Laphroaig Elements 2.0, Balvenie Curious Casks, Hidden Barn, J. Mattingly

Scotch whisky makers might once have had a reputation for being staid, tweedy, and hidebound, but in the modern era they're anything but. Last week we reported on the releases of Arbeg Y2K and Glenmorangie The Cadboll Estate, and now we have a new Laphroaig experimental expression in Elements 2.0, as well as two new releases in Balvenie's Collection of Curious Casks—the latter quite limited, as seems to be the case all too often these days. For the high rollers, there's also a new 40 year old expression of Brora, a distillery exclusive of only 150 bottles, each priced at a cool $1,650. This release comes just past the third anniversary of Brora's reopening in the Northern Highlands. Scotch whisky lovers, perk up your ears: the distillate made at the new Brora right after it opened is now 3 years old, officially making it whisky. Diageo will keep it in the cellar for a long time to come. But if you travel to Scotland and visit the distillery you can get a taste on one of their tours. Details are below.

On the American whiskey front, we're pleased to see that Jackie Zykan, formerly the master taster at Old Forester and now master blender at Hidden Barn, is out with a new 7 year old bourbon from Neeley Family Distillery. And J. Mattingly has two new limited edition whiskeys that celebrate our nation's veterans.

Laphroaig Elements 2.0 Scotch Single Malt

ABV: 59.6%
SRP: $165/700ml
Availability: Nationally; imported by Suntory Global Spirits

Islay scotch whisky distillery Laphroaig has unveiled Elements 2.0, the second release in its Elements series following last October’s introduction of Elements 1.0. This is an exploratory series that plays around with different production techniques. Elements 2.0 focuses on the flavor impact of extending the fermentation period, which was doubled here from the standard 55-hour period to 115 hours, resulting in a fruiter version of Laphroaig.

The Elements 1.0 expression was an experiment with three different mashing and fermentation styles. It combined cloudy and semi-cloudy wort, while also deploying two different sized mashes: 8.5 tonnes (used before the 1990s) and 11 tonnes (today’s standard). The Elements 1.0 mashbill is also 100% Islay malt. The labeling on both features a catalog of the experiments that went into creating the whiskies and the team that made them.

The Balvenie 14 year old American Bourbon Barrel Scotch Single Malt

ABV: 47.8%
SRP: $115
Availability: Limited; imported to the U.S. by William Grant & Sons

The Balvenie 18 year old French Pineau Cask Finish Scotch Single Malt

ABV: 47.9%
SRP: $400
Availability: Limited; imported to the U.S. by William Grant & Sons

Balvenie has debuted a duo of new whiskies within its Collection of Curious Casks. The two new single malts highlight special cask finishes, as well as the collaborative efforts of malt master Kelsey McKechnie and warehouse and samples coordinator George Paterson. Both are single barrel offerings.

The 14 year old was originally intended as a single barrel 12 year old bottling; McKechnie and Paterson decided to keep it in the first-fill bourbon barrel for an additional two years after they picked up an intriguing smoky note, likely imparted as a result of being distilled after the distillery’s peat week, during which it distills a batch of peated malt.

The 18 year old single malt spent its first 10 years in a combination of bourbon barrels and European oak casks. Its final 8 years were spent finishing in French Pineau des Charentes casks, which were left over from former master blender David Stewart’s exploration into fortified wine finishing (which resulted in 16 year old Pineau des Charentes-finished Balvenie).

The Collection of Curious Casks has previously included the 17 year old New Spanish Oak Cask and 11 year old Hungarian Red Wine Cask single malts.

Hidden Barn 7 Year Old Bourbon

ABV: 52.45%
SRP: $80
Availability: Limited; online, at Neeley Family Distillery, and in CA, CO, GA, IN, KY, NM, and NY

Hidden Barn’s latest release is a 7 year old bourbon finished in French oak. The whiskey was made at Neeley Family Distillery from a mashbill of 70% corn, 20% rye, and 10% malted barley. It aged 5 years in barrels that were open-air seasoned for 24 months and then spent 2 years finishing in new charred French oak barrels. Master blender Jackie Zykan, who’s also among the founding members of the label, blended a total of five barrels for this release.

