Barrell Finished Bourbons, Jack Daniel's Bonded Rye, Old Man Winter, & More [New Releases]

So many new releases this week! We decided that we can’t possibly fit them all without creating a post that resembles a whisky encyclopedia, so today’s Whisky Weekend will feature only the latest American whiskey offerings. On Monday, we’ll post a second run of new releases, and those will feature Scotland, Ireland, and other places beyond our shores.

Here at home, multiple bottle releases seem to be the thing these days. We posted Lost Lantern’s Summer of Bourbon range a few weeks back, a lineup of eight whiskeys in all, and this week we feature Tennessee’s Old Dominick Distillery, which offers six new expressions. Elsewhere, there’s a new bonded Jack Daniel’s in town, and this time it’s a rye. Meanwhile, the explosion in cask-finished bourbons continues, with Barrel’s new rum cask and amburana finished whiskeys, as well as a new stout-cask finished expression from Bardstown Bourbon Co. Virginia Distillery Co. is also at it again, this time adding a new cask-finished American Single Malt to its Courage & Conviction series. And just in time for football season, legendary NFL quarterback Joe Montana connects with Gold Bar Whiskey to create two new Joe Montana Blend selections. Read on for full details.

Jack Daniel’s Bonded
Style: Rye
Origin: Tennessee
Age: 4 year old
ABV: 50%
Price: $32
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
The newest release within the Jack Daniel’s Bonded Series, this rye has a mashbill of 70% rye, 18% corn, and 12% malted barley. In true Tennessee whiskey fashion, it’s also charcoal mellowed before being put into barrels.

Whisky Advocate says:
The Jack Daniel’s Bonded Series has previously included the Jack Daniel’s Bonded and Triple Mash whiskeys. Last year, Bonded was named our No.-1 whiskey of 2022, scoring 97 points; as with that whiskey, this new bottled in bond rye is a permanent addition to the Jack family. It also marks the first time the distillery has released a bonded rye. The whiskey is currently available for presale on reservebar.com.

Barrell Craft Spirits Cask Finish Series Amburana
Style: Finished bourbon
Origin: Indiana and Kentucky
Age: Not stated
ABV: 58.21%
Price: $90
Release: September 2023
Availability: barrellbourbon.com and at retail in all states except West Virginia later this month

Need to know:
This is a blend of bourbons distilled in Indiana and Kentucky. The Indiana-sourced parcel consists of 5,6, 7, and 10 year old bourbons, while the Kentucky portion is a 5 year old. Some component bourbons underwent a 1-2 month finish in amburana barrels before blending.
Barrell Craft Spirits Cask Finish Series Tale of Two Islands
Style: Finished bourbon
Origin: Indiana and Maryland
Age: Not stated
ABV: 59.11%
Price: $90
Release: September 2023
Availability: barrellbourbon.com and at retail in all states except West Virginia later this month

Need to know:
In 2018, Barrell released a Jamaican rum that was aged in peated Islay whisky casks under the Tale of Two Islands label. For this expression, a portion of the 5, 6, and 9 year old Indiana bourbons and 5 and 6 year old Maryland-made bourbons were finished in the Tale of Two Islands rum casks for 4-6 months before blending.

Whisky Advocate says:
Since 2013, Louisville-based Barrell Craft Spirits (BCS) has been sourcing and blending whiskeys and rum. Barrell Vantage finished at No.-3 on Whisky Advocate’s Top 20 whiskies of 2022. BCS moved to an expanded new headquarters in the Louisville suburb of Jefferson this past April, about 15 miles east of its current location. It also purchased a warehouse formerly owned by Angels Envy. A formal ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at the new headquarters next Thursday, September 14.

Bardstown Collaborative Series Goose Island Bourbon County Stout Finished
Style: Finished bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not stated
ABV: 50%
Price: $160
Release: September 2023
Availability: 42,000 bottles; available at retailers in 24 states and online at seelbachs.com

Need to know:
The latest addition to Bardstown Bourbon Co.’s Collaborative Series is a blend of three Kentucky bourbons aged for 6, 7, and 9 years. The 6 and 7 year old components were finished in Goose Island Bourbon County stout casks for 12 months, before being married with the 9 year old. Unlike other finishing casks, which are typically rinsed with water prior to being filled with whisky, these beer barrels were refilled immediately after being drained of the stout.

