Booker's 30th Anniversary, Wyoming Barrel Strength & More New Releases
December 14, 2018 –––––– Susannah Skiver Barton
Booker's 30th Anniversary
Style: Straight bourbonOrigin: KentuckyAge: Not statedProof: 62.9% ABVPrice: $200Release: December 2018Availability: Limited edition
Need to know:
This special edition of Booker's bourbon celebrates the brand's 30th anniversary. This whiskey is a combination of 70% 9 year old and and 30% 16 year old bourbon, selected by master distiller and Booker Noe's son, Fred. As always, the bourbon is uncut and unfiltered. The bottle for this Booker's—which is more limited than usual—includes special silver wax, and it's packaged in a box made from old Beam rickhouses.
Booker's 2018-04 "Kitchen Table"
Style: Straight bourbonOrigin: KentuckyAge: Not statedProof: 64% ABVPrice: $70-$80Release: December 2018Availability: Limited edition
Need to know:
The final Booker's release for 2018 is named for one of Booker Noe's favorite places to spend time—his kitchen table. The bourbon was aged for 6 years, 8 months, and 7 days, and is bottled, as always, unfiltered and at barrel proof.
Whisky Advocate says:
Booker's is a perennial favorite around here, consistently garnering 90-plus scores. The 25th anniversary batch is one of our highest-scoring bourbons ever, at 96 points. We're excited to taste this 30th anniversary expression, and we'll be sure to tell you what we think.
Wyoming Barrel Strength Bourbon
Style: Straight bourbonOrigin: WyomingAge: Not statedProof: 64.35% ABVPrice: $199Release: December 2018Availability: 50 bottles
Need to know:
The second Barrel Strength bourbon from Wyoming Whiskey, this whiskey comes from barrel #3242. Just 50 bottles will be available for purchase.
Whisky Advocate says:
The last time Wyoming released its Barrel Strength bourbon, the whiskey received a score of 92 points in the Buying Guide. There are only 50 bottles of this release available, not even enough for Whisky Advocate to receive a sample, so we'll all have to trust that this bourbon measures up to the previous release. If you get your hands on a bottle, let us know what you think!
Barrell Dovetail
Style: WhiskeyOrigin: Multiple (Indiana and Tennessee)Age: Not statedProof: 61.45% ABVPrice: $90Release: December 2018Availability: Limited edition
Need to know:
A limited-edition release from Barrell Craft Spirits, this is a blend of two whiskeys:
- 10 year old whiskey distilled in Indiana and finished in Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon barrels
- 11 year old bourbon distilled in Tennessee and finished in blackstrap rum casks and late-bottled vintage port pipes
Whisky Advocate says:
Barrell's philosophy of blending is to create intentionally unique flavors in each of its products. No two batches of its bourbon, for example, are alike. Apparently, it took a year for this blend to come together. There will be more batches of Dovetail in the future, each sure to be totally different.
Stranahan's Snowflake Batch 21 Mount Elbert
Style: Single maltOrigin: ColoradoAge: Not statedProof: 47% ABVPrice: $100Release: December 2018Availability: Extremely limited; already sold out
Need to know:
Named for Colorado's highest summit, Mount Elbert, this is a blend of Stranahan's whiskeys that initially aged for two years in new charred oak casks and then were transferred to a variety of finishing casks, including Syrah, Muscat, Merlot, old vine Zinfandel, port, madeira, chocolate stout, and rum casks. The finishing periods varied from cask to cask. Master distiller Rob Dietrich selected and blended the casks to create the final whiskey.
Whisky Advocate says:
Each year, Stranahan's creates a unique limited-edition Snowflake single malt, releasing it on the first Saturday in December to a line of hundreds of fans who have lined up for hours, and sometimes days, in the cold—all for a chance to buy the whiskey. So if you're hoping to get your hands on a bottle of this year's release, it's too late, unless you happen to know someone who got one and is willing to trade. (Remember, buying whiskey from an unlicensed individual is illegal.) But there's always next year...
Cask 88 Whiskies
Style: Single maltOrigin: Scotland (varies)Age: Varies—9 to 27 years oldProof: Varies—54.8% to 58.9% ABVPrice: Varies—$155-$570Release: November 2018Availability: Online only
Need to know:
Independent bottler Cask 88 has released four new single malt scotches finished in quarter casks:
- Caol Ila 9 year old—58.9% ABV; £189/$240; distilled June 12, 2008
- Bunnahabhain 9 year old—57.8% ABV; £119/$155; distilled June 10, 2008
- Highland Park 14 year old—54.8% ABV; £189/$240; distilled May 8, 2003
- Bladnoch 27 year old—55.6% ABV; £439/$570; distilled July 10, 1990
Whisky Advocate says:
Quarter casks hold about 50 liters of liquid; each of these quarter casks yielded 88 bottles, poetically enough given the company's name. The whiskies won't be sold at retail, but can be purchased online through Cask 88's website or at Whisky Foundation. Note that the bottles are 700 ml., not the 750-ml. size that's typical for the U.S.
Kavalan 10th Anniversary First-Growth Bordeaux Bottlings
Style: Single maltOrigin: TaiwanAge: Not statedProof: 57.8% ABVPrice: NT$8,800 (US$285)Release: December 2018Availability: Taiwan only, with expansion planned for 2019
Need to know:
Taiwan's Kavalan Distillery has created two special single malts in honor of the 10th anniversary of its first whisky release, each fully matured for seven years in first-growth Bordeaux wine casks from the Margaux and Pauillac AOCs.
Whisky Advocate says:
While Kavalan isn't able to name the wineries that provided the casks for these single malts, the distillery does note that they from are first-growth (otherwise known aspremier cru) châteaux in Bordeaux. There are only five of these, making educated guesses fairly simple: Lafite-Rothschild, Mouton-Rothschild, and Latour in Pauillac, Margaux in Margaux, and Haut-Brion on Pessac-Léognan.If you want to learn more about first-growths, Wine Spectator has a great explanation.