American Whiskeys: Michter's Legacy Series, New Riff, Peerless and More [New Releases]

As we roll toward the July 4th weekend, there's plenty of Americana among this current crop of new releases. Separately, we've also put together a list of whiskeys that capture the spirit of July 4th, many through their part in the American story. As for this group, we have new expressions of the long-standing Michter's Legacy Series, a toasted barrel whiskey from Old Potrero and a toasted barrel bourbon from Peerless, a barrel proof rye from E.H. Taylor, and a new Babe Ruth commemorative edition from George Remus. From Scotland, we have another wine cask finished item from Glenmorangie, this one aged 23 years.

Not listed here is the partnership between Oregon-based Pendleton Whisky and the Bob Woodruff Foundation, a collaboration that began in 2021 and has just released a new Military Edition label to honor and support our veterans. A portion of every bottle sold (up to $100,000) will go to support veterans programs around the nation. The Bob Woodruff Foundation, which was founded after reporter Bob Woodruff was hit by a roadside bomb while covering the war in Iraq, has since raised nearly $90 million since its work began.

Glenmorangie Dr. Bill Lumsden x Azuma Makoto 23 year old

ABV: 46%
SRP: $1,350
Importer and Availability: Moet Hennessy USA; limited national distribution

Glenmorangie has released Dr. Bill Lumsden x Azuma Makoto 23 year old, its latest limited collaborative release. The label depicts a floral sculpture by Japanese botanical artist Azuma Makoto, inspired by the whisky and the concept of shinra bansho, or the concept of embracing all aspects of nature from ground to sky. For his part, Lumsden aimed to showcase the ways in which all aspects of nature can be utilized and embodied in creating a whisky.

The whisky itself is the classic Glenmorangie aged in bourbon barrels and then blended with Glenmorangie whisky finished in chardonnay wine casks from the Meursault appellation in Burgundy, France—the first time Glenmorangie has used chardonnay casks from Burgundy since its 12 year old Chateau de Meursault Wood Finish many years ago.

This is the second ultra-aged whisky released by Glenmorangie this year, following a 25 year old expression also finished in Burgundy casks, that one from the red wine appellation of Pommard. It's available exclusively in Travel Retail at London’s Heathrow Airport.

Shenk’s Homestead Kentucky Sour Mash Whiskey (2024 Release)

ABV: 45.6%
SRP: $110
Availability: Limited

Bomberger’s Declaration Kentucky Straight Bourbon (2024 Release)

ABV: 54%
SRP: $120
Availability: Limited

Michter’s has unveiled the newest batches of its Shenk’s Homestead and Bomberger’s Declaration whiskeys. The new Shenk’s is distilled from rye, malted rye, and caramel malt—a first for the series. It was aged in toasted oak barrels made with wood that comes from the Vosges region of France, which traditionally supplies wine barrels. Despite the mashbill, Shenk’s has to call itself an American whiskey rather than a rye because it’s aged in uncharred barrels.

The new Bomberger’s batch also includes some malted rye in its recipe and was aged in toasted and charred barrels made from Chinquapin oak. The oak staves were seasoned for 36 months—much longer than the 3–6 month average for American white oak—before they were used to build the barrels. While Chinquapin casks are the hallmark of the Bomberger’s series, Michter’s previously used them to age the 2021 and 2020 batches of Shenk’s Homestead as well.

The two expressions form the Legacy Series, which honors key figures in Michter’s history. Shenk’s Homestead is named after John Shenk, a Swiss Mennonite farmer who founded Shenk’s Distillery—the precursor to Michter’s original Pennsylvania distillery—in 1753. Bomberger’s Declaration gets its name from Abraham Bomberger, a Dutchman who purchased Shenk’s in the 1860s and renamed it after himself. Both bottlings are annual releases, with each new batch having slight differences from the one it follows.

Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Barrel Proof Rye

ABV: 63%
SRP: $78
Availability: Limited

The latest Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. whiskey is an uncut straight rye whiskey, made in the style that Taylor tapped more than 100 years ago. This marks only the second straight rye within the E. H. Taylor lineup, which also includes a bottled in bond straight rye—that whiskey uses the same recipe as this one.

Buffalo Trace created the Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. line back in 2011, in honor of the distillery’s founding father (who was also a notable founding father of the bourbon industry overall, having played an instrumental role in getting the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 passed). Many of the barrels selected for the collection come from Warehouse C, which was constructed by E.H. Taylor, Jr. in 1885.

Old Potrero Toasted Barrel

ABV: 51.2%
SRP: $65
Availability: Nationwide

Old Potrero Toasted Barrel Whiskey isn’t a brand-new concept to the San Francisco-based label—owner Hotaling & Co. previously made Old Potrero 18^th Century Style, a malted rye that was likewise aged in toasted barrels. That whiskey, however, was discontinued in 2016, and this new iteration sees a few changes to production.

Like all Old Potrero whiskeys, Toasted Barrel was distilled in a copper pot still from a mashbill of 100% malted rye. The whiskey was then aged for a minimum of 6 years in new, toasted oak barrels that were air-dried for 24 months (previously, 18^th Century Style was aged just two years). It’ll be available nationwide on a limited basis starting July 4.

