The Third & Final Hardin's Creek Kentucky Series, A Tawny Port-Finished Redbreast, & More [New Releases]

The drumbeat of craft distillery acquisitions continues, as this week brought news of Maryland rye maker Sagamore Spirit being acquired by Illva Saronno, the Italian drinks company best known for its Disaronno amaretto liqueur brand. Sagamore's story is one that any whisky lover can appreciate: it was founded by the deep-pocketed Kevin Plank, famous for his Under Armour sportswear brand, who spared no expense in launching Sagamore's distillery on Baltimore's waterfront back in 2017. From the start, the company has been serious about its mission to restore Maryland rye's reputation, and its own-make whiskey is just now starting to come of age. In an interesting twist, yesterday Illva Saronno also unveiled a new amaro label called Sagamore Spirit Amaro, which includes Sagamore Spirit rye distillate.

Earlier this week, Diageo announced the fourth release of its coveted Prima & Ultima whiskies. This year's edition marks the first time this collection of ultra-aged expressions will be available as a set stateside; previously, you could only buy bottles individually. Whiskies in the collection are from Brora, Clynelish, Lagavulin, Pittyvaich, Oban, Port Ellen, The Singleton of Dufftown, and Talisker, with highlights including a Talisker 46 year old (its oldest bottling ever), and the final 30 year old from Pittyvaich. Only 413 sets will be available for sale—at an eye-popping price of $56,865, which represents a 25% hike from last year. For those of us not quite ready to part with that amount of cash, here follow the rest of the week's latest whisky rollouts.

Ireland and Scotland

Redbreast Tawny Port Cask Edition
Style: Single pot still
Origin: Ireland
Age: Not stated
ABV: 46%
Price: $100
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
This Irish single pot still expression was matured in a combination of bourbon and oloroso sherry casks, with some of the whiskeys recasked into tawny port casks prior to blending. The final marriage took place in freshly seasoned tawny port hogsheads and lasted for 14–25 months.

Whisky Advocate says:
This marks the third entry in Redbreast’s Iberian Series, which spotlights the coopers and winemakers of the Iberian Peninsula. It follows the similarly limited Redbreast Pedro Ximénez Edition, and the permanent release Redbreast Lustau Edition, both of which have scored a 93 with our tasting panel.

Waterford Cuvée “Koffi”
Style: Single malt
Origin: Ireland
Age: Not stated
ABV: 50%
Price: $90
Release: September 2023
Availability: Ongoing release, initially as a U.S. exclusive

Waterford Peated Cuvée Fumo
Style: Single malt
Origin: Ireland
Age: Not stated
ABV: 50%
Price: $100
Release: September 2023
Availability: Ongoing release, initially as a U.S. exclusive

Waterford Organic Cuvée Gaia
Style: Single malt
Origin: Ireland
Age: Not stated
ABV: 50%
Price: $90
Release: September 2023
Availability: Ongoing release, initially as a U.S. exclusive

Need to know:
Waterford Distillery is releasing three new U.S.-exclusive cuvées, each one composed from its single farm origin, peated, and organic component whiskeys respectively.

• Waterford Cuvée “Koffi” is named after Nathanaël Koffi, the designer of this whiskey’s colorful packaging, and while it doesn’t carry an age statement, this single malt contains Waterford’s oldest whiskey to date (around 6 years old). It is composed of 24 different single farm origin parcels, and the cask recipe includes 36% first-fill American oak bourbon, 17% new American oak, 21% French oak, and 26% Vin Doux Naturel casks.
• Waterford Peated Cuvée Fumo is an assemblage of four peated single farm origin whiskeys from two harvests, with the Irish-grown malted barley peated with Irish peat from Ballyteague, Co. Kildare to 55 phenol parts per million. The cask recipe includes 33% first-fill American oak bourbon, 22% new American oak, 19% French oak, and 26% Vin Doux Naturel casks.
• Waterford Organic Cuvée Gaia is composed of six organic Arcadian farm origins and vintages and contains whiskeys aged 4 years and 7 months. Cuvée Gaia’s cask recipe includes 28% first-fill American oak bourbon, 25% new American oak, 19% French oak, and 28% Vin Doux Naturel casks.

Whisky Advocate says:
Waterford Distillery founder Mark Reynier was a wine merchant before forming the partnership that brought Bruichladdich Distillery back to life at the start of the century. After exploring the terroir of whisky on Islay, he doubled down on that concept at Waterford with Irish barley. Having accumulated a library of different single-farm origin stocks from different harvests over recent years, Waterford’s head distiller Ned Gahan uses these parcels as components for the new cuvées, borrowing the wine term for a blend of different grapes or vineyard parcels. Waterford Distillery has recently expanded its U.S. distribution, so we expect it will now be much easier for Waterford fans to find these whiskeys.

