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Whisky lovers within the Chicago space are in for a deal with tonight as WhiskyFest returns to the Hyatt Regency for a night of unforgettable whiskies, informational seminars, and entry to whisky makers from across the globe. Tickets are nonetheless out there with plenty of uncommon pours and Whiskies of the 12 months provided throughout VIP hour and all through the night time. Come style hard-to-find pours from Buffalo Hint, Ardbeg, Nikka, and extra, or uncover one thing new on the WhiskyFest ground.
These trying to merely sip one thing new at residence have plenty of choices this week. Bushmills returns with its second Uncommon Cask bottling, a 29 12 months outdated single malt completed in Pedro Ximénez casks; Hen Cock is dropping a rum-finished rye simply in time for the summer season; and Brad Paisley’s American Freeway Reserve broadcasts its second launch, a mix of Kentucky and Georgia straight bourbons. Learn on for full particulars.
Bushmills The Uncommon Casks 29 12 months outdated Pedro Ximénez Cask
Model: Single malt
Origin: Eire
Age: 29 12 months outdated
ABV: 53%
Value: $750
Launch: Could 2022
Availability: 500 bottles
Must know:
The second expression in Bushmill’s Uncommon Cask sequence, this whisky spent 12 years in bourbon barrels and an extra 17 in Pedreo Ximénez casks. The whiskey was distilled on April 6, 1992; re-casked on July 12, 2004; and bottled on January 17, 2022.
Whisky Advocate says:
One of many ways in which Irish whiskey has accomplished its comeback lately is thru a wealth of well-aged shares, and nowhere is that extra obvious than at Bushmills. The primary Uncommon Cask was a cask power 28 12 months outdated single malt completed in cognac casks launched in October 2020. It scored 95 factors and was among the many most collectible whiskies reviewed within the Winter 2020 subject. Each the proof and the worth of this PX cask are significantly greater.
Hen Cock Island Rooster
Model: Completed rye
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not said
ABV: 47.5%
Value: $200
Launch: Could 2022
Availability: Restricted, 6,000 bottles
Must know:
Made out of 95% rye and 5% malted barley, this whiskey was aged for greater than 4 years and completed in Caribbean rum casks for not less than six months. Manufacturing for this preliminary launch was restricted to 25 barrels equating to six,000 bottles. One other 6,000 bottles might be launched in late summer season.
Whisky Advocate says:
With summer season approaching, you could be reaching for rum or making rum-based drinks, however don’t rule rum-finished whiskies out both. In latest weeks there have been plenty of new rum-finished ryes and rye blends, together with Blackened Rye the Lighting, 4 Gate Kelvin Collaboration III (Batch 19), and Sagamore Spirit Reserve Collection Rum End.
American Freeway Reserve (Route 2)
Model: Mix of straight bourbons
Origin: Kentucky and Georgia
Age: Not said
ABV: 49%
Value: $100
Launch: Could 2022
Availability: 60,000 bottles
Must know:
The second batch of Brad Paisley’s American Freeway Reserve accommodates a portion of barrels that adopted him on a semi-truck as he toured the nation through the summer season of 2021. As with the primary batch, he labored with Bardstown Bourbon Firm to create it. This time round, three whiskeys contributed to the mix:
- 27% 4 12 months outdated Kentucky bourbon (70% corn, 21% rye, 9% malted barley)
- 7% 12 12 months outdated Kentucky bourbon (78% corn, 10% rye, 12% malted barley)
- 66% 8 12 months outdated Georgia bourbon (80% corn, 10% rye, 5% wheat, 5% malted barley)
Whisky Advocate says:
We spoke with Paisley following the preliminary launch of American Freeway Reserve about his whiskey journey which began in his residence state of West Virginia and has resulted in an enormous assortment of bottles that he shares with the numerous musicians, actors, and different well-known figures that go via his residence. Paisley instructed us that he likes a whiskey that has a powerful nostril, demonstrates a strong spice character, and adjustments over time within the glass or with water added. We’ll have to attend and see how this batch matches these descriptors, however the presence of older shares and a number of mashbills probably means a sure diploma of nuance and complexity.
Brush Creek Railroad Rye (Boxcar 1)
Model: Straight rye
Origin: Indiana
Age: Not said
ABV: 52%
SRP: $130
Launch: Could 2022
Availability: 3,000 bottles; CA, CO, FL, IL, IN, KY, NY, TX, and WY
Must know:
Final 12 months, 80 barrels of Indiana-made rye whiskey have been transported from the distillery in Lawrenceburg to Chicago the place they have been loaded onto a 60-foot Union Pacific boxcar. The barrels traveled greater than 1,200 miles to Brush Creek Distillery in Wyoming. The journey was made in honor of the historical past and innovation that led to exploration within the West.
Twelve of the barrels, various in age between 4 and seven years outdated and two mashbills, have been chosen for this inaugural launch of Railroad Rye, known as Boxcar 1. Brush Creek intends to supply this expression yearly, with subsequent bottlings having a distinct mashbill, proof, and historic focus.
Whisky Advocate says:
Railroad Rye joins Brush Creek’s lineup consisting of a bourbon, rye, gin, and vodka.
Brush Creek Distillery is positioned on The Farm at Brush Creek Resort, a 30,000-acre web site in Saratoga, Wyoming. Along with the distillery, the resort is residence to luxurious lodging, a creamery, a bakery, out of doors actions, a spa, and extra. Learn extra about it, and different locations for whisky lovers, in our Summer time subject, hitting newsstands on the finish of this month.
Catoctin Creek Barrel Choose Scorching Honey
Model: Completed rye
Origin: Virginia
Age: Not said
ABV: 41%
Value: $45
Launch: Could 23, 2022
Availability: 350 bottles
Must know:
This whiskey was aged for 2 years in new charred oak barrels earlier than a end of over one 12 months in barrels from AR’s Scorching Southern Honey in Richmond, Virginia.
Whisky Advocate says:
Whisky can naturally have honey flavors and makes for excellent cocktails when mixed with honey, so this end, whereas uncommon, makes loads of sense. To our information, there aren’t too many honey cask-finished expressions, with Tennessee’s Inexperienced Briar Distillery releasing a restricted version underneath its Belle Meade label annually as a distillery unique.
Traverse Metropolis American Lakeside Peach
Model: Flavored
Origin: Michigan
Age: Not said
ABV: 35%
Value: $30
Launch: Could 2022
Availability: GA, IL, IN, MI, OH, TN, and WI
Must know:
Lakeside Peach makes use of Traverse Metropolis’s straight bourbon as its base. It joins American Cherry and Michigan Apple among the many model’s flavored choices.
Whisky Advocate says:
Assume what you’ll of flavored whiskeys, however there’s a rising phase of craft producers who’re utilizing native flavoring components native to their state, with Michigan’s Traverse Metropolis amongst them. Within the Summer time 2020 subject, we examined Michigan’s cherry farming business and the ways in which it influences whiskey manufacturing together with cherry-flavored whiskeys and distiller-made cocktail cherries. For Lakeside Peach, Traverse Metropolis equally depends on Michigan peaches, noting that they’re delicate and candy and surprisingly immune to the cruel winter situations.
