Sure, many of us won’t always get to taste the super-allocated, collectible whiskeys presented by the world’s most respected whiskey makers.
But someone’s going to drink them. And if you put the work in to score a bottle, it can definitely be you. Here’s a small batch of brand new limited bottles to look out for by whiskey wizards like Sazerac’s Drew Mayville, Compass Box’s John Glaser, and Chicken Cock’s veteran distiller, Gregg Snyder.
Release No 28: The Last Drop Signature Blend of Kentucky Straight Whiskeys
Vitals: Proof: 121.4 (60.7% ABV); $4,000
Since its inception in 2008 by 2008 by industry veterans Tom Jago and James Espey, The Last Drop seeks out the world’s finest and rarest spirits and bottles under The Last Drop flag. Their latest “Drop” is No. 28, a blend of extra-aged bourbon and ryes. The 1,458 bottles totaling this limited edition are vintage whiskeys curated and blended by Sazerac Master Blender Drew Mayville. The industry icon has been personally monitoring the maturation of these exceptional stocks over the last 20 years and presents this collectible whiskey at cask strength and non-chill filtered.
“As a master blender, I wholeheartedly believe that one can take individual components that are already exceptional to create an extraordinarily-beautiful end product,” says Mayville in a press release. “As with music, a clarinet can be beautiful in its own right. However, when you combine it with other instruments in an orchestra, you create a symphony – a masterpiece.”
“As with music, a clarinet can be beautiful in its own right. However, when you combine it with other instruments in an orchestra, you create a symphony – a masterpiece.”
— Drew Mayville, Sazerac Master Blender
Chicken Cock Private Cask
Vitals: Proof: 115-127 Proof (57.5%-63.5% ABV); $130
Grain & Barrel Spirits’ Chicken Cock released their most limited release this month in honor of National Bourbon Heritage Month. What’s inside the bottles of Private Cask is just 15 single barrels of 7-year-old house-made bourbon selected by veteran Master Distiller Gregg Snyder.
Drinkers recently had their first taste of Snyders picks at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown. Still, you can score a bottle for yourself if you happen to live in one of these States: Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.
Compass Box Ultramarine Blended Scotch; Flaming Heart 2022 Blended Malt Scotch
Vitals: Ultramarine: 102 (51% ABV); $375;
Flaming Heart: 48.9% ABV; $155
The debut of Compass Box’s Extinct Blends Quartet, Ultramarine, and the 2022 edition of Flaming Heart comes from the blending house that John Glaser built. The 5,430 bottles of Ultramarine, a blended Scotch, is primarily a collection of malt whiskies from Caol Ila and Glendullan distilleries melded with grain whiskies from Scotland’s Cameronbridge and Girvan.
Flaming Heart 2022 is mainly a combo of smoky whiskies from the Laphroaig, Talisker, and Caol Ila distilleries married with a pair of Highland malts that’s finished five years in toasted French Oak. But what makes this expression even cooler is they added a splash of 2018 editions of Flaming Heart and Peat Monster Arcana, Myths & Legends. A total of 9,606 bottles of Flaming Hart are available worldwide.
Waterford Irish Single Malt, Single Farms Origins Fenniscourt and Ballybannon
Vitals: 92.4 Proof (46.2 ABV); $300
Waterford announced two Single Farm Origins Irish whiskey releases, both part of the Arcadian Barley series of single malts. Featuring locally grown “single farm” barley and Irish peat, Waterford Fenniscourt is single malt whiskey aged in various barrel types, including ex-bourbon and wine casks plus virgin and French oak.
The smoke level on this one is an assertive but not over-the-top peat level of 38ppm, a smoky veil that pervades the whiskey’s flavors of dry rope, meaty barbecue, and white pepper. Ballybannon has a more aggressive 47ppm smoke level and contains more first-fill (meaning used once) barrels in its maturation, resulting in an even bolder Irish single malt with peaty aromas mingling with almonds, honey, and green apple.
Spirits writers, marketers and designers are among the most influential forces in the spirits industry. Their opinions, ideas and creative talents inform and influence consumer perceptions and buying decisions. The John Barleycorn Society was started by a group of spirits journalists seeking to honor excellence in all facets of the industry. The journalists spent several years creating a comprehensive competition that became the John Barleycorn Awards. An elite team of authoritative and influential spirits journalists was selected to administer the flagship component of the Awards, a blind tasting competition destined to become the preeminent arbitrator of spirits taste, quality and character.
