In our Summer 2021 issue, we featured the rise of heavy metal rock musicians who collaborate with craft distillers to make their own whiskeys. That feature is now online, and as you’ll find, this is more than a case of musicians jumping on the celebrity whisky bandwagon. In the story, members of Metallica, Slipknot, GWAR, and others explain their motivation for the move from drinking whisky to making it.
As for this week’s new whiskies, Michter’s is bringing back its highly coveted 20 year old bourbon, Compass Box closes out its No Name series with its third and final edition, and Blue Run adds a high-rye bourbon to its lineup. Read on for full details.
Compass Box No Name (No. 3)
Style: Blended malt
Origin: Scotland
Age: Not stated
ABV: 48.9%
Price: $130
Release: November 2021
Availability: 10,794 bottles worldwide
Need to know:
The third and final release in the No Name series is comprised of Laphroaig single malt aged in re-charred hogsheads, Bowmore single malt, and Compass Box’s own Highland malt blend.
Whisky Advocate says:
Compass Box founder and whisky maker John Glaser says that No Name was never intended to become a series, but that the blending team has enjoyed showcasing different heavily peated malts while demonstrating that peated whiskies can be multi-dimensional. Previous No Name releases have scored well in our Buying Guide, with No. 1 earning 92 points and No. 1 earning 90 points and having already tasted No. 3, we can attest that it is of similar high quality.
Michter’s 20 year old (2021 Release)
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 20 year old
ABV: 57.1%
Price: $750
Release: November 2021
Availability: Limited
Need to know:
After a hiatus last year, Michter’s is bringing back its 20 year old bourbon. It’s at a slightly higher price point, up from $700 in 2018 and 2019.
Whisky Advocate says:
That price increase is nothing compared to the listings on the secondary market. At 94 points, this bourbon is a shining example of how older bourbon can taste great, though that certainly isn’t always the case. Like all things Michter’s, this whiskey is highly limited and allocated.
Blue Run Kentucky Straight High Rye Bourbon
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not stated
ABV: 55.5%
Price: $90
Release: October 2021
Availability: Approximately 25,000 bottles
Need to know:
Made from a mash of 65% yellow corn, 30% rye, and 5% malted barley, this is the first Blue Run bourbon with Jim Rutledge serving as contract master distiller rather than an advisor. (He distilled a rye, called Golden Rye, released in early September.) Rutledge distilled the whiskey, which was aged for 4 years in barrels toasted to a no. 4 alligator char, at Castle & Key in Frankfort, Kentucky. This release celebrates Blue Run’s one year anniversary and comes from 100 barrels.
Whisky Advocate says:
Blue Run has made quite a splash in its first year, selling out of its age statement bourbons, like the 13 year old that scored 91 points in our Spring 2021 Buying Guide. Jim Rutledge is in the Bourbon Hall of Fame for a reason, and is responsible for elevating Four Roses back to its rightful place as a leading Kentucky bourbon. While he retired in 2015, he has been advising, and now distilling, for brands like Blue Run, as well as overseeing his own J.W. Rutledge Distillery, which just released a blend of straight ryes in July.
Jeptha Creed Bottled in Bond Rye Bourbon Mash Bill
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not stated
ABV: 50%
Price: $53
Release: November 2021
Availability: KY and IN with expansion to IL, MO, and TN in March 2022
Need to know:
Made from a mashbill of 75% Bloody Butcher corn, 20% malted rye, and 5% malted barley, this whiskey, which most would call a high-rye bourbon, was aged for at least 4 years, per the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897. The corn was estate grown on farmland within 10 miles of the distillery. This whiskey will be available for purchase at the distillery gift shop, online for shipping to Alaska, Washington D.C., Kentucky, and North Dakota, and will hit shelves in Kentucky and Indiana on November 11 with expansion coming next year.
Whisky Advocate says:
Shelbyville, Kentucky-based Jeptha Creed is celebrating its 5thanniversary with this release, and as we’ve seen in the past, they are turning to bottled in bond now that their stocks have reached the minimum 4 year age requirement. Last week, we wrote about Graton Distilling doing the same with its Redwood Empire line and for those tracking a distillery’s progression through the years, a bottled in bond release is a great benchmark of growth—and often times, quality.
FUJI
Style: Blended whisky
Origin: Multiple (Japanese grain whisky and Scotch single malt)
Age: Not stated
ABV: 46%
Price: $60
Release: November 2021
Availability: Nationwide
FUJI Single Grain
Style: Single grain
Origin: Japan
Age: Not stated
ABV: 46%
Price: $95
Release: November 2021
Availability: Nationwide
Need to know:
The U.S. debut of FUJI whisky comprises a single grain bottling composed of three grain whisky styles produced at Fuji Gotemba Distillery, and a signature blend containing whiskies up to 20 years old which includes the three styles of Fuji Gotemba grain whiskies blended with scotch.
Whisky Advocate says:
New Japanese whisky launches deserve proper scrutiny to distinguish the real deal from sourced Japanese and imported whiskies bottled in Japan: this pair is worthy of consideration. The whiskies are created by Jota Tanaka, a highly respected master blender with decades of experience, who has led a pioneering whisky career at Fuji Gotemba Distillery, which uses snowmelt from Mount Fuji for mashing and cutting to proof. These new labels are bottled at a slightly lower ABV than the 50% versions of Fuji-Sanroku previously available in Europe and Japan.
Fuji Gotemba Distillery produces light, medium, and heavy styles of grain whisky using corn from the U.S., and malted barley and rye from Europe. They refer to the lighter grain as scotch style, the medium grain as Canadian style, and the heavy grain as bourbon style in reference to the distillery equipment and production methods as well as being a nod to Kirin and Seagram, the distillery’s original founding companies in the early 1970s. Currently, the distillery receives bourbon barrels from Four Roses, its sister distillery, as both are owned by Kirin Holdings.
Old Line Double Oak Series Port Cask
Style: American single malt
Origin: Baltimore
Age: Not stated
ABV: 50%
Price: $65
Release: November 2021
Availability: Limited
Old Line Double Oak Series Madeira Cask
Style: American single malt
Origin: Baltimore
Age: Not stated
ABV: 50%
Price: $65
Release: November 2021
Availability: Limited
Need to know:
Each of these whiskeys was aged for a minimum of 4 years, including a 6 month finish. They will be available at the distillery starting November 13 as part of its Fall Fling event, and at select retailers later in the month. According to the distillery, previous Double Oak releases like the oloroso sherry finish (90 points)and Caribbean rum finish will return as they grow their barrel finishing program.
Whisky Advocate says:
While Baltimore is a great destination for rye whiskey, Charm City makes all styles, with Old Line carrying the flag for American single malt. Scotch single malt has a long history of deploying barrel finishes, and while the climate in the U.S. produces a much different spirit, there are still some similarities in approach and flavor.
