Woodford Reserve Releases Its First American Single Malt

Woodford Reserve has released a wide variety of whiskeys in its nearly 30-year history as a brand. The distillery’s roster includes a variety of bourbons, among them the fan-favorites Double Oaked and Double Double Oaked, as well as a rye, wheat, malt, and a slew of more creative blends and finished whiskeys under its Master’s Collection and Distillery Series. Now, the Distillery Series lineup is expanding with a whiskey that marks a first for Woodford: an American single malt.

This isn’t just any single malt—take, for instance, its age. At 12 years old, this is among the oldest American single malts you’re likely to find on shelves; few other American single malts out there that have reached such an age, though there are a couple from Stranahan’s, which has 12 year olds in both its Mountain Angel and Founder’s Release whiskeys, as well as similarly aged releases from Triple Eight Distillery in Nantucket and Michigan’s Grand Traverse Distillery.

Woodford, of course, has its take on the style: A mash made from 100% malted barley is triple distilled on a copper pot and then aged 12 years in bourbon barrels. It’s bottled at 45.2% ABV (the standard proof of all Woodford’s non-cask strength whiskeys).

The new whiskey is available at the Versailles, Kentucky distillery, Kentucky retailers, and can be purchased online at shop.woodfordreserve.com, for shipping to Kentucky, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Nebraska, and Washington, D.C. It’s priced at $100 for a 375-ml bottle and, as a Distillery Series release, is only available on a limited basis.