One could argue that Africa is already in the midst of a minor gin boom, as small distilleries on the continent have sparked interest amongst drinkers across the Western world. Consider South Africa&rsquo;s thriving craft gin movement, with brands like Six Dog and A Mari Ocean showcasing unique, indigenous botanicals such as fynbos. Then there&rsquo;s Procera from Kenya, which is making a significant impact in the U.S. due to the use of fresh African juniper as its main botanical, which imparts a distinctive flavor to the gin. And Bayab African Gin, which is infused with baobab fruit, is finding its way to the back shelves of bars in the UK and the U.S.&nbsp;
More recently, African rum and agave spirits have begun to make a mark. Building on this wave, Sango African Agave has come up with a contemporary take on a tradition more associated with Mexico. Made from 100 percent African agave, it is one of the few available in both the United States and South Africa.
<h3 dir="ltr">The Rise of African Agave</h3>
Spearhead Spirits, producer of Bayab Gin and Vusa Vodka, launched Sango in 2024. According to co‑founder Damola Timeyin, growing curiosity about agave is encouraging consumers to look beyond traditional regions and discover new expressions from different parts of the world.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s just an overall curiosity, and people are recognizing that Africa has a lot to offer,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;People are becoming more exploratory, and finding brands like ours along that journey. Producers across [different] spirits are drawing attention to what Africa has to offer.&rdquo;
Another example is Rho, an agave spirit from Kenya made from Agave sisalana (sisal), a plant introduced to the country over a century ago. Other notable examples include Leonista and Inzalo Agave Spirit, both produced in South Africa.
Although these agave spirits cannot be labeled as mezcal or tequila, which have legally defined geographical indications, consumers are embracing them despite their limited market availability. Sango, for example, has begun appearing in cities such as Atlanta and Chicago, as well as in bars and restaurants in Disney&rsquo;s Animal Kingdom Theme Park in Orlando, Florida.
Inzalo, another South African agave spirit, was founded by Sebastian O&rsquo;Keefe and Diego Avila. It is made from red agave rather than blue weber agave, which is&nbsp; used for tequila, or the various agave species commonly used in mezcal production. Red agave is a descendant of Mexican agaves introduced to South Africa more than 300 years ago. Over centuries, it has adapted to one of the most extreme environments on earth, find a way to thrive in ancient seabed soil despite intense UV exposure and as little as 200 millimeters of rainfall per year.
O&rsquo;Keefe believes Inzalo differs from other African agave spirits because of its focus on plant and place. The founders spent nearly a year driving across South Africa and documenting agave species before identifying the ideal terroir in the Western Cape.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re building Africa&rsquo;s first commercial agave spirits farm specifically around red agave,&rdquo; said O&rsquo;Keefe. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not trying to compete with Mexico. South Africa&rsquo;s terroir is fundamentally different. Mexican spirits are shaped by volcanic soils, cultivated agaves, and centuries of inherited processes. Inzalo is shaped by ancient seabed, wild agaves, and a production process built from scratch. The result exists in its own space&mdash;not tequila or mezcal, but a new class of agave spirit that could only come from here.&rdquo;
<h3 dir="ltr">The New Wave of African Rum&nbsp;</h3>
Rum is also emerging as a diverse category in Africa. Made from both molasses and cane juice, African rum offers unique flavor profiles that come from the use of indigenous ingredients, as well as aging the spirit in used wine barrels instead of the bourbon barrels that are typically used.
Rum has been produced on the continent since the 18th century, but countries such as Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Cape Verde, and Kenya have embraced the category more actively over the past decade. Notable producers include Takamaka in Seychelles, Dodo Plantain‑Infused Rum in Nigeria, and MIM Distiller and Reign Rum in Ghana.
Pierra Ntayombya and Rohan Shah founded IMIZI Forest Rum in 2023 in Kigali, Rwanda. This country is traditionally not known for rum production, as sugarcane cultivation is only about a century old. &ldquo;What intrigued us was whether we could make a spirit from Rwanda that was truly unique and captured the essence of the country,&rdquo; said Ntayombya. &ldquo;We looked at sugarcane as something different both locally and regionally. Rwanda doesn&rsquo;t carry the dark history of slavery and exploitation associated with many traditional rum‑producing countries. That gave us an opportunity to create something with a completely new story, one that felt culturally appropriate and meaningful.&rdquo;
As the story of IMIZI unfolds, the brand has found a home behind the bar at venues like the Pinnacle Kigali Hotel and Imizi Residency, a Kigali cocktail and listening bar that features the rum in unique drinks. While the spirit is currently only available in Rwanda, the opening of a new distillery will allow exports to begin across the continent within the next year. Ntayombya ultimately hopes to reach Europe and North America, but for now the focus remains on growing its African footprint.&nbsp;
While most of the African agave and rum brands would love to have global availability in the future, for now they are focused on finding success n their home countries and on the continent. But keep a look out for these brands, because you never know when they might make it to a bar or restaurant near you, or even start showing up at auction.

