The presents are wrapped and you’re probably setting out cookies and whisky for Santa, but if you want to pause for new whisky—keep reading.
Macallan has released a limited-edition single malt in collaboration with the Roca brothers. Macallan: Distil Your World: The London Edition is priced at $4,500, with 2,000 bottles available.
A new Japanese whisky brand called Shibui has debuted in the U.S. with a range of single grain rice whiskies and “pure malts”—Japanese malt whisky blended with imported single malt scotch. The lineup is available in several states and ranges from $50 to over $1,000.
The first whisky from China has hit U.S. shores. Bottled by Aiko Importers, Goalong 5 year old single malt is priced at $150, with less than 3,000 bottles available.
Phenomenal Spirits is launching RY3, a blended rye whiskey. It’s for sale for $55 in the Mid-Atlantic, with expansion planned.
Bardstown Bourbon Co. is rolling out the second batch of Phifer Pavitt Reserve ($125; 8,484 bottles), as well as the fourth releases of Fusion ($60; 54,000 bottles) and Discovery ($130; 21,000 bottles).
Finally, Barrell Craft Spirits is set to release Batch 027 of its bourbon. The limited-edition whiskey is priced at $90.
Read on for full details.
Macallan Distil Your World: The London Edition
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Speyside)
Age: Not stated
Proof: 57.5% ABV
Price: $4,500 bottles
Release: November 2020
Availability: 2,000 bottles
Need to know:
A collaboration between Macallan whisky maker Steven Bremner and Joan, Josep, and Jordi Roca, who own famed Spanish restaurant El Celler de Can Roca, this whisky combines six oloroso sherry-seasoned European oak casks. The goal is to evoke a sensory experience of London, and the whisky is designed to accompany a new documentary series helmed by the Roca brothers.
Whisky Advocate says:
Macallan and the Roca brothers previously collaborated on Edition No. 2 (90 points), but this whisky is considerably more rare and expensive. As you might expect, its packaging is deluxe, with a large presentation box accented by London-esque details, like brickwork and a map-like engraving.
Shibui Japanese Whisky
Style: Blended whisky
Origin: Japan and Scotland
Age: Varies
Proof: Varies
Price: $50 to $1,070
Release: Fall 2020
Availability: AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, HI, IL, IN, MN, NJ, NY, NM, NV, TX, and WA
Need to know:
A relatively new company, Shibui acts as a rectifier and blender, mainly working with Japanese-distilled whisky and also sometimes incorporating whiskies from Scotland. There are two lines in the Shibui brand, each named for the city of their main distillery source: the Niigata range and Okinawa range.
The Niigata range includes:
- Shibui Grain Select—43% ABV, $50. A blend of Japanese and scotch wheat grain whiskies, matured in bourbon, oloroso sherry, and mizunara oak casks.
- Shibui Pure Malt—43%, $70. A blend of single malts from Japan and the lowlands of Scotland, matured in bourbon, oloroso sherry, and mizunara oak casks.
- Shibui Pure Malt 10 year old—43%, $140. A blend of single malts from Japan and the lowlands of Scotland, matured for at least 10 years in bourbon, oloroso sherry, and mizunara oak casks.
The Okinawa range is all made from Thai indica rice, fermented with Okinawa’s black koji, and includes:
- Shibui 8 year old Single Grain—40% ABV, $146. Made at Shinzato Distillery and aged in manzanilla and fino sherry casks.
- Shibui 10 year old White Oak Single Grain—43% ABV, $170. Made at Masahiro Distillery and aged in virgin European white oak casks.
- Shibui 10 year old Bourbon Cask Single Grain—40% ABV, $170. Made at Shinzato Distillery and matured in bourbon casks.
- Shibui 15 year old Single Grain—43% ABV, $216. Made at Masahiro Distillery and matured in manzanilla and fino sherry casks.
- Shibui 18 year old Sherry Oak Single Grain—40% ABV, $300. Made at Kumesen Distillery and matured in manzanilla and fino sherry casks.
