A Rye From Green River, the Latest Woodford Double Double Oaked, & More [New Releases]

This week welcomes a handful of unique cask finishes that aim to sweeten the deal. In Kentucky, Woodford is releasing the latest edition of Double Double Oaked, a fan-favorite bourbon that’s finished for an additional year in heavily toasted, lightly charred new oak. From Tennessee, the Nelson’s Green Brier Cask Series gets a maple syrup cask-finished bourbon, adding a touch of natural sugary sweetness to its flagship whiskey. And across the pond, there’s a brand new range of peated Speyside single malts from Glenallachie Distillery, each of which is finished in a different combination of casks but with the intent of drawing out a sweet, smoky house style. Elsewhere, there are new ryes from Green River in Kentucky and Texas’ Devil River, as well as blended American whiskey from Buzzard’s Roost. There's also Lodestar, founded by cousins and entertainment industry veterans Anna Axster and Wendelin von Schroderthe. Read on for more details.

Green River Kentucky Straight Rye
Style: Blended rye
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 4 year old
ABV: 47.5%
Price: $35
Release: February
Availability: In retailers across 26 states

Need to know:
This rye is a permanent addition to Green River’s core lineup. It has a mashbill of 95% rye and 5% malted barley, and is blended from ryes aged between 4 and 6 years old.

Whisky Advocate says:
Brought back online in 2016 under a different name following over half a century of being shuttered and acquired by Bardstown Bourbon Co. in 2022, Green River has become a recognizable name in the Kentucky distilling scene. As part of Bardstown Bourbon’s contract distilling wing, Green River has provided liquids to several brands including Broken Barrel, Blue Note, Wheel Horse, and others. It’s also bottling whiskey under its own label—including its flagship bourbon and wheated bourbon.

Woodford Reserve Double Double Oaked (2024)
Style: Bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not stated
ABV: 45.2%
Price: $80/375 ml
Release: January
Availability: Limited; Kentucky retailers and at the distillery

Need to know:
This expression represents a batch of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, a charred oak-finished bourbon, which undergoes an additional year-long finish in heavily toasted, lightly charred new oak.

Whisky Advocate says:
Double Double Oaked is one of Woodford Reserve’s most sought-after expressions. Woodford releases a small number of bottles annually for purchase at the distillery, but this year’s edition will also see a limited retail run in Woodford’s home state of Kentucky. For those interested in picking up a bottle from the distillery, sales have already begun and there’s a two bottle limit per customer.

Buzzard’s Roost American Whiskey
Style: Blended whiskey
Origin: Indiana
Age: 3 year old
ABV: 52.5%
Price: $40
Release: January
Availability: Nationwide

Need to know:
This whiskey is made from a mashbill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. Master blender Jason Brauner tapped into Buzzard Roost’s library of previously used char No.-1 barrels with proprietary toast profiles to age the brand’s sourced 3 year old whiskey; while the whiskey’s mashbill fits that of a bourbon, the used barrels give it the designation of American whiskey, as bourbon must be aged in new charred oak.

Whisky Advocate says:
This is the first American whiskey from Buzzard’s Roost, whose existing lineup includes many bourbons and ryes. While the brand is first and foremost an independent blender and bottler that relies on sourcing and rebarreling its whiskeys, it opened a 6,000-square-foot microdistillery and tasting room on Louisville’s Whiskey Row last year that allows it to produce five to seven barrels of bourbon or rye per week.

Nelson Brothers Maple Cask Finish
Style: Bourbon
Origin: Multiple (TN, KY, and IN)
Age: Not stated
ABV: 52.9%
Price: $125
Release: January
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
Part of the Nelson’s Green Brier Cask Series, this whiskey takes Nelson Brothers Classic bourbon and finishes it in maple syrup casks. The whiskey will be available exclusively at the Nashville-based distillery starting January 26.

Whisky Advocate says:
The Nelson’s Green Brier Cask Series launched in 2022 and has since included sherry, cognac, honey, and mourvèdre cask finishes. Each release is limited, and some, like maple cask, are distillery-exclusives. Maple syrup-finished whiskeys have picked up steam in recent years, as more distillers look to add a natural touch of sugary sweetness to their bourbons and ryes.

