As blazing hot temperatures linger on, refreshing sippers tend to take the edge off. While you could certainly head to a bar, why not make a drink at home—and one with your very own homemade shrub at that? A mixture of fruit, sugar, and vinegar, shrubs is perfect for preserving summer flavors, and go wonderfully in whisky cocktails, too. Try your hand at one of these four whisky-and-shrub cocktails in our new guide, and beat the summer heat.
There’s plenty of new whisky this week, much of it is American-made. Heaven’s Door, the Nashville-based brand co-founded by Bob Dylan, has debuted the first release in its new Decade Series, a collection of whiskeys aged 10 years or older; Woodford Reserve has unveiled the latest edition of Batch Proof; and Booker’s is back with its second release of the year. Read on for full details.
Heaven’s Door Decade Series Release #01
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Tennessee
Age: 10 year old
ABV: 50%
Price: $99
Release: July 2022
Availability: Limited
Need to know:
Heaven’s Door has announced The Decade Series, a collection of small batch sourced whiskeys all 10 years or older. The first release is a 10 year old high-rye Tennessee bourbon (22% rye) that is neither chill-filtered nor charcoal mellowed and comes from a lot of 290 barrels.
Whisky Advocate says:
The absence of charcoal mellowing means this isn’t technically a Tennessee whiskey, but bourbon and Tennessee whiskey are pretty similar styles in both process and flavor. Two Tennessee bourbons made our 2021 Top 20 List—George Dickel 8 year old at No. 5, and Bib & Tucker 6 year old Small Batch at No. 14, scoring 93 points each—however they both underwent the Lincoln County process of charcoal filtration. It will be interesting to see how this non-filtered whiskey tastes alongside those and other more traditional Tennessee whiskeys as well as what else Heaven’s Door has planned for this ongoing series. Heaven’s Door has previously released a 10 year old Tennessee bourbon that scored 89 points, but this is a different whiskey entirely, according to the brand.
Woodford Reserve Batch Proof (2022 Edition)
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not stated
ABV: 59.2%
Price: $130
Release: July 2022
Availability: Limited
Need to know:
Released as part of Woodford Reserve’s annual Master’s Collection series, the 2022 edition of Batch Proof comes with a slightly lower ABV than in previous years. Master distiller Chris Morris credits that to the fact that this batch has a higher percentage of barrels drawn from the first floors of their heat-cycled warehouses. Morris says barrels at that level tend to yield a lower proof due to a lower angels’ share.
Whisky Advocate says:
Woodford Reserve Batch Proof landed at No. 6 on our 2019 Top 20 list, scoring 94 points. In 2020, it scored 94 points again, proving great consistency from year to year. While the ABV of the 2022 release is a few percentage points lower—it has previously hovered in the low to mid 60s—we’d still expect a big, full-flavored whiskey.
Booker’s 2022-02 “The Lumberyard Batch”
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 7 years, 1 month, 7 days
ABV: 62.4%
Price: $90
Release: July 2022
Availability: Limited
Need to know:
The second Booker’s release of the year, “The Lumberyard Batch,” is named in honor of the lumberyard where Booker Noe worked prior to his long tenure at Jim Beam Distillery. While Booker had dreams of joining the Air Force, it was his time at the local lumberyard working alongside Jeremiah Beam that actually led him on the path toward becoming master distiller.
Whisky Advocate says:
The second batch of Booker’s of 2022 arrives hot on the heels of the first, after 2022-01 “Ronnie’s Batch” was released just last month. At the time, it seemed like there would potentially be less Booker’s released this year, but with “The Lumberyard Batch,” Beam appears to be back on track to release four batches. Most recently, we scored 2021-04 “Noe Strangers Batch” 90 points in the Spring 2022 Buying Guide.
Royal Brackla 12 year old
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Highlands)
Age: 12 year old
ABV: 46%
Price: $71
Release: July 2022
Availability: Limited markets; IL, NY, and Washington, D.C.
Need to know:
This 12 year old single malt was finished in oloroso sherry casks.
