Innovations from Jameson, Woodford, WhistlePig & More [New Releases]

While nearly all the innovation at the Irish Distillers campus in Midleton, Ireland, has been coming from its Micro Distillery—the facility dedicated to experimentation—some of that work is being carried over to the core whiskeys. In one major example, flagship Jameson is preparing to release its first-ever whiskey partly matured in chestnut casks. Elsewhere, Woodford Reserve celebrates the 20^th anniversary of its Master’s Collection with a new bourbon finished in madeira casks, while WhistlePig is out with the 11^th edition of its annual Boss Hog release—this one a single barrel finished in thandai barrels. Westland is offering the 9^th release of its Garryana expression, and Impex is now on the 4th edition of The Impex Collection, its curated assemblage of single cask whiskies from Scotland and around the world.

Woodford Reserve 2024 Master’s Collection: Madeira Cask Finish

ABV: 45.2%
SRP: $180/700 ml
Availability: Limited

This year’s Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection takes Woodford wheat whiskey and blends it with bourbon and rye finished in madeira casks. Master distiller Elizabeth McCall wanted a special finish to commemorate the 20th edition of Master’s Collection, and she took inspiration from Woodford’s early adoption of wine cask finishes for bourbon back in 2007. Madeira is a fortified wine from the Portuguese island of Madeira.

Woodford master distiller emeritus Chris Morris created the Master’s Collection in 2004 as a way to incorporate more experimentation into the distillery, playing around with various elements of flavor creation, among them maturation and proofing. The new whiskey is available on a limited basis throughout Kentucky, as well as at the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles. It’s also available for shipping to New Hampshire, North Dakota, Nebraska, and Washington, D.C.

Westland Garryana Edition 9 American Single Malt

ABV: 50%
SRP: $150
Availability: Limited

Westland’s exploration of Quercus garryana, an oak species native to the Pacific Northwest, continues with the release of the ninth edition of its Garryana label. This year’s mashbill is comprised of Washington select pale malt, Munich malt, extra special malt, pale chocolate malt, and brown malt. The biggest change from previous editions is in the maturation—this whiskey was finished in a combination of casks, including virgin garryana oak barrels, first-fill bourbon barrels, and, in a first for Westland, first-fill oloroso casks. Previously, the distillery turned to Pedro Ximénez casks for its Garryana releases. The whiskey aged for a minimum of 5 years.

Garryana Edition 9 will be available exclusively at the Seattle distillery starting Saturday, November 9. The following Monday, November 11, the whiskey will be accessible via Westland’s online shop, and it’ll land at retailers nationwide by Friday, November 15. Just 6,600 bottles are available. The 8th edition of the Garryana was our No.-3 whisky of 2023.

WhistlePig The Boss Hog XI: The Juggernaut Straight Rye

ABV: Varies
SRP: $600
Availability: Limited

WhistlePig’s latest Boss Hog whiskey is a sourced Canadian rye that ages first in new oak before being finished in bespoke thandai barrels. A cold milk-based drink native to India and Pakistan, thandai incorporates flavors of saffron, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, fennel, poppy, and black peppercorn; the WhistlePig team was inspired to create a barrel evocative of those flavors—and did so by seasoning the wood with spices—after coming across the drink during Holi celebrations in Jaipur, India. The spices used to season the casks were sourced from Khari Baoli, the largest spice market in Asia. According to WhistlePig, this is the world’s first-ever thandai-finished whiskey.

This is a single barrel whiskey, so ABV will vary from 51.9%-52.6% depending on the bottle. As with all editions of The Boss Hog, this release is limited, with just 127 barrels created.

Jameson Triple Triple Chestnut Edition Irish Blend

SRP: $29
ABV: 40%
Availability: Early 2025; imported by Pernod Ricard USA

There’s a new Jameson innovation headed our way early next year. Jameson Triple Triple Chestnut Edition is a triple-distilled blend of single pot still and single grain whiskeys from Midleton Distillery matured in three cask types: bourbon, oloroso sherry, and sweet chestnut casks. Unlike Scotland, Ireland’s whiskey regulations permit the use of any type of wood casks for whiskey maturation whereas scotch rules stipulate oak casks must be used. Jameson’s master distiller Kevin O’Gorman has been exploring the flavor impact of chestnut casks on Irish whiskey for many years. Until now, it has largely been reserved for Method and Madness releases, its more experimental range, where chestnut was used to finish the label’s 95-point French chestnut release and the 90-point Japanese chestnut expression. Jameson Triple Triple was originally a Travel Retail-exclusive, rated 89 points, that was matured in bourbon, oloroso sherry, and Malaga wine casks, so this is the first time in five years that Jameson has brought out a new Triple Triple expression. The new creation marks the first use of chestnut casks for Jameson, which are said to add velvety notes of toffee, cacao, and toasted almonds to the blend.

The ImpEx Collection Edition Four

Royal Brackla 2011 12 year old Highland Single Malt Scotch Single Cask (No. 110000245), 58%, $120 (282 bottles)

Dailuaine 2009 14 year old Speyside Single Malt Scotch Single Cask (No. 312079), $140, 56.8% (250 bottles)

Strathmill 2009 14 year old Speyside Single Malt Scotch Single Cask (No. 802952), $140, 57.5% (272 bottles)

Benrinnes 2011 12 year old Speyside Single Malt Scotch Single Cask (No. 306532), $120, 58.9% (273 bottles)

Indri 7 year old Red Wine Cask Single Cask (No.1746) Indian Single Malt, 53.5%, $175 (175 bottles)

Pōkeno 2020 3 year old Amontillado Cask Single Cask (No.20–26) New Zealand Single Malt, 58.5%, $125 (330 bottles)

Availability: Limited; select retailers and reservebar.com

The fourth edition of the ImpEx Collection, first launched in 2021, consists of six cask strength single cask independent bottlings selected and imported by ImpEx Beverages. This collection goes beyond the familiar scotch distillery names to help whisky lovers discover exciting world whiskies and unusual expressions from Scotland. Edition Four is no exception, with four single malt scotch picks, and single cask selections from Indri from Haryana in northern India, and Pōkeno on the North Island of New Zealand.