Ardbeg Traigh Bhan 19 year old (Batch 5)
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Islay)
Age: 19 year old
ABV: 46.2%
Price: $350
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited; annual batches

Need to know:
Launched in 2019, Traigh Bhan (pronounced tri-van) is the first age-stated whisky in Ardbeg’s core line-up since the release of its 10 year old in 2000. Traigh Bhan is aged in bourbon and oloroso sherry casks, with each batch varying slightly based on the casks selected. Batch 5 is said to be sweeter and more tropical than previous batches.

Whisky Advocate says:
Islay’s Traigh Bhan beach is the source of inspiration behind this expression. This small secluded beach, located on Oa Peninsula, is known to locals as Singing Sands because it’s said that if you glide the soles of your shoes on the sand it creates a singing sound. Previous batches of Traigh Bhan have scored 94 and 95 points with our tasting panel. Batch 5 will be poured at WhiskyFest New York during the VIP hour.

Big Peat Christmas Edition 2023
Style: Blended malt
Origin: Scotland (Islay)
Age: Not stated
ABV: 54.8%
Price: $74
Release: September 2023
Availability: Annual limited edition

Need to know:
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas as Douglas Laing & Co. announces the seasonal release of Big Peat, the leading expression in their Remarkable Regional Malts series. In a departure from previous years, the 2023 release is the first Christmas Edition to be finished in sherry casks.

Whisky Advocate says:
Big Peat contains a blend of malt whiskies distilled at Ardbeg, Bowmore, Caol Ila, and Port Ellen distilleries and is bottled at cask strength. It has been stuffing peat lovers’ Christmas stockings since 2009, and the combination of peat smoke and sherry cask flavors should be ideal to ward off the cold during the long, dark, wintery nights.

American Whiskey

Hardin’s Creek Boston
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 17 year old
ABV: 55%
Price: $170
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
Boston is the third and final release in the Hardin’s Creek The Kentucky Series, which is a trilogy of whiskeys with identical mashbills, age statements, and ABVs; the one key variance among them is that they’re each aged at a different Beam warehouse site in Kentucky. As its name suggests, this one was aged at Beam’s Boston site, also the home of the Booker Noe Distillery. Here, the rickhouses are spread out and subject to plenty of sunshine and fresh air, resulting in what Beam says is a quicker, richer maturation than at its other campuses.

Whisky Advocate says:
The Kentucky Series launched in June with Clermont, and was soon followed by Frankfort. Now that all three whiskeys are out, it will be interesting to see what differences lie among them, and just how notable they are. The Hardin’s Creek series launched in 2022, and it continues to showcase some of Beam’s more creative whiskey ideas. The next Hardin's Creek release will thus be an entirely different concept.

WhistlePig PiggyBack Legends Series: Alfa Romeo F1® Team Stake Barrel
Style: Rye
Origin: Not stated
Age: Not stated
ABV: 48.385%
Price: $50
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
The newest member of the WhistlePig PiggyBack Legends Series is a single barrel high-rye whiskey that has been finished with lychee and oolong tea barrels.

Whisky Advocate says:
WhistlePig released this expression as a love letter to fans of the Alfa Romeo Formula 1 (F1) Racing team. Its incorporation of F1 elements doesn’t stop at the label. The ABV of 48.385% (96.77 proof) is a reference to ten times F1 race winner Valtteri Bottas, whose racing number is 77. The lychee and oolong tea finish was inspired by Bottas' Alfa Romeo teammate Zhou Guanyu, the first Chinese driver to compete in F1. The barrels were subjected to G forces in the Alfa Romeo team's wind tunnel in Switzerland to create more interaction between the liquid and the wood, before being shipped back to Vermont.

2XO American Oak
Style: Blend of straight bourbons
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not stated
ABV: 46%
Price: $50
Release: September 2023
Availability: Nationwide

Need to know:
As the first whiskey in 2XO’s Oak Series, American Oak marks the arrival of an “everyday” whiskey from the brand, which has heretofore featured small batch, one-and-done bourbons. As with all 2XO whiskeys, there is “two times oak” incorporated here, as once the whiskey is blended and barreled, it’s then re-barreled into new charred oak barrels for a minimum of 12 months.