African Agave Spirits and Rum are Ready For The Spotlight

When most people see a bottle of whiskey, they are thinking more about the good stuff inside of it than about what&rsquo;s on the outside. But the fact of the matter is that whiskey labels are actually government-issued documents that are approved by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). That means that there is actually a great deal of information to be found on a whiskey label that can help you understand just what that good stuff inside actually is. Things can get a little bit complicated, so here&rsquo;s a guide to help you decipher the language.
First of all, some information is strictly regulated as far as where it must appear, while other information has a bit more leeway. The former&mdash;brand name, class, type of whiskey (straight bourbon, blended whiskey, American single malt), and alcohol by volume&mdash;must all appear together in the same field of vision. Meanwhile, net contents and the government warning placement is a bit more flexible (within reason). The minimum font size for all of this information is 2 mm, or about the thickness of a nickel.
One thing that doesn&rsquo;t have to appear on the label is who actually made the whiskey, as important as this information might seem. Marshall Fawley, a partner at Lehrman Beverage Law who has spent 15 years navigating TTB regulations, said that every label requires a name and address&mdash;specifically, the bottler's address, not the distiller's.
&ldquo;What does that name and address tell me about the product? A lot,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The actual city and state may be different from where the brand originates from, so is this a co-packed product? Maybe somebody else owns the intellectual property? Are they having it contract-produced somewhere else?&rdquo;&nbsp;
In practice, if the state on the label doesn't match where you'd expect the brand to be from, you may be looking at a sourced product. That means liquid made elsewhere and sold under a different name by one of the <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/unicorn-review/field-guide-to-american-ibs">many American independent bottlers</a> or non-distiller producers (NDPs)&mdash;many of whom, Fawley acknowledged, make very fine whiskey.
&ldquo;That knowledge doesn&rsquo;t necessarily change whether or not I'm going to buy the product, but I just like knowing that information for my own nerdy self,&rdquo; he said.
The age statement is another area with some defined rules. For whiskey, the TTB only requires one if the liquid is less than four years old, so the absence of an age statement tells you the liquid is at least four years old&mdash;but nothing more. The word "straight" adds its own floor&mdash;a minimum of two years in the barrel, with no added coloring or flavoring. And if straight whiskey is between two and four years old, it must have an age statement. That means that a 30-year whiskey and a four-year-and-one-day-old bottle of straight whiskey can both go to market with no age disclosure whatsoever.
Brands that do include an age statement are going beyond what's required&mdash;and every voluntary claim, Fawley noted, is a potential area for TTB to push back on during the Certificate of Label Approval (COLA) process. "It's completely conceivable," he said, "that two separate specialists at TTB can look at the same label, and one would say it's compliant and the other one would say it's not."
Some brands go further still. <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Blanton%27s&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blanton's</a>, for instance, notes the specific barrel each bottle was dumped from. The TTB doesn't require it, but Fawley says the agency could ask a brand to prove any voluntary claim on the label. Not every term gets that scrutiny, though, because not every term is defined. "Small batch" has no legal meaning at all, so while a brand could theoretically put it on anything, most use it as a broad term of art. "Barrel proof" does have a definition, but there&rsquo;s some leeway&mdash;the bottle has to land within two proof degrees of what actually came out of the barrel.
That tension explains a lot about why labels look the way they do. Brands want to differentiate with things like origin stories, process claims, and local grain sourcing. But each additional line increases the chance a TTB specialist flags something ambiguous. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s part marketing, but it's part sorcery,&rdquo; Fawley said.
The<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/unicorn-review/american-single-malt-whiskey-tasting-brief"> American Single Malt standard</a> is the clearest recent example of how precisely these definitions are drawn, and what happens when a distillery can't fit inside them. Minneapolis-based<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/unicorn-review/whiskey-innovation"> Brother Justus</a>, which distills above the new standard's 160-proof cap, decided to opt out of the category rather than change its methods. "We won't change our distillation craft just to be included in a particular category," said founder Phil Steger. The label now reads &ldquo;American whiskey.&rdquo;
None of this means whiskey labels are useless. In fact, if you understand what you are looking at, they can be helpful. Class and type tells you what the TTB has certified the liquid to be. Name and address tells you who's responsible for it. The absence of an age statement tells you it's at least four years old. The DSP (distilled spirits plant) number tells you which distillery made the liquid (it's also<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/unicorn-review/how-to-decipher-and-date-old-bottles-of-whiskey"> the key to dating vintage bottles</a>). Everything else is either romance, or&mdash;if you know how to read it&mdash;a clue.

A Field Guide to Reading a Whiskey Label

The 4th of July this year is going to be an extra special holiday because America is celebrating its semiquincentennial, commemorating 250 years of the red, white, and blue. Of course, there are many whiskey distilleries and brands who are marking the occasion as well by releasing everything from limited-edition bottles with patriotic labels, to whiskey bottled at proofs and in numbers that reference the year 1776, to some special high-end releases of America&rsquo;s native spirit. We&rsquo;ve put together a list of some of the best whiskeys that you should look out for this summer, some of which just might prove to be valuable collector&rsquo;s items down the road.
