Glenfiddich Winter Storm

Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Speyside)
Age: 21 years old
Proof: 43% ABV
Price: $250
Release: October 2017
Availability: 7,800 bottles for the U.S.

Need to know:

The latest release in Glenfiddich’s Experimental Series, this single malt whisky was finished for up to six months in ice wine casks from Canada’s Peller Estate Winery.

Whisky Advocate says:

Following Glenfiddich’s first two Experimental Series Releases—India Pale Ale Cask Finish and Project XX—this ice wine cask finish goes in a new direction. (What else would you expect?) But just like with the others, it’s a one-shot deal.

Glenfiddich 1973 Rare Collection Cask No. 7585

Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Speyside)
Age: 44 years old
Proof: 44.9% ABV
Price: $6,000
Release: October 2017
Availability: 98 bottles for the U.S. only

Need to know:

This is a single barrel of Glenfiddich that was selected by malt master Brian Kinsman. It is only available in the U.S. The whisky spent its entire 44-year maturation period in a refill American hogshead.

Whisky Advocate says:

Just in time for the holiday gift-giving season, here’s a super-spendy scotch that’s perfect for the whisky lover who has it all—because this one is a unique single barrel. It’s never been available before and won’t be available ever again after all 98 bottles are sold.

Westland Peat Week 2017

Style: Single malt
Origin: U.S. (Washington)
Age: Not stated, but at least 3 years old
Proof: 54.4% ABV
Price: $100
Release: October 2017
Availability: 1,500 bottles for the U.S.

Need to know:

Westland Distillery celebrates an annual “Peat Week” with education, tastings, and other activities for lovers of all things peaty. This year, Peat Week runs from October 2nd through October 7th. These cask-strength commemorative bottlings have a sideshow theme with a different character on each label: Phenostrus, The Demon of the Bog, Mistress Miasma, The Vixen of Vapor, and Spinther, The Man of Fire.

Whisky Advocate says:

Although there are three distinct bottles, the whiskey in all of them is exactly the same—a combination of two ex-bourbon barrels and five new American oak barrels, each aged between 36 and 56 months. The bottles will be for sale throughout Peat Week at the distillery and—for the first time—nationwide at retail.

George Remus Repeal Reserve

Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Indiana
Age: 11 years old
Proof: 47% ABV
Price: $75
Release: November 2017
Availability: Limited quantities in IN, IA, KS, KY, MN, MO, NE, OH, and WI

Need to know:

A limited-edition whiskey from MGP Distillery which celebrates the anniversary of Prohibition’s Repeal on December 5th, this combines bourbons distilled from two high-rye mashbills in 2005 and 2006. The breakdown is as follows: 50% of the blend is bourbon distilled in 2005 from a 21% rye mashbill; 35% is bourbon distilled in 2006 from a 21% rye mashbill; and 15% is bourbon distilled in 2006 from a 36% rye mashbill.

Whisky Advocate says:

Since it acquired the George Remus brand from Queen City Whiskey Company last year, MGP—which had been supplying the whiskey all along—has reformulated the core bourbon. The distillery is openly discussing the blend components of this new bottling—a move we applaud.

Old Potrero Straight Malt Whiskey Finished in Port Barrels

Style: Straight rye malt whiskey
Origin: California
Age: Not stated, but about 3 years and 9 months
Proof: 57.3% ABV
Price: $100
Release: September 2017
Availability: California only

Need to know:

This is Anchor Distillery’s Old Potrero 18th Century Style malted rye whiskey that was aged for over 3 years in new charred oak and finished for 5 months in California port casks.

Old Potrero Straight Malt Whiskey Finished in Stout Barrels

Style: Straight rye malt whiskey
Origin: California
Age: Not stated, but about 3 years and 9 months
Proof: 55.4% ABV
Price: $100
Release: September 2017
Availability: California only

Need to know:

Another special finish of Old Potrero, the stout barrels used for the secondary maturation have an interesting history. They were originally new charred oak used to age Old Potrero straight rye, then used to age apple brandy, and then reused again to age Anchor Brewery’s Flying Cloud stout for about a year. Finally, the distillery got the barrels back and put in the Old Potrero 18th Century Style whiskey.

Whisky Advocate says:

Anchor began making whiskey in the 1990s—back when it was a brewery only, and long before craft distilling took off. The symbiosis of brewing and distilling has benefited Old Potrero and the distillery’s other spirits over the years. In August 2017, Japan’s Sapporo Holdings purchased Anchor’s brewing arm, severing the tie between the two sides of the business. But Anchor Distilling will continue both making its own spirits and importing other spirits from around the world, such as Kavalan Taiwanese whisky and Nikka Japanese whisky.

Collabor&tion Bourbons

Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Indiana
Age: 10 years old
Proof: 56.5% ABV and 47% ABV
Price: $125
Release: September 2017
Availability: Extremely limited, mainly in KY

Need to know:

There are two Collabor&tion bourbons, both sourced from MGP Distillery by Steve Nally of Bardstown Bourbon Company and Brandon O’Daniel of Copper & Kings American Brandy. The bourbons were blended and then finished for 18 months in two separate barrels from Copper & Kings: an American brandy barrel and a barrel used for aging Muscat Mistelle, a grape juice-brandy beverage.

Whisky Advocate says:

Bardstown Bourbon Company recently announced plans for a massive expansion that will allow it to make 6 million proof gallons of whiskey per year. The company has a “collaborative distilling” program that makes whiskey for different brands, and these unique bourbons extend that ethos to other spirits makers as well.