Glenmorangie Lasanta, Nc'nean Huntress, Blue Note Single Barrel Rye, and More [New Releases]

Single malt scotch makes a good showing this week, with new releases from Glenmorangie, Nc’nean, and Bladnoch, in addition to a collectible Laphroaig. In keeping with previous changes to its other core whiskies The Original and The Nectar, Glenmorangie has added some extra aging to its popular Lasanta expression, while Nc’nean unveils its annual release of Huntress. Both whiskeys have reasonably wide availability. Meanwhile, Lowlands scotch maker Bladnoch follows with the second release in its Wave series, and Laphroaig delves into the archive to release a new 38 year old. Among American whiskeys, Blue Note offers a single barrel rye, while Pursuit United has a rye—sourced not from MGP, but from Bardstown Bourbon and Sagamore Spirit. In bourbon, Kentucky Senator has two new additions, while Michigan’s Coppercraft has an MGP-sourced 9 year old.

Glenmorangie The Lasanta 15 year old Highland Single Malt Scotch

ABV: 43%
SRP: $70
Availability: Widely, beginning in July

Glenmorangie is relaunching Lasanta, its flagship sherried whisky, upping the age statement from 12 to 15 years old. Director of whisky creation Dr. Bill Lumsden and master blender Gillian Macdonald decided to age the whisky for three additional years, refining their recipe of bourbon and oloroso sherry cask-matured Glenmorangie to imbue it with greater elegance, spice, and sweetness. Earlier this year, Glenmorangie launched a major campaign, creating a whisky mini-series fronted by Hollywood legend Harrison Ford. The new Lasanta 15 year old is the latest in a series of core range updates; Glenmorangie revamped The Original from 10 to 12 years and devised a more complex recipe for The Nectar, relaunching it at the older age statement of 16 years old, which earned the No. 8 slot in our Top 20 Whiskies of 2024.

Bladnoch Wave II: Distillery & Spirit Lowland Single Malt Scotch

ABV: 57%
SRP: $144
Availability: Limited; 1,817 bottles; Bladnoch website

Founded in 1817, Bladnoch Distillery is among the oldest scotch whisky distilleries and its southernmost, often referred to as “Queen of the Lowlands.” The Wave Master Distiller’s Collection explores the marrying process through what it calls the five pillars of whisky making, led by master distiller Dr. Nick Savage. For this five-part series of linked annual releases, Savage filled five amontillado sherry tuns to marry whiskies from a variety of cask types. Each release will focus on a different pillar and is limited to 1,817 bottles to coincide with the year the distillery was established. The remaining whisky is decanted into the following year’s tun, borrowing from the solera method through to the fifth and final release, slated for 2028, which will contain component whiskies that span the entire project.

Wave I: Time & Maturation was released in 2024 and represented Bladnoch’s method of selecting casks at the peak time in the maturation process. Wave II: Distillery & Spirit, the second annual release, focuses on distillery and spirit character, with Savage marrying a combination of whisky matured in re-charred butts and barrels with first-fill bourbon barrels in the second of the distillery’s five amontillado sherry tuns.

Nc’nean Huntress Lemon Meadow Organic Highland Single Malt Scotch

ABV: 48.5%
SRP: $120
Availability: 5,729 bottles, 300 bottles for the U.S.; available from July; imported by ImpEx Beverages Inc.

Nc’nean’s Huntress is created once a year as an experimental release, often spotlighting a specific ingredient or production method. This fourth edition in the series focuses on experimental fermentation and was produced using a yeast strain derived from French sparkling wine production. That’s unusual in a scotch, and some of the whisky in the batch dates back to the distillery’s initial yeast trials in 2017, through to 2019 distillates. The whisky is made from certified 100% organic Scottish barley, and the recipe uses 56% STR red wine casks, 42% American whiskey casks, and 2% oloroso sherry casks. The 2024 release, Nc’nean Huntress Orchard Cobbler, scored 92 points.

