Celebrate Repeal Day with these Whiskey Picks

Released in September 2018, this limited edition Kentucky straight bourbon marks the 85th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition. The no-age statement release is non-chillfiltered and is bottled at 86 proof. The packaging evokes the label the distillery used in the 1930s.

Reports vary, but some say the term "The Real McCoy" became part of our lexicon due to a fellow named Captain William McCoy. A sea captain and notorious smuggler of Cutty Sark into America during Prohibition, McCoy gained a reputation for providing real and unadulterated whisky. The Prohibition Edition is produced in his honor.

Through a government permit allowing the production of whiskey for "medicinal purposes," Old Forester was one of ten legal distilleries operating during US Prohibition. Now, you won't have wear your best flapper dress or don a fancy top hat and travel back in time to try any whiskeys from such a dark and sober (legally speaking) era in the nation's past. Launched in 2016, this third release in the "Whiskey Row" series was created in resemblance to what Old Forester would have tasted like during Prohibition. It is bottled at 57.5% ABV.

This whiskey is one of two released from Campari America's Whiskey Barons Collection. Bond & Lillard Kentucky Straight Whiskey, first created in 1869, bears no-age statement. Distilled at Wild Turkey's Distillery in Lawrenceburg, KY, this bottle is available in select markets and at the Wild Turkey Distillery Visitor's Center. It is bottled in 375ml sized bottles at 50% ABV and is charcoal-filtered before bottling.

The mash bill used here is 70% rye, 20% corn, and 10% malted barley, all sourced from within 100 miles of Evanston, Illinois, where the distillery is located. Evanston was a dry county well past the end of Prohibition and alcohol wasn't allowed until 1972 when restaurants and hotels could finally sell liquor. FEW is the first distillery (or alcohol production of any sort) in the town's history.

That's right, folks, a Bonded version of Old Overholt. Distilled in one season, at one distillery, and bottled at 100 proof. This straight rye whiskey is aged for four years in new, charred American oak. Product launched in February 2018 with availability limited to the US.

Old Tub Kentucky Straight Bourbon is bottled without chill-filtration. It is also bottled in bond. Previously, Old Tub was only sold in 375ml bottles at Jim Beam's American Stillhouse shop in Clermont, Kentucky. However, as of June 2020 this has been released as a limited edition version nationwide in 750ml bottles. Old Tub was first launched in 1880, but was replaced by Jim Beam's flagship Original Bourbon bottling shortly after Prohibition.

Old Ripy is a blended Kentucky Straight Bourbon, consisting of whiskeys aging from six to twelve years old. Released as part of the Whiskey Baron Collection, this bourbon is distilled at the the Wild Turkey distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. It is non chill-filtered and bottled at 104 proof. Note: This is sold in 375ml sized bottles.

As a classic example of what's old is new again, Heaven Hill's Pikesville Rye is the relaunch of a brand that dates back to 1890s, originally produced in Maryland. Though Pikesville was shut down during Prohibition, it reemerged some time later and was the last bastion of Maryland rye production until the 1980s, when the brand was acquired by Heaven Hill and produced in Kentucky. This new incarnation of Pikesville is the work of master distiller Denny Potter, who has selected 3-grain recipe ryes aged a minimum of 6 years from barrels placed at higher elevations of the warehouse, bottled at high but not quite cask strength to retain the rye's character. Note: Heaven Hill is still producing the entry level 3 year old rye, this tasting note refers to the premium version.

This is the second straight blended bourbon release released by the brand to commemorate the repeal of Prohibition. The straight bourbons were distilled at MGP in Indiana and are made from two high-rye mash bills. From the 21% rye mash bill: 15% was distilled in 2007 and 50% was distilled in 2008. From the 36% rye mash bill: 10% was distilled in 2007 and 25% was distilled in 2008. This is a limited release set to launch on November 13, the birthday of the brand's namesake, George Remus, "the king of bootleggers."