The brand originally called the whiskey 18^th Century Style in reference to the barrel—in 18^th-century barrel making, coopers heated the staves over an oak chip-fueled fire, enabling them to shape the staves into a barrel. During that process, the barrel would become toasted, not charred; charring wasn’t invented until the following century.

New Riff Headliner Blended (2024)

ABV: 57.3%
SRP: $250
Availability: Lottery exclusive

New Riff turns 10 years old this week, and it’s celebrating with a special release that includes liquid from its very first batches of bourbon it distilled. Headliner is a blend of 10 and 9 year old bourbons, a 9 year old rye, and a 7 year old single malt. Those components are blended in a 45:20:30:5 ratio, and mirrors the distillery’s flagship bourbon mashbill of 65% corn, 30% rye, and 5% malted barley. The final blend is bottled at cask strength, a bit higher than the distillery’s trademark 50% ABV.

Some 700 bottles of Headliner were produced, which are available for purchase exclusively by lottery. It will run through July 7th, and interested parties will have to register via New Riff’s website. Each entry costs $5, and comes with a $5 voucher for the distillery’s tasting room: multiple entries can be purchased, but each winner can only purchase one bottle.

Winners will be notified via email on July 8th. Note that the bottles must be picked up from the distillery in New Port, Kentucky, and they must be paid for in advance. Half the proceeds of each bottle will be donated to three charities.

Peerless Toasted Bourbon (Batch 2)

ABV: 55%
SRP: $125
Availability: Limited; nationwide

Peerless released Batch 1 of its Toasted Bourbon just a few months ago, and this second batch keeps the processes of its predecessor in place. It’s aged in two separate oak barrels: The first is the distillery’s standard char level 3 barrel, where the aging whiskey spends 5 years, and the second is a medium-toast barrel (a barrel that’s been toasted for an hour). The bourbon is finished in the secondary barrel for one month.

Toasted Bourbon Batch 2 is set for release on July 13. It’ll be available on a limited basis across the U.S. and at the distillery in Louisville.

Remus Babe Ruth Reserve Bourbon

ABV: 55.5%
SRP: $150
Availability: Limited

Remus is out with a new bourbon made in honor of legendary baseball player Babe Ruth. It’s a blend of three bourbons from 2016, 2017, and 2018. Each bourbon has a high-rye mashbill, with rye contents ranging from 49% to 36%, which is said to contribute fig, brown sugar, mint, and warm cinnamon.

This whiskey is sure to be of interest to fans of baseball history. Beyond the baseball diamond label and bat knob-like topper, many of the other design choices took cues from the Sultan of Swat’s long career. The three blend components were chosen as a nod to Ruth’s jersey number 3, which the New York Yankees retired in 1948. Exactly 10,624 bottles were released, which is the same number of plate appearances he made over his career; each bottle comes with a QR code that, when scanned, displays what Babe did during that bottle’s corresponding plate appearance.

Wyoming Whiskey Independence Rock Bourbon

ABV: 49%
SRP: $80
Availability: Wyoming exclusive

Ahead of the Fourth of July, Wyoming Whiskey has introduced Independence Rock, a new Wyoming-exclusive, limited-edition bourbon that pays homage to the distillery’s first production on July 4, 2009, as well as its home state.

The bourbon was made from Wyoming-grown grains (as all the distillery’s releases are), with a mashbill of 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley. At 8 years old, it’s the distillery’s oldest Wyoming-exclusive release to date; its oldest-ever whiskeys have come in at 10 years old, including The Grand Single Barrels and the Ten Year Anniversary Edition bourbons.

Independence Rock was a prominent landmark on the Oregon, Mormon, and California trails, traversed by emigrants in the mid-1800s as they made their way west to the American frontier. Reaching the Rock by July 4 was a goal for these westward-bound travelers, as it signified a likelihood that they’d make it to Oregon or California before snow fell on the mountains. Many who made it to the rock inscribed their names on its surface, some of which can still be read today.

New Dawn Distilling 6 year old New York Bourbon

ABV: $80
SRP: 58.8%
Availability: California and DC retailers, and online

New Orleans-based New Dawn Distilling has debuted a new bourbon. The liquid was sourced and bottled by upstate New York-based Alton Distillery. Alton used local grains in the mashbill of 70% corn, 15% rye, 15% malted barley. It is presented at cask strength.

New Dawn Distilling was founded in 2023 by Dawn O’Neal, who holds a PhD in ecology and has a background in climate research. That history has informed the distillery’s mission statement, which puts sustainability front and center. It makes claim to a grain-to-glass approach because this whiskey is sourced from a distillery that uses local grains.

Five Springs Honey Sage, Maple, and Blood Orange Infused Bourbons

ABV: 35%
SRP: $35
Availability: Kentucky and New Jersey retailers, and online

Five Springs is a new line of flavored bourbon liqueurs, which has launched with three flavors: Honey Sage, Maple, and Blood Orange. The base bourbon was distilled by an undisclosed Kentucky distillery, which also handled the blending and flavor infusion using Five Springs’ recipe. Despite the labels that bill these as “bourbons infused with natural flavors,” the sub-40% ABV means these are not bourbons.

The Five Springs brand was launched by Lisa Sawyer Derman, a Kentucky native with over 30 years of experience in the spirits industry.