New Releases: Cask Finishes From Woodford and Rebel, Ryes From Jefferson's and Peg Leg Porker

This week's new release round-up features American whiskeys, led by a port cask finished blend from Woodford Reserve and a California red wine cask finish from Rebel. Elijah Craig has dropped the second barrel proof batch of the year, while Nashville pitmaster Carey Bringle is offering a 15 year old rye. Elsewhere, Cedar Ridge has a new single malt finished in a multiplicity of casks, while other new offerings are from Frank August, Spirit Hound, Milam & Greene, and World Whiskey Society. And in a separate story, we cover two distillers who've announced releases honoring the U.S. military.

Woodford Reserve Distillery Series: Tawny Port Finish Blend

ABV: 45.2%
SRP: $65/375 ml
Availability: Limited

Master distiller Elizabeth McCall’s newest Woodford Distillery Series release first combined rye and bourbon together. From there, McCall added a tawny port-finished bourbon to the blend; once that was married, she balanced the existing components out by adding more unfinished bourbon to the mix. The whiskey was bottled at Woodford’s standard 90.4 proof.

As a Distillery Series release, Tawny Port Finish is quite limited; this one is allocated to Kentucky retailers, the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles, Kentucky, and online via Woodford’s website.

Rebel 100 Childress Vineyards Cabernet Franc Barrel Finish bourbon

ABV: 50%
SRP: $40
Availability: 3,000 bottles

For its latest bourbon, Rebel partnered with North Carolina-based winery Childress Vineyards. The whiskey is Rebel’s flagship wheated 4 year old bourbon that is then finished in Cabernet Franc barrels from Childress Vineyards, imbuing it with notes of sweet berry, caramel, and spice, per master distiller John Rempe. There are just 3,000 bottles of the bourbon available, and they’re allocated solely to North Carolina retail stores and Lux Row Distillers in Bardstown, Kentucky.

The Lux Row brand’s partnership with Childress Vineyards isn’t random—Rebel has served as the official sponsor of NASCAR team Richard Childress Racing (owned by Childress Vineyards owner Richard Childress) and driver Kyle Busch since January 2024. Earlier this spring, Rebel released a single barrel bourbon made in collaboration with Busch, who visited Lux Row Distillers and selected the whiskey with guidance from Rempe.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon (Batch B525)

ABV: 63.1%
SRP: $75
Availability: Nationwide

Each year, Heaven Hill releases three distinct batches of its Elijah Craig Barrel Proof bourbon. This month, the second batch of the year, B525, is rolling out. It carries an age statement of 11 years and 6 months.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (ECBP) has been a mainstay in Heaven Hill’s portfolio since 2013. In essence, ECBP is Heaven Hill’s flagship Elijah Craig bourbon on steroids—sporting a double-digit age statement and trading in the typical 47% ABV for bottling at cask strength. The series has been impressive over the years, routinely scoring well above 90 points with our tasting panel and winning our Whisky of the Year award in 2017.

ECBP once had a standard age statement of 12 years old, but in recent years the exact age has fluctuated along with the proof. Part of the fun is comparing these stats from batch to batch. Fans will be happy to hear that both numbers have increased from January’s A125 batch, which was bottled with 11 years & 6 months of aging and 59.1% ABV—the lowest proof point the series had seen since 2021.

Jefferson’s Blend of Straight Rye

ABV: 44%
SRP: $35
Availability: Nationwide

For its latest release, Kentucky-based Jefferson’s is going outside its bourbon-centric comfort zone for a rare rye release. This expression combines the brand’s ship-aged Ocean Rye with other ryes that range in age from 6–9 years old. According to founder Trey Zoeller, the goal was to showcase the brand’s blending skills by creating a versatile whiskey that could stand up in cocktails and work well neat or on the rocks. Considering the age of the liquid included in the blend, $35 seems like a very reasonable price point.

Cedar Ridge The QuintEssential Special Release: Number Five American Single Malt

ABV: 58.9%
SRP: $100
Availability: Limited

Fittingly enough, master distiller Murphy Quint finished Cedar Ridge’s fifth limited edition QuintEssential American single malt in a combination of five casks: imported port and madeira casks, and port, marquette red wine, and V (madeira-inspired wine) casks from the distillery’s on-site winery. The new release is available at the Cedar Ridge Distillery in Swisher, Iowa, in select states, and online at cedarridgedistillery.com.

Previous limited-edition releases in the QuintEssential lineup have finished fewer cask finishes, highlighting port; port and sherry; or port, sherry, and madeira, some of which were also pulled from the Cedar Ridge winery.

