Nostalgia is a powerful feeling, and there’s no shortage that feeling in this week’s line-up of releases. Many of these offerings hearken back to the past. Chicken Cock unveiled a replicated whiskey sourced from barrels lost in a shipwreck that took place centuries ago. Remus Bourbon released a highly coveted whiskey that pays homage to the end of Prohibition.
Another release that captured our attention is from none other than Blue Run Spirits. This bourbon spent time finishing in barrel-aged gin casks from Bar Hill, a brand that specializes in honey-imbued gins. Barrel-aged gins are richly extracted due to their extended hang time in barrel, and they offer a more robust take on the spirit.
You could say the common thread connecting all the whiskeys that dropped this week is the concept of time. Some whiskeys hearken to the past, and some experience no time in barrel at all. Read on for the best whiskeys that dropped for the week of August 22, and you’ll see exactly what we mean.
‘Glimmer’ by Blue Run Spirits
Blue Run’s second cask finished bourbon. dropped on August 19, and if you’re a fan of Barr Hill’s Tom Cat Gin you’ll find this release intriguing. The gin brand Barr Hill’s calling card involves finishing its gins with wild honey, making them the perfect spirit for a Bee’s Knees. The Tom Cat expression is barrel-aged in American oak, yielding a rich and extracted spirit with a strong honey throughline and baking spice.
The bourbon is Coors Spirits Co.’s Head of Whiskey Development and Innovation, Shaylyn Gammon’s first finished release. Glimmer spent 7 to 12 months finishing Barr Hill’s Tom Cat Gin barrels. According to a news release from the brand, the barrels were toasted and charred American oak barrels that held the gin for 7 to 12 months.
The bourbon hosts a suggested retail price of $149.99, and it clocks in at 103 proof. Blue Run shares that Glimmer has an herbaceous nose, coupled with a palate that features honeyed sweetness with some spice. The finish is full of cocoa and complexity.
Miller’s Reserve American Whiskey by Chicken Cock
On August 19, Fred Minnick reported that Chicken Cock Whiskey unveiled its Miller’s Reserve American Whiskey. This whiskey, according to the founder of Chicken Cock’s parent company’s Grain and Barrel Spirits, “brings back what was once lost.” How, you ask? We’ll explain.
Miller’s Reserve is a recipe that replicates the barrels that Chicken Cock’s Founder, James A. Miller, lost in transit when a ship called the A.O. Tyler sank in 1860 on January 27. Miller would often transport his barrels of whiskey via steamboat up the Mississippi River and other waterways. According to the brand, during one journey, a steamer carrying his whiskey collided with a shipwreck, which caused the A.O. Tyler to sink.
This limited-release whiskey clocks in at 57.5% ABV and is a blend of 10-year Double Oak Kentucky Whiskey, 8-year High Rye Bourbon from Indiana, 8-year Wheated Bourbon from West Virginia and 10-year Wheated Bourbon from Ohio.
The final blend was made in Bardstown, Kentucky and is housed in a Prohibition-themed bottle.
LTO Pin Bottle by James B. Beam Distilling Co.
August 19 was quite the day for whiskey releases — and it makes sense, with Bourbon Heritage Month around the corner.
One particularly collectible whiskey that dropped that day was from James B. Beam Distilling Co., and it’s the Jim Beam LTO. Fred Minnick reported that the whiskey is shaped like a bowling ball pin, and it honors some of the 3,000 esoteric decanters that the James B. Beam Distilling Co. released from the 50-year span of the 1940s to the 1990s. From ceramic fish to ancient-inspired vessels, the Beam Brand had no shortage of creativity when it came to finding decanters for its whiskeys.
Out of all the interesting shapes, the bowling pin was the shape that Jim Beam took a shine to. This whiskey is a replica of the legendary bottle, and it houses whiskey drawn from multiple locations within the Beam campus’s 9-story warehouses. It clocks in at 86.8 proof. A 750-ml pin hosts a suggested retail price of $99.99.
Remus Repeal Reserve Series IX Straight Bourbon Whiskey by Remus Bourbon
Remus Bourbon announced on August 18 that it unveiled the 9th edition within its Remus Repeal Reserve Series. This bourbon whiskey spent time aging between 10 and 18 years. It clocks in at 104 proof. Remus Repeal Reserve Series honors the Repeal of Prohibition and the roaring ’20s.
High-rye bourbon appears to be the theme for Remus Repeal Reserve Series IX. This year’s iteration features 7% of an 18-year bourbon with 21% rye in its mashbill; 26% of an 11-year bourbon with 36% rye in its mashbill; 23% of a 10-year-old bourbon with 36% rye in its mashbill and 44% of a 10-year bourbon with 21% rye in its mashbill.
The team over at Remus Repeal Reserve share that this whiskey offers up major leather, sweet cherry and tobacco on the nose. The palate features roast coffee and smoked spice, and the finish is cherry and tobacco.
Unaged Rye Bourbon White Dog by TX Whiskey
Fort Worth Magazine reported on August 19 that TX Whiskey dropped an unaged rye bourbon white dog. This whiskey was distilled from a mashbill composed of corn, rye and malted barley before it was bottled at 120 proof.
The Texas distillery’s White Dog offers drinkers an opportunity to taste what its unaged distillate tastes like, and according to the magazine, shows how subtle changes in yeast and fermentation affect flavor before oak aging starts.
A bottle costs $39.99 in a 375 ml format, and just eight bottles are available per customer for 30 days. According to the outlet, this whiskey features an aroma of sassafras, clove and fresh corn husks coupled by estery flavors of ripe bananas. The palate is full of licorice, coupled with allspice and the unaged rye bourbon white dog finishes with a malty sweetness.
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