2XO The Tribute Blend
Style: Blend of straight bourbons
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not stated
ABV: 52%
Price: $100
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
The Tribute Blend joins 2XO’s Icon Series, which has previously included The Phoenix Blend and The Innkeeper’s Blend. This new bourbon comprises two Kentucky straight bourbons with proprietary mashbills, one with 35% rye in the mix, and the other with 16%-18% rye. Each blend in the Icon Series is inspired by an aspect of master blender Dixon Dedman’s life, and this one is no different—Dedman created this whiskey in honor of his parents and the support they’ve shown throughout his career.

Whisky Advocate says:
While 2XO is entirely under Dedman’s creative purview, the brand is owned by Prestige Beverage Group, which also imports Irish whiskey label The Whistler, among many other brands in its portfolio. Prestige has amassed a significant inventory of whiskeys for Dedman to play use. With the arrival of American Oak, 2XO now has three tiers of bourbons, starting with the regularly available Oak Series (which will have further expressions in the months and years to come), then moving up to the small batch Icon Series (which highlights Dedman’s prowess as a blender), and finally, the luxe Gem of Kentucky, which comes from the very best barrels Prestige has on hand.

Blue Run Reflection 2
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not stated
ABV: 50%
Price: $100
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
While Blue Run isn’t revealing Reflection 2’s exact mashbill, the whiskey features less rye than its predecessor, Reflection 1. Whiskey director Shaylyn Gammon also incorporated older whiskey into this edition, and moved the flavor profile toward brighter notes and more floral sweetness (Reflection 1 focused on darker base notes, including oak and caramel).

Whisky Advocate says:
Blue Run is the focus of much activity these days, what with the announcement of a new 35,000-square-foot distillery and 20,000-square-foot rickhouse in Georgetown, Kentucky (set to open in 2025) back in March, and much more recently, its acquisition by Molson Coors. Blue Run was founded by in 2020 by Mike Montgomery, Tim Sparapani, Jesse McKnight and Andy Brown, who brought in Jim Rutledge as liquid advisor, with Gammon in the whisky director's role.

Blade and Bow 22 year old
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 22 year old
ABV: 46%
Price: Varies, going for $780 on reservebar.com
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
Each year, Blade and Bow 22 year old comes back around. The 2023 release doesn’t reinvent the wheel: sourced liquid from unnamed distilleries is entered into a solera system, theoretically blending with ultra-aged whiskey from the original Stitzel-Weller Distillery. The youngest whiskey in the batch is, of course, 22 years old. The whiskey was aged and bottled at the Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky.

Whisky Advocate says:
While Blade and Bow doesn’t confirm or deny where its whiskey is sourced from, in the past it has hinted at Heaven Hill and Buffalo Trace as its suppliers. The 22 year old has developed quite the fan base, but given its limited nature, there’s not much to go around. It's available in 15 states, as well as on-site as the Stitzel-Weller visitor center.

Kentucky Owl Maighstir Edition
Style: Blend of straight bourbons
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not stated
ABV: 50%
Price: $150
Release: September 2023
Availability: 72,000 bottles

Need to know:
Maighstir (pronounced may-stir) is a collaborative effort between departing master blender John Rhea and new master blender Maureen Robinson, who was a fixture in the blended scotch world for 45 years. The whiskey thus merges traditions from both the U.S. and Scotland, namely by bringing the lighter, delicate flavors of scotch into bourbon. Rhea and Robinson blended 4, 5, 8, and 9 year old straight bourbons, which had varying mashbills of corn, wheat, rye, and malted barley.

Whisky Advocate says:
Robinson was named Kentucky Owl’s new master blender just last week, when it was announced that Rhea would retire come November. One of the first women to hold the title of master blender, she honed her craft at Diageo, where she made Johnnie Walker, Old Parr, Buchanan’s, Singleton, and curated the Prima & Ultima special release range in 2021. This marks her first time working with American whiskey. Kentucky Owl is no stranger to collaborations, having released the St. Patrick’s Day Edition—which saw Rhea working in concert with JJ Corry founder and Irish whiskey bonder Louise McGuane—in early 2022, and the Takumi Edition, a collaborative effort between Rhea and Nagahama Distillery master blender Yusuke Yahisa, last fall.

Four Gate Kelvin Sixty
Style: Bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 8 year old
ABV: 62.8%
Price: $200
Release: September 2023
Availability: 2,340 bottles

Need to know:
This 8 year old, double-oaked Kentucky bourbon follows a mashbill of 75% corn, 20% rye, and 5% malted barley. It was recasked in new toasted and charred barrels from Kelvin Cooperage.

Whisky Advocate says:
Louisville, Kentucky-based Four Gate Whiskey Company released this expression in honor of longtime partner Kelvin Cooperage’s 60th anniversary. The two companies have been in collaboration since Four Gate’s founding in 2018, with many of the outfit’s expressions coming by way of the partnership. Standout examples include The Kelvin Collaboration series and the flagship Split Stave by Kelvin series, which have scored high marks with our tasting panel.

