New Releases in American Whiskey From Laws, Widow Jane, Hard Truth, Frey Ranch & More

In order to give us all a chance to consider this latest round of new releases as closely as possible, we've decided to separate them into two installments. Today we'll cover the landscape of new expressions in American whiskey, and on Monday we'll report on the latest from Scotland, Japan, and elsewhere in the world. For the American side, there's much ado about the barrel, as so many of these releases feature a variety of cask finishings and longer barrel agings, some of them unusual. Also, Widow Jane digs into the cellars for some of its most aged liquid, and we note with interest that Frey Ranch is out with an American single malt. We haven't scored that one yet but can confirm from preliminary tastings that it's a good one, though unfortunately its volumes are tiny, and are sold only at the distillery and on their website. There's plenty more to take in here, so enjoy.

Widow Jane Decadence
Style: Blend of straight bourbons
Origin: Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana
Age: Not stated
ABV: 45.5%
Price: $100
Release: November
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
An annual release, Decadence is Widow Jane’s signature bourbon blended in small batches and finished in casks that once held Crown Maple Syrup for around three months. The whiskey originally debuted in spring 2020, and has since been released on a regular, limited basis; each batch selling out within a matter of days.

Widow Jane Lucky Thirteen
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana
Age: 13 year old
ABV: 46.5%
Price: $125
Release: November
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
While Lucky Thirteen started as a private single barrel program, it’s now offered in small batches, comprised of just a handful of barrels at a time. At 13 years old, it’s one of Widow Jane’s oldest regular releases on offer, like Decadence, it tends to go quickly. The liquid is sourced from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana (MGP).

Whisky Advocate says:
Widow Jane is based in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood, and while it has ramped up whiskey production in New York, it still has a considerable stock of barrels from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana. The distillery emphasizes its natural mineral water source, which is the mines of Rosendale, a town in upstate New York. These mines are also where the distillery gets its name—according to the local story, the mines were left to a wealthy widow, Jane.

Hard Truth Sweet Mash Rye French Oak Cognac Finished
Style: Finished rye
Origin: Indiana
Age: Not stated
ABV: 54%
Price: $100
Release: November
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
This whiskey is a blend of three barrels. It was finished in VSOP cognac casks for about two months.

Hard Truth Sweet Mash Rye Pedro Ximénez Brandy Finished
Style: Finished rye
Origin: Indiana
Age: Not stated
ABV: 57%
Price: $100
Release: November
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
This batch comes from two barrels, and it was finished in casks that originally held Pedro Ximénez sherry for 17 years, and were later emptied and refilled with brandy de Jerez. The whiskey spent two months within these barrels.

Hard Truth Sweet Mash Rye Pedro Ximénez Sherry Finished
Style: Finished rye
Origin: Indiana
Age: Not stated
ABV: 56.65%
Price: $100
Release: November
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
Three barrels were selected for this release, which was finished in Pedro Ximénez casks for around three months.

Hard Truth Sweet Mash Rye Sauternes Wine Barrels Finished
Style: Finished rye
Origin: Indiana
Age: Not stated
ABV: 55%
Price: $100
Release: November
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
This whiskey also comes from three barrels. It was finished in sauternes casks—a French sweet white wine, these casks impart notes of sweet pastry, raisin, baking spice, and candied fruit.

Whisky Advocate says:
No matter the finish, every whiskey in the Hard Truth Barrel Finished Reserve series is made with a mashbill of 94% rye and 6% malted barley. Hard Truth, which is headquartered in Nashville, Indiana, sets itself apart from many other American whiskeys by using sweet mash in distillation—every distillation cycle starts from scratch with fresh yeast. The more widely used technique is sour mash, wherein mash from a previous batch of distillate is used to kickstart the fermentation of a new batch, namely because it’s cheaper and less labor intensive.

Town Branch Maple Barrel Stout Finished
Style: Bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not stated
ABV: 47%
Price: $70
Release: November
Availability: Limited; nationally

Need to know:
Town Branch, the distilling arm of Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co., has announced its Life of the Barrel: A Tale of Two Maples—a tandem release of maple barrel stout-finished Town Branch bourbon and Kentucky Maple Barrel Imperial stout ($20/4-pack cans). Last year’s release of the bourbon was finished for one year in freshly dumped Kentucky Maple Barrel Imperial stout barrels. This year, it’s bottled with an additional year of finishing.

Whisky Advocate says:
As a brewery and distillery, Lexington has the luxury of recycling barrels between its two operations. In this case, the barrels were first used to age bourbon, then filled with maple syrup, filled again with the brewery’s imperial stout for 18 months, then Town Branch bourbon. The bourbon starts as Town Branch’s flagship mashbill of 72% corn, 15% rye, and 13% malted barley. Bourbon and beer lovers will want to pick up both!

