The biggest weekend for Irish whiskey is upon us, and if you’re looking for new Irish whiskeys to try, cocktail recipes, the perfect food pairing, or simply tons of information about Irish whiskey to impress everyone at the bar—we’ve got you covered. After all, there’s never been a better time to drink Irish whiskey than right now. And there’s an even newer Irish whiskey coming out too—see below.
High-rolling scotch fans, meanwhile, can look forward to the latest release in Glenlivet’s Winchester Collection, a 50 year old single malt distilled in 1967. As expected, the price is hefty: $25,000. Just 150 bottles of the rare whisky are being released worldwide.
The Spring 2019 batch of Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond bourbon is rolling out. Distilled in September 2005, this 13 year old whiskey is available in limited amounts for $130.
That new Irish whiskey is the second label from Chapel Gate Whiskey Co.’s J.J. Corry brand. A 16 year old single malt, it’s named for a historic pistol linked to the Irish Rebellion that was found on-site at Chapel Gate’s farm. Only 160 bottles are available in the U.S., priced at $125.
Savage & Cooke has unveiled its third whiskey, Lip Service, a 2 year old rye that was finished in French Grenache casks. It’s available at $32 throughout most of the country.
Two new whiskies from Japan are hitting the U.S. and will be poured at WhiskyFest Chicago on March 29. Hatozaki Finest ($39) is a blend of grain and at least 40% malt whiskies, while Hatozaki Small Batch ($59) is a blended malt whisky. Both whiskies are widely available in several states.
Meanwhile, a host of new French whiskies will be coming to store shelves this spring. From G. Miclo Distillery in Alsace, Welche’s single malt whisky is matured in ex-sauternes casks and priced at $89. Two single malt whiskies from Castan Distillery in southern France—Vilanova Roja, aged in red wine casks, and Vilanova Terrocita, aged in white wine casks—are priced at $99. And French independent bottler Maison Benjamin Kuentz is releasing two single malts sourced from Lorraine’s G. Rozelieures Distillery: D’Un Verre Printanier ($99) and Fin de Partie ($109).
Atlanta’s Old Fourth Distillery has unveiled a bottled in bond bourbon sourced from Indiana. For sale in Georgia only, the bourbon is bottled as a single cask whiskey, priced at $49.
Finally, Texas-based Oak & Eden is rolling out its newest “bottle-finished” whiskey. Rye & Rumba is a 2 year old rye sourced from MGP Distillery and bottled with a rum-soaked oak stave to create a finished flavor. Just 3,000 bottles, priced at $54, are available.
Read on for full details.
4/7/2019: This post was updated to reflect new information about Old Fourth Distillery’s bourbon.
The Glenlivet Winchester Collection Vintage 1967 50 year old
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Speyside)
Age: 50 years old
Proof: 48% ABV
Price: $25,000
Release: March 2019
Availability: 150 bottles
Need to know:
This whisky includes single malts that are aged at least 50 years; the youngest component was distilled in December 1967, with the final whisky bottled in June 2018. The whisky is packaged in a custom bottle and box, designed by Bethan Gray, who took inspiration from the Cairngorm mountains. The Winchester Collection honors Glenlivet’s long-serving master distiller, Alan Winchester; previous releases included the 1964 vintage (released in 2014) and 1966 vintage (released in 2016).
Whisky Advocate says:
In the realm of super-old, super-expensive whisky, this Glenlivet falls at the high end, but still within the bounds of what’s considered a “normal” price for half-century scotch. Balvenie 50 year old, for example, came out last year with a price tag of $38,000, while Black Bowmore 1964 had a $25,000 asking price. On the other hand, you could pick up a 50 year old Tomatin for about $13,000, or a 70 year old Glen Grant for even less than this Glenlivet 50. Or, if your heart is set on Glenlivet, how about a 64 year old for half the price of this one?