Collectibles

Laphroaig The Archive Collection 38 year old Islay Single Malt Scotch

ABV: 41.3%
SRP: $4,300
Availability: Limited, 400 bottles; Illinois, Massachusetts, New York City, California, Texas, and Washington D.C., online retailers, and at the distillery

Laphroaig’s Archive Collection debuted with a 36 year old in 2024, and this second release, distilled in 1985, is even older. The 1980s were a difficult time on Islay, when Laphroaig cut back its production and shortened the work week. While Laphroaig was making less whisky, the team kept busy by undertaking major repairs and renovations, including overseeing the construction of the current stillhouse.

Seven different distillery managers have worked at Laphroaig since this whisky was distilled. The Laphroaig Archive 38 year old was initially matured in bourbon barrels, further matured in a second-fill oloroso sherry hogshead, before a final finish in an oloroso sherry-seasoned European oak butt. The whisky, presented in a handblown bottle with a textured neck inspired by sea glass, was first available to Friends of Laphroaig members by ballot and is now receiving a wider release.

American

Blue Note Single Barrel Straight Rye

ABV: 58%-62%
SRP: $50
Availability: bluenotebourbon.com and in 20 states

Blue Note’s first single barrel rye is a Kentucky whiskey made from a mashbill of 95% rye and 5% malted barley. It spent a minimum of 4 years in the barrel and was bottled at cask strength. While Blue Note is based in Memphis, Tennessee, it has a longstanding partnership with Kentucky’s Lofted Spirits, which owns two distilling behemoths: Green River Distilling and Bardstown Bourbon Co. Both distilleries have contributed whiskey to Blue Note in the past; all of the whiskey is trucked down to Tennessee and finished and bottled at Blue Note’s Memphis production facilities.

Pursuit United Cognac Cask Rye

ABV: 54%
SRP: $TBD
Availability: Limited

The latest whiskey from Pursuit United is a blend of three ryes aged 4-7 years and finished in XO cognac casks. The blend includes a 95% rye/5% malted barley from Bardstown Bourbon Co., and two from Sagamore Spirit, one made from 52% rye, 43% corn, and 5% malted barley, and the other from 95% rye/5% malted barley.

Currently, the new whiskey is available exclusively to P. Club by Pursuit Spirits—the brand’s fan club—members. On July 3, however, the rye will go public, kicking off with a release party at Pursuit United’s Mellwood Avenue distillery in Louisville. No price has been announced for the public release yet. In addition to the Mellwood Avenue space, Pursuit is also set to open a brand new, 8,000-square-foot brand experience on Whiskey Row in July.

Kentucky Senator John Edwards Release: 7.5 year old Bourbon

ABV: 53.5%
SRP: $120
Availability: Kentucky, Louisiana, and online at Bourbon Outfitter

Louisiana Senator Huey P. Long Release: 7.5 Year Old Bourbon

ABV: 53.5%
SRP: $120
Availability: Louisiana

Kentucky Senator, the whiskey brand that takes inspiration from U.S. political history, has announced its expansion into Louisiana with a pair of bourbons. The John Edwards Release is the latest in the brand’s main series. It has a mashbill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley, and was aged for 7.5 years. The whiskey gets its name from John Edwards, a Kentucky statesman who held several positions in state government between 1792 and 1800.

The other release is the first in a new product line called Louisiana Senator. This inaugural expression gets its name from the notorious Louisiana governor and eventual senator Huey “The Kingfish” Long. At 7.5 years old, it’s the first entry in what’s slated to be a vertical series featuring 8, 9, and 10 year olds. This release was blended by Denny Potter and Jane Bowie of Potter Jane Distillery, who will also work on the rest of the vertical series. This whiskey has a mashbill of 78% corn, 13% rye, and 9% malted barley.

Coppercraft 9 year old Bourbon

ABV: 45.3%
SRP: $38
Availability: Nationwide

Holland, Michigan-based Coppercraft Distillery has just released the newest version of its 9 year old bourbon expression. It was blended from bourbon stocks sourced from MGP in Indiana. Alongside the release, Coppercraft announced that its distillery and tasting room—which have been closed for renovations since October—will be reopening in August.