Whisky Advocate says:
The Collaborative Series features cask-finished whiskeys with maturation in barrels sourced from other spirits and beer brands. The series has generally scored very well with our tasting panel, representing some of the highest-scoring expressions from Bardstown Bourbon Co. Particular standouts include the Goodwood Brewing Co. Brandy Barrel Honey Ale Cask Finish (94 points), Copper & Kings Apple Brandy Barrel-Finished (94 points), and Ferrand Finished (93 points).

Courage & Conviction Double Cask Reserve
Style: American single malt
Origin: Virginia
Age: 5 year old
ABV: 48%
Price: $90
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited; available at retailers and online at courageandconviction.com

Need to know:
This American single malt features whiskeys that were individually aged in a mix of first-fill bourbon barrels and STR European red wine cuvee casks for a minimum of 5 years and then blended together, hence the origin of the “Double Cask” name.

Whisky Advocate says:
Courage & Conviction is Virginia Distillery Co.’s flagship whiskey. The series launched in 2020, dedicated to the distillery’s founder, the late Dr. George G. Moore. These expressions typically feature a cask finish, and have since scored from 89–92 with our tasting panel.

Old Man Winter Bourbon from the Black Hills (2023)
Style: Blended bourbon
Origin: Kentucky and Indiana
Age: Not stated
ABV: 54.9%
Price: $160
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
The Old Man Winter blend features some of the oldest distillate made at Preservation Distillery, from undisclosed vintages, married with bourbons sourced from both Kentucky and Indiana.

Whisky Advocate says:
Bardstown, Kentucky’s Preservation Distillery was founded in 2015 on a historic 40-acre tobacco farm. Preservation’s own distillate is made using pot stills and water drawn from a pure limestone aquifer, though it mainly sources whiskeys from other distilleries. Old Man Winter is just one of the whiskey labels in its portfolio, alongside others like Very Olde St. Nick, Wattie Boone & Sons, and Cowboy Little Barrel. Recently, our tasting panel rated its portfolio mate, Very Olde St. Nick Immaculata Ancient Cask, which scored a 92.
Huling Station Trolley Stop Series: Main Street Line Stop 1: Huling Avenue
Style: Blended bourbon
Origin: Indiana
Age: 9 year old
ABV: 47.5%
Price: $65–$70
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited; available in AR, GA, IL, KY, MS, MO, TN

Huling Station Trolley Stop Series: Madison Avenue Line Stop 1: Orleans Street
Style: Blended wheat whiskey
Origin: Indiana
Age: 9 year old
ABV: 47%
Price: $65–$70
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited; available in AR, GA, IL, KY, MS, MO, TN

Need to know:
The new Trolley Stop Series range pays homage to Memphis’s iconic trolley lines. The names of these expressions may look like a mouthful, but they’re fairly straightforward. Each “line”—Main Street and Madison Avenue so far—represents a specific blend style. The Main Street line is comprised of high-rye bourbons, while Madison Avenue features wheat-focused whiskeys. Each “stop” on those lines serves to provide a batch name and number. Main Street's is a blended bourbon made from a 52% corn, 44% rye, and 4% malted barley mashbill. Madison Avenue is a heavily wheated whiskey bottled at 47% ABV with mashbill is 83% wheat, 12% corn, and 5% malted barley.

Whisky Advocate says:
The Huling Station label is produced by Memphis, Tennessee-based Old Dominick Distillery. Unlike the other releases, these two expressions were blended from barrels distilled by MGP for Old Dominick back in 2014—and not from distillate made at the distillery in Memphis. The second "stops" for these two lines are planned for release in a few months.