Royal Brackla 18 year old
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Highlands)
Age: 18 year old
ABV: 46%
Price: $300
Release: July 2022
Availability: Limited markets; IL, NY, and Washington, D.C.
Need to know:
This single malt was finished in palo cortado sherry casks.
Royal Brackla 21 year old
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Highlands)
Age: 21 year old
ABV: 46%
Price: $600
Release: July 2022
Availability: Limited markets; IL, NY, and Washington, D.C.
Need to know:
The oldest release in the new Royal Brackla range was finished in a combination of Pedro Ximénez, oloroso, and palo cortado sherry casks.
Whisky Advocate says:
These three whiskies are a resurrection of Royal Brackla’s core range, as imagined by Dewar’s malt master Stephanie Macleod. The sherry casks used for finishing each whisky came from Bodegas Jose y Miguel Martin. Aside from all three being aged in one or more sherry casks, the whiskies were also bottled at 46% ABV, quite a leap from past Royal Brackla releases, which fell at 40% ABV. According to Macleod, the sherry casks add deeper complexity and dimension to Royal Brackla, complementing the brand’s signature flavor profile.
Bardstown Bourbon Company Discovery #8
Style: Blended whiskey
Origin: Kentucky; Indiana; Ontario, Canada
Age: 6 year old
ABV: 57.05%
Price: $140
Release: July 2022
Availability: 72,000 bottles
Need to know:
The eighth release in Bardstown’s Discovery series is an international blend that brings together bourbon, rye, and corn whisky. The blend is 66% 12 year old Kentucky bourbon, 17% 7 year old Indiana 51% rye, 11% 12 year old corn whisky from Canada, and 6% Indiana rye made from a 95% rye mash. The whiskey was matured with a combination of five barrel stave types including French Oak, Rioja, and charred staves. Along with the release of #8, Bardstown has teased the ninth entry in the Discovery series. That whiskey, coming in September, will introduce a new source for Bardstown’s blended whiskies: Georgia. In addition to Georgia craft bourbon, #9 will also include 17 year old Tennessee whiskey, Kentucky bourbon, and Canadian whisky.
Whisky Advocate says:
Bardstown Bourbon’s creative approach to blending whiskies has yielded strong results from the beginning. Half of the distillery’s Discovery series (Nos.1, 2, 4, and 6) have scored 91 points or higher in our Buying Guide, with the first, second, and fourth releases receiving 94 points each. The distiller’s other bottlings are no slouches either, with many of Bardstown’s Fusion series bottlings and their collaborations with other distilleries receiving high marks.
Barrell Bourbon Batch 33
Style: Blend of straight bourbons
Origin: Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee
Age: 5 year old
ABV: 58.3%
Price: $90
Release: July 2022
Availability: Limited
Need to know:
The latest batch from Barrell comes from whiskeys aged for 5, 6, 7, and 9 years. While the whiskey was bottled in Kentucky, the blend consists of high-rye and high-corn barrels from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana.
Whisky Advocate says:
Barrell consistently delivers high quality whiskeys, most recently earning a spot on our Spring 2022 Editor’s Choice list with its New Year Cask Strength Bourbon (92 points). As with previous batch releases, this whiskey is bottled at barrel strength.
Garrison Brothers Guadalupe (2022 Edition)
Style: Finished bourbon
Origin: Texas
Age: 6 year old
ABV: 53.5%
Price: $150
Release: July 2022
Availability: 5,902 bottles
Need to know:
This is the second annual release of Guadalupe; like the first edition, this straight bourbon was also finished in tawny port casks.
Whisky Advocate says:
Guadalupe gets its name from a river in Texas. The whiskey starts as Garrison Bros. 4 year old straight bourbon, and sees an additional two years of aging in tawny port casks (sourced from winemakers in Portugal with whom master distiller Donnis Todd has formed relationships). In celebration of this year’s release, the distillery is hosting a special drive-through event on July 23rd, where 1,002 bottles will be available for sale; the remaining bottles will be available nationwide starting August 1st.
