Old Overholt 4 year old, Barrell Craft Spirits Grey Label Dovetail, & More [New Releases]

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New whiskey releases this week all come from the U.S. Old Overholt is raising the age of its flagship straight rye to 4 years, Barrell Craft Spirits is adding a Dovetail expression to its Grey Label line, and Daviess County kicks off its range of toasted barrel finishes with a Lightly Toasted straight bourbon. Read on for full details.

Old Overholt 4 year old

Old Overholt 4 year old

Style: Straight rye
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 4 year old
ABV: 43%
Price: $20
Release: August 2022
Availability: Nationwide

Need to know:

Old Overholt is raising the age of its flagship straight rye from 3 to 4 years old. The change comes just a few years after the proof was raised from 40% to 43% ABV.

Whisky Advocate says:

Old Overholt has a storied past, with roots that go back to the 1800s. While Beam Suntory moved production from Pennsylvania to Kentucky, they remain committed to preserving that history, with rye whiskey specialist Bradford Lawrence diving deep into the brand’s archives while shepherding its modern evolution. The increase in proof and age reflects what the whiskey would have been bottled at in the early 1940s. 

Overholt also released 11 year old and 114 proof expresions in July 2020, both of which were limited, and revamped its Bottled in Bond expression the same year, with that whiskey landing at No. 12 on our 2020 Top 20 list. Overholt has long been a favorite for bartenders and whiskey drinkers looking for a solid bargain.

Barrell Craft Spirits Grey Label Dovetail

Barrell Craft Spirits Grey Label Dovetail

Style: Finished whiskey
Origin: Indiana, Tennessee, and Canada
Age: Not stated
ABV: 65.77%
Price: $250
Release: August 2022
Availability: Limited; 13,000 bottles

Need to know:

Barrell Craft Spirits is adding this Dovetail expression to its Grey Label line. Like the original Dovetail, which debuted in December 2018, this whiskey was finished in rum, port, and Dunn Vineyards Cabernet barrels. However, as part of the Grey Label line, it pulls from a selection of rare stocks, some of which were aged up to 20 years.

Whisky Advocate says:

Barrell made a name for itself as a skilled blending house with a series of batched bourbons, using whiskeys distilled in a variety of places including Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana. It has also grown its reputation for cask finishing with a series of inventive releases like Seagrass, Armida, and Dovetail. Your preferences may vary on each of those expressions, which blend together a variety of cask types, but there’s no denying Barrell’s depth of inventory as it unveils advanced aged versions of each. Grey Label Seagrass, which carries a 16 year age statement, scored 88 points in the Summer 2022 Buying Guide, one of the many cask strength whiskies reviewed in that issue.

Daviess County Lightly Toasted

Daviess County Lightly Toasted

Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 4 year old
ABV: 48%
Price: $50
Release: August 2022
Availability: 18,000 bottles

Need to know:

This whiskey, which features the brand’s signature combination of high-rye and wheated bourbon mashbills, was aged for four-plus years in charred oak barrels, then finished in lightly toasted American oak barrels.

Whisky Advocate says:

Lightly Toasted is the first whiskey in Daviess County’s new range of toasted barrel finishes, which will be released annually. Daviess County was revived two years ago by Luxco, parent company of Lux Row Distillers, and was originally distilled by Daviess County Distilling Co. back in 1874. Today, the other whiskeys in the lineup include a Kentucky straight bourbon, cabernet sauvignon cask-finished bourbon, and a bourbon finished in French oak.

Whiskey Del Bac Normandie

Whiskey Del Bac Normandie

Style: American single malt
Origin: Arizona
Age: Not stated
ABV: 48.5%
Price: $90
Release: August 6, 2022
Availability: 900 bottles; Arizona, California, Illinois, and New York

Need to know:

Normandie is the second annual release in Arizona-based Whiskey Del Bac’s Global Cask Collection. Three expressions, all inspired by regions of Europe, are released annually. To create Normandie Whiskey Del Bac finished its Classic American single malt in calvados barrels from the coastal region of Normandy, France for 13 months. Normandie was preceded by Frontera (finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry cask from Jerez) and will be followed by a Southwest desert spin on heavily peated Islay scotch this December.

Whisky Advocate says:

Founded in 2006, Whiskey Del Bac is produced by Hamilton Distillers in Tucson. Its lineup includes core and special release single malts. Classic, Dorado, and Old Pueblo, an unaged expression. Its special releases include Global Cask Collection and Distiller’s Cuts. 

At the base of this expression is Whiskey Del Bac’s Classic single malt, made from 100% barley malt, copper pot distilled, and aged in new charred American oak barrels in the Sonoran Desert. Whiskey Del Bac’s other flagship American single malt Dorado is made using barley smoked over a velvet mesquite fire; it scored 90 points by our review panel.

15 Stars 7 & 15 YO Private Stock

15 Stars 7 & 15 YO Private Stock

Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 7 year old
ABV: 53.5%
Price: $139
Release: August 2022
Availability: Limited

Need to know:

The second whiskey in the 15 Stars lineup, this bourbon marries Kentucky straight bourbons aged for 7 and 15 years.

Whisky Advocate says:

Run by father-son duo Rick and Ricky Johnson, 15 Stars is a celebration of Kentucky’s rich distilling history. Ricky serves as the brand’s head blender; while this new whiskey was sourced, the brand’s first release, a 14 year old bourbon, was contract distilled and warehoused in Bardstown, Kentucky. 15 Stars 7 & 15 YO Private Stock is available throughout Kentucky, as well as online at seelbachs.com.

Breckenridge Mile High Blends

Breckenridge Mile High Blends

Style: Bourbon
Origin: Colorado
Age: Not stated
ABV: 43%
Price: $44
Release: August 8, 2022
Availability: Limited; Colorado only

Need to know:

These two limited-edition blends of bourbon, Orange and Blue, are the second collaboration Breckenridge Distillery has produced in conjunction with the Denver Broncos. Mile High Blue was selected by Breckenridge head distiller Hans Stafsholt and former (2003-2006) Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer. Breckenridge Distillery founder Bryan Nolt joined forces with former Broncos linebacker Karl Mecklenburg to create Mile High Orange. This year’s collaboration is named in honor of the Broncos “Mile High Era”—celebrating the 60th anniversary of the team’s classic orange and blue logo used from 1962-1969 that fans associate with the now-demolished Mile High Stadium.

Whisky Advocate says:

Breckenridge, the official bourbon of the Denver Broncos football franchise, was founded in 2008 and is one of the most extreme locations for aging as it is situated 9,600 feet above sea level. The first collaboration in this series was the Champions Blend Orange and Blue labels. Like with the Champions Blend, fans can cast a vote for which of the expressions is best at breckenridge.com. Voters are then entered to receive Breckenridge and Broncos swag.

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