Diageo Distillers Edition, Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond, & More [New Releases]

On Monday, December 4, our countdown of the Top 20 Whiskies of 2023 begins! The reveal kicks off with whiskies 10, 9, and 8, followed by whiskies 7, 6, and 5 on Tuesday, December 5; whiskies 4, 3, and 2 on Wednesday, December 6; and the unveiling of our Whisky of the Year on Thursday, December 7. The entire Top 20 list, detailing the most exciting whiskies of the year, will be published on our site next Friday, December 8.

As for this week's new releases, perhaps a future Top 20 candidate is in their midst: Read on for full details of all the week has to offer, including the latest Diageo's Distillers Edition, Fuji Whisky's 30 year old Single Grain, Jack Daniel's Distillery Series Selection #12, and more.

SCOTCH

Diageo Distillers Edition 2023
Each year, Diageo releases its Distillers Edition versions of some of its most popular single malts. Generally speaking, they’re the same whiskies as the core expressions, but they all receive varying amounts of time finishing. Fortified wine casks are the star of the show, with these whiskies finished in either sherry or port casks. Here are the entries in this year’s collection:

Oban Distillers Edition
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Highlands)
Age: Not stated
ABV: 43%
Price: $95
Release: November
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
This Oban, distilled in 2009, was finished in montilla fino sherry casks.

Talisker Distillers Edition
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Islands)
Age: Not stated
ABV: 45.8%
Price: $85
Release: November
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
This Talisker was distilled in 2013 and finished in amoroso casks.

Lagavulin Distillers Edition
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Islay)
Age: Not stated
ABV: 43%
Price: $125
Release: November
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
This Lagavulin started as the 16 year old core expression, but was then finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks.

Cragganmore Distillers Edition
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Speyside)
Age: Not stated
ABV: 40%
Price: $85
Release: November
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
Distilled in 2011, this single malt was finished in port casks.

Dalwhinnie Distillers Edition
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Highlands)
Age: Not stated
ABV: 43%
Price: $90
Release: November
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
This year’s Dalwhinnie Distillers Edition was distilled in 2008 and finished in oloroso sherry casks.

Glenkinchie Distillers Edition
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Lowlands)
Age: Not stated
ABV: 43%
Price: $85
Release: November
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
Distilled in 2011, this whisky was finished in amontillado sherry casks.

Whisky Advocate says:
This is the third collection of annual limited releases from Dieago this year, with Prima & Ultima comprising the most rare and high-ticket items, followed by Diageo Distillers Editions and Special Releases, which are more moderately priced. The Distillers Edition has been around since 1997, but this marks the first time that the release year is not included on the labels. You may have noticed that the whiskies are the same as those in the Classic Malts range, but with the distiller highlighting a different finishing twist.

AMERICAN WHISKEY

Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond
Style: Straight Bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 8 year old
ABV: 50%
Price: $110
Release: November
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
This is the fall edition of Old Fitzgerald’s bi-annual bottled in bond release. Made from barrels filled in the fall of 2015.

Whisky Advocate says:
One of the great legacy names of bourbon, Old Fitzgerald was among the key brands, along with Old Weller Antique, made at Stitzel Weller Distillery, once owned by Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle. Today Old Fitzgerald is owned by Heaven Hill, while Old Weller Antique is made by Buffalo Trace. Both of those are wheated bourbons, just like the acclaimed Pappy Van Winkle brand. Old Fitzgerald has long since transitioned to a bi-annual release format. It’s a sought-after fan favorite, with all but one hitting scores of 90 points and above. Some bottles of Old Fitzgerald made at Stitzel Weller can still be found at auction.

Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series Selection #12
Style: Tennessee whiskey
Origin: Tennessee
Age: Not stated
ABV: 45%
Price: $42/375 ml
Release: November
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
The latest Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series is a straight Tennessee whiskey made from a mashbill of 80% corn, 12% malted barley, and 8% rye, and finished in oloroso sherry casks. Like all Tennessee whiskey, this was filtered through maple charcoal prior to entering barrels.

