Heaven's Door Ascension, An American Single Malt From New Riff, & More [New Releases]

Among this week's new whiskies, Heaven's Door has released its first bourbon that includes distillate from its own backyard. Earlier this year, Heaven's Door announced plans to open a Kentucky distillery in the scenic town of Pleasureville, the heart of bourbon country. The Pleasureville distillery has actually been in development since 2017 and making small batches there since 2018 on a custom Vendome still. But in September the place will open its doors to the public, to reveal a campus with two separate stillhouses, a visitor center, tasting rooms, and other amenities. Back in 2019, Heaven's Door was mapping plans to open a distillery and brand center in a 160 year old church in Nashville, which it acquired in 2016. That site will now be used as the headquarters of The Heaven's Door Foundation, the company's philanthropy arm supporting charities and the arts.

Among other new releases, Kentucky distiller New Riff and Idaho-based Grand Teton Distillery have both dropped single malt whiskeys. While this is Grand Teton's second go at the style, it's the first single malt from New Riff, although the distillery has quietly been making single malts since it opened in 2014. Elsewhere, we have two tokaji barrel finished whiskeys—one from Yellowstone and the other from Indiana's Starlight Distillery— as well as the first rye whiskey from Penelope. Read on for full details.

Heaven’s Door Ascension
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 5 year old
ABV: 46%
Price: $55
Release: July 2023
Availability: Limited

Need to know:

This bourbon comes from two mashbills: one produced at Heaven’s Door Distillery in Pleasureville, Kentucky, and comprised of 76% corn, 15% rye, and 9% malted barley, and the other, a sourced straight bourbon, made up of 70% corn, 25% rye, and 5% malted barley. Ascension is aged upward of 5 years.

Whisky Advocate says:

Ascension joins the distillery’s core collection, which also includes Revival, a Tennessee straight bourbon; Revelation, a double-barreled, blended whiskey; and Refuge, a straight rye finished in amontillado sherry casks. While the other core whiskeys aren’t new, their names are, as is the packaging; Heaven’s Door just underwent a brand refresh, with the bottles now featuring the iron artwork of co-founder Bob Dylan. In addition to its new distillery in Pleasureville, Heaven's Door is opening a facility in a former church in downtown Louisville, which will serve as a live music venue and private event space in addition to having a restaurant and bar.

New Riff Sour Mash
Style: American single malt
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 7 year old
ABV: 55%
Price: $70
Release: July 2023
Availability: Limited

Need to know:

This is the first single malt from New Riff, and it’s a blend of five different mashbills. These malt whiskeys were then matured in a variety of barrels, including new charred oak, toasted oak, red wine casks, Portuguese brandy barrels, and sherry casks. The final blend was bottled at cask strength.

Whisky Advocate says:

When New Riff first started making whiskeys in 2014, malt whiskeys were in the mix. The malted barley is made using what co-founder Jay Erisman refers to as the Kentucky regimen—sour mashing, open fermentation, and distillation in a copper column still. Aside from Kentucky distilling traditions, head distiller Brian Sprance was aided by his 15 years of professional brewing experience, when he worked heavily with malted barley and fermentation processes. The distillery is now working with a total of six malt whiskey mashbills, which will go into a range of New Riff malt whiskeys as part of an annual Single Malt Project.

291 E Colorado Whiskey (Batch 12)
Style: Bourbon
Origin: Colorado
Age: Not stated
ABV: 60.8%
Price: $150
Release: July 2023
Availability: Limited; Colorado and online at 291coloradowhiskey.com and seelbachs.com

Need to know:

Batch 12 of Distillery 291’s Experimental series (E) is a four-grain wheated bourbon. The result of a blend of two barrels with two different mashbills: corn, malted white wheat, and rye malt distilled in 2018, and the other of corn, malted white wheat, and malted barley distilled in 2021.

Whisky Advocate says:

This is Distillery 291’s second wheated bourbon, following the release of Bad Guy in 2013. While a wheat whiskey must have at least 51% wheat in its mashbill, wheated bourbon has at least 51% corn, with wheat being the prominent secondary grain. Typically, wheated bourbons (sometimes referred to as wheaters) have a softer and slightly sweet profile. While names like Van Winkle and Weller are common, in addition to Distillery 291’s newest release, there are plenty of other wheated bourbons to try.

Grand Teton Private Stock
Style: American single malt
Origin: Idaho
Age: 7 year old
ABV: 50%
Price: $80
Release: July 2023
Availability: Limited

Need to know:

Made from 100% malted barley sourced from Idaho, this single malt was aged for seven years in barrels that previously held Grand Teton’s Colter’s Run bourbon.

Whisky Advocate says:

Grand Teton Distillery sits at an elevation of 6,000 feet, at the foothills of the Teton mountain range in Driggs, Idaho. This isn’t the distillery’s first American single malt; its first was aged four years, and while it too was aged in bourbon barrels, it was then finished in red wine barrels from Jackson Hole Winery. Launched in 2021, the Grand Teton Private Stock range features limited-edition, small-batch whiskeys, all of which are proofed with Rocky Mountain spring water.

Very Olde St. Nick Immaculata
Style: Bourbon
Origin: Not stated
Age: 15 year old
ABV: 59.05%
Price: $259
Release: July 2023
Availability: Limited

Need to know:

Immaculata is a 15 year old bourbon bottled at cask strengths between 115 and 120 proof.

