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It’s mid-October, which implies we’re drawing ever nearer to the spookiest time of yr: Halloween. This yr, match your favourite candy deal with to a whisky—take Raisinets, as an illustration, that are a improbable complement to George Dickel 11 yr previous Bottled in Bond given the luxurious, deep, darkish fruit qualities of that whiskey. After all, it’s not simply chocolate treats that go well with whisky, and this information affords up our favourite Halloween candy-and-whisky pairings.
As for brand spanking new whisky, being within the thick of fall additionally implies that new releases proceed to flood in. Aberfeldy is again with an 18 yr previous whisky aged in crimson wine casks—this one from a Tuscan vineyard. Kentucky Peerless brings again its absinthe-finished rye, whereas Michter’s returns with its 20 yr previous straight bourbon. Learn on for full particulars.
Aberfeldy 18 yr previous Tuscan Purple Wine Cask
Fashion: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Highland)
Age: 18 yr previous
ABV: 43%
Value: $130
Launch: October 2022
Availability: Restricted
Have to know:
That is the fourth launch in Aberfeldy’s crimson wine cask ending collection. The 18 yr previous single malt was completed for 4 to 5 months in Tuscan crimson wine barrels from the Bolgheri appellation.
Whisky Advocate says:
This annual launch from Aberfeldy showcases grasp blender Stephanie Macleod’s expert hand at ending. The 2020 launch, an 18 yr previous completed Bordeaux barrels, scored 93 factors and landed at No. 10 on that yr’s High 20 record.
Kentucky Peerless Absinthe Barrel Completed
Fashion: Completed rye
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not said
ABV: 55.35%
Value: Undisclosed
Launch: October 2022
Availability: Restricted; unique to the Peerless distillery in Louisville
Have to know:
This single barrel rye was completed in an absinthe barrel from an undisclosed supply.
Whisky Advocate says:
Peerless first launched an absinthe-finished rye in 2020; the discharge was such a success that the distillery has continued it on an annual foundation, and it’s all the time very restricted in scope. This yr isn’t any completely different, because the whiskey will solely be accessible on the Peerless distillery on October 29 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., with bottles accessible on a first-come, first-serve foundation. Different Peerless barrel-finished releases embody a rum barrel-finished bourbon.
Michter’s 20 yr previous (2022 Launch)
Fashion: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 20 yr previous
ABV: 57.1%
Value: $1,200
Launch: November 2022
Availability: Restricted
Have to know:
Michter’s is bringing again its 20 yr previous straight bourbon, with a worth improve of almost $500 from final yr’s launch.
Whisky Advocate says:
Older bourbon can typically be over-oaked and previous its prime, however that isn’t the case with Michter’s 20 yr, which final scored 94 factors in our Shopping for Information. Most notable is the massive worth leap from 2021, when this launch was listed at $750. However Michter’s can have no drawback promoting it regardless of the rise, because the 20 yr previous is all the time among the many most sought-after whiskeys of the yr.
Blue Run Flight Sequence
Fashion: Blends of straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not said
ABV: Varies
Value: $120
Launch: October 2022
Availability: Restricted
Have to know:
This marks the launch of Blue Run’s Flight Sequence, which is a variety of micro-batch whiskeys that will likely be launched twice a yr transferring ahead. There are six expressions within the inaugural launch:
- Alpine Meadows—blended from three barrels, 57.6% (594 bottles)
- Parisian Pâtisserie—blended from three barrels, 56.55% (684 bottles)
- Seattle Downpour—blended from two barrels, 57.6% (390 bottles)
- Lahaina Luau—blended from three barrels, 54.8% (726 bottles)
- Washington Apple Orchard—blended from 5 barrels, 59% (1,056) bottles
- Marrakech Market—blended from three barrels, 55.15% ABV, 636 bottles
Whisky Advocate says:
Every of the Flight Sequence whiskeys is constructed from two to 5 barrels, that are contract-distilled at Citadel & Key by Blue Run’s liquid advisor Jim Rutledge. These barrels have been then hand-selected and blended by Blue Run’s whiskey director, Shaylyn Gammon (and these are the primary Blue Run whiskeys with Gammon’s title hooked up). The Flight Sequence is a direct response to the considerably nebulous time period “small batch”—Blue Run is aiming to outline what precisely makes a small batch whiskey, labeling their very own micro whiskeys as blends that come from not less than two barrels, however not more than 5.
Evan Williams Sq. 6 Excessive-Rye
Fashion: Straight rye
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not said
ABV: 47.5%
Value: $90
Launch: October 2022
Availability: Restricted; accessible on the Evan Williams Bourbon Expertise and choose KY retailers
Have to know:
The Sq. 6 Excessive-Rye rye has a mashbill of 63% rye, 24% corn, and 13% malted barley, making it the highest-rye whiskey Heaven Hill has ever produced.
Whisky Advocate says:
Heaven Hill debuted Sq. 6 in Could 2021; the label launched with a high-rye bourbon, and marked the primary launch from the Evan Williams Bourbon Expertise in Louisville. As with that debut whiskey, which was significantly completely different from the unique corn-heavy Evan Williams, this rye varies considerably from Heaven Hill’s conventional rye mashbill of 51% rye, 35% corn, and 14% malted barley. Sq. 6 was so named for the unique plot of land the place Evan Williams purportedly constructed Kentucky’s first business distillery in 1783. In the present day, the Evan Williams Bourbon Expertise stands on that website, distilling only one barrel of whiskey a day.
New Riff Maltster T50 Crystal Malt
Fashion: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 6 yr previous
ABV: 50%
Value: $60
Launch: October 2022
Availability: Restricted
Have to know:
This Maltster launch highlights the T50 crystal malt varietal of malted barley, which is often utilized in pale ales and bitters. Right here, it’s mixed with 65% corn and 20% malted rye. A earlier iteration of Maltster got here out in October 2020.
