Kilchoman's New Price Friendly Whisky, Westland's Latest Cask Finishes, And More

From Scotland, this week's releases feature a new price-friendly Kilchoman expression, while Isle of Arran Distillers is celebrating the 30^th anniversary of its Lochranza Distillery with a limited release of just 30 casks. Among American whiskeys, Westland is out with the second annual release of its core wine and beer cask finished whiskeys, and Minnesota single malt maker Brother Justus has announced the third release in its Reserve series. Last but not least, Jim Beam has a new release called Jim Beam Sunshine Blend, a 40% ABV expression meant for lighter occasions.

Isle of Arran 30 Year Old Scotch Single Malt Casks

Price: £7,250 (roughly $9,500)

Scotch whisky maker Isle of Arran Distillers is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its Lochranza Distillery, and is marking the occasion by offering a limited commemorative release of 30 casks of Arran single malt. New make spirit with an ABV of 63.5% will be poured into first-fill palo cortado sherry casks on August 15—exactly 30 years to the day since Lochranza’s first cask was filled in 1995.

The Isle of Arran, which lies just off the west coast of Scotland on roughly the same latitude as Glasgow, is home to just two distilleries—Lochranza in the north and Lagg in the south—and both are owned by Isle of Arran Distillers. Since opening in 1995, Lochranza has been an unqualified success, making unpeated easy-drinking whiskies that appeal to both new and seasoned drinkers and scoring well with Whisky Advocate’s tasting panel. Lagg, its younger sibling, began production in 2019, and its first whiskies hit U.S. shores last year. Lagg offers smoky whiskies with high-phenol content. The Arran whiskies are aged in a variety of casks, including bourbon, sherry, and other wines.

While selling casks directly is something often seen with newer scotch whisky distilleries like Isle of Raasay, Ardnamurchan, and Nc’Nean. Arran is among the rare veterans in Scotland to do it, though Brown-Forman’s scotch whisky distilleries (Benriach, Glenglassaugh, and Glendronach) have offered single-barrel programs. For U.S.-based whisky lovers, buying a cask of scotch whisky from the source can be complicated unless you're a licensed member of the trade, but it can be done. We mapped out how you can do it in this story.

Arran estimates that the angels’ share taken from each cask will be about 2% annually (the evaporation rate may vary), and about 1% of the total barrel also will be lost during the bottling process. While the barrel entry proof will be 63.5%, the precise ABV of the bottled whisky will depend on when the bottling takes place.

Arran’s cask sales are run by Gillian Snaddon, who has over 20 years of experience in the field. These anniversary casks are priced at £7,250 each (about $9,500). All purchases include 10 years of insurance and storage. Further details of the program and a form to submit interest can be found here. Casks will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

Kilchoman Loch Gruinart Scotch Single Malt

ABV: 46%
SRP: $55
Availability: Limited, early October; imported by ImpEx Beverages

Islay farm distillery Kilchoman is launching Loch Gruinart single malt, touted as a budget-friendly younger sibling to its core Machir Bay expression. Loch Gruinart, named after an Islay nature reserve renowned for its many birds, comprises a blend of 4–6 year old peated (50 phenol parts per million) single malts that were aged in a mix of bourbon barrels (around 90%) and European oak sherry casks (around 10%). The initial release accounts for around 1,800 bottles.

We received an early sample of Loch Gruinart ahead of its October release, and it earned a 90-point rating from our tasters. Be sure to check out our full review of this whisky in our upcoming Fall issue, which will hit newsstands at the end of September.

Westland Beer Cask Finish American Single Malt (Batch No. 2)

ABV: 46%
SRP: $75
Availability: 12,840 bottles

Westland Wine Cask Finish American Single Malt (Batch No. 2)

ABV: 46%
SRP: $75
Availability: 9,048 bottles

For the second batch of its Beer Cask Finish American single malt, Westland blended its five-grain malt (comprised of Washington select pale malt, Munich malt, Extra Special malt, pale chocolate malt, and brown malt) with Washington pale malt, then aged the whiskey in a combination of new oak, bourbon, and rye barrels. The whiskey was then finished in four Pacific Northwest-sourced beer casks: stout/porter, brown ale, imperial Munich lager, and Foudre ale. Its minimum age is 6 years old, though some of the whiskey in the bottle is as old as 9.

The new Wine Cask Finish, meanwhile, features Westland’s five-malt mashbill and is first aged in a combination of first and second-fill American oak barrels. The finishing casks, all from Pacific Northwest wineries, previously held tempranillo, Washington red blend, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, and merlot wines. The youngest whiskey in the final blend is 5 years old, while the oldest is 9 years old.

Both whiskeys are available this month via Westland's website, with a nationwide rollout in September.

Brother Justus Founder’s Reserve 3 American single malt

ABV: 62.5%
SRP: $130
Availability: Limited

Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Brother Justus has crafted American single malt in the Midwest since 2014. Its Founder’s Reserve series highlights Minnesota’s natural resources, emphasizing the variety of flavors that come from the state’s water, malt, and oak. The series’ third release is, like its predecessors, made from 100% Minnesota pale ale malt, cut with water from the Mississippi River (which originates in northern Minnesota), and aged in barrels made from Minnesota white oak. About two-thirds of the whiskey was aged for 3 years in medium-char, 30-gallon barrels, while the final third was aged for 1 year in medium-char, 5-gallon barrels.

Founder’s Reserve 3 is available online, with shipping to most states. It can also be found at the Brother Justus Distillery and Cocktail Room in Minneapolis, and will soon be rolling out to retail stores across Minnesota.

Jim Beam Sunshine Blend

ABV: 40%
SRP: $20
Availability: Nationwide

The latest expression from Jim Beam is a blend of White Label bourbon and a bourbon that includes brown rice in its mashbill. According to the brand, this one was made with daytime social occasions like barbecues and sporting events in mind, hence the low ABV—and the name, of course. Beam recommends trying it on its own, or in a cocktail like a Highball or Bourbon Lemonade. This is a permanent offering, which will be available year-round going forward.