Teeling Blackpitts (Batch 1)

Style: Single malt
Origin: Ireland
Age: Not stated
Proof: 46% ABV
Price: $75
Release: Early 2021 in the U.S.
Availability: 6,000 bottles for the U.S.

Need to know:

The first peated whiskey from Teeling, this single malt was triple-distilled at the Dublin distillery. It was matured in both bourbon and sauternes casks.

Whisky Advocate says:

The name Blackpitts refers to an area near Teeling’s location in the Liberties which was once home to malting houses that would have often used peat to dry the barley. With this release, Teeling joins a tiny group of Irish distillers making peated whiskey—though with Ireland’s ongoing distillery boom, that number is likely to rise.

Cascade Moon Edition No. 1

Style: Blended whiskey
Origin: Tennessee
Age: 11 years old
Proof: 42% ABV
Price: $90
Release: October 2020
Availability: CA, TN, TX

Need to know:

From Cascade Hollow Distilling Co., home of George Dickel and more, comes a new series of blended whiskies known as Moon Edition. This first release was created by General Manager & Distiller Nicole Austin, who was inspired by the tasting notes found in a gose-style beer. It consists of 16 and 11 year old whiskies. A second release from the series is coming later this fall.

Whisky Advocate says:

This is technically a blended whiskey—not a Tennessee whiskey—even though all the liquid was made at Cascade Hollow because it includes 16 year old whiskey that was aged in refill casks. To be considered Tennessee whiskey, it needs to age in new charred oak containers.

All the same, we have liked the whiskies coming from Austin and Cascade Hollow, including last year’s Whisky of the Year, so we are excited to see how this new release performs with our tasting panel.

Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 7

Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Speyside)
Age: Not stated
Proof: 52.4% ABV
Price: $420
Release: October 2020
Availability: Limited (700 cases worldwide)

Need to know:

The seventh release in this series from Balvenie malt master David Stewart marries 21 unique casks, the same number as last year’s batch. Those casks include seven sherry hogsheads, 10 refill sherry butts, and four refill casks. The liquids were married in the distillery’s tun for three months before bottling.

Whisky Advocate says:

The Tun 1509 series remains one of the best luxury whiskies you can buy, a snapshot of Stewart’s blending mastery. This year’s batch sees a slight bump in price up from the previous edition’s $400.

Barrell Armida

Style: Finished bourbon
Origin: Tennessee
Age: Not stated
Proof: 56.05% ABV
Price: $90
Release: October 2020
Availability: Limited edition

Need to know:

This blend includes three Tennessee bourbons, each finished separately in Jamaican rum, pear brandy, and Sicilian amaro casks.

Whisky Advocate says:

Barrell founder Joe Beatrice named this bourbon for his mother, who had a family farm with orchards. Beatrice’s childhood experiences visiting the farm and orchards inspired many of the early test blends of this whiskey.

Stranahan's Blue Peak

Style: American single malt
Origin: Colorado
Age: Not stated
Proof: 43% ABV
Price: $43
Release: October 2020
Availability: Widely available

Need to know:

This single malt was aged for 4 years in 53-gallon, new American oak barrels with a #3 char. The whiskey is then finished via the Solera process, where the casks are partially emptied and refilled to create a continuous cycle of fractional blending. The process is popular with wine—especially sherry—but whisky makers have been increasingly using it as well.

Whisky Advocate says:

This release comes on the heels of last month’s announcement of Stranahan’s 10 year old Mountain Angel single malt—the Colorado distillery’s oldest whiskey to date. It’s always exciting to see a new American single malt released as the category continues to grow, and this whiskey is no exception.

Torabhaig Legacy Series I: 2017

Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Islands)
Age: 3 years old
Proof: 46% ABV
Price: £50 (about $65)
Release: February 2021
Availability: 32,000 bottles, with an estimated 6,000 for the U.S.

Need to know:

This is the first single malt, a first-edition bottling, and the issue of a single distillation vintage from Torabhaig, the Isle of Skye’s second-ever legal distillery. Torabhaig began production in 2017, and all of the casks for this release will be drawn from that year.

Whisky Advocate says:

Torabhaig began distilling in 2017 with a local team of nine distillers, many of them new to the industry. For the first release of the Legacy series, 100 barrels will be selected from the first 500 produced during the first six months of production.

Whisky Advocate caught up with Neil Mathieson, chief executive at Torabhaig parent company Mossburn Distillers, in December 2019, and he spoke of plans to tackle a number of experiments with peat level, and emphasized that Torabhaig will focus on innovating in a scientific manner. We look forward to reviewing this whisky in an upcoming Buying Guide.

Jacob's Pardon 8 year old Small Batch American Whiskey (Recipe No. 1)

Style: American whiskey
Origin: Indiana and Tennessee
Age: 8 years old
Proof: 48.6% ABV
Price: $90
Release: October 2020
Availability: 14,892 bottles

Need to know:

A blend of 15 year old light whiskey from Indiana with 8 year old Tennessee whiskey, this is the first release in the new Jacob’s Pardon line.

