We’re nearly midway through October. Temperatures are dropping, the nights are getting longer and Halloween is just around the corner. Yet there’s nothing spooky about the whiskeys on this list.
The best whiskeys that dropped the week of October 10 include the first-ever rye whiskey made with heirloom blue corn. Other notable releases include a cult favorite whiskey from High West and offerings from the legendary GlenScotia Distillery.
Icons of Campbeltown Release 3 by GlenScotia
The Scotsman Food & Drink reported on October 7 that a third installment dropped within GlenScotia’s Campbeltown Collection. The series celebrates the heritage of the scotch whisky region that was once the whisky capital of the world during the Victorian era.
This particular whisky pays homage to a mystical creature in Scottish folklore known as the Wulver. The Wulver is a creature that possesses a wolf’s head atop a man’s body. The outlet reported that the gentle Wulver lived in a cave and spent its days fishing. According to the legend, he would leave fish on the windowsills of poor neighbors.
The 12 year old whisky spent time maturing in bourbon barrels, then finished in ex-Tawny port casks for nine months. The dram offers up a symphony of red fruit, dark berries and chocolate.
Midwinter Night’s Dram Act 13 by High West
The Whiskey Wash reported on October 7 that High West unveiled A Midwinter Night’s Dram Act 13. Midwinter Night’s Dram is arguably one of High West’s most desired expressions, and the wintery release starts with a base of the Utah whiskey brand’s Rendezvous Rye. The 98.6 proof rye whiskey blend spent time aging in barrel between four and ten years, before it finished in Tawny Port barrels.
The distillate features two mashbills, according to the Whiskey Wash. One features 95% rye and 5% barley malt whiskey from Indiana brand MGP, and the other is High West’s own distillate — an 80/20 blend featuring rye and malted rye.
The brand shares that High West’s Midwinter Night’s Dram Act 13 offers up a bouquet full of aromas of mandarin zest, clove-studded orange and chai. The palate bursts forth with flavors of marionberry preserves, cinnamon bark, winter pine and Havana cigars.
This year’s Midwinter Night’s Dram has a suggested price of $149.99.
Oloroso Sherry Finished Bourbon by Oaklore
Fred Minnick reported on September 29 that North Carolina’s Oaklore Distilling Co. unveiled a new release within the brand’s Story Series. This whiskey is an Oloroso Sherry Cask Finished Four Grain Bourbon and it hosts a suggested price of $99.95. Just 750 bottles are available for purchase.
Oaklore’s Oloroso Sherry Finished Bourbon clocks in at 95 proof and is a non-chill-filtered bourbon. The brand chose to finish the whiskey in Oloroso Sherry Casks from Spain for 12 to 18 months, and the nutty, oxidative qualities imbue the whiskey with flavors of dried fig, cherry bark, and apricot.
Oloroso Sherry Finished Bourbon is distilled from a mashbill composed of 70% corn, 10% rye, 10% wheat and 10% malted barley. This particular whiskey picks up its character from aging in the distinctive climate of North Carolina’s Piedmont region.
Barrel Proof Blue Corn Rye by Smokeye Hill
On October 6 The Manual reported that Smokeye Hill Whiskey released a rye with heirloom blue corn in the mashbill. According to The Spirits Business, the release marks the “world’s first” rye whiskey to incorporate blue corn in the grainbill.
This whiskey traversed multiple states, and the juice was distilled in Lawrenceburg, Indiana before it spent time maturing in Colorado Springs. Smokeye Hill’s rye aged in a mixture of American white oak barrels with a number 2, 3 and 4 char. The Colorado whiskey brand says the final proof is going to vary from a hefty 131.2 to 131.7.
Just 1,400 cases of the rye whiskey dropped and each bottle hosts a price of $89.99. The whiskey is available in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Nevada, Washington and Texas.
13 Year Old Rye by Templeton
Templeton reported on October 6 that the whiskey brand dropped its 13 Year Old rye whiskey, a highly-limited offering that retails for a suggested price of $169.99. The whiskey was distilled from a mashbill composed of 95% rye and 5% malted barley, before it spent over a decade aging in American oak barrels.
Templeton shares that its 13-year-old rye possesses a statement-making nose, with rye spice and citrus zest. On the palate, chipotle pepper, layered with citrus and spice, segue into a conclusion offering up layers of honey and caramel.
Templeton’s 13 year old expression clocks in at 108 proof.
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