Whisky Advocate says:
Master distiller Chris Fletcher first experimented with oloroso sherry casks for Jack’s Twice Barreled American single malt, a limited release that debuted late last year. This Distillery Series Selection continued that experimentation, though it wasn’t selected by Fletcher but by whiskey taster Randall Fanning, who recently retired after nearly 50 years with the distillery. The series is a chance for Jack Daniel to flex its creative muscles; earlier this year, it released a Tennessee whiskey finished in tequila barrels, and before that, a Tennessee whiskey finished with toasted pecan woodchips.

WhistlePig PiggyBank
Style: Straight rye
Origin: Canada
Age: 10 year old
ABV: 55%
Price: $250/1L
Release: November
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
This 10 year old rye is sourced from Alberta Distillers Ltd. and packaged within a bespoke pig-shaped decanter that doubles as a piggybank.

Whisky Advocate says:
This is the second time WhistlePig has released this limited-edition decanter, which is inspired by Berkshire Bitter Pigs, a 19th-century antique. With this edition, WhistlePig is celebrating a year of giving back; since the release of the first PiggyBank in late 2022, the distillery has raised over $125,000 for various charities and non-profits, including Gumball 3000 Foundation, Turning Tables, Everybody Solar, Vanguard Renewables, Rally 2 Give, Food Education Fund, and Vermont community causes.

Conecuh Ridge
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Indiana
Age: 5 year old
ABV: 50.3%
Price: $50
Release: November
Availability: Nationwide

Need to know:
This bourbon is a celebration of the new Conecuh Ridge Distillery in Troy, Alabama, which will serve as the home of Clyde May’s Whiskey once it opens next spring. Clyde May’s currently consists of sourced whiskeys, coming from Indiana, Kentucky, and elsewhere; though this whiskey is from Indiana, it’s inspired by the first legal bottle of notorious moonshiner and bootlegger Clyde May’s Conecuh Ridge whiskey.

Whisky Advocate says:
Clyde May was peddling Conecuh Ridge long before its legalization. May got his start in Alabama moonshine back in the 1950s, producing around 300 gallons of Conecuh Ridge a week off a still of his own design, which is said to have made the quality considerably better than that of his counterparts. He continued making whiskey until the 1980s, and served but one prison sentence during his long career as an illicit distiller. May died in 1990, long before he could see the fruits of his labors become legitimized, but his son, Kenny, decided to honor his father’s legacy with the creation of a legal Conecuh Ridge whiskey in 2002. Today, Conecuh Ridge, aka Clyde May’s, is the official state spirit of Alabama; the brand is owned not by Kenny, who passed away in 2016, but by New York-based Conecuh Brands. The new Alabama distillery is located just 20 miles from where May first made moonshine.

TX Experimental Series Double Oak
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Texas
Age: Not stated
ABV: 49%
Price: $40/375 ml
Release: December
Availability: 1,300 bottles available at the distillery only

Need to know:
This is the seventh release in TX Whiskey’s Experimental Series which was launched in 2020. This bottling is finished in a charred and smoked barrel that is said to impart aromas and flavors of a Texas barbecue. The previous limited-edition, distillery-only expressions in the series included a rye, high-rye bourbon, blended straight bourbon, rum and cognac-finished bourbon, bottled in bond rye, and a bourbon finished in cabernet barrels.

Whisky Advocate says:
A launch party for this release will take place at the distillery on December 2^nd. Tickets can be purchased at frdistilling.com. Produced by Firestone & Robertson Distilling (founded in 2010) in Fort Worth, the TX whiskey label made its debut in 2012. In 2019 the distillery, its Whiskey Ranch, and the TX whiskey brand was acquired by Pernod Ricard, owner of Jameson and Redbreast Irish whiskeys, Aberlour and Glenlivet scotches, Jefferson’s and Smooth Ambler American whiskeys, and many more.