Laws Whiskey House Honey Cask Finish
Style: Bourbon
Origin: Colorado
Age: 4 year old
ABV: 47.5%
Price: $80
Release: September 2023
Availability: 1,080 bottles; available at select retailers and online at lawswhiskeyhouse.com

Need to know:
This expression started as Laws’s four grain bourbon, aged for 2 years and 8 months, which was then finished in honey barrels for an additional year and a half. Only 1,080 bottles were produced.

Whisky Advocate says:
Denver, Colorado’s Laws Whiskey House’s releases typically highlight a specific grain, but this time the focus is solely on cask finishing. The Honey Cask Finish follows other limited-edition finished bourbons, including Calvados Cask Finish, Cognac Foeder Finish, and Armagnac Cask Finish. The barrels used to finish this new bottling are noteworthy because they actually started their journey at Laws. These same barrels were used to age batches of its four grain bourbon before being sent to Bee Squared Apiaries for use in aging honey, which, in turn, sent the barrels back to Laws.

High Wire Jimmy Red Corn Bottled in Bond
Style: Bourbon
Origin: South Carolina
Age: 4 year old
ABV: 50%
Price: $300
Release: September 2023
Availability: 3,000 bottles; available in CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, LA, MD, MS, NJ, NY, SC, TN, and TX.

Need to know:
This bonded bourbon is made entirely from Jimmy Red corn. It’s aged for at least 4 years, and is bottled in a custom stoneware vessel.

Whisky Advocate says:
High Wire Distilling Co. of downtown Charleston, South Carolina, just celebrated its 10th anniversary. It was founded by husband and wife Scott Blackwell and Ann Marshall. Before taking up whiskey-making, Scott’s background was in artisanal baking, which informs the distillery’s choice of grains. High Wire has a strong affinity for Jimmy Red, a particularly nutty and oily corn strain, which is used in its flagship bourbon and this new bonded expression. Other expressions include its 88-point New Southern Revival Straight, which is entirely made from Wrens Abruzzi rye.

Charles Goodnight
Style: Bourbon
Origin: Texas
Age: 6 year old
ABV: 57.5%
Price: $80
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited

Need to know:
This copper pot distilled bourbon follows a high-rye mashbill of 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% barley. It’s aged for 6 years in char no.-3 barrels, and is bottled at cask strength. It's a reinterpretation of Charles Goodnight Small Batch Straight, originally a 50% ABV bourbon from Kentucky.

Whisky Advocate says:
This bottling marks a first for the California-based Foley Family Wines. It comes just months after Foley entered the whiskey sector with the acquisition of the former Bently Heritage Estate Distillery in Minden, Nevada. This one comes from Texas, however, and it's named after a prominent cattle rancher from the panhandle region of the state. Charles Goodnight also happens to be Bill Foley’s great, great uncle.

Copper & Kings
Style: Blended bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 5–15 year old
ABV: 55.5%
Price: $65
Release: October 2023
Availability: Limited; Kentucky-exclusive, available at the distillery and at select retailers.

Need to know:
Copper & King’s bourbon comprises a blend of 5, 10, and 15 year old Kentucky bourbons, all sourced, which are finished in the distillery’s own American Apple brandy barrels for 12 months. This expression will only be available in Kentucky, and is set to be released in October.

Whisky Advocate says:
This blend represents the Louisville, Kentucky-based Copper & Kings Distillery’s first stab at making a bourbon. Copper & Kings is a brandy producer, with the current cask-finishing craze serving as a source of inspiration for this jump to whiskey. Head distiller Brandon O’Daniel calls bourbon the “logical next step,” remarking that the team was “extremely fascinated with what our barrels can do in regard to finishing spirits.” Copper & Kings plans to make this expression a permanent part of its lineup, with increased distribution to follow in the future.

Woodinville Finished With Toasted Applewood Staves

Style: Bourbon
Origin: Washington
Age: Not stated
ABV: 50%
Price: $100
Release: September 2023
Availability: Limited; nationally

Need to know:
This is Woodinville’s core 5 year old bourbon—with a mashbill of 72% Washington-grown corn, 22% rye, and 6% malted barley—that’s aged in heavily charred new American oak. For this expression, after aging, toasted applewood staves are added into the barrel.

Whisky Advocate says:
Inspired by the overwhelming response to the 2017 Harvest Release, which was applewood stave-finished, Woodinville decided to introduce it nationally. The whiskey is already sold out at the tasting room but is available nationally at retail. To locate a bottle visit: woodinvillewhiskeyco.com/product-locator/