New Spirit Releases - September 15, 2023

The third release in Whistlepig's Legends Series was made from barrels of high-rye whiskey selected by Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake drivers. Unusually, the barrels underwent wind tunnel trials at the team's wind tunnel in Switzerland before enduring varying levels of G-Forces at the Whistlepig Farm & Distillery in Vermont. Inspired by Zhou Guanyu — the first Chinese F1 driver — the whiskey was also finished in lychee and oolong tea barrels. Available to purchase on Whistlepig's website beginning September 13, 2023 and in select US retailers. (SRP $49.99)

Redbreast Tawny Port Cask Edition is the third release in the brand's Iberian Series. This limited edition single pot still release was crafted by Master Blender Billy Leighton and Blender Dave McCabe. Initially it was matured in ex-bourbon and oloroso sherry barrels. Then a portion of these whiskeys were recasked into Tawny Port casks. Finally, the whiskeys were married and received a final maturation into freshly seasoned Tawny Port hogsheads for 14-25 months. Available in the US as of September 2023. (SRP $99.99)

Hardin's Creek is a series of rare and unique whiskeys from James B. Beam Distilling Co. For the brand's Kentucky Series — a three-part bourbon series — the aim is to explore "Kentucky terroir" within the Beam Family distilling campuses of Clermont, Frankfort, and Boston. Each of the three Kentucky bourbons are 17 years-old and were distilled with the same mash bill. However, they were each aged in a different location. This Boston expression is the final release in the series and is available beginning September 2023. (SRP $169.99)

This is the first release in 2XO's Oak Series, an ongoing series which will feature more everyday offerings. Here, American whiskey blender Dixon Dedman adds additional charred oak to barrels with a moderate amount of rye in the mash bill recipe. This is expected to be an ongoing, widely available release. Available nationwide beginning September 2023. (SRP $49.99)

The Tribute Blend is the third release in 2XO's Icon Series and was made to honor the parents of American whiskey blender and founder of the brand Dixon Dedman. It's made from a blend of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskeys with two different mash bill recipes: one has a high-rye (35%) mash bill and the other has a low-rye (16-18%) mash bill. Like other releases from the brand, this features Dixon's "Two Times Oak" blending process -- rebarreling the selected bourbons into new charred oak barrels. Available for a limited time beginning September 2023. (SRP $99.99)

This is the first ever state-wide bourbon release from Copper & Kings. It's made from a blend of 5, 10, and 15 year-old Kentucky straight bourbon whiskeys which were then finished in American apple brandy barrels for 12 months. The final blend was created by Head Distiller Brandon O'Daniel and bottled at 111 proof. Available October 2023 at the distillery and at select retailers in Kentucky. (SRP $65)

For Reflection II, Blue Run's Whiskey Director Shaylyn Gammon used some of the first Reflection release as a base but the dominant mash bill uses less rye than the original. Additionally, older stocks of whiskey were used and the proof here increased to 100. Available nationwide as of September 2023. (SRP $99.99)

This limited edition release from Kentucky Owl, Maighstir (may-stir), translates to "master" in Gaelic. This Kentucky straight bourbon was made in collaboration with Master Blender John Rhea and new Kentucky Owl Master Blender Maureen Robinson. Four, five, eight, and nine year-old bourbons were blended for this release, each with mash bill recipes featuring corn, rye, wheat, and malted barley. These bourbons were selected specifically to convey a Scottish-inspired Kentucky bourbon whiskey. Bottled at 100 proof, it's available beginning September 2023. (SRP $150)

Scallywag is released by independent blender and bottler Douglas Laing featuring a blend of single cask single malts from Speyside. Like each of the previous three editions, this Winter 2023 release was matured exclusively in sherry casks with the single casks having been matured in oloroso and Pedro Ximenez sherry butts. It is bottled at cask strength of 52.5% ABV without chill-filtration or added color. Available globally including Europe, Asia beginning September 2023. (SRP £65.00)

Big Peat is a release from independent bottler and blender Douglas Laing & Co. featuring a blend of single cask peated single malts from select Islay distilleries. For this Christmas 2023 release, the blended malts have been finished in sherry casks. This is bottled at a natural cask strength of 54.8% ABV without added color or chill-filtration. Available as of September 2023 globally including key markets in Europe, America, and Asia. (SRP £60.00)