Happy Friday, spirits fans!
With Thanksgiving already on the horizon and Hanukkah coming up fast on its heels, prime sipping and gift-giving season is pretty much here already!
We begin with A Tale of Winter from Glenmorangie. This new single malt was apparently inspired by the cozy feeling of a favorite wool sweater. Meanwhile, Tamworth Distilling thinks we’re ready to, uh, gobble up a Thanksgiving-inspired whiskey. And yes, there is actual turkey involved.
We have some other exciting, let’s say, more conventional, special whiskey releases to announce too.
Ready to get your collection ready for cozy sipping season? Read on for the booze news!
Glenmorangie Introduces New 13-Year-Old Single Malt, A Tale of Winter
Scottish distillery Glenmorangie has just announced A Tale of Winter. This new limited edition whisky features 13 year-old single malt finished in Marsala wine casks.
According to the press release, Dr. Bill Lumsden, Glenmorangie’s master of whisky creation, took inspiration from a favorite wool sweater. Apparently he, “began dreaming of a whisky that encapsulated the delight of snuggling up in a winter jumper by the fire, while snow lay on the ground. Swirling with wintry aromas and tastes, A Tale of Winter brings Dr. Bill’s dream to life.”
A Tale of Winter is bottled at 46% ABV and available now in limited quantities, with a suggested retail price of $99.
A Tale of Winter /Photo Credit: Glenmorangie
Just In Time For Thanksgiving, There Is Now Turkey Whiskey
Yes, it’s true. Steven Grasse and the distilling team at New Hampshire’s Tamworth Distilling have launched Bird of Courage, a roasted turkey flavored whiskey.
The base of the whiskey is a 5-year-old bottled-in-bond bourbon (12% rye, 81% corn, 7% malt). Next that whiskey was steeped with what the press release says is a “(mostly) historically accurate and quintessential New England Thanksgiving dinner.”
Other ingredients include flint corn and rare, locally sourced chestnuts — the sort that had once been prevalent in New England. In addition, apples, cranberries, parsley and local sage were also foraged or sourced from farms near the distillery. Oh, and there are also sweet potatoes and stuffing (both modern additions to the T-Day table). Finally, the turkey comes from Behr Farm in Tamworth.
Bird of Courage /Photo Credit: Tamworth Distilling
So How The Pluck Do They Make Bird Of Courage?
“All of the ingredients were cooked uniquely and infused into the bourbon before being distilled individually on our vacuum evaporator. The essence of the production strategy was to process every ingredient in the manner that they would be prepped for a real Thanksgiving dinner,” said Distiller Matt Power. “So, the turkey was basted while roasting, the corn bread was baked until just right, and the stuffing recipe I used tasted just like my Mom’s! Everything was distilled fresh from the oven so we could capture the true essence of Thanksgiving.”
Bird of Courage is bottled at 92 proof with an SRP of $65 for 200ml bottle. It’s available through www.seelbachs.com and in limited quantities from Tamworth Distilling in New Hampshire and at Philadelphia’s Art in the Age.
Waterford Distillery Launches Biodynamic: Luna, The World’s First Biodynamic Whisky
Waterford Distillery has announced the US launch of the world’s first whisky made from biodynamic Irish barley. Luna is the latest whisky in the distillery’s Arcadian Series, which focuses on previously lost farming methods and rare barley varieties.
For the Demeter-certified Biodynamic: Luna, three Irish growers – Trevor Harris, John McDonnell, and Alan Mooney – farmed according to the principles described in a 1924 series of lectures by the Austrian polymath Rudolf Steiner. He is famous for his concerns about post World War I industrial agriculture.
Biodynamic: Luna /Photo Credit: Waterford Distillery
What is biodynamic farming and how does it apply to whisky?
Biodynamics are typically associated with wine, however here those practices — such as burying manure-packed cow horns to ‘ferment’ underground and various naturally-occurring plant and fertilizer treatments while following the natural rhythms of the lunar calendar— are applied to barley farming. Says Mark Reynier, Waterford Distillery CEO, “If for the grape, why not the grain?”
Biodynamic: Luna is matured in a combination of 35% first-fill American oak, 17% virgin American oak, 26% French oak, and 22% vin doux naturel oak. It is bottled at 50% ABV, with roughly 21,000 bottles available for an SRP of $125.
Announcing St. George Single Malt Lot 21
St. George Distillery has announced the release of St. George Single Malt Whiskey, Lot 21, the latest in the annual series that began in 2000.
Lot 21 is made of 100% barley, made from various roast levels of two-row barley sourced from Wisconsin. This includes pale malt, crystal malt, chocolate malt and black patent malt. Additionally, German Bamberg malt — unroasted barley smoked over beech and alder wood — was used. The whiskey matured in a combination of used Kentucky bourbon barrels, used Tennessee whiskey barrels, American and French oak apple brandy casks, agricole rum casks and California Sauternes-style wine casks. In total, 26 different casks from the distillery’s inventory — with single barrels aged between 4.5-10 years — were selected and blended by St. George Spirits Head Distiller and Blender Dave Smith.
Lot 21 is bottled at 43% with an SRP of $100, limited to 700 cases available at select US retailers.
Note: St. George will also host a special release day at the distillery’s bottle shop on December 4. Both Smith and Master Distiller Lance Winters will be there for bottle signing. Check the distillery’s website for further details.
Stranahan’s Releases A Second Batch Of Limited Edition 10 Year Mountain Angel
Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey has introduced the second batch of Mountain Angel 10-Year, which is one of Stranahan’s rarest releases. It’s the brand’s second-ever American single malt that’s been aged for 10 years — in new, charred American white oak casks — in the high altitude conditions of Denver, CO.
Bottled at 47.3% ABV, less than 600 bottles of Mountain Angel 10 Year Batch 2 are available. It has an SRP of $129.99.
Ready to grab a bottle of A Tale of Winter?
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