Old Forester Single Barrel Rye, Russell’s Reserve 13 year old, & More [New Releases]

Whisky Advocate’s Summer 2021 issue hit the newsstands this week, featuring the latest on Ireland’s whiskey renaissance, a look at Japan’s distillers under the country’s new classification guidelines, and a tour of heavy metal rockers who are making whiskey in collaboration with craft distillers. There’s also a feature on home whisky rooms and the folks who’ve created these elaborate spaces. Pick up a copy of our Summer issue today, or order a subscription here.

This week’s new releases include a single barrel rye from Old Forester, a 13 year old bourbon from Wild Turkey, a light and sweet single malt from Glenmorangie, a pair of single barrel whiskeys from WhistlePig, and more. Read on for full details.

Old Forester Barrel Strength Single Barrel Rye

Old Forester Barrel Strength Single Barrel Rye

Style: Straight rye
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not stated
ABV: Varies
Price: $80
Release: June 2021
Availability: Limited

Need to know:

After introducing its straight rye in 2019, Old Forester is releasing this barrel strength single barrel rye in limited quantities. The alcohol by volume (ABV) will vary depending on the barrel, but one bottle pulled from Warehouse G, 3rd floor comes in at a whopping 63.5%. This is the first single barrel offering from Old Forester to be made available nationwide, albeit in limited quantities.

Whisky Advocate says:

Old Forester has been on a roll with new whiskeys lately. In September 2020, it unveiled its 150th Anniversary Batch Proof straight bourbon, released in three batches that scored between 93 and 94 points. This past March, it launched The 117 Series, a limited-edition collection whose inaugural release was its High Angels’ Share straight bourbon. Master taster Jackie Zykan has clearly been hard at work crafting new expressions, and we have great expectations for this high-proof single barrel rye.

Russell’s Reserve 13 year old

Russell’s Reserve 13 year old

Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 13 year old
ABV: 57.4%
Price: $70
Release: June 2021
Availability: Limited

Need to know:

This limited edition, non-chill filtered bottling was aged for at least 13 years, with barrel proof maintained throughout maturation.

Whisky Advocate says:

This is the latest aged expression from Russell’s Reserve, coming on the heels of its oldest release to date, the 16 year old Russell’s Reserve 2003. This one will be easier to find than the 16 year old, with nationwide (though still relatively limited) availability.

X by Glenmorangie

X by Glenmorangie

Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Highlands)
Age: Not stated
ABV: 40%
Price: $34
Release: June 2021
Availability: Widely available

Need to know:

Glenmorangie worked with top bartenders to craft this single malt, which is meant to be sweeter in style than its other whiskies, lending itself to easy sipping and mixing.

Whisky Advocate says:

X by Glenmorangie adds to a growing number of lighter, sweeter whisky releases, designed with cocktails and daytime sipping in mind. Johnnie Walker introduced its Blonde blend in test markets in December with broader expansion now underway, and Nikka unveiled its Days blend last July. These are generally at lower proof and lower price points, which might also attract whisky newcomers.

WhistlePig FarmStock Beyond Bonded Rye

WhistlePig FarmStock Beyond Bonded Rye

Style: Straight rye
Origin: Vermont
Age: 4 year old
ABV: 50.05%
Price: $100
Release: June 2021
Availability: Highly limited

Need to know:

This whiskey was made with 100% Remington rye, harvested from WhistlePig’s North Orwell 1 field. The whiskey’s name refers to the proof, which slightly surpasses the 50% mark required by the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897.

WhistlePig FarmStock Beyond Bonded Bourbon

WhistlePig FarmStock Beyond Bonded Bourbon

Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Vermont
Age: 4 year old
ABV: 50.05%
Price: $100
Release: June 2021
Availability: Highly limited

Need to know:

This is the first bourbon in WhistlePig’s lineup. It was made with a high-rye mashbill of 51% Dent corn and 49% Remington and Rifle rye varieties, all harvested from the distillery’s North Orwell 1 and North Orwell 2 fields.  Both the bourbon and rye were distilled in WhistlePig’s “Mortimer” hybrid still, proofed with water from the distillery’s well, and aged at least four years in Vermont estate oak barrels.

Whisky Advocate says:

These releases represent a major milestone for WhistlePig as the distillery’s first 100% grain-to-glass products. All the bottles feature a QR code on the label, which shows the farm-to-table trajectory and contains 30 facts about the whiskey. Quantities are extremely limited, with just 24 barrels of the rye and 16 barrels of the bourbon on offer for the 2021 release. If you can’t snag a bottle of Beyond Bonded this time around, you’ll have to wait until next spring for the 2022 drop.

