Jack Daniel's Tequila Finished, Catoctin Creek Ragnarök, Garrison Brothers Laguna Madre & More [New Releases]

This week’s big news is a new tequila-finished Tennessee whiskey from Jack Daniel Distillery, though unfortunately the size of the release doesn’t quite match the magnitude of the headlines. The tequila finish is part of the Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series, a succession of experimental whiskeys that are packaged in 375 ml bottles and sold only at the distillery and a few Tennessee retailers. We wish Jack would make these experiments more widely available, but can’t complain, as we’ve seen some serious innovation from the Lynchburg, Tennessee distillery in recent years, including its 10 and 12 year old releases, as well as a Tennessee rye and a limited run American single malt.

Elsewhere, Garrison Brothers is out with Laguna Madre, its annual aged bourbon release that's highly sought-after. And it’s rock and roll time, as Catoctin Creek offers another release in its Ragnarök Rye series, and Lynyrd Skynyrd turns it up with Hell House, an MGP-made American whiskey named in honor of the band’s debut album. Read on for more details.

Catoctin Creek Ragnarök Rye: Oderus Edition
Style: Rye
Origin: Virginia
Age: Not stated
ABV: 46%
Price: $99
Release: August 2023
Availability: 2,500 bottles; in 26 states and online at www.reservebar.com

Need to know:
This release starts as Catoctin Creek’s Roundstone Rye (100% rye mashbill), but it’s aged in white oak barrels with sugar maple and cherrywood staves inserted. It also underwent about a 6-month finish in rum casks.

Whisky Advocate says:
This is the third release in Catoctin Creek Distilling Co.'s Ragnarök Rye series, which launched in 2021 as a collaboration with thrash metal band GWAR. Oderus Edition is a tribute to former GWAR frontman and lead vocalist Dave Brockie (better known to fans as Oderus Urungus). This year marks the 10th anniversary of Oderus’s passing, which this expression honors not only in name but also by using bottle art taken from Brockie’s own sketches. Previous collaborations between Catoctin Creek and GWAR include the first Ragnarök Rye, and the subsequent 2022 Batch.

Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series Selection #11
Style: Tennessee whiskey
Origin: Tennessee
Age: Not stated
ABV: 45%
Price: $42/375 ml
Release: July 2023
Availability: Limited; Tennessee exclusive

Need to know:
This Tennessee whiskey was finished in añejo tequila barrels; the barrels first held Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7, and were then sent to Mexico to age añejo tequila, then returned to Lynchburg to finish this latest Distillery Series release. The tequila maker in question is not disclosed, but it’s very likely Casa Herradura, which is owned by Jack Daniel parent company Brown-Forman.

Whisky Advocate says:
Previous American whiskeys with tequila barrel finishings have included Sagamore Spirit Distiller’s Select Tequila Finish Rye, and FEW Alice in Chains Spirits All Secrets Known Bourbon, so this is relatively uncharted territory. For Jack Daniel's, this the 11th release in the Distillery Series, which was formerly known as the Tennessee Taster’s Selection. The experimental series spotlights various parts of the whiskey-making process, with past releases, including Toasted Maple Barrel rye and Selection #10, also featuring unique finishes. All Distillery Series whiskeys are sold in 375 ml bottles, available at the White Rabbit Bottle Shop at the Jack Daniel visitor center and in select Tennessee stores.

Milam & Greene Rattlesnake
Style: Bourbon
Origin: Tennessee
Age: 7 year old
ABV: 63.82%
Price: $150
Release: July 2023
Availability: 168 bottles; exclusive to milamandgreenewhiskey.com and the distillery tasting room

Need to know:
This single barrel bourbon was distilled in Tennessee from a mashbill of 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% malted barley. The whiskey was barreled on March 8, 2016, in char #3 new oak, and bottled on July 5, 2023, at cask strength. Aged for a total of seven years and nearly four months, Rattlesnake spent five of those years in Tennessee, and the remainder in Blanco, Texas on the north side of Milam & Greene’s Rickhouse 1 in row 1, level 1, position 1. In its nearly two years in Texas, the barrel saw two hard freezes, two full summers with daily triple-digit temperatures, and extensive drought.