Whisky Advocate says:

Jacob’s Pardon is also debuting with two single-barrel whiskeys, both priced at $200 and at whopping proofs: Barrel No. 23 (169 bottles) is at 70.9% ABV, while Barrel No. 37 (106 bottles) is at 69.75% ABV.

Jacob’s Pardon has built up a cache of barrels with which to create different recipes and whiskey styles in the future. The brand’s creators, who proudly identify as rectifiers rather than distillers, have a verifiably cool backstory, which they shared with Whisky Advocate earlier this week.

Cathead 15 year old Old Soul

Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: 15 years
Proof: 51% ABV
Price: $125
Release: October 2020
Availability: 2,400 bottles

Need to know:

Cathead Distillery is based in Mississippi, but this bourbon was sourced from Kentucky. Its mashbill consists of 78.5% corn, 13% rye, and 8.5% malted barley. The whiskey entered the barrel at 125 proof, and after 15 years of aging, it was bottled at cask strength—but the liquid lost 23 points of proof during the aging process.

Whisky Advocate says:

This is the oldest Old Soul expression Cathead has released. Last year, the distillery released an Old Soul expression that was a blend of its own make and liquid sourced from MGP. That whiskey scored 88 points in our Buying Guide, so we’re excited to try this new release!

Penelope Rosé Cask-Finished Bourbon

Style: Finished bourbon
Origin: Indiana
Age: Not stated
Proof: 47% ABV
Price: $65
Release: October 2020
Availability: 2,400 bottles

Need to know:

Distilled at MGP, this bourbon initially aged in new charred oak and then was finished for 90 days in barrels that previously held 100% grenache rosé.

Whisky Advocate says:

Rosé isn’t usually aged in barrels, but then again, neither is IPA and that’s been a popular cask finish for years. Is this an attempt to combine the rosé craze with the bourbon boom? Maybe, but we’re more interested in how it tastes. Look for a review in an upcoming issue of Whisky Advocate soon!

Davidson Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon

Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Tennessee
Age: Not stated
Proof: 50% ABV
Price: $45
Release: October 2020
Availability: 2,400 bottles

Need to know:

This is the small-batch, single-barrel version of Davidson Reserve’s wheated bourbon, and is a blend of 5 and 6 year old bourbons. It joins the Davidson Reserve core lineup.

Davidson Reserve Genesis (2020 Release)

Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Tennessee
Age: Not stated
Proof: 50% ABV
Price: $100
Release: October 2020
Availability: 1,017 bottles

Need to know:

Genesis is an annual release from the Davidson Reserve line, and the 2020 expression is aged 6 years and bottled in bond.

Whisky Advocate says:

These expressions are being released in celebration of Davidson Reserve’s “Hardest Harvest,” the anniversary of the laying of Pennington Distilling Co.’s first barrel of whiskey down to age on Oct. 17, 2014. Pennington Distilling Co. will be hosting a drive-thru “Hardest Harvest” celebration at the distillery on Saturday, Oct. 17 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central Daylight Time, where customers can purchase these new releases before they hit retail shelves.

King's County 7 year old Single Barrel

Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: New York
Age: 7 years old
Proof: 53.5% ABV
Price: $149
Release: October 2020
Availability: 189 bottles; Distillery only

Need to know:

In honor of its 10th anniversary, King’s Country Distillery in Brooklyn is kicking off a series of rare single-barrel expressions, starting with this 7 year old. This single barrel whiskey was distilled in July 2013 and saw a 34% angels’ share.

Whisky Advocate says:

There are less than 200 bottles of this commemorative whiskey available, but distiller and co-founder Colin Spoelman says they have a queue of barrels ready for release every two months moving forward.

This first release is available at the distillery only or through the King’s County website starting at noon on Oct. 14. Future single barrel releases will be available more broadly, throughout New York and the rest of the country.

Endless West Glyph Royal

Style: Not whisky
Origin: California
Age: Not stated
Proof: 43% ABV
Price: $30
Release: October 2020
Availability: Widely available

Need to know:

This spirit is inspired by sherry cask-finished scotch and is created by infusing natural flavor and aroma compounds into neutral grain alcohol.

Endless West Glyph Spice

Style: Not whisky
Origin: California
Age: Not stated
Proof: 43% ABV
Price: $30
Release: October 2020
Availability: Widely available

Need to know:

This spirit is inspired by bourbon and is created by infusing natural flavor and aroma compounds into neutral grain alcohol.

Whisky Advocate says:

The Glyph line—which also includes Glyph Original, an expression that was released two years ago—is created without the use of aging or barrels; each expression is infused with aromas and flavors in a process that takes less than 24 hours. Sound familiar? While these spirits don’t qualify as alternatively aged whiskies, the less-than-a-day production is certainly similar. Since these expressions are neutral grain alcohol with added flavors, they don’t technically qualify as whisky at all—though perhaps the 43% ABV proof and the infusion of flavor and aroma molecules to mimic those of bourbon and scotch may be able to fool people.