American Whiskey Report August 2024

September is Bourbon Heritage Month! That means it’s time to check out the revamped Kentucky Bourbon Festival, learn about topics like a whiskey and its grains and what happens to Bourbon in the barrel, and learn about the latest in the state of the Commonwealth of Bourbon. Until then, enjoy this Bourbon news you can use!

Product Releases

Beyonce has released SirDavis American Whiskey, a Texas-made rye whiskey with a unique mash bill of 51% rye and 49% malted barley.
Spirit Hound has released two new whiskeys: Spirit Hound’s 6-Year Single Barrel Bottled-in- Bond American Single Malt Whisky and Spirit Hound 4½-year Single Barrel Colorado Rye Whisky.

15 Stars has released Three Kings Fine-Aged Whiskey, which is a blend of wheat whiskey, rye whiskey, and Bourbon, and Timeless Reserve, a blend of 13-year and 15-year Bourbons.
Bulleit has released batch 8 of its Barrel Strength Bourbon at 121.8 proof. The World Whiskey Society has released two new products: Wyatt Earp Barrel Proof American Single Malt Whiskey and Wyatt Earp Small Batch American Single Malt Whiskey at 96 proof.
Westland has a pair of new whiskeys - American Single Malts finished in beer casks and wine casks, respectively. Westland shares volumes of information about each whiskey. For the beer cask finish, there are 10,961 bottles being released, it’s matured a minimum of 8 Years with an ABV of 46%, and the grain bill includes Washington Select Pale Malt, Munich Malt, Extra Special Malt, Brown Malt, Pale Chocolate Malt, Pilsen Malt, and Maris Otter Malt. The maturation casks used include Cooper’s Reserve New American Oak, Cooper’s Select New American Oak, first fill ex-Bourbon, and first fill Ex-Rye. The finishing casks include Scotch Ale, Stout, Brown Ale, Doppelbock, Saison, and Stock Ale. Finally, the yeast strain used is a Belgian Brewer’s yeast and there was a fermentation time of 96-144 Hours. For the wine cask finished whiskey, there are 14,614 bottles available, the whiskey was matured a minimum of 5 years and has a final ABV of 46%. The grain bill includes Washington Select ale Malt, Munich Malt, Extra Special Malt, Brown Malt, and Pale Chocolate Malt. The maturation casks used include Cooper’s Reserve New American Oak, Cooper’s Select New American Oak, and first fill ex-Bourbon. The finishing casks include Tempranillo, Washington Red Blend, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Petit Verdot. The yeast strain used was Belgian Brewer’s yeast and the fermentation time was 96-144 hours. So much information!
FEW has released FEW Chicago Smokeworks Whiskey, a cherrywood smoked malt whiskey that pays homage to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Chattanooga Whiskey has released Experimental Batch 039: Harvest Bourbon, a 6-barrel batch aged for a minimum of 5 years in 3 different types of oak and a Russian River Pinot Cask Finished Bourbon.
Westward Whiskey has released a whiskey club exclusive Bottled-in-Bond American Single Malt, distilled in March of 2017.
Green River has released a whiskey designed specifically for on-premise use, Green River 1885 Straight Bourbon Whiskey, which comes in a 1-liter size, a size preferred by many bartenders.
Blue Note has released a honey cask finished rye with a mash bill of 95% rye and 5% malted barley.

Bulleit has released batch 8 of its Barrel Strength Bourbon at 121.8 proof.
Michter’s will be releasing its popular toasted barrel Bourbon in September, ten years after the product’s first release.

Milam & Greene has released Road Runner Single Barrel Bourbon, the fourth release in its 2024 Wildlife Collection lineup.
Old Forester will release its highly anticipated yearly release of Birthday Bourbon on 5 September to celebrate Founder George Garvin Brown’s birthday, but you’ll have to sign up ahead of time for a chance to purchase a bottle. This batch is 12 years old and 107 proof and is made up of 209 barrels. Enter the sweepstakes here.
Bardstown Bourbon Company has released a new core expression: high wheat Bourbon.
Old Elk has released a Limousine Cognac cask-finished straight wheat whiskey. There’s a second release of Raconteur Rye, a collaboration between David Jennings and the WoodWork Collective.

People News

Dr. Jarrad Gollihue R&D Master Distiller

Jarrad Gollihue, PhD, formerly a distilling researcher and teacher at the University of Kentucky, has joined RD1 Spirits as their first ever Research and Development Master Distiller.

Other News

It’s National Rye Whiskey Month! “Rye remains the undisputed champion of diversity and experimentation in American whiskey,” says Whiskey Ring Podcast Founder David Levine. “The recent uptick in distilleries and farmers experimenting with new (and old!) varieties of corn, wheat, and other grains is directly traceable to projects reviving and popularizing ryes such as Rosen, Abruzzi, Wheeler, and more. Even American single malt and its wide range of barley types has taken a flier, with distillers like Copperworks in Seattle blowing the doors open on what is possible when you prioritize flavor and, frankly, “cool” over yield. Ideas such as regionality in American spirits — Texas whiskey, Empire Rye, Missouri Bourbon, to name a few — are, to me, extensions of rye’s long history of state-by-state and sometimes county-by-county variation stretching back to the earliest days of the American idea. Whether rye’s excitement is overtaken by the ideas it has inspired remains to be seen in the meantime, if even the most casual whiskey drinker knows the difference between a Maryland, Monongahela, and MGP rye, it’s an inarguably good thing for American whiskey as a whole, and we should raise a glass of our favorite rye to that.”
Another Pappy Raffle! This one benefits the Ronald McDonald House of Kentuckiana. Ends October 5.
And a Weller Millennium raffle! Give 270 supports business development in the

Elizabethtown/Fort Knox area of Kentucky.

Louisville’s The Silver Dollar, one of the top whiskey bars in the United States, is relaunching with a new menu and a redesigned space 24 August.
J. Mattingly Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky is celebrating the 201st birthday of the founders’ ancestor John Graves Mattingly with a birthday party complete with special release at the distillery.
The Speed Art Museum in Louisville will host The Art of Bourbon on September 12, which will include a rare Bourbon auction hosted by Fred Minnick.