Whisky Advocate says:
Rattlesnake is the third whiskey in Milam & Greene’s Wildlife Collection of single barrels, which spotlights the impact of Texas Hill Country weather on the maturation process and pays homage to local Texas wildlife. The rattlesnake is the most common venomous snake in Texas; there are 10 different types of rattlesnakes throughout the state, and the most commonly found in Blanco is the western diamondback. Only 168 bottles of Rattlesnake are available, and they’re exclusive to Milam & Greene’s website and its tasting room in Blanco. Previous Wildlife Collection whiskeys include Bobcat and Scorpion, both 4 year old Tennessee bourbons; as with those releases, a portion of the proceeds from each Rattlesnake sale will go toward Texas Parks & Wildlife.

Garrison Brothers Laguna Madre (2023 Edition)
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Texas
Age: 8 year old
ABV: 50.5%
Price: $349
Release: July 2023
Availability: 2,100 bottles

Need to know:
The latest release of Garrison Bros.’ Laguna Madre straight bourbon doesn’t reinvent the wheel—like its predecessors, it aged for 4 years in new white oak, then an additional 4 years in French Limousin oak.

Whisky Advocate says:
Garrison Bros. first introduced Laguna Madre in 2020 as a charitable release aimed at drumming up donations to Good Bourbon for a Good Cause, which ultimately raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Texas hospitality workers during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, the charitable work continues, with Garrison Bros. driving awareness to Flatsworthy, a non-profit organization that seeks to improve the health and productivity of Texas bays through education, habitat restoration, and resource protection. This is a particularly apt collaboration, given that Laguna Madre is named after the waters that run along Texas’s Gulf Coast.

Dewar’s Double Double 37 Year Old
Style: Blend
Origin: Scotland
Age: 37 year old
ABV: 48%
Price: $1,800/375 ml
Release: October/November 2023
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
This whisky will be a holiday release, and will not be available until later this year, around October or November. In creating this whisky, master blender Stephanie Macleod first took single malts aged 27 years and batched them together into a blended malt. That blend was then further matured with Double Double 36 year old in madeira casks, before being finished together in oloroso casks that previously held Aultmore single malt.

Whisky Advocate says:
Dewar’s debuted its Double Double range in 2019, introducing Double Double 21, 27, and 32 year olds. Central to each Double Double whisky, aside from an ultra-age statement, is the four-stage maturation process, in which various single malts are aged separately, then blended together, then married with aged grain or blended scotch whiskies, and finally finished in sherry casks. This will be the oldest Double Double release yet, when it arrives just in time for the holiday season.

Hell House Whiskey
Style: American
Origin: Indiana
Age: Not stated
ABV: 45%
Price: $50
Release: July 2023
Availability: Online-exclusive at hellhousewhiskey.com

Need to know:
This whiskey, which is sourced from MGP, follows a bourbon-style mashbill (89% corn, 10% rye, and 1% malted barley). It’s finished by Bespoken Spirits using its proprietary microstave process.

Whisky Advocate says:
Hell House marks the first expression released by the legendary southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. The group’s debut album is turning 50 in two weeks, with this whiskey serving as a tribute. “Hell House” refers to an actual house—a cabin in Florida that the band used for rehearsals in their early years. The name stuck due to its lack of air conditioning in Florida’s blistering climate. For this release, the band partnered with Bespoken Spirits, a Californian operation that specializes in finishing whiskies. This marks the second recent musical collaboration of Bespoken’s, with Uncle Chicken’s (Whiskey Myers) launch last month. Hell House announced that more commemorative bottles may follow this one in the future.

Wyoming Whiskey Integrity: Alan K. Simpson
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Wyoming
Age: 7 year old
ABV: 48.5%
Price: $80
Release: July 2023
Availability: Limited; Wyoming-only release

Need to know:
Wyoming Whiskey releases a Wyoming-only expression each year in honor of a person, place, or thing iconic to the state. The 2023 release was made using a mashbill of 68% corn, 20% winter wheat, and 12% malted barley. Integrity is named in honor of former Wyoming senator Alan K. Simpson. Raised in Cody, Wyoming, Simpson graduated from the University of Wyoming, and then became second lieutenant in the Army (1954-56). He represented Wyoming as a U.S. congressman for 13 years, and then served in the U.S. Senate from 1979-1997. Last year he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Whisky Advocate says:
Founded in 2006, Wyoming Whiskey enlisted former Maker’s Mark distiller and current master distiller at Bardstown Bourbon Co. Steve Nally to get the distillery running and its first whiskey released. In 2018, Wyoming entered a partnership with Scotland-based Edrington, owner of Macallan, Highland Park, Glenrothes, and other labels. In April of this year, Edrington increased its stake from 35% to 80%.