New Spirits Releases - February 24, 2023

The 2023 release for Michter's 10 Year Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon is set for February 2023. There wasn't a release for 2022 so this is the first 10 year single barrel bourbon from the brand since 2021. As with most recent releases, it was selected by Master Distiller Dan McKee, along with Master of Maturation Andrea Wilson. Also, like the rest of the Michter's whiskeys supplies are allocated due to the high demand. (SRP $185)

Midleton Very Rare is an annual limited edition release and this 2023 edition is the third bottling Master Distiller Kevin O'Gorman has created and the 40th release for the brand. This year the brand is presenting the Irish whiskey in a recyclable packaging replacing the wooden cabinet it's been housed in since 1990. The whiskey is a blend of single pot still and grain whiskeys. For the 2023 edition, O'Gorman has increased the pot still portion as well as having refill casks take a prominent role in the blend. Midleton Very Rare 2023 is available as of February 22, 2023 in the US, Canada, global travel retail, Europe, Australia, and Asia. (SRP $250)

Writers' Tears Single Pot Still is a triple-distilled blend of malted and unmalted barley. The first maturation takes place in American oak ex-bourbon barrels. Then the whiskey is finished in PX sherry and Marsala wine hogsheads. While the whiskey was first released in fall 2021 in Ireland, the UK, France, Germany and Holland, the US is to receive its first allotment of 3,000 bottles in February/March 2023. (SRP $79.99)

The 15th annual edition of The Irishman Cask Strength was announced in February 2023. Made from a blend of triple-distilled single malt and single pot still whiskeys, the whiskey was matured in American ex-bourbon barrels. It's bottled at a cask strength of 55.3% ABV. A total of 8,400 bottles were produced with 1,200 of those bottles set aside for the US. The remaining bottles will be sold in Canada, Ireland, France, the UK, South Africa and Asia. (SRP $155)

Method and Madness is the experimental micro-distillery located in Midleton, Co. Cork. For Rye & Malt, Distiller Katherine Condon and her team decided on a triple-distilled mash of 60% rye and 40% malted barley. Ex-bourbon American oak barrels were used for maturation. This Method and Madness bottling is an exclusive release to the US with just 5,000 bottles produced. It's bottled at cask strength of 46% ABV without any chill filtration. Notably, while there have been other whiskeys released under the Method and Madness brand, this is the first whiskey to be distilled there. Availability begins February 2023 in select US markets and online retailers. (SRP $80)

Northcross Triple Wood is crafted and aged at Great Northern Distillery in Co. Louth, just south of the Northern Ireland border. The three barrels used for maturation are ex-bourbon, oloroso sherry and virgin American oak. It's bottled at 86 proof without chill filtration. Available online in many US states beginning February 2023 with further availability in select markets. (SRP $24.99)

Following an absence on the market since 2016, Benriach has returned a 16 year-old single malt to its portfolio in a new formulation. The Sixteen is a triple-cask matured whisky aging in ex-bourbon, sherry casks, and virgin oak. Bottled at 86 proof, it's available globally in select markets as of November 2022 with the US launch following in February 2023. (UK SRP £72/US SRP $115)

The Epicurean Amarone Wine Cask Finish is the seventh release in the brand's limited edition Wood Series. The blended malt whisky features single malts from the Lowlands which were initially aged in American oak barrels. The whisky was re-racked into a single Amarone wine cask for a further two years of maturation. Bottled at 48% ABV without chill-filtration, the whisky is available beginning February 2023. (SRP £65.00/€73.00)

Warehouse H is a Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey from Old Forester's The 117 Series. The limited edition series which first launched in spring 2021 aims to showcase experimentation and innovation. Here Old Forester highlights Warehouse H which was built shortly after WWII ended in 1946. It's a 4-story 8 chamber warehouse designed to be heat cycled in the winter months. Warehouse H is unusual in that its first floor was often the the floor which had the highest temperatures. This bottling features barrels from that historic warehouse. Released in February 2023, it's available for purchase at the distillery and for guests who book to stay at the brand's Prohibition-themed apartment "The Sleepeasy" on Whiskey Row in downtown Louisville. (SRP $59.99/375ml)