Meikle Tòir The Original 5 year old
Style: Single Malt
Origin: Scotland (Speyside)
Age: 5 year old
ABV: 50%
Price: $75
Release: February
Availability: 1,200 bottles for the U.S.

Meikle Tòir The Chinquapin One 5 year old
Style: Single Malt
Origin: Scotland (Speyside)
Age: 5 year old
ABV: 48%
Price: $75
Release: February
Availability: 1,200 bottles for the U.S.

Meikle Tòir The Sherry One 5 year old
Style: Single Malt
Origin: Scotland (Speyside)
Age: 5 year old
ABV: 48%
Price: $75
Release: February
Availability: 1,200 bottles for the U.S.

Meikle Tòir The Turbo 2023 Edition 5 year old
Style: Single Malt
Origin: Scotland (Speyside)
Age: 5 year old
ABV: 50%
Price: $75
Release: February
Availability: 600 bottles for the U.S.

Need to know:
Meikle Tòir (pronounced Mee-Kuhl Tor) is a new range of 5 year old peated Speyside single malts from Glenallachie Distillery, created in small batches by master distiller Billy Walker. The malt in each expression was peated to 35 phenol parts per million (ppm), other than Meikle Tòir The Turbo 2023 Edition, which was made using malt peated to 71 ppm. The Original was matured in first-fill bourbon barrels, new American oak, and rye casks, The Sherry One was initially matured in bourbon barrels then moved into Pedro Ximénez and oloroso sherry puncheons, while The Chinquapin One was also initially matured in bourbon barrels before being filled into new chinquapin oak casks. The Turbo 2023 Edition is the spirit from the ‘heart of the heart’ of the distillate, containing the highest phenol levels, and was matured in three new American oak casks and five oloroso sherry hogsheads.

Whisky Advocate says:
Billy Walker began producing peated spirit at Glenallachie in 2018, the first time this had been done since the distillery was founded in 1967. Today, the distillery produces peated distillate a few weeks every year. Like Bruichladdich’s Octomore, the peated Meikle Tòir range from Glenallachie also carries a 5 year old age statement. Meikle Tòir means “the big pursuit,” and in his pursuit of peated perfection, Walker uses mainland peat, a lengthy fermentation of 160 hours, and a meticulous selection of high-quality casks to create this sweet, smoky style.

Lodestar
Style: Blended whiskey
Origin: Indiana
Age: Not stated
ABV: 45%
Price: $45
Release: January
Availability: Nationwide

Need to know:
The inaugural Lodestar whiskey is a blend of high-rye straight bourbon and American single malt whiskeys.

Whisky Advocate says:
Lodestar is backed by Diageo’s Distill Ventures, which provides early financial support and a year of mentorship for founders looking to build the next big spirits brand. Cousins and entertainment industry veterans Anna Axster and Wendelin von Schroder co-founded Lodestar with the intent of bringing a women-owned whiskey brand to the fore, and their first release is billed as ideal for mixing into cocktails, but also robust enough to sip neat. Lodestar is based in California, so initially the whiskey will be limited to retail in the Golden State, with wider availability via e-commerce. Distill Ventures launched in 2013 as a venture capital fund for start-up distillers, and has since shepherded such star performers as Oregon’s Westward Whiskey, Denmark’s Stauning Whisky, and Australia’s Starward Whisky to greater success.

Devils River Rye River Series
Style: Rye
Origin: Texas
Age: 5 year old
ABV: 50%
Price: $80
Release: January
Availability: Limited; available at the distillery

Need to know:
This rye was distilled entirely using Texas-grown grains: 51% Brasetto rye (a hybrid rye strain developed for high yields), 45% #1 yellow dent corn, and 4% malted barley.

Whisky Advocate says:
Devils River is a craft distillery based out of San Antonio, Texas. It gets its name from a remote river in the southwest Texan countryside which flows into the Rio Grande. Rye River Series was offered at a distillery event on Wednesday, but bottles are still available for purchase at the distillery’s bottle shop. It’s slated to receive a retail release in 36 states sometime later this year.