Bulleit 12 year old Rye

Style: Straight rye
Origin: Indiana
Age: 12 years old
Proof: 46% ABV
Price: $50
Release: March 2019
Availability: AZ, CA, CO, GA, IL, KY, MA, MD, NJ, NY, OH, OR, TX, and Washington, D.C.

Need to know:

The second rye in Bulleit’s lineup, this whiskey is made with a 95% rye mashbill and aged for 12 years. Like Bulleit Rye, it was distilled at MGP Distillery in Indiana.

Whisky Advocate says:

Bulleit’s bourbons are made in Kentucky, although nothing that’s currently in the bottle was made at Bulleit Distillery, which opened in Shelbyville just two years ago. That will change over time, as the bourbon matures. The brand’s rye, however, will be made at MGP for the foreseeable future—unless, of course, parent company Diageo’s planned mega-distillery includes some capacity for distilling Bulleit rye.

Weller Full Proof

Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not stated
Proof: 57% ABV
Price: $50
Release: June 2019
Availability: Limited quantities released annually

Need to know:

Buffalo Trace Distillery is adding a “full proof” version of W.L. Weller. The wheated bourbon is filled into barrels at 114 proof (57% ABV), and this bottling clocks in at the same level.

Whisky Advocate says:

“Full proof” isn’t a regulated term, but here it’s being used to indicate that there is no change in the alcohol level from the time the barrel is filled until it’s bottled. Does that mean there’s no fluctuation in proof as the whiskey matures and loses volume due to the angels’ share? Not really—it’s basically a given that a barrel of whiskey will undergo change in proof during its maturation. Sometimes, the proof goes down—this is almost always the case in Scotland, for example, where the relative humidity of the environment means alcohol evaporates more quickly than water. Other times, when the maturation environment is dry and hot, the water is quicker to evaporate, causing the whiskey’s proof to rise. This is how you can end up with bourbons like Stagg Jr. achieving proof levels that exceed 62.5% (125 proof), the maximum proof at which whiskey can enter the barrel.

So in the case of Weller Full Proof, Buffalo Trace likely mingled a batch of barrels at varying proofs, some higher than entry proof, and some lower, and then added water to get back to 114 proof.

Gooderham & Worts

Style: Blended whisky
Origin: Canada
Age: Not stated
Proof: 44.4% ABV
Price: $45
Release: March 2019
Availability: Widely available

Need to know:

Previously available only in Canada, this whisky is now for sale in the U.S. A blend of corn, rye, wheat, and barley whiskies, it’s made at Hiram Walker Distillery in Windsor, Ontario.

Whisky Advocate says:

The good thing about whiskies that are technically not new, but new-to-the-U.S., is that they’re often already reviewed in the Whisky Advocate Buying Guide. Gooderham & Worts is no exception, having scored 90 points in 2015.

Gouden Carolus Single Malt

Style: Single malt
Origin: Belgium
Age: Not stated
Proof: 46% ABV
Price: $65
Release: Spring 2019
Availability: 2,400 bottles in the U.S.

Need to know:

If the name Gouden Carolus is familiar to you, that’s because it’s also the name of a beer made by Belgium’s Het Anker brewery. This whisky was distilled from its tripel mash (meaning it has three times as much barley as a lager) and aged in ex-bourbon barrels before being finished in custom casks that previously held wine and then were scraped and charred. No hops were included in the mash, making this a true single malt (using just malted barley, yeast, and water). The whisky is bottled without chill-filtering.

Whisky Advocate says:

The late Dr. Jim Swan, who consulted for dozens of single malt distilleries around the world, worked with Het Anker from the start. The distillery’s use of scraped and re-charred casks is surely thanks at least in part to Swan’s influence, as he pioneered the method known as STR—shave toast rechar. Look for a review of this single malt in an upcoming issue of Whisky Advocate!