Peg Leg Porker Pitmaster Reserve 15 Year Old Double Oaked Rye

ABV: 50%
Price: $400
Availability: Tasting room; Nationwide

Nashville-based Peg Leg Spirits has unveiled the second edition of its high-end series Pitmaster Reserve. The first edition, released in 2020, was a 15 year old bourbon, and the latest is a rye of the same age that was sourced from Canada, batched and aged in American oak barrels, and finished with toasted American white oak staves for 6 months. The first edition was a hot ticket item, selling out on the day of release. With 2,900 bottles available, each expression comes with a commemorative case and a pig bottle stopper, an homage to the founder’s profession as a pitmaster.

Touted as the only whiskey brand developed and owned by a pitmaster, Carey Bringle, the label bears the name of the owner's barbecue restaurant and catering company. Both the whiskey side and the restaurant were launched in 2013. Since then, there’s been an array of age-statement bourbons from 4 to 12 years old, alongside an 8 year old rye. The brand also opened a tasting room in Music City last July, where this release and the other expressions in the lineup are available.

Frank August Case Study: 05 Wheated Reserve Bourbon

ABV: 52.25%
SRP: $130
Availability: In retailers across 17 states

Bardstown, Kentucky-based blending house Frank August has released the first expression in its Case Study series—a collection of one-off batches that highlight some experimental or unique characteristic. This one, dubbed Wheated Reserve, is an effort to use wheat as a flavoring grain. It’s a blend of five wheated bourbons from an undisclosed distillery and range in age from 6–7 years old. Previous expressions in the series have included a blend of double-oaked bourbons, a rye blended from stocks distilled exclusively in the winter, and bourbons finished in mizunara oak and vintage-dated PX brandy casks.

Frank August Small Batch Kentucky Straight Rye

ABV: 50%
SRP: $70
Availability: AZ, CA, CO, D.C., DE, FL, OH, KY, MD, MO, NV, NJ, NY, OK, SC, TN, TX, and WA.

Frank August’s flagship rye is here, supplementing a flagship bourbon that launched last summer. While there is no definition for “small batch,” the brand defines its own Small Batch rye (and bourbon) as made from 10 to 15 barrels per batch. The whiskey itself is not distilled by Frank August, which has been a non-distilling producer since its debut in 2022, but by an undisclosed Kentucky source; now that Potter Jane Distilling Co., the distillery co-founded by Maker's Mark alums Denny Potter and Jane Bowie, is up and running , the brand will be made there. Brand co-founder Johnathan Crocker—a former fashion executive—is also responsible for the brand’s blending, with guidance from Potter and Bowie.

Milam & Greene “The Answer” 5 Year Old Straight Bourbons

ABV: 54%, 58%
Price: $150/set of 375ml bottles
Availability: online; nationwide beginning May 28th

What happens when you compare the same whiskey aged in two different locations? This is the question Blanco, Texas-based Milam & Green has answered in its new release, aptly named “The Answer.” The sourced distillate was made in Bardstown, Kentucky, from a mashbill of 70% corn, 8% malted barley, and 22% malted rye. It was then divided into two batches. One batch stayed in Bardstown, and the other was aged in Texas. Both were aged for 5 years, and then bottled for sale as a set of two 375ml bottles.

Not surprisingly, the hotter, drier Texas air produced chemicals associated with woodier flavors and a higher evaporation rate, with a final ABV of 58% compared to the cooler, more humid climate in Bardstown that displayed a prevalence of fruity and floral esters and a lower evaporation rate with 54% as the final ABV. Only available as a set, the idea is to sip and compare the differences in flavor. But blending them is also encouraged.

Spirit Hound Bottled in Bond Sherry Cask American Single Malt

ABV: 50%
SRP: $125
Availability: Distillery exclusive

Like the distillery’s other single malts, this one was distilled from locally sourced ingredients using Spirit Hound’s hand-built stills and aged in a solera system. But this one stands out for its finish, which uses palo cortado sherry casks sourced from the Sánchez Romate bodega in Jerez. The whiskey is currently available exclusively at the distillery, including its tasting room cocktail lounge.

World Whiskey Society 20 Year Old Cigar Blend Gothic Edition American Light Whiskey

ABV: 48%
SRP: $169
Availability: Limited; at select local retailers and online

In recent times, cigar whiskies—expressions that are specifically made to pair with premium tobacco products like cigars and pipes—have garnered much attention. These whiskies often undergo a complex cask finishing regimen that’s intended to add sweeter notes to counterbalance the earthy and smoky flavors coming from the tobacco. This newcomer from World Whiskey Society is no different, finishing 20 year old light whiskey—likely sourced from MGP—in six different types of casks previously holding cognac, tawny port, awamori, tequila, PX sherry, and madeira.