New Spirits Releases - November 4, 2022

The Second Red Rose from Balvenie is the fifth release in its Stories expressions. The bottling pays homage to the 2008 distillery-only Balvenie Rose 16 year-old release which finished its maturation in port pipes. The Rose story in both bottlings refers to the rent paid by The Fair Maid of Galloway, Margaret Douglas. She lived in the Balvenie Castle in the 15th century and once King James II took over ownership of the estate, her rent to him was one red rose per year. Aged for 21 years, the whisky initially was matured in American oak ex-bourbon barrels before its finish in Australian shiraz wine casks. Bottled at 48.1% ABV, it was initially released in the UK in September 2021 followed by a release in the US in November 2022. (SRP $459.99)

A Rare Discovery from Distant Shores is a single malt release in The Balvenie's Stories portfolio. The inspiration for the creation of this whisky comes from the time that John Barrett, Malt Master David C. Stewart's long time friend, came to visit the distillery with samples of Caroni Rum from Trinidad. A few years later in 2014, Stewart decided to move some 20 year-old Balvenie that had been aging in traditional American oak casks into ex-Caroni Rum casks. Aged a total of 27 years, this whisky was then bottled at 48% ABV. It was released in the US in November 2022. (SRP $1,500)

The Tale of the Dog is a release in The Balvenie's Stories portfolio. The inspiration for this whisky is from a story told by The Balvenie's longtime Coppersmith Dennis McBain. Over 50 years ago whilst he was a young apprentice, he learned what a "dog" was in the distillation world after being asked to flatten a copper tube. This metal tube is used to extract whisky straight from the cask and is today used in The Balvenie's Warehouse 24 during distillery tours to sample whiskies. Available in the US as of November 2022. (SRP $14,500)

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)

Vitalis is a limited edition release from Starward commemorating the brand's 15th anniversary. Named for the Starward's founder David Vitale, the single malt is made from a blend of six parcels of whisky which aged in various cask types including tawny port, rum, bourbon and Apera (Australian-style sherry). The oldest barrels were filled in 2011 while the youngest were filled in 2018. Bottled at 104 proof, Vitalis is available in the US as of November 2022. (SRP $150)

This limited edition release from HIRSCH begins with 54 selected barrels of six year-old Kentucky bourbon (72% corn, 13% rye, 15% malted barley. Then the bourbon is placed into 30 year-old HINE XO Cognac casks for 18 additional months to finish its maturation. It's bottled at a cask strength of 127 proof. Only 9,000 bottles are available nationwide as of November 2022. (SRP $199.99)

Kentucky Tea Batch is the third batch of Booker's Bourbon released in 2022. This batch is named for Booker's signature drink, bourbon and water, which he called "Kentucky Tea." He would serve it as one part bourbon to four parts water. Kentucky Tea Batch was selected by Booker's son, Master Distiller Fred Noe, and is aged for 7 years, 4 months, and 14 days. Like all Booker's Small Batch Bourbon bottlings, this is uncut and unfiltered with this batch coming in at 126.5 proof. Available as of November 2022 nationwide. (SRP $89.99)

This limited edition release is the first collaboration between Old Forester and King Ranch, one of the largest ranches in the world encompassing 825,000 acres in South Texas. Together these two brands have over 300 years of American history. The bourbon is made using heavily-charred barrels and is finished through mesquite charcoal made from mesquite trees harvested from King Ranch. Bottled at 105 proof, it launched on November 1, 2022 as an exclusive release for Texas. (SRP $69.99)

Following the success of the inaugural release in 2021, George Dickel and Leopold Bros have announced the return of the Collaboration Blend for 2022. This whiskey is a blend of straight rye whiskeys -- one is a traditional column still rye distilled in Tennessee at Cascade Hollow Distilling Co., home to George Dickel and the other was distilled at Colorado's Leopold Bros on their Three Chamber Rye still. Bottled at 100 proof, this is available in select US markets beginning November 2022. (SRP $109.99)

This latest addition to the Ezra Brooks line up is made with two different rye mash bills, one with 51% rye and the other with 95% rye, each one aged for 7 years. It's then bottled at full proof of 114. This is being released with an limited allocation in the US of 3,000 six-pack cases beginning November 2022. (SRP $79.99)

First released in 2016, this is the sixth release of Outryder Straight American Whiskey. It's made from a blend of two high-rye mash bills, but both recipes fall under the 51% threshold to be called a "rye whiskey". It's aged for 5 years and is bottled at 100 proof. Available in select US markets beginning November 2022. (SRP $74.99)

Each Single Barrel release represents the top 1% of the bourbon barrels samples each year by Wyoming Whiskey. Each hand-selected barrel is aged for 5 years and is bottled at 96 proof with no two barrels alike. Each barrel will yield approximately 180 bottles. It's available for purchase online and at select US markets as of November 2022. (SRP $99.99)