Old Dominick (2023)
Style: Bourbon
Origin: Tennessee
Age: 5 year old
ABV: 45%
Price: $40
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited; available in AR, GA, IL, KY, MS, MO, TN

Old Dominick Bottled in Bond (2023)
Style: Bourbon
Origin: Tennessee
Age: 5 year old
ABV: 50%
Price: $76
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited; available in AR, GA, IL, KY, MS, MO, TN

Old Dominick Cask Strength Spring 2018 vintage (2023)
Style: Bourbon
Origin: Tennessee
Age: 5 year old
ABV: 58.735%
Price: $76
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited; available in AR, GA, IL, KY, MS, MO, TN

Old Dominick Cask Strength Fall 2018 vintage (2023)

Style: Bourbon
Origin: Tennessee
Age: 4 year old
ABV: 57.28%
Price: $76
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited; available in AR, GA, IL, KY, MS, MO, TN

Whisky Advocate says:
These four bourbons from Old Dominick Distillery were released as an experiment by master distiller Alex Castle, with the goal of evaluating how proofing impacts flavor. All four were made from an identical high-rye mashbill: 52% corn, 44% rye, and 4% malted barley. They were all aged for 4-5 years in char no.-4 white oak barrels sourced from West Tennessee. The only difference between the four bottlings is their ABV. These releases follow two other bonded, vintage-stated bourbons from Old Dominick, which launched in April.

Milam & Greene Unabridged Volume 2
Style: Blended bourbon
Origin: Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas
Age: 2–16 year old
ABV: 58.8%
Price: $95
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited; available online at milamandgreenewhiskey.com starting on September 13th

Need to know:
The second installment of Milam & Greene’s Unabridged Bourbon comprises a blend of 56 barrels across five age statements and from three different states:

• 11 barrels of 16 year old Tennessee bourbon
• 18 barrels of 7 year old Tennessee bourbon
• 5 barrels of 4 year old Tennessee bourbon
• 9 barrels of 3.5 year old Kentucky bourbon
• 11 barrels of 2 year old Kentucky bourbon
• 2 barrels of 2 year old Texas bourbon

The Texas and Kentucky components were distilled by Milam & Greene—made using the same two yeast strains, proprietary high rye-style mashbills, and malted rye. The blend is bottled at cask strength.

Whisky Advocate says:
Hill County, Texas-based Milam & Greene was founded by master distiller Marlene Holmes, whisky writer and master blender Heather Greene, and Marsha Milam. The operation distills its own Texan whiskey on location using copper pot stills, as well as column-distilled whiskey made in Bardstown, Kentucky. Although Unabridged Volume 2 is made with the same pattern as Volume 1, which also saw Milam & Greene’s Kentucky and Texas distillate blended with Tennessee bourbon, this year’s release marks a shift in age profile. The oldest whiskey in Volume 2’s blend is 16 years old, compared to the 14 year old used in the original. The lion’s share of the newer blend is taken up by a 7 year old, as opposed to the 2 year-and-9month-old whisky in the original.

Gold Bar Whiskey’s Joe Montana Blend No. 273
Style: Blended whiskey
Origin: California, Tennessee, and Texas
Age: Not stated
ABV: 41%
Price: $60
Release: September 2023
Availability: Exclusive to consumers in Northern California

Gold Bar Whiskey’s Joe Montana Blend No. 117
Style: Blended whiskey
Origin: Not disclosed
Age: 16 year old
ABV: 45%
Price: $150
Release: November
Availability: Northern California

Need to Know:
These whiskeys were, made in partnership with NFL great Joe Montana, and both showcase cask finishes. No. 273 receives three finishing touches: first a red-wine cask maturation using barrels from Napa Valley as it begins life as Gold Bar’s standard blended whiskey, followed by a cognac cask and toasted oak stave finishing. The 16 year old No. 117, skips the wine barrels, with the blend finished in cognac casks and toasted staves.

Whisky Advocate Says:
No. 273 more affordable of these two expressions is an American whiskey made from a mash of roughly 80% corn and 10% rye, with the remainder being malted barley. No. 117 is a more unique bottle of whiskey, marrying bourbon from an undisclosed source or location with Canadian rye whisky.