Ardbeg Vintage Y2K, New Glenmorangie Cadboll Estate, Cedar Ridge, and Boann [New Releases]

Among the latest new releases, Ardbeg takes us back to the the turn of the new millennium with some of its first whisky made in 2000, while Glenmorangie is out with the fourth edition of its Cadboll Estate label, made from barley harvested on its estate in the Highlands. From the U.S., Iowa whiskey maker Cedar Ridge has released its first sherry finished bourbon, while Ireland's Boann Distillery makes its global debut with a trio of Irish single pot still whiskeys—two of them finished in sherry casks and the other in madeira casks. Up until now, Boann has been best known for its branded whiskey The Whistler, and also for its work with old Irish mashbill recipes, specifically its Vintage Mashbill Project, done in collaboration with Irish whiskey historian Fionan O'Connor.

Ardbeg Vintage Y2K Single Malt Scotch

ABV: 46%
SRP: $800
Availability: Ardbeg.com, the distillery visitor center, Reservebar.com, and specialist retailers beginning in July; imported by Moët Hennessy USA

Ardbeg has launched the debut expression in a new series called Vintage Y2K. The first release is a sweet, peaty 23 year old distilled in 2000 and matured in bourbon and oloroso casks. The packaging takes its cues from the pixelated screen of a crashed PC, playfully acknowledging the fears over the Y2K Millennium bug, which proved unfounded.

Ardbeg was only just returning to full production as 1999 drew to a close, following ongoing restorations by then-owner The Glenmorangie Company, which purchased the dilapidated distillery and its remaining stocks in 1997. Malcolm Rennie, now Rosebank's distillery manager, worked the night shift at Ardbeg Distillery on December 31^st 1999 through January 1^st 2000, to see the first Ardbeg spirit of the new millennium run off the stills.

Vintage releases are liquid time capsules, allowing whisky lovers to step back in time and reflect on their own lives while they sip. Over the past year, Ardbeg has released The Rollercoaster containing bottlings from 1981 and 1989, and The Abyss, a 34 year old Islay whisky distilled in 1989. As well as being made from some of the first Ardbeg spirit of the 21^st century, Vintage Y2K contains some of the last spirit to be distilled on the old Ardbeg still that was replaced in 2001 after 51 years of faithful service. The year 2000 also saw the launch of the Ardbeg Committee. It will celebrate its 25^th anniversary next year, and is now active in more than 130 countries, with a membership of fans exceeding 180,000.

Glenmorangie The Cadboll Estate 15 year old Single Malt Scotch

ABV: 43%
SRP: $100
Availability: Glenmorangie.com, the distillery visitor center, Reservebar.com, and specialist retailers; imported by Moët Hennessy USA

Highland single malt scotch Glenmorangie has bottled a fourth edition of The Cadboll Estate, its single estate field-to-glass whisky matured in custom bourbon casks. Glenmorangie’s Cadboll Estate is situated on rich, fertile land on the Easter Ross peninsula near the distillery, and the series launched in 2020 to give whisky lovers around the world a taste of Glenmorangie’s Highland home. Barley was harvested in 2007 from eight of the estate’s fields for this release, just enough for 1–2 weeks’ production at the distillery.

Glenmorangie’s director of whisky creation Dr. Bill Lumsden developed the custom toasted, air-dried casks made from American white oak from the northern slopes of the Ozark Mountains in Missouri to accentuate the silky, creamy notes in Glenmorangie. Following numerous trials, Lumsden used these casks to make the limited-edition Glenmorangie Artisan Cask in 2004. That led to the creation of the 93-point Glenmorangie Astar, a label that was later reprised and went on to take the No.2 whisky of the year in our Top 20 Whiskies of the Year back in 2017. Last year’s Cadboll Estate release was an amontillado sherry cask finish and was rated 90 points.

Cedar Ridge Amontillado Sherry Finished Bourbon

ABV: 57.5%
SRP: $60
Availability: Limited; Iowa and cedarridgedistillery.com

Cedar Ridge started as a winery in 2005, but has since switched focus and now hangs its hat primarily on bourbon and American single malt. Its inaugural bourbon, made from 74% family-farmed corn, 14% malted rye, and 12% malted barley, launched in 2010, and has since been joined by a barrel proof variant in the core lineup.

This marks the first sherry cask-finished bourbon from Cedar Ridge, which has previously used port casks and maple syrup barrels to finish its bourbon. It uses the same mashbill as the core bourbon, and while it’s initially aged in new oak, it’s then finished in a first-fill amontillado sherry butt from Jerez, Spain. In total, the whiskey ages for 4 1/2 years. Unlike the core bourbon, which is bottled at 43% ABV, this comes in at a far higher 57.5% ABV. The new whiskey is available throughout Iowa and on the brand's website for shipping.

Boann Single Pot Still Marsala Cask Irish whiskey

ABV: 47%
SRP: $60

Boann Single Pot Still P.X. Cask Irish whiskey

ABV: 47%
SRP: $60

Boann Single Pot Still Madeira Cask Irish whiskey

ABV: 47%
SRP: $60
Availability: boanndistillery.ie and at retail beginning in September; imported by Prestige Beverage Group

Boann Distillery is making its international debut with a trio of single pot still Irish whiskeys, marking the first U.S. release of whiskey produced at the distillery in Drogheda, Co. Meath, about 30 miles north of Dublin. The single pot still whiskeys are made from a mashbill of unmalted and malted barley, oats, and rye, and all the grains are Irish grown and sourced locally. These non-age statement expressions are close to 5 years old and were matured in a variety of casks. Owned by the Cooney family, the distillery has established a dedicated following through its sourced Irish whiskey brand The Whistler. Boann Distillery is known for its experimentation with vintage mashbills, innovative distillation techniques, and its diverse wood program.

The Marsala expression was finished in French oak marsala butts following an initial maturation in bourbon barrels sourced from Brown-Forman. The P.X. Cask expression was initially matured in oloroso sherry hogsheads, then finished in 500 liter Pedro Ximénez solera butts. These came from a vintage solera system and include some Pedro Ximénez casks made of chestnut rather than oak. The Madeira expression was finished in 350-liter French oak cognac casks used for 20 years by madeira house Justino’s after an initial maturation in bourbon casks: the same type of madeira cask were also recently used for The Whistler 21 year old Justino’s Madeira Collaboration.