New Releases: Chattanooga Marks a Milestone and Bluegrass Launches a Blue Corn Bourbon

Chattanooga Founder’s 12th Anniversary Blend of Straight Whiskeys

ABV: 50%
MSRP: $60
Availability: Available at the Experimental Distillery starting April 26th, with a retail and online rollout to follow next month

Chattanooga Whiskey was a key player in the revitalization of Tennessee’s whiskey scene. When the distillery was founded in 2011, distillation was not permitted in Chattanooga—the result of a 1909 law that gutted most of Tennessee’s whiskey production. Founders Tim Piersant and Joe Ledbetter sourced liquid while they worked with lawmakers to lift the ban. Their campaign lasted two years but succeeded in the end, and the two began distilling their own bourbon in March 2015; each year, Chattanooga commemorates its history with a blended whiskey called Founder’s Blend. The newest iteration, 12th Anniversary, has just been announced.

The Founder’s series is somewhat unusual because each year the blend is made from whiskeys matured in three separate solera systems. The majority (60%) of 12th Anniversary is pulled from Barrel 91, which contains the distillery’s flagship high-malt bourbon made with three malt varieties. The next-largest parcel (28%) comes from Infinity Barrel, a blend of malt and rye malt whiskeys that changes from batch to batch, with this year’s made from six new mashbills including one made with a smoked rye malt.

The remaining 12% of this whiskey comes from a small solera called 1861, which contains the original MGP high-rye bourbon recipe soured by Chattanooga in its formative years. Last year’s Founder’s Blend scored a 92 with our tasting panel.

Bluegrass Distillers 6 year old Bottled in Bond Blue Corn Bourbon (Spring 2024)

ABV: 50%
SRP: $80
Availability: 825 bottles; available at the Bluegrass tasting rooms, in Kentucky retailers, and online via Bourbon Outfitter

Lexington, Kentucky-based Bluegrass Distillers was founded in 2012, and three years ago it acquired the historic Elkwood Farm in Midway, Kentucky, about 25 miles outside Lexington on the road to Frankfort, where it can grow its grains on-site, specializing in blue and yellow corn. Its latest release is Bluegrass Bottled in Bond Blue Corn bourbon.

Like previous Blue Corn batches, this one was distilled following Bluegrass’s mashbill recipe of 75% blue corn, 21% wheat, and 4% malted barley. Each batch has a different age statement, and this release is the oldest yet: blended from four barrels that were aged for 6 and a half years. While this batch is fairly small—just over 800 bottles—Bluegrass confirmed that it’s the first of two slated for this year, with the second expected in the fall.

Said to be nuttier than its yellow counterparts, blue corn has garnered some popularity from distillers—particularly grain-to-glass whiskey makers. Balcones emerged as an early pioneer with its Baby Blue and True Blue corn whiskeys, but Still Austin recently found success with a bonded blue corn bourbon that scored 92 points with our panel.