Sunday is Valentine’s Day, and if you want to say “I love you” with whisky (even if just to yourself), check out our recommendations for the most on-brand bottles.
Crown Royal is offering a limited-edition package of its core whisky, designed by Oscar-winning costumer Ruth E. Carter, to tie in with the upcoming release of “Coming 2 America”. The whisky ($25) is the same, but the familiar purple bag has gotten a royal upgrade, as has its box.
Benriach is rolling out three more whiskies in its relaunched range: The Twenty One ($200), The Twenty Five ($360), and The Thirty ($740). All are permanently available but in limited amounts.
The latest release from Four Gate Whiskey Co. is a rye finished in port-rum barrels. There are 1,444 bottles of Four Gate Ruby Rye Springs, priced at $185.
Finally, a new bourbon brand called Paul Sutton is making its debut. Distilled at Wilderness Trail, the bourbon is priced at $64 and available in a few states.
Read on for full details.
Benriach The Twenty One
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Speyside)
Age: 21 years old
Proof: 46% ABV
Price: $200
Release: February 2021
Availability: Permanently available in limited amounts
Need to know:
Aged for 21 years, this whisky matured in bourbon, sherry, red wine, and virgin oak casks.
Benriach The Twenty Five
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Speyside)
Age: 25 years old
Proof: 46% ABV
Price: $360
Release: February 2021
Availability: Permanently available in limited amounts
Need to know:
This single malt spent its 25-year maturation period in bourbon, sherry, madeira, and virgin oak casks.
Benriach The Thirty
Style: Single malt
Origin: Scotland (Speyside)
Age: 30 years old
Proof: 46% ABV
Price: $740
Release: February 2021
Availability: Permanently available in limited amounts
Need to know:
At 30 years old, this single malt matured in bourbon, sherry, port, and virgin oak casks.
Whisky Advocate says:
These three new Benriachs follow the whisky’s relaunch last fall, including The Smoky Twelve, a new release that took the No.-3 spot in Whisky Advocate’s 2020 Top 20. Each of these new expressions also showcases light, sweet smoke, as Benriach is the rare Speyside distillery that makes both peated and unpeated whiskies. The Twenty One, Twenty Five, and Thirty are all permanent additions to the Benriach line, but are allocated due to the smaller amount of stock available at those ages.
Four Gate Ruby Rye Springs
Style: Finished rye
Origin: Indiana
Age: 7 years old
Proof: 56.7% ABV
Price: $185
Release: February 2021
Availability: 1,444 bottles
Need to know:
Distilled at MGP, this rye aged for 7 years in new charred oak and then was finished for 42 days in casks that had first held ruby port, then rum from Virago Spirits.
Whisky Advocate says:
We’ve seen port cask-finished ryes from the likes of Dad’s Hat and Sagamore Spirit, and rum cask-finished ryes like Angel’s Envy, but this innovative combination—typical of Four Gate— marks a first.
Paul Sutton Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Style: Straight bourbon
Origin: Kentucky
Age: Not stated
Proof: 50% ABV
Price: $64
Release: March 2021
Availability: For sale in FL, KY, and TX, as well as online
Need to know:
Made at Wilderness Trail Distillery for the Paul Sutton brand, this bourbon is fermented using a sweet mash and matured for at least 4 years. The grains come from Dee River Ranch in Alabama.
Whisky Advocate says:
Company co-founder Myra Barginear (with her husband, Paul Amrich) previously worked as an oncologist, but a few years ago, she decided to get into the bourbon business as an extension of a family legacy: Apparently, her grandfather R.M. Sutton had made whiskey, though “not in a commercial format,” according to a spokesperson. The Paul Sutton brand doesn’t have its own distillery but contracts with Wilderness Trail, one of Kentucky’s most prolific new producers, to make the bourbon.