Old Fitzgerald 13 year old (Spring 2019 Release)
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 13 years old
Proof: 50% ABV
Price: $130
Release: March 2019
Availability: Limited edition
Need to know:
The Spring 2019 release of Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond is a straight bourbon distilled in September 2005 and bottled in February 2019. Like the previous releases, it’s packaged in a decanter-style bottle.
Whisky Advocate says:
Starting last spring, Heaven Hill Distillery began rolling out special-edition Old Fitzgerald bottled in bond bourbons twice a year; its first release, Old Fitzgerald 11 year old, scored 93 points and was our Editors’ Choice whiskey in the Summer 2018 issue. The second release, Old Fitzgerald 9 year old, scored 90 points.
J.J. Corry The Flintlock 16 year old Single Malt
Style: Single malt
Origin: Ireland
Age: 16 years old
Proof: 46% ABV
Price: $125
Release: March 2019
Availability: 160 bottles in the U.S.
Need to know:
The second release from Chapel Gate Whiskey Co., this is a 16 year old single malt whiskey originally distilled at Bushmills. It’s named for a flintlock pistol, dating to the 1790s during the time of the Irish Rebellion, that was discovered hidden in a 16th-century barn on the farm where Chapel Gate is based.
Whisky Advocate says:
Founded by Louise McGuane, Chapel Gate is a whiskey bonder—something akin to an independent bottler. The tradition is an old one in Ireland, but had disappeared for decades until McGuane started Chapel Gate. Now, bonding is one of the many channels contributing to Ireland’s golden age of blended whiskey.
Lip Service Rye
Style: Rye
Origin: Tennessee
Age: Not stated
Proof: 45% ABV
Price: $32
Release: March 2019
Availability: Widely available
Need to know:
The first rye from Savage & Cooke—a distillery and whiskey blending company led by winemaker Dave Phinney—this whiskey was sourced from Tennessee and aged for three years in new charred oak before being finished in grenache casks from Maury, France.
Whisky Advocate says:
Savage & Cooke was founded by winemaker Dave Phinney last year. The distillery, located on a former naval base on Mare Island north of San Francisco, is led by Jordan Via, who is also the master distiller at Breckenridge Distillery in Colorado. Savage & Cooke’s current whiskeys—which include The Burning Chair bourbon and Second Glance American whiskey—are sourced from other distilleries, then finished and blended, but the company is actively distilling whiskey with plans to lay down a whole lot of barrels.
Hatozaki Finest Japanese Whisky
Style: Blended whisky
Origin: Japan
Age: Not stated
Proof: 40% ABV
Price: $39
Release: March 2019
Availability: Widely available in CA, CO, FL, IL, MA, NJ, and NY
Need to know:
This blend of grain and at least 40% malt whiskies is produced at Kaikyo Distillery in Hyogo prefecture.
Hatozaki Small Batch Whisky
Style: Blended malt
Origin: Japan
Age: Not stated
Proof: 46% ABV
Price: $59
Release: March 2019
Availability: Widely available in CA, CO, FL, IL, MA, NJ, and NY
Need to know:
This whisky blends a variety of single malts aged in ex-bourbon, sherry, and mizunara oak casks.
Whisky Advocate says:
Hatozaki is produced at Kaikyo Distillery in Hyogo prefecture; the distillery is part of Akashi sake brewery (not to be confused with Akashi whisky, produced at Eigashima Distillery). The distillery has been making spirits since 1917, but appears to have only begun whisky production in the last couple of years—which means that most, if not all, the liquid in these two whiskies is sourced from elsewhere. This is a fairly common practice in Japan.
Kaikyo employs a multi-step blending process: first, an initial blend is created and put into casks to continue maturing. Then a portion of that blend is mixed with additional, individual whiskies and married for a period of time before bottling.
G. Miclo Welche's Whisky
Style: Single malt
Origin: France (Alsace)
Age: Not stated
Proof: 43% ABV
Price: $89
Release: Spring 2019
Availability: 1,500 bottles for the U.S.
Need to know:
This single malt whisky was made at Miclo Distillery. It matured in ex-sauternes casks and is bottled with no coloring or chill-filtration. Welche is the name of the area where the distillery is located, a geo-linguistic designation that refers to the romance language historically spoken there, rather than the germanic language spoken elsewhere in Alsace.
