New Bourbons: Maverick Distilling's Special Rodeo Edition, Four Gate's Batch 29 Triple Oak

Maverick Distilling Double Barrel Bourbon Rodeo Edition

In honor of the 75^th anniversary of the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, taking place February 8-25, 2024, Maverick Distilling has a new release, Rodeo Edition. This bottling pays homage to 6,000-plus volunteers who donate hours of their time to this event, which includes bull riding, concerts, a variety of other events, and food options, to welcome its roughly 1.5 million visitors each year.

Located a short walk from the Alamo, Maverick Distilling opened its doors in 2019 and produces whiskey, gin, and agave spirits. Its Rodeo Edition is made from Texas-sourced distillate with a mashbill of 72% Texas-grown corn, 18% rye, and 10% malted barley. Maverick aged the liquid in charred new white oak barrels at its distillery for 2 to 3 years before selecting and blending the choice barrels.

The blend was then finished in a Samuel Maverick Private Reserve straight bourbon barrel for 18 months. The final whiskey is non-chill filtered and bottled at barrel proof (57.5% ABV). Only 107 bottles were released beginning February 8^th and are available for purchase ($75) at the distillery.

Four Gate Batch 29 Triple Oak

Louisville-based blending house Four Gate Whiskey Co. was founded in 2018 with a focus on cask finishing. Four Gate tapped its neighbor Kelvin Cooperage, which has provided custom barrels from the beginning, and Bardstown Bourbon Co., which currently handles the company’s aging, blending, and bottling.

Four Gate, whose name is inspired by the slang term for the four-rail fencing seen in Kentucky horse country and around the state, has been a resounding success so far. A majority of its whiskeys have scored 93 or higher, with none ever falling below 90 points. Four Gate plans to keep the streak alive in 2024 by kicking off with a new triple-oaked whiskey.

Four Gate Batch 29 Triple Oak started its life as a straight whiskey, made at an undisclosed Kentucky distillery using a mashbill of 80% corn, 11% rye, and 9% malted barley. The whiskey was matured in used casks (likely bourbon), thus its designation as a straight American whiskey rather than a bourbon. It was 7 years and 2 months old when Four Gate took possession, and Four Gate then finished it for 5 months in new No.-2 char barrels, before transferring it to new medium toasted barrels for an additional 2 months. The final whiskey, which carries an age statement of 7 years and 9 months old, is bottled at 53.8% ABV.

Some 3,798 bottles of Batch 29 Triple Oak were produced. It’s set to launch on February 6th in retailers across 11 states, and online at seelbachs.com, sharedpour.com, and caskers.com with a suggested retail price of $199.