New Expert Spirit Reviews - November 22, 2023 - Jack Daniel's American Single Malt, Booker's Bourbon Mighty Fine Batch, Glenrothes The 25 and More!

This bottling from Jack Daniel's is the first permanent American single malt expression from the brand. It was crafted with a 100% malted barley mash bill recipe. After distillation, the spirit goes through charcoal mellowing (the same method that is used for its Tennessee whiskey) before aging for 5+ years in new, charred American oak. It is then finished in oloroso sherry casks from Spain for ~ 3 years. Bottled at 90 proof, this release is a global travel retail exclusive. Availability begins September 2023. (SRP $99.99 - 1 Liter)

Mighty Fine Batch is the third batch of Booker's Bourbon for 2023. This bottling pays homage to a go-to phrase Booker Noe would say about anything he approved of — "mighty fine." This batch was aged for 7 years, 1 month, and 10 days. Like all Booker's Small Batch Bourbon bottlings, this is uncut and unfiltered with this batch coming in at 126.6 proof. Available as of October 2023 nationwide. (SRP $89.99)

Released in fall 2023, Glenrothes The 25 is a new iteration of a 25 year-old single malt for the brand crafted by Master Whisky Maker Laura Rampling. Here, the single malt was aged in a high proportion of first-fill sherry seasoned casks as well as a mixture of American and European oak casks. The packaging for this rare whisky includes a fully recyclable cylinder and Rampling's handwritten tasting notes on the label. (SRP $750)

Deanston 15 Year Tequila Cask Finish is a limited edition single malt release from the Highlands distillery. The single malt matured for 13 years in traditional oak hogsheads before a finishing of two years in tequila casks from the Highlands (Los Altos) of Jalisco. Available at select retailers beginning October 2023. (SRP $279.99)

ARDRAY, meaning "towards the light," was crafted by Beam Suntory's Chief Blender for Scotch Whisky Calum Fraser along with Suntory's blending team in Japan. Harkening back to a time when blends were made with fewer, more distinct malts, ARDRAY was made using malt whiskies from no more than 10 distilleries including single malts from their brands (Laphroaig, Bowmore, Ardmore, and Glen Garioch) as well as from their partners at Edrington (The Macallan, The Glenrothes, and Highland Park). This malt-rich blend of malt and grain whiskies will be blended in annual batches with recipes adjusted each year. Bottled at 48% without chill-filtration, ARDRAY launches in late summer 2023 in the US. (SRP $85)

The third release in Wyoming Whiskey's National Parks series celebrates Grand Teton National Park. This straight bourbon was aged for 5 years and is bottled at 105 proof. Proceeds from the sale will be part of the brand's $150,000 donation to Grand Teton National Park Foundation. Available in select US markets in September 2023.($79.99)

This Rye Whiskey is the third product in the Nelson Brothers portfolio and the first rye from Nelson's Green Briar Distillery since before Prohibition. Since the original pre-Prohibition recipe was lost, co-founder & Head Distiller Andy Nelson and his team decided to invert the corn and rye used in the brand's bourbon recipe for this release. Announced in October 2023, availability is expected in markets nationwide. (SRP $36.99)