Frey Ranch American Single Malt Smoked
Style: American single malt
Origin: Nevada
Age: 6 year old
ABV: 55%
Price: $60
Release: November 6, 2023
Availability: Limited; available at freyranch.com

Need to know:
Frey Ranch’s first peat-smoked American single malt was distilled entirely from grains grown on the distillery’s farm. The whiskey is set to be available next week, in 375 ml bottles, from the Frey Ranch website.

Whisky Advocate says:
Fallon, Nevada’s Frey Ranch Farmers + Distillers has quickly become one of the leaders in the farm distilling movement. With this release, the operation really showed its dedication to keeping every part of the whiskey-making process in-house. In addition to growing his own grains, owner Colby Frey also made his own peat from decomposed corn stalks from the farm, which were dried in bread pans. He also fashioned his own smoker from a grain silo and fireplace. Frey Ranch teases that this will be the first of many more smoked whiskeys to come, with a rye and oat whiskey on the way soon.

Laws Four Grain Cognac Foeder Finish (2023)
Style: Blended bourbon
Origin: Colorado
Age: 4–8 year olds
ABV: 47.5%
Price: $80
Release: October 2023
Availability: 2,418 bottles

Need to know:
This year’s iteration of Laws’s Cognac Foeder Finished bourbon comprises a blend of whiskeys aged between 4 and 8 years. The blend is entirely composed of Laws Four Grain bourbons which are first matured for 2 years in virgin oak, with some undergoing a cognac cask finish. After, the whiskeys are married in a 50 year old French Oak foeder using a solera system.

Whisky Advocate says:
Though solera maturation is traditionally used in sherry production, it’s gained popularity among whisky makers. Solera maturation is the method by which large vats are filled with a liquid, which is harvested in sections over a long span of time. As a measure of old liquid is removed, new liquid is added in to replace it, functionally creating a blend as time goes on. The older portion of this release’s blend is the exact same liquid that was bottled as the inaugural bottling of the expression, which debuted back in 2017.

Laws Origin Series Cornerstone
Style: Straight rye
Origin: Colorado
Age: Not stated
ABV: 57.5%
Price: $130
Release: November
Availability: Laws Whiskey House Tasting Room, lawswhiskeyhouse.com, CA, CO, FL, IL, and TX

Need to know:
This limited release, part of the Origin series, was bottled in honor of Laws Whiskey House’s tasting room that is planned to open next year. This bottling consists of ryes made from two mashbills—a 95% heirloom San Luis Valley rye and 5% heirloom barley and the other, a 100% San Luis Valley rye—blended from nine barrels ranging from 5 to 10 years old. This marks the first Laws release comprised of a wide age range of whiskeys.

Whisky Advocate says:
Located in Denver, Colorado, Laws Whiskey House was founded in 2011 with a focus on terroir-driven whiskeys. The corn, rye, wheat, and barley used in Laws whiskeys are grown at two Colorado family farms. In the case of Cornerstone, the grains come from Cody Family Farm located in San Luis Valley. At 7,500 feet of elevation and farmed from the soil of what was a prehistoric lake, there are distinct notes of minerality from the calcium and mineral-rich soil.

Penelope Rosé Cask Finish Batch 7
Style: Finished bourbon
Origin: Indiana
Age: Not stated
ABV: 47%
Price: $50
Release: October 2023
Availability: Limited; available in 41 states

Penelope 15 year old American Light Whiskey (2023)
Style: Light whiskey
Origin: Indiana
Age: 15 year old
ABV: 64.2%
Price: $90
Release: October 2023
Availability: Limited; available in 41 states

Penelope Toasted Straight Bourbon Batch 23-305
Style: Finished bourbon
Origin: Indiana
Age: 4 year old
ABV: 50%
Price: $70
Release: October 2023
Availability: Limited; available in 41 states

Need to know:
Penelope Bourbon is toasting the fall season with the introduction of new batches for two of its limited, cask-finished expressions: Rosé Cask Finished bourbon and Toasted Straight bourbon. It has also re-released Penelope American light whiskey, which hasn’t been seen since 2021.

Whisky Advocate says:
The forerunners of these three expressions are all noteworthy for one reason or another. The first Rosé Cask Finished Bourbon went on to inspire the creation of the label’s perennially high-scoring Cooper Series, which showcases some fairly interesting cask choices. Toasted Straight bourbon belongs to the eponymous Toasted series, which features the rarely seen No.-5 char barrels. The original American Light whiskey, a 13 year old, features the incredibly high proofing of 67.2% ABV.