Whisky Advocate says:

This bourbon is from Preservation Distillery, though it was sourced from a third-party distiller. Preservation is a small pot still whiskey maker located on a former tobacco farm in Bardstown, Kentucky, that was purchased in 2015 by Marci Palatella, CEO of California distributor International Beverage. Preservation's Very Olde St. Nick line, which has previously included Resurrection bourbon and Faith + Conviction, Winter Maple, and Winter ryes, consists of small-batch whiskeys that generally showcase ultra-aged stocks.

Four Branches Founders Blend
Style: Blended bourbon
Origin: Indiana and Kentucky
Age: Not stated
ABV: 48%
Price: $90
Release: July 2023
Availability: 18,000 bottles

Need to know:

The debut expression from Four Branches is a four-grain blended bourbon. The blend comprises three lots of MGP high-rye bourbon (aged for about 5 years) and two 4 year old wheaters—sourced from Green River and Wilderness Trail Distilleries.

Whisky Advocate says:

Four Branches was founded by four military veterans—Mike Trott (USAF), Alfred “Rick” Franco (USMC), Robert “RJ” Casey (US Army), and Harold Underdown (US Navy)—who have a passion for whiskey. This inaugural release was made under the guidance of Bardstown Bourbon Co. master distiller Steve Nally. Though only 18,000 bottles are currently available, Four Branches has already announced a second run this upcoming fall with plans to further support it as a core expression beyond that.

Starlight Straight Bourbon Tokaji Cask Finished
Style: Blended bourbon
Origin: Indiana
Age: 4 1/2 year old
ABV: 50%
Price: $75
Release: July 2023
Availability: Limited; distillery exclusive

Need to know:

Starlight's newest batch is a blended bourbon that’s been finished for seven months in first-fill Tokaji casks. The blend itself comprises two of Starlight’s own pot-stilled bourbons—a three-grain (60% corn, 20% rye, 20% malted barley) and four-grain (51% corn, 2% rye, 20% malted barley, 9% wheat) mashbills—which are aged for 4.5 and 5.5 years.

Whisky Advocate says:

Starlight Distillery, the spirit-making arm of Clark County, Indiana’s Huber Winery, has a history of releasing cask-finished expressions like this. All of their blended expressions follow the same two-mashbill formula, allowing the finishing vessel to do the talking. Noted examples include its Honey Barrel Finished rye, Brazilian Amburana Finished bourbon, Triple Sec Finished bourbon, and Double Oak Finished bourbon—which received a 90 from our tasting panel. This expression, along with the new Yellowstone expression covered below, marks the second tokaji-finished blended bourbon released this week.

Yellowstone Limited Edition 2023
Style: Blended bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not stated
ABV: 50.5%
Price: $100
Release: August 2023
Availability: Limited; nationwide

Need to know:

This limited release is a blend of three bourbons: 7 year old, 13 year old, and 16 year old, which is finished in tokaji casks. Though Yellowstone has just announced this new expression, bottles won’t hit shelves until August.

Whisky Advocate says:

Named for the famed national park, Yellowstone is the crown jewel of Limestone Branch Distillery’s portfolio. Part of the annual release series, this expression was finished using casks that once held tokaji—the sweet dessert wine made from the white grapes of Hungary’s Tokaji region. Although tokaji cask finishing isn't as common as port or madeira, some distillers have struck gold utilizing it. Standouts include Barrell Private Release No. AH02 and Glenmorangie Tale of Cake all of which scored 93 or above with our tasting panel.

Penelope Toasted Rye Barrel Finish
Style: Rye
Origin: Indiana
Age: 5 year old
ABV: 50%
Price: $70
Release: July 2023
Availability: 42,000 bottles

Need to know:

Penelope’s newest offering has a 100% rye mashbill, and has been aged for five years. It undergoes a six month finishing process in toasted American oak barrels. The liquid is sourced from MGP.

Whisky Advocate says:

This is the first rye whiskey to join Penelope’s bourbon-dominant portfolio; the rye is part of Penelope’s Toasted Series, which spotlights whiskeys that undergo a finish in toasted American oak. This is also the first Penelope expression released following its recent acquisition by MGP Ingredients.

Rare Hare Lucky Bastard
Style: Blend
Origin: Canada
Age: 30 year old
ABV: 44.5%
Price: $600
Release: July 2023
Availability: Limited; 2,500 bottles available for pre-sale at rareharespirits.com

Need to know:

This 30 year old Canadian whisky was sourced from an undisclosed distillery, bourbon barrel-aged in Vermont and Tennessee, and finished for 120 days in Pineau des Charentes casks. A fortified wine created by blending cognac and grape juice, the Pineau des Charentes finish is said to lend sweet and fruity flavors.

Whisky Advocate says:

Rare Hare is owned by PLBY Group, owner of Playboy. The brand was founded in 2021 and released its first whiskey in 2022, a 17 year old bourbon. Lucky Bastard is the second whisky in the Rare Hare portfolio which consists of limited releases. PLBY Group partnered with Spirits Investment Partners (SIP) to create Rare Hare. SIP was founded in 2015 by Marc Bushala, co-founder of Angel’s Envy, and its portfolio includes Heaven’s Door and Stolen.