Davidson Reserve Tennessee Whiskey

Style: Tennessee whiskey
Origin: Tennessee
Age: 4 years old
Proof: 50% ABV
Price: $40
Release: March 2019
Availability: Nashville area

Need to know:

The first Tennessee whiskey from Pennington Distilling Co., this is made with a mashbill of  70% corn, 25% rye, and 5% malted barley. It was aged for four years in 53-gallon barrels. Like all Tennessee whiskeys, it goes through the Lincoln County Process.

Whisky Advocate says:

We often get asked what the difference is between Tennessee whiskey and bourbon. Both styles have to be made to almost exactly the same standards, after all, with Tennessee whiskey’s main differences being its place of origin and its use of maple charcoal filtration, aka the Lincoln County Process. If you still aren’t clear about the distinction, let Jeff Arnett, master distiller for Tennessee’s biggest whiskey brand, explain it to you.

Westland Celebrious

Style: Single malt
Origin: Washington
Age: Not stated
Proof: 52.7% ABV
Price: $100
Release: April 1, 2019
Availability: Limited edition, for sale at the distillery only

Need to know:

For the third year running, Westland Distillery is releasing a spoof whiskey for April Fool’s Day. This year, the whiskey is Celebrious, an American single malt that pokes fun at celebrity whiskies and insists that “everyone deserves a sip of fame with nothing more than a swipe of the screen.” With Celebrious, you are the celebrity and this is your whiskey. “Own it.”

Whisky Advocate says:

Although Celebrious is a single malt whiskey like everything that Westland makes, it is a special blend with a distinct flavor profile. Westland’s past spoof releases include last year’s Sport Dram and Boldsmooth, a “quadruple-quadruple” whiskey.

The Fixer Blended Whiskey

Style: Blended whiskey
Origin: Not stated
Age: Not stated
Proof: 40% ABV
Price: $40
Release: Pre-orders available now, shipping in June
Availability: Online only at thefixerwhiskey.com.com

Need to know:

TV character Ray Donovan is a “fixer,” and now you can be too—at least, a fixer of drinks. This sourced, blended whiskey is named for the character played by Liev Schreiber. There’s no information about it available, other than that it’s produced by Terressentia Corp., which sources whiskey from a number of U.S. distilleries, typically finishing it with its ultrasonic-wave process, and bottling it for various brands.

Whisky Advocate says:

This whiskey comes from Silver Screen Bottlings, the same company behind James T. Kirk bourbon, Montgomery Scott scotch, and Dutch bourbon. There’s no telling how it will taste, though, especially since it’s a blended whiskey—which could be up to 80% neutral spirit (on a proof-gallon basis). If you’re a big Ray Donovan fan, however, flavor may not matter as much as novelty.

The Whisky Works The Glaswegian 29 year old

Style: Single grain
Origin: Scotland
Age: 29 years old
Proof: 54.2% ABV
Price: £130
Release: March 2019
Availability: 1,642 bottles; not available in the U.S.

Need to know:

This single grain whisky was distilled at a now-closed distillery “that once stood at the heart of Scotland’s waterways,” according to the press release. Considering its name, the likely source is Port Dundas, which operated in Glasgow on Forth and Clyde canal until 2010. Notably, this whisky’s casks were mainly held in dunnage warehousing, which is unusual for any scotch but particularly so for a grain whisky.

The Whisky Works King of Trees

Style: Blended malt
Origin: Scotland (Highlands)
Age: Not stated
Proof: 46.4% ABV
Price: £75
Release: March 2019
Availability: 2,157 bottles; not available in the U.S.

Need to know:

This blended malt includes whiskies from the Highlands and was partly finished in a cask made of Scottish oak.

Whisky Advocate says:

These whiskies are the first launches in a new brand called The Whisky Works, helmed by Whyte & Mackay head blender Gregg Glass, that will focus on experimental expressions. Glass formerly worked at Compass Box, so his experience with blending and innovation is well-established. Both of these whiskies will debut at Whisky Live London and then be available exclusively from The Whisky Exchange for the next two weeks before being sold through The Whisky Works website. They are not for sale in the U.S.