Lost Lantern Winter Wednesday Whiskey Drop
Style: Two blends, one American single malt, and one bourbon (four whiskeys)
Origin: Various
Age: Various
ABV: 53.5%66.5%
Price: $100-$150
Release: November 29
Availability: Lost Lantern Tasting Room in Vergennes, VT, seelbachs.com, and selected New York and Vermont retailers

Need to know:
This is independent bottler Lost Lantern’s winter release of four different expressions:

• Shadow: A blend of peated American single malts from Cedar Ridge (Iowa), Boulder Spirits (Colorado), and McCarthy’s (Oregon). 500 bottles, 63.15%, $100.
• Flame: A blend of smoked American whiskies from Santa Fe Spirits (New Mexico) and Whiskey Del Bac (Arizona). 400 bottles, 56.5%, $100.
• Mountain Meadow: An American single malt St. George Spirits (California) that blends four of the distillery’s casks. 600 bottles, 53.5%, $150.
•Brooklyn Bakery Kings County Distillery New York Straight Bourbon: 396 bottles, 66.5%, $100.

Whisky Advocate says:
This release picks up on Lost Lantern’s seasonal theming for its releases, following its Fall Single Cask Releases and Summer of Bourbon collections earlier this year. This Vermont-based independent bottler focuses on three whisky types from various craft distillers around the country: propriety blends, single cask, and single distilleries. Earlier this fall the company opened a tasting room and production facility in Vergennes, Vermont, which is located about 30 minutes from Burlington. The new tasting room offers flights of Lost Lantern expressions, with each featuring four whiskeys and priced at $10-$25 per flight.

Hartman’s Distilling Co. Cotter’s Cask
Style: Blended bourbon
Origin: Indiana
Age: 6 year old
ABV: 61.15%
Price: $100
Release: November
Availability: 500 bottles; available at the distillery and New York retailers

Need to know:
This whiskey comprises a 5 year old blend of straight high-rye and high-wheat bourbons sourced from MGP. The blend was aged for an additional year onboard the Edward M. Cotter, a fireboat used by the Buffalo Fire Department and a registered U.S. historical landmark, as it patrolled around Lake Erie and the Buffalo Harbor.

Whisky Advocate says:
The practice of finishing whiskey on a boat may sound odd on paper, but we’ve seen quite a few whiskey makers turn to it in recent years. The Wickliffe, Kentucky-based O.H. Ingram ages its whiskeys on ”floating rickhouses”, in the form of repurposed barges. Jefferson’s Ocean Aged series features whiskeys that were aged on ships that travel to ports all around the globe, subjecting them to very different climates. Kaiyo whisky spends 3 months in mizunara casks on the ocean once they depart from Osaka. Proponents claim that the constant rocking from the waves and subsequent increase in contact between whiskey and wood create interesting notes that can’t be matched by aging on dry land.

Sagamore Spirit Port Finish (2023)
Style: Blended rye
Origin: Indiana
Age: 9 year old
ABV: 51.5%
Price: $100
Release: November
Availability: Limited; available at the distillery and retailers nationwide

Need to know:
Baltimore, Maryland’s Sagamore Spirit has unveiled a new edition of its Port Finished rye. It’s a blend of MGP ryes, made following two separate high-rye and low-rye mashbills, which were aged for 6 years. It undergoes a 3 year finish in port barrels from Boordy Vineyards in Maryland.

Whisky Advocate says:
This expression is Sagamore’s third Port Finished rye. The distillery, which was recently acquired by Illva Saronno, is one of the driving forces behind the rye revival in Maryland. During its early years, Sagamore sourced the entirety of its distillate from MGP while its own stocks aged. Many of its first expressions, including the first Port Finished Rye which launched in late 2018/early 2019, were sourced from MGP. The distillery has been gradually phasing out its sourced liquid, but older expressions like this one will likely still use it for some time. Some of Sagamore’s recent expressions, such as Raven’s Home Reserve, and 3 year old Penny’s Proof, are made entirely of its own make.

Rebel Small Batch Reserve
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 4 year old
ABV: 55%
Price: $35
Release: December
Availability: Nationally

Need to Know:
This new release uses the same wheated mashbill as other bourbons in the Rebel lineup but is drawn from higher-quality barrels selected by master distiller John Rempe. It’s also unique among Rebel’s whiskeys for its higher proof; at 55% abv, it’s the highest-proof bottling in the lineup.