Launched in 2022, Hidden Barn is the brainchild of Zykan, Neeley Family master distiller Royce Neeley, and Nate Winegar and Matt Danker of Colorado’s 5280 Whiskey Society. While the brand started as a non-distilling producer, it’s since been folded into the Neeley Family lineup, and is now made at its Sparta, Kentucky distillery. This marks the first release distilled at Neeley Family, with Zykan pulling from the distillery’s older stock for the final blend.

15 Stars Triple Cask Bourbon (Batch 2)

ABV: 52.%
SRP: $179
Availability: Limited

Kentucky blending house 15 Stars has released a second batch of its Triple Cask bourbon. It’s a blend of 16 and 8 year old Kentucky bourbons that’s finished in three separate casks: cognac, rum, and apple brandy. The whiskeys were distilled in Bardstown, Kentucky.

Construction-wise, the liquid is similar to Batch 1, which scored 93 points with our tasting panel and featured the same age statements. But there’s a slight difference in the finishing casks this time around: The apple brandy casks are a new addition, replacing the port casks used in Batch 1. The rum and cognac finishes are unchanged.

This release should be a bit more accessible than the first. The announcement came alongside news of a distribution expansion into 15 states, which is expected to roll out through 2025.

J. Mattingly 10th Mountain Division Bourbon

ABV: 58%
SRP: $155
Availability: At the distillery and online

J. Mattingly POW/MIA Small Batch Bourbon

ABV: 58%
SRP: $155
Availability: At the distillery and online

Frankfort, Kentucky’s J. Mattingly 1845 Distillery has released two new limited bourbons, which celebrate veterans. 10th Mountain Division—named for a US Army light infantry division based out of Fort Drum in New York—is a blend of 7 year old bourbons. POW/MIA Small Batch comes in slightly younger, comprising a blend of 5 year old bourbons. Both were sourced from an undisclosed distillery.

Only 310 bottles of each expression were produced, and $20 of each purchase will be donated to one of two charities. 10th Mountain benefits Three Rangers Foundation and POW/MIA Small Batch contributes to Blue Skies for the Good Guys and Gals, both of which are nonprofits that aid military veterans and the families of fallen servicemen.

Brora 44 year old Untold Depths Single Malt Scotch

ABV: 49.1%
SRP: £10,000 (approx. $12,650)
Availability: Distillery Exclusive of 150 bottles

A second distillery exclusive bottling of Brora has been released, marking three years since the distillery re-opened. This single cask of Brora 44 year old was distilled in 1977 during Brora’s Age of Peat and matured in cask no. 2637 (the cask type is not specified). Brora’s Age of Peat ran from 1969–1981, and the phrase was first used on the Brora 1977 43 year old included in the Brora Triptych, released to celebrate the distillery’s reawakening. The new bottling is one of the oldest Brora single malts ever released and will likely be highly collectible, but it’s not the very oldest. Last year’s 95 point Prima & Ultima Brora release was another 1977 distillate but bottled at 45 years old, while the oldest release was the single 1.5-liter decanter of Brora Iris 1972 50 year old, which sold for $388,974 at The Distiller’s One of One auction in 2023. This bid was the fifth-highest hammer price achieved by a bottle of whisky during 2023.

Brora Distillery was the first of three major mothballed scotch whisky distilleries to re-open, with production restarting at Rosebank Distillery in 2023, and Port Ellen Distillery in 2024. The passing of three years since the first casks of Brora’s new era were filled with new make spirit is significant, as it means that those casks can now legally be called whisky. (Scotch whisky must be matured in oak casks for a minimum of three years.) Diageo has no plans to bottle any new Brora for many years to come, but it will be available to taste. Guests taking The Eras of Brora tour this summer, a 5 hour in-depth distillery tour of Brora’s past, present, and future (costing approx. $2,275 for 2 guests), will be among the first to try samples of the unreleased 3 year old Brora as part of its tasting experience.