New Spirit Releases - October 13, 2023

Eagle Rare 17 Year has been a part of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection since it was first released in 2000. Like George T. Stagg, Eagle Rare is also made with a low-rye bourbon recipe. For the Fall 2023 release, Buffalo Trace actually selected barrels aged 19 years and 3 months old making this the oldest ever since its introduction to the collection. It was distilled in spring 2004 and was matured in Warehouses C, I, K, M, and Q. It was bottled at 101 proof and has a suggested retail price of $124.99. Availability begins in early October 2023 at select retailers.

Barrels for the George T. Stagg Bourbon Fall 2023 release were filled in spring 2008 and were picked from barrels which matured in Warehouses C, I, K, L & M. It was bottled after 15 years and 4 months of aging at 135 proof without filtration. Availability begins in early October 2023 at select retailers with a suggested retail price of $124.99.

Sazerac 18 Year is a Kentucky straight rye released as part of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. The barrels selected for this Fall 2023 bottling were filled in fall 2004 & spring 2005 and rested in Warehouses K, L, & M. It was bottled at 90 proof after chill-filtration. Availability begins in early October 2023 at select retailers with a suggested retail price of $124.99.

Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye is an uncut, unfiltered Kentucky straight rye named after the New Orleans bartender who first used rye whiskey in a Sazerac cocktail — the tradition used to be brandy, typically cognac. The Fall 2023 release was aged over 6 years and was bottled at 124.9 proof. Availability begins in early October 2023 at select retailers with a suggested retail price of $124.99.

William Larue Weller is an uncut and unfiltered wheated bourbon named for the man who is credited with using wheat instead of rye as the secondary flavoring grain in bourbon production. The Fall 2023 release was distilled in the spring of 2011 and was aged in Warehouses C, L, M, and N. It was bottled at 133.6 proof. Availability begins in early October 2023 at select retailers with a suggested retail price of $124.99.

This 25 Year limited edition expression was released in celebration of Aberfeldy's 125th anniversary. The single malt was initially aged in a combination of refill hogsheads and refill butts for over two decades before a finishing of over a year in first-fill oloroso sherry casks. Bottled at 46% ABV, this launched in fall 2023 with the US getting its allocation in November 2023. (SRP $575)

This 2023 limited edition initially aged for 18 years in refill and hogshead casks. Then it was finished for about 15 months in cabernet sauvignon red wine casks sourced from Napa Valley in California. Available as of October 2023. (SRP $129.99)

Art & Decadence is a limited edition blended whisky from Compass Box made with unpeated malt whiskies and grain whiskies aged in a variety of casks. The bulk of the blend (42%) was malt whisky from Balmenach which was finished separately in three types of dessert wine casks — Marsala, Sauternes, and Madeira. Malt whiskies from Linkwood (aged in Palo Cortado sherry casks) and Glen Moray (finished in oloroso sherry casks) as well as grain whisky from Port Dundas were also used in its creation. There are 9,496 bottles available worldwide. Availability in the US begins November 1, 2023. (SRP $180)

This second annual limited edition Cigar Cut bottling was crafted by Melinda Maddox, production manager for Old Elk and apprentice to Master Distiller Greg Metze. Maddox blended a variety of Old Elk's base straight whiskeys, each of which had been aged a minimum of 6 years. A secondary maturation was given to each base whiskey as follows: high malt bourbon finished in sherry casks - 2 years, rye finished in rum casks - 8 months, high malt bourbon finished in port cask - 6-10 months, and wheat whiskey finished in sauternes wine casks - 6 months. It was bottled at 111.7 proof. This limited edition is available beginning October 2023 at select retailers nationwide. (SRP $129.99)

Barrell Foundation is made from a blend of straight bourbons aged 5-9 years from several states: Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Maryland. But unlike the brand's previous blended bourbon batches which are bottled at cask strength, this one is bottled at 100 proof — a first for the brand. Barrell Foundation Bourbon is an ongoing release with availability beginning October 2023 in select US markets with a national roll out to follow in January 2024.(SRP $59.99)

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)