Whisky Advocate says:
Located in Alsace, Miclo Distillery has been making eau-de-vie from local fruits since 1962. The company began making whisky a few years ago.
Alsace is one of two regions in France with a geographical indication for whisky (the other is Brittany). The Winter 2018 issue of Whisky Advocate includes an in-depth look at France’s whisky industry, one of the most exciting up-and-coming regions in the world.
Castan Vilanova Roja Single Malt
Style: Single malt
Origin: France
Age: Not stated
Proof: 43% ABV
Price: $99
Release: Spring 2019
Availability: 750 bottles in the U.S.
Need to know:
This single cask, single malt whisky was made at Castan Distillery and aged in French oak ex-red wine casks. It is not chill filtered.
Castan Vilanova Terrocita Single Malt
Style: Single malt
Origin: France
Age: Not stated
Proof: 43% ABV
Price: $99
Release: Spring 2019
Availability: 750 bottles in the U.S.
Need to know:
A peated single malt, this whisky was aged in French oak ex-white wine casks. It is bottled as a single cask with no chill filtration.
Whisky Advocate says:
Castan Distillery is located in Tarn in the south of France. The family-owned distillery, run by third-generation distiller Sebastian Castan, uses an alembic still from 1929 outfitted with a modern rectification column. Maturation takes places mainly in ex-wine casks (both red and white), along with some maturation in new French or American oak.
Maison Benjamin Kuentz (D'Un) Verre Printanier Single Malt
Style: Single malt
Origin: France
Age: Not stated
Proof: 46% ABV
Price: $99
Release: Spring 2019
Availability: 1,500 bottles in the U.S.
Need to know:
This single malt whisky was made at G. Rozelieures Distillery in Lorraine, France and aged in cognac and bourbon casks. The name translates to “a springtime glass.”
Maison Benjamin Kuentz Fin de Partie
Style: Single malt
Origin: France
Age: Not stated
Proof: 46% ABV
Price: $109
Release: Spring 2019
Availability: 750 bottles in the U.S.
Need to know:
This whisky was distilled at G. Rozelieures, which uses all its own barley. The family-owned distillery also makes eau-de-vie from its own mirabelle plums.
Whisky Advocate says:
Maison Benjamin Kuentz is not a distiller, but a blender and independent bottler; in French, the company uses the term “editor” to describe its collaborative model of partnering with distilleries to create its whiskies. Besides G. Rozelieures, Kuentz has also worked with Warenghem Distillery in Brittany, which makes Armorik, whose Double Maturation single malt was number 6 in the 2018 Top 20.
Old Fourth Bottled in Bond Bourbon (2019 Release)
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Indiana
Age: 4 years old
Proof: 50% ABV
Price: $49
Release: February 2019
Availability: Georgia only
Need to know:
This straight bourbon was distilled at MGP and matured and bottled at Atlanta’s Old Fourth Distillery, produced according to the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897—meaning it was made in a single distilling season, aged for four years, and bottled at 50% ABV, among other criteria. The bourbon is being bottled as a single-barrel product with minimal filtration.
Whisky Advocate says:
Bottled in bond whiskey is becoming more common among small distillers, although few can afford to wait a full four years before releasing their whiskey. Old Fourth has pulled it off, and we look forward to reviewing their whiskey soon.
Oak & Eden Rye & Rumba
Style: Rye
Origin: Indiana
Age: Not stated
Proof: 45% ABV
Price: $54
Release: March 2019
Availability: 3,000 bottles in CO, LA, OK, and TX
Need to know:
Distilled at MGP Distillery and aged for two years in new charred oak, this rye whiskey is “finished” in the bottle, which includes a rum-soaked oak stave.
Whisky Advocate says:
Texas-based Oak & Eden produces other “bottle-finished” whiskeys, including bourbon with a toasted oak spiral and rye with a charred oak spiral.
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