Four Gate Batch 13 River Kelvin Rye

Four Gate Batch 13 River Kelvin Rye

Style: Straight rye
Origin: Indiana
Age: 8 year old
ABV: 56.6%
Price: $185
Release: June 2021
Availability: 2,470 bottles in KY, TN, GA and online through seelbachs.com, bourbonoutfitter.com, and caskers.com

Need to know:

This second edition of River Kelvin Rye—Four Gate’s only rye label—was distilled at MGP from a mashbill of 95% rye and 5% malted barley just like its predecessor, but has been aged one year longer.

Whisky Advocate says:

River Kelvin Rye is named for the River Kelvin in Glasgow, Scotland, which is the namesake of Kentucky’s Kelvin Cooperage—maker of Four Gate’s barrels. While this whiskey is unfinished, several finished versions of River Kelvin are slated for the coming months. Nine barrels also have been made available to stores and fans as private select casks.

Blue Run 13.5 year old Single Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon

Blue Run 13.5 year old Single Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon

Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 13.5 year old
ABV: Varies
Price: $230
Release: May 2021
Availability: CA, DE, GA, MD, KY, SC, TN, and Washington D.C.

Need to know:

Blue Run, which works with former Four Roses master distiller Jim Rutledge, is releasing this cask strength single barrel bourbon in a tranche of 10 separate bottlings from 10 different barrels. The proof varies from barrel to barrel.

Whisky Advocate says:

We reviewed Blue Run’s Fall 2020 release—a 13 year old Kentucky bourbon—in our Spring 2021 Buying Guide. It scored 91 points, and was priced at $170. This release is significantly higher-priced at $230, which speaks to its considerable popularity.

GlenAllachie 30 year old Cask Strength Batch 1

GlenAllachie 30 year old Cask Strength Batch 1

Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Speyside)
Age: 30 year old
ABV: 48.9%
Price: $671
Release: May 2021
Availability: 2,000 bottles

Need to know:

This single malt is a blend of 1989 and 1990 vintage whiskies matured in Pedro Ximénez and oloroso sherry barrels, as well as chinquapin virgin oak casks. It was bottled without chill filtering or added coloring.

Whisky Advocate says:

It’s rare enough to get your hands on a 30 year old single malt—let alone one that’s bottled at cask strength. As we have detailed in the past, more proof means more flavor, especially when it comes to cask strength scotch.

Stauning Rye

Stauning Rye

Style: Rye
Origin: Denmark
Age: 3 year old
ABV: 48%
Price: $80
Release: June 2021
Availability: Limited

Need to know:

Made from a recipe of floor-malted rye and floor-malted barley, which punctuate the cereal notes in the whisky. Direct-fire distilled in small pot stills and matured in new American oak barrels.

Stauning Kaos

Stauning Kaos

Style: Triple malt
Origin: Denmark
Age: 4 year old
ABV: 46%
Price: $90
Release: June 2021
Availability: Limited

Need to know:

Blend of malted rye, smoked single malt, and unsmoked single malt. The name is inspired by Danish politician Thorvald Stauning, who won re-election as prime minister in 1935 with the slogan “Stauning or Chaos.”

Stauning Smoke

Stauning Smoke

Style: Single malt
Origin: Denmark
Age: 5 year old
ABV: 47%
Price: $100
Release: June 2021
Availability: Limited

Need to know:

A mildly smoked single malt whisky made from 100% malted barley grown in the Jutland Peninsula on Denmark’s west coast and smoked over locally harvested peat and heather.

Whisky Advocate says:

Founded in 2005 as Denmark’s first whisky distillery, Stauning Whisky has attracted something of a cult following in Europe. Situated on Denmark’s windswept Jutland Peninsula, Stauning began with peated expressions that initially were compared to the whiskies of Islay. But co-founder Alex Munch says the goal is to create Danish-style whiskies, even if Stauning does use traditional Scottish production methods. The whiskies have garnered consistently high scores in Whisky Advocate reviews, and while volumes for this U.S. debut are limited, Stauning promises more for next year and beyond.

Laws Bonded Centennial Straight Wheat

Laws Bonded Centennial Straight Wheat

Style: Wheat
Origin: Colorado
Age: 5 year old
ABV: 50%
Price: $75
Release: May 2021
Availability: 3,100 bottles

Need to know:

This whiskey is made from 100% soft white centennial wheat grown in the high altitude San Luis Valley of Southern Colorado. The heirloom varietal of spring wheat makes it a soft and floral whiskey with a bright, clean finish according to Laws.

Whisky Advocate says:

While bourbon is the most common style to receive bonded or bottled in bond status, it is by no means the only one. In fact, any barrel-aged spirit can be considered bottled in bond and Denver-based Laws has made a commitment to producing such whiskeys, as this list shows.

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