New Riff Aroostook Malted Rye
Fashion: Straight malted rye
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 6 yr previous
ABV: 50%
Value: $60
Launch: October 2022
Availability: Restricted
Have to know:
Constituted of a mashbill of 100% Aroostook Kentucky-grown malted rye, this whiskey comes on the heels of New Riff’s sherry-finished malted rye, which got here out earlier this yr. Beforehand, the distillery had sourced malted rye from Germany for its malted rye expressions.
Whisky Advocate says:
Each of those whiskeys construct on New Riff’s exploration of malted grains, which has been ongoing since 2014 when the distillery started making malted rye. The primary Maltster launch scored 90 factors, whereas the sherry-finished malted rye earned 89 factors. Like all New Riff whiskeys, this duo is bottled in bond and non-chill filtered.
Wyoming Whiskey 1872
Fashion: Straight bourbon
Origin: Wyoming
Age: 9 yr previous
ABV: 58%
Value: $400
Launch: October 2022
Availability: Restricted; 150 bottles unique to California, Colorado, Georgia, New York, and Wyoming
Have to know:
This whiskey is constructed from a mix of 93% wheated and seven% high-rye bourbons. As with all Wyoming Whiskey releases, the grains used on this have been grown in Wyoming and the water was domestically sourced.
Whisky Advocate says:
1872 honors the a hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Yellowstone Park; President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone Nationwide Park Safety Act into regulation on March 1, 1872. All proceeds will likely be donated to Yellowstone Eternally, a corporation that protects and preserves the nationwide park.
McCarthy’s PX Sherry Cask Completed 6 yr previous
Fashion: American single malt
Origin: Oregon
Age: 6 yr previous
ABV: 56.1%
Value: $150
Launch: October 2022
Availability: 1,914 bottles, restricted to California, Colorado, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Washington
Have to know:
From Hood River Distillers, this single malt was aged for six years in Oregon oak casks and completed for 4 months in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks from the Toneleria Del Sur cooperage in southern Spain.
Whisky Advocate says:
This restricted launch McCarthy’s combines peat and sherry flavors, which could be a successful method when finished appropriately. Final yr’s Laphroaig Càirdeas Pedro Ximénez Cask scored 93 factors, and was likewise bottled at a excessive proof—58.9% ABV. Whereas that could be a scotch and that is an American single malt, there may be good cause to imagine that this PX end can even be a particular dram. We not too long ago scored the common McCarthy’s 6 yr previous at 92 factors within the Summer season 2022 Shopping for Information.
Rooster Cock Chanticleer
Fashion: Completed bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not said
ABV: 56%
Value: $500
Launch: October 21, 2022
Availability: Restricted; 6,500 bottles
Have to know:
Constituted of a mash invoice of 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley, this limited-edition whiskey was completed in cognac barrels for an unspecified period of time. Solely 32 barrels have been produced. That is the second version in Rooster Cock’s collectible collection of particular vacation releases, following Rooster Cock Cotton Membership Rye, launched final yr.
Whisky Advocate says:
Rooster Cock is one in all many manufacturers that pay homage to Prohibition and its repeal, bottling its whiskey in apothecary-style packaging, and tying its releases to particular moments or locations in whiskey historical past. This cognac end honors the connection between Kentucky and France, as Bourbon County was named after the Bourbon household, and Paris, Kentucky, the place Rooster Cock was based, takes its title from Paris, France. Repeal Day, or the day that Prohibition formally ended, is well known on December 5th, and any of the Rooster Cock whiskeys, together with the not too long ago reviewed Island Rooster rum barrel completed 91 factors would make for a worthy toast.
Previous Bones 10 yr Reserve
Fashion: Straight rye
Origin: Indiana
Age: 10 yr previous
ABV: 55%
Value: $100
Launch: Late October 2022
Availability: Restricted
Have to know:
Sourced from MGP, this whiskey was constructed from a mashbill of 95% rye and 5% malted barley. Spine Bourbon Firm reserves its Previous Bones label for whiskeys aged a minimal of 10 years. These releases, not like the core merchandise, usually are not persistently accessible.
Whisky Advocate says:
This is similar whiskey as Spine’s Bone Snapper 4 yr previous rye, simply bottled at greater than twice as previous. We beforehand scored Previous Bones 10 yr previous bourbon 93 factors.
Ki One Unicorn Version
Fashion: Single malt
Origin: South Korea
Age: Not said
ABV: 56.6%
Value: $190 /200 ml
Launch: October 2022
Availability: 198 bottles
Have to know:
The Three Societies Distillery is releasing its second Korean single malt, which has been double distilled and aged in new oak casks for 21 months.
Whisky Advocate says:
Based by Korean-American Bryan Do in 2020, Three Societies Distillery opened in Namyangju, 40 minutes north-east of Seoul, turning into the primary Korean craft distillery to make single malt whisky. The distillery is supplied with a pair of Forsyth’s copper pot stills, and malt is imported from the UK. Its bourbon and new oak barrels are sourced from Kentucky, whereas oloroso and Pedro Ximénez casks are equipped from Europe. The manufacturing staff is comprised of grasp distiller Andrew Shand and assistant distiller Byeongsu Kim. Shand has had an extended and various profession within the whisky trade, having beforehand labored for Chivas Brothers, Nikka Distillery Co., and Speyside Distillery earlier than launching his personal whisky consultancy. Technically, it is a 1 yr previous whisky as there is no such thing as a requirement for Korean whisky to be matured for a minimal of three years like there may be in Scotland.