon Company’s “modern and transparent approach to whiskey making” is on full display in two new releases that were just recently released.

Bardstown Bourbon Co. Discovery #11 continues the named series tradition of blending whiskies found around the world. Yet, in a first for the distillery, this edition of the Discovery Series includes a bourbon that was estate-distilled at the distillery itself.

“This is a special milestone in our Discovery Series, as our own estate-distilled whiskey has now matured, which gives us some exciting new blending opportunities,” said Dan Callaway, VP of Product Development for Bardstown Bourbon Co, in a prepared statement. “So, for Discovery #11, we decided to celebrate in a Kentucky kind of way and chose all Bluegrass-based bourbons to blend with what we estate-distilled.”

Over the years, the Discovery Series has combined whiskies from Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Georgia, and even Ontario, Canada. Discovery #11 is the first time since Discovery #4 the series has featured all Kentucky bourbons.

“We used our bottled-in-bond recipe from the new Origin Series of our estate-distilled bourbon, however we wanted to explore a different take so the whiskey aged its entire life in French oak barrels as opposed to the traditional American oak,” Callaway added. “On their own, these stood as three tremendous bourbons, but some real magic occurred when they came together.”

Bardstown Bourbon Co.’s second new release is a collaboration with Mark and Sherri Carter, and the Napa Valley winemaker Carter Cellars.

For this release, a custom blend of mature bourbon and rye rested in ten Carter Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet barrels for an additional 14 months. The wine barrels were freshly emptied, to “impart maximum flavor” and they were separated and rotated throughout the rickhouse multiple times.

“Carter Cellars has always shot for excellence in our award-winning wines, and we have a long history of producing 100-point wines. This has been a wonderful collaboration bringing together our teams who are all continuously on the pursuit of perfection,” said Mark Carter of Carter Cellars.

Discovery #11 offers official tasting notes of “rainier cherry, butterscotch, brown sugar and roasted peanut on the nose, then a spirited palate of toffee and cinnamon spice, followed by a finish of ripe red fruit and oak.” It is presented at 118.1 proof (59.05% ABV) and offered at an SRP of $139.99.

Bardstown Bourbon Co.’s Carter Cellars Collaborative Series, meanwhile, offers a taste of what’s described as “a premium and complex aroma of cassis, violet, cinnamon and leather. On the palate it presents a rush of dark fruit, roasted pecan and vanilla cream that leads to a luscious lightly tannic finish.” It is presented at 108.3 proof (54.15% ABV) and offered at an SRP of $159.99. Roughly 225 9L cases are available at the Bardstown Bourbon Co. gift shop and select Kentucky retailers.

For more information please visit https://seelbachs.com/

The distillery says they are taking Honey Bourbon to a whole new level this year.

Increased demand for Honey Bourbon led to a doubling of production and expanded distribution statewide to grocers, stores, bars and restaurants.

Honey Bourbon launched five years ago as an experimental limited edition. The bourbon is finished in honey barrels and with raw honey from Bees in the D’s rooftop beehives, which sit on top of Detroit City Distillery’s Whiskey Factory.

“This fine bourbon features the truest taste of Detroit you can get,” said Michael Forsyth, co-owner of Detroit City Distillery in a news release. “We combine the award-winning bourbon we make in Eastern Market with honey made by thousands of honeybees using flower nectar from all over the city. ”

With this year’s launch, the distillery also introduced the Honey Old Fashioned, a ready-to-serve cocktail. The cocktail is based on the distillery’s best-selling cocktail featuring Honey Bourbon, raw Michigan honey, and house-made bitters, according to a news release.

The launch of Honey Bourbon online sales is set for 8 a.m. Nov. 10 with a 4 p.m.-11 p.m. launch party to follow at the Detroit City Distillery  (DCD)  tasting room, 2462 Riopelle St., at Eastern Market. Admission to the launch party is free. At the launch party, you can pick up online sales or purchase products. Honey-themed treats and products from Bees in the D and several other spirits with unique labeling will also be for sale including:

Honey Bourbon – $60 per 750 milliliter bottle.

Honey Old-Fashioned – $25 per 375 milliliter

Bees in the D Bourbon Barrel – aged honey is $50 per bottle with 100% of the sales supporting nonprofit Bees in the D.

To purchase products or for information visit detroitcitydistillery.com.

In 2021, George Dickel released Dickel Bourbon, a Tennessee bourbon aged 8 years. Today, it’s expanding that bourbon lineup with the addition of a new 18-year bourbon.

“At Cascade Hollow, we have a lot of whiskies that exemplify the Tennessee Whiskey style, but we also have inventory that has a lot more in common with bourbon as we understand it in America,” Nicole Austin, General Manager and Distiller at Cascade Hollow Distilling Co told me in 2021, with the release of the 8-year bourbon.

“As a style, bourbon is meant to be more approachable and balanced, and Dickel Bourbon is a great entry point into our whole portfolio,” she said at the time.

The whiskey itself was put into the barrel long before Austin took charge of whiskey-making at Cascade Hollow. A large part of her job is tasting whiskey from barrels that are aging. While all of the barrels are essentially aged the same, through that tasting she discovered that while many of them had that hallmark Tennessee whiskey flavor, others had a more bourbon feel to them.

“That balanced vanilla fruit, a little bit of spice. All the things that would present this is a really nice bourbon. I didn’t even know we had this. You can blend it away, but what a shame,” she said.

Which brings us to today’s release of Dickel’s 18-year-old bourbon

“We created Dickel Bourbon to give people an approachable and balanced bourbon that is high-quality and complex in flavor,” Austin said in a release announcing the spirit. “I loved the idea of building upon that craftsmanship of our mature whisky and creating something with that same traditional feel, and also more premium. I’m excited for people to try Dickel Bourbon Aged 18 Years because it’s a rare and beautifully aged whisky, but still exhibits a surprising brightness and wide range of complexity that is not often found in American Whiskies of this age.”

Similar to other variants in the Dickel portfolio, Dickel Bourbon Aged 18 Years has a mash bill of 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% malted barley. The whiskey has mellow yet complex flavors of creme brûlée and stone fruit and comes in at 90 proof (45% ABV).

As you might imagine, the release is also super limited. The spirit will be rolling out to select markets this month for a suggested retail price of $510.

For more information please visit https://www.georgedickel.com/