Whisky Advocate says:
Rebel’s affordably priced whiskeys have scored well in the past with our tasting panel. This fall, the panel awarded Rebel’s 100-proof rye 91 points and, at around $20 a bottle, the whiskey is a steal.

Three Chord Backstage Series

Three Chord Dinosaur Jr.
Style: Blend
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 2 year old
ABV: 48.3%
Price: $50
Release: November
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
A new release in the Backstage Series comprises a blend of whiskeys from Kentucky: an 8 year old corn whiskey and two bourbons aged for 2 and 6 years, which were married and finished in a toasted barrel.

Three Chord Theory of a Deadman
Style: Blended bourbon
Origin: Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee
Age: 6 year old
ABV: 46.7%
Price: $60
Release: November
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
This is a blend of 6 year old straight bourbons sourced from Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee.

Three Chord Halestorm
Style: Blend
Origin: Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee
Age: 2.5 year old
ABV: 45%
Price: $50
Release: November
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
Out of all the blends in the series, Halestorm’s has the most components:

• 6 year old Kentucky bourbon
• 6 year old Indiana bourbon
• 2.5 year old Tennessee bourbon
• 8 year old Kentucky corn whiskey

The entire blend was finished in toasted barrels.

Three Chord Lucero
Style: Blend
Origin: Tennessee
Age: 2 year old
ABV: 48.3%
Price: $50
Release: November
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
A blend of Tennessee whiskeys: a 2 year old, a 3 year old, and a 6 year old blended in a 2:2:6 ratio.

Three Chord Black Stone Cherry
Style: Blend
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 2 year old
ABV: 49%
Price: $50
Release: November 2023
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
This is a blend of 8 year old corn whiskey and a 2 year old bourbon, both of which were sourced from Kentucky. It too was finished in toasted barrels.

Whisky Advocate says:
Three Chord Whiskey was founded by producer/musician Neil Giraldo and, given his status as a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, musical collaborations were inevitable. These five whiskeys, along with The Cadillac Three and Goodbye June, were all made in partnership with music artists from different genres—from rock groups like Theory of a Deadman and Halestorm, to the more indie/alternative Dinosaur Jr. The entire collection comprises 12,000 bottles, but the exact breakdown of availability per expression hasn’t been disclosed. Three Chord calls these seven expressions its “inaugural class,” implying that we just may see more collaborative blends in the future.

Broken Barrel Honey Smoke Reserva
Style: Finished whiskey
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 6 year old
ABV: 55%
Price: $80
Release: November
Availability: 1,900 bottles; CA, IN, KY, MN, OK, and SC

Need to know:
The newest expression from the Los Angeles-based Broken Barrel features 6 year old whiskey sourced from Kentucky, which follows a 99% corn and 1% malted barley mashbill. It spends 5 months in a tank filled with staves from both honey barrels and sotol casks.

Whisky Advocate says:
While we’ve seen plenty of whiskies finished in honey barrels, sotol casks are a far rarer sight. The only other sotol cask-finished whiskey in recent memory is 2021’s WhistlePig Sasquatch Sighting #7, a rye that spent roughly 3 months in the casks. Sotol is a spirit distilled from dasylirion, a plant that’s part of the asparagus family. The spirit itself is thought to be a not-so-distant cousin of mezcal, both in how it’s made and how it tastes. It has denomination of origin status in Mexico but production has recently started to break out in the States, with Desert Door Distillery in Driftwood, Texas touted as the only distillery in the U.S. making it. Last year, Desert Door partnered with neighboring Garrison Brothers to release a sotol finished in Cowboy Bourbon barrels.

COLLECTIBLES

FUJI 30 year old Single Grain
Style: Single grain
Origin: Japan
Age: 30 year old
ABV: 46%
Price: $3,000
Release: December 2023
Availability: 100 bottles for the U.S. available in CA, DC, FL, GA, IL, MA, NY, TX

Need to know:
Fuji Whisky is releasing another 100 bottles of its 30 year old single grain in honor of the 50^th anniversary of the Mt. Fuji Distillery in the city of Gotemba. This Canadian-style grain whisky was distilled from a mash of corn and barley using a batch distillation method with the distillery’s ‘kettle & column’ still configuration, and matured in first and second-fill bourbon barrels.