Frank August Cask Strength Single Barrel Kentucky Straight
Style: Bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 6 year old
ABV: 57.3–62.7%
Price: $130
Release: October 2023
Availability: Limited; available in AZ, CA, D.C., DE, FL, KY, MD, NJ, NY, NV, and WA

Need to know:
This release encompasses 15 separate bourbon barrels, which were all bottled at cask strength between 57.3% and 62.7% ABV. After selection, the barrels matured for an additional year.

Whisky Advocate says:
The Frank August label was launched last year, and this release marks its second foray into experimenting with single barrel expressions. The barrels were selected by co-founder Jonathan Crocker with help from two Maker’s Mark alums: former master distiller Denny Potter (who also worked for Heaven Hill) and ex-master blender Jane Bowie (the mind behind the Maker’s Mark Private Select program). More single barrel bourbons are expected to come from Frank August, which will also be presented at cask strength.

Frank August Case Study: 02
Style: Finished bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not stated
ABV: 50.5%
Price: $170
Release: October 2023
Availability: 1,687 bottles; AZ, CA, D.C., DE, FL, KY, MD, NJ, NY, NV, and WA

Need to know:
This expression is the second entry in Frank August’s finishing-focused Case Study program. It features bourbon that’s been finished in PX casks for an undisclosed amount of time.

Whisky Advocate says:
The casks used to finish this expression have a fairly interesting history of their own that dates back over 30 years. The casks were first filled with PX sherry in 1992, which they held for 17 years. After the casks were dumped, they were refilled with XO PX sherry from 1948, which they held for an additional 13 years. The casks were still wet when Frank August received them.

Great Jones Peated Scotch Cask Finish
Style: Finished bourbon
Origin: New York
Age: 7 year old
ABV: 48%
Price: $150
Release: November 2023
Availability: Limited; Distillery-exclusive

Need to know:
The newest limited edition expression from Great Jones is a four-grain bourbon, distilled from New York-grown corn, barley, rye, and wheat and cut using New York water. It’s aged for 7 years total, spending two of those years in peated scotch casks sourced from an undisclosed Islay distillery.

Whisky Advocate says:
While just about everyone has seen expressions made with peated grains, ones that have been finished in a peated cask aren’t nearly as common. Yet, it remains a perfectly viable and effective way for distillers to introduce some of those smoky and maritime notes into just about any style of whisky. A particular standout example includes Penderyn Celt, a Welsh whisky finished in peated quarter casks that was crowned our No. 17 Whisky of 2018.

Judson & Moore Rye Batch 3
Style: Rye
Origin: Illinois
Age: 2 year old
ABV: 47%
Price: $55
Release: November 2023
Availability: In Illinois, and online at judsonandmoore.com

Judson & Moore Bourbon Batch 4
Style: Bourbon
Origin: Illinois
Age: 2 year old
ABV: 47%
Price: $55
Release: November 2023
Availability: In Illinois, and online at judsonandmoore.com

Judson & Moore Red Corn Batch 5
Style: Bourbon
Origin: Illinois
Age: 2 year old
ABV: 47%
Price: $66
Release: November 2023
Availability: In Illinois, and online at judsonandmoore.com

Judson & Moore Single Malt Batch 3
Style: American single malt
Origin: Illinois
Age: 2 year old
ABV: 47%
Price: $66
Release: November 2023
Availability: In Illinois, and online at judsonandmoore.com

Need to know:
Judson & Moore’s full lineup is distilled in-house, using grains sourced from across the Midwest:

• Rye: 60% rye, 30% yellow corn, 10% malted barley

• Bourbon: 73% yellow corn, 17% rye, 10% malted barley

• Red Corn: 77.5% red corn, 12.5% rye, 10% malted barley

• ASM: 65% smoked malted barley, 35% unsmoked malted barley

All four expressions are available via the distillery’s new direct-to-customer service, with shipping to 33 states.

Whisky Advocate says:
The Chicago-based Judson & Moore was launched in 2019 by head distiller Colin Moore, his wife Elise Bergman, and his father-in-law Judson Bergman. The label focused on keeping its production footprint localized: using grains grown by local farmers in the region, water from Lake Michigan, and barrels made from Minnesotan white oak. Unfortunately, for quite some time, its distribution footprint was also hyper-localized, with bottles not traveling beyond local retailers. Now, thanks to a new DTC service, Judson & Moore expressions can be purchased outside the state for the first time in the distillery’s history. Since we can finally get our hands on a few bottles, we’ll let you know how good they are when the time comes.