- Shibui 30 year old Single Grain—43% ABV, $1,070. Made at Masahiro Distillery and aged in bourbon, sherry, and virgin European oak casks.
Whisky Advocate says:
It’s an open secret that many Japanese whiskies aren’t fully made in Japan, and Shibui is actually making that a part of its messaging, sharing openly that its blends include sourced liquid.
Its Okinawa range includes all rice-based whiskies, a relatively recent phenomenon that this Whisky Advocate article explains in detail. The rice and koji used for Shibui’s whiskies are slightly different from those strains used by other producers, but I would expect the whiskies to taste fairly similar in profile nevertheless.
World Whiskey Society Goalong 5 year old Chinese Single Malt
Style: Single malt
Origin: China
Age: 5 years old
Proof: 40% ABV
Price: $150
Release: Fall 2020
Availability: 2,884 bottles
Need to know:
Made at Goalong Distillery in Changsha, China, part of Hunan province in the country’s southeast, this single malt aged in bourbon casks for 5 years.
Whisky Advocate says:
The Goalong Distillery opened a new facility in September 2020, but according to Alex Kogan, partner at Aiko Importers, Goalong had been distilling whisky for years prior to the expansion. Aiko is releasing Goalong single malt as part of its World Whiskey Society label, which also includes bourbons and other whiskies packaged in elaborate decanter-style bottles.
Phenomenal Spirits RY3
Style: Blended rye whiskey
Origin: Indiana and Alberta, Canada
Age: Not stated
Proof: 50% ABV
Price: $55
Release: December 2020
Availability: For sale in AL, DE, MD, MS, and Washington, D.C., with expansion planned
Need to know:
There are three component whiskies in this blend, ranging in age from 3 to 12 years old: 95% rye from MGP, 100% rye from Alberta Distillers, and light whiskey from MGP. Once blended, the whiskey is finished in Ron Izalco rum barrels.
Whisky Advocate says:
Phenomenal Spirits has tapped Matt Witzig, formerly of Jos. A. Magnus & Co., to lead its whiskey operations as master blender and COO. The company also produces Ron Izalco, and has plans to start a single-barrel whiskey program in the near future.
Bardstown Bourbon Co. Collaborative Series Phifer Pavitt Reserve (2020 Release)
Style: Finished bourbon
Origin: Tennessee
Age: 10 years old
Proof: 50% ABV
Price: $125
Release: December 2020
Availability: 8,484 bottles
Need to know:
A follow up to the first release in May 2019, this Tennessee-sourced bourbon was aged for 10 years in new charred oak and then finished for 18 months in cabernet sauvignon barrels from Napa Valley’s Phifer Pavitt Winery.
Whisky Advocate says:
Bardstown Bourbon Co. does all sorts of creative finishes with its Collaborative series, from armagnac to apple brandy, but this is the first time it has repeated a collaboration. Clearly, the distillery liked the results from the first run—and so did we, as we gave the 2019 release of Phifer Pavitt Reserve 92 points.
Concurrent with this finished bourbon, Bardstown Bourbon is releasing the fourth installments of its Fusion ($60; 54,000 bottles) and Discovery ($130 21,000 bottles) straight bourbons.
Barrell Bourbon (Batch 027)
Style: Blend of straight bourbons
Origin: KY, IN, and TN
Age: Not stated
Proof: 57.85% ABV
Price: $90
Release: January 2021
Availability: Limited edition
Need to know:
This batch of Barrell includes bourbons of varying ages and styles, including 5 and 8 year old wheated bourbons, along with 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, and 15 year old rye bourbons.
Whisky Advocate says:
Barrell comes out with new batches so frequently that scarcely an issue of Whisky Advocate gets published without a review of the latest in the Buying Guide. We reviewed Barrell Batch 024 in the Fall Buying Guide, scoring it 93 points, and will have a review for Batch 025 in the Winter issue, hitting newsstands on Jan. 5, 2021. And more to come in Spring 2021!