Whisky Advocate says:
Fuji 30 year old Single Grain is a blend of multiple Canadian-style grain whiskies distilled at the Mt. Fuji Distillery and matured in Japan. It has been aged for more than 30 years, with some components aged for up to 40 years. This another chance to buy, but it's the same whisky that received 94 points from our tasting panel last year. Fuji will continue its celebration of the distillery’s 50^th anniversary by releasing a new limited edition Fuji single malt in spring 2024, which will include malt from 1973 in a recipe containing whiskies form each of the past five decades.

Midleton Very Rare Dair Ghaelach Kilranelagh Wood
Style: Single pot still
Origin: Ireland
Age: Not Stated
ABV: 56.8%–57.5%
Price: $490
Release: December 2023
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
The fifth chapter in the Irish Oak finishing series draws on Midleton Distillery’s light, medium, and heavy single pot still styles of Irish whiskey. These were initially matured in bourbon barrels before being finished for 20 months in new Irish oak hogsheads coopered from 6 oak trees felled in Kilranelagh Wood in Co. Wicklow. The individual ABVs for each bottling are as follows: Tree 1 – 57.0%, Tree 2 – 56.9%, Tree 3 – 57.1%, Tree 4 – 57.1%, Tree 5 – 57.5%, Tree 6 – 56.8%.

Whisky Advocate says:
The Dair Ghaelach project unites themes of biodiversity, sustainability, and traceability around Irish oak, a precious resource, with each tree being hand-picked before felling. Each tree can yield 5 or 6 hogsheads, and each bottle can be traced back to an individual tree. Similar to the new presentation of Midleton Very Rare Vintage 2023, the bottles are packaged in a fully recyclable box rather than the wooden boxes used for the earlier Dair Ghaelach releases from Bluebell Forest, Knockrath Forest, and Kylebeg Wood.

Rabbit Hole Founder’s Collection Amburana
Style: Bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 12 year old
ABV: 62.7%
Price: $1,100
Release: November
Availability: 2,176 bottles; available at the distillery, in 31 states, and online at rabbitholedistillery.com

Need to know:
Rabbit Hole’s newest bourbon has a mashbill of 78% corn, 12% malted barley, and 10% rye, and. It was aged for 12 years before undergoing a finish in virgin amburana casks. Each bottle is individually numbered, and comes with a wooden display box.

Whisky Advocate says:
The Rabbit Hole Founder’s Collection comprises some of the most exclusive and expensive whiskeys produced by this Louisville, Kentucky-based distillery. Some of the collection’s bottlings are cask-strength versions of Rabbit Hole’s core lineup (including its Boxergrail rye and Dareringer bourbon), but we've seen plenty of standalone expressions too. Those bottlings almost always, like this one, feature a unique cask finish. Examples include the French oak-finished Nevallier and the Japanese oak-finished mizunara.

House of Hazelwood The Huntsman Blend 50 year old
Style: Blend
Origin: Scotland
Age: 50 year old
ABV: 43.8%
Price: $8,900
Release: December 2023
Availability: Limited release of 75 bottles

Need to know:
House of Hazelwood is releasing a new 50 year old blended scotch in partnership with Huntsman, to commemorate the 175^th anniversary of the iconic Savile Row bespoke tailoring house in London.

Whisky Advocate says:
House of Hazelwood creates unique and unrepeatable whiskies to honor the owners of William Grant & Sons using stocks of whisky laid down by previous generations of the family. Paying homage to craftsmanship, heritage, and bespoke practices, Campbell Carey, Huntsman’s cutter and creative director, has designed a House of Hazelwood tweed inspired by the dunnage warehouses and Speyside countryside surrounding Hazelwood House, the family home near Dufftown where William Grant’s granddaughter Janet Sheed Roberts used to live. Each bottle of The Huntsman blend comes with a hipflask bound in the new tweed and two miniatures of the whisky for sampling, while the House of Hazelwood tweed cloth is available for bespoke commissions for jackets and suits from Huntsman.