<h3 dir="ltr">Old Overholt 250th Edition (SRP $20)</h3>
This is the same <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=old+overholt&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Old Overholt</a> rye whiskey, produced at the James B. Beam Distilling Co. in Clermont, Kentucky, that you know and love. That means the whiskey is four years old and bottled at 86 proof just like the original, but it comes in a new bottle designed to celebrate America&rsquo;s 250th birthday. It&rsquo;s only being released in five states, however&mdash;Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oregon, Maryland, and New Orleans, LA&mdash;so keep an eye out for bottles appearing at <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">auction</a>.
<h3 dir="ltr">United States of Bourbon 1776 Edition (SRP $200)</h3>
Vermont independent bottler Lost Lantern released the new United States of Bourbon just last week. This was the very first blend of bourbon to combine liquid from all 50 states, including distilleries like <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=New+Riff&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">New Riff</a>, Kings County, and Woodinville Whiskey. The 1776 Edition pared the concept down to just 13 East Coast states to celebrate the 250th, and was released in a run of 1,776 bottles.
<h3 dir="ltr">Wattie Boone 250th Anniversary Edition (SRP $250)</h3>
This is really a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=wattie+boone&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Wattie Boone</a> distillery in Kentucky, but it coincides nicely with America&rsquo;s birthday as well. Wattie Boone a brand produced by Preservation Distillery, and this 250th Anniversary Edition is a blend of just two barrels: one is an 11-year-old Kentucky bourbon, the other is a 22-year-old Tennessee bourbon. The final blend was bottled at 124.8 proof, and just 250 bottles were released.
<h3 dir="ltr">WhistlePig Red, White &amp; Blue PiggyBank (SRP $250) and Declaration Wheat Whiskey (SRP $74)</h3>
Vermont distillery <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=WhistlePig&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">WhistlePig</a> is celebrating the 250th anniversary with two new special releases. The first is a Red, White, &amp; Blue version of its annual PiggyBank release, a 110-proof, 10-year-old sourced rye whiskey that comes in a collectible pig decanter (the whiskey pours out of the rear end). The second is a wheat whiskey, which obviously has a very different flavor profile than the distillery&rsquo;s usual rye. This 86-proof whiskey was doubled aged in American oak barrels, and comes with a cracked Liberty Bell topper.
<h3 dir="ltr">Peg Leg Porker Spirit of America (SRP $60)</h3>
Peg Leg Porker is a Tennessee whiskey brand founded by pitmaster Carey Bringle, owner of a barbecue restaurant in Nashville who lost his leg to cancer when he was just 17. The new Spirit of America expression is a bottled-in-bond bourbon, meaning it&rsquo;s at least four years old, the product of one distillery and one distilling season, and bottled at exactly 100 proof.&nbsp;&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">Barrell Bourbon Batch 038 (SRP $80)</h3>
Louisville whiskey blending house <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=barrell+craft+spirits&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Barrell Craft Spirits</a> released its latest batch of bourbon last month. Like past releases, this is a blend of sourced barrels from different distilleries, including whiskey from Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, and Maryland that was aged between eight and 15 years and bottled at 116.96 proof. This release stands out for its red, white, and blue label commemorating the country&rsquo;s 250th birthday.
<h3 dir="ltr">Rittenhouse United States 250th Anniversary Commemorative Edition (SRP $100)</h3>
<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=rittenhouse+rye&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Rittenhouse</a> is <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Heaven+Hill&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Heaven Hill&rsquo;s</a> dependable budget rye brand, but this new 250th Anniversary edition presents a major upgrade to the whiskey. This release was made from the regular Heaven Hill rye mashbill of 51% rye, 35% corn, and 14% malted barley, but it was aged for a full decade and bottled without chill filtration at 100 proof. It also features a special label for the occasion.
<h3 dir="ltr">BHAKTA 1868 America250 Edition ($250)</h3>
Bhakta Spirits is the brand started by the founder of <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=WhistlePig&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">WhistlePig</a>, Raj Bhakta, after he left the company years ago. The focus of his new endeavor is on Armagnac, but there are a few excellent whiskeys in the lineup as well. The new 1868 America250 Edition is a blend of bourbon and 100 different vintages of Armagnac with an average age of 30 years. Just five barrels were produced of this very limited-edition spirit, each named after a different person who played a major role in American history.
<h3 dir="ltr">Evan Williams Single Barrel (SRP $40)</h3>
Heaven Hill bourbon brand <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=evan+williams&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Evan Williams</a> released a few expressions to commemorate America&rsquo;s 250th, including 1.75-liter versions of Black Label and 1783 Small Batch. The best of the group is this new higher proof <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Evan+Williams+Single+Barrel+Bourbon&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Evan Williams Single Barrel Bourbon</a>, bottled, of course, at 117.76 proof. This often underrated single barrel bourbon comes with special packaging with a hand-dipped blue wax topper.
<h3 dir="ltr">Horse Soldier Liberty Edition (SRP $800)</h3>
The latest release from <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=horse+soldier&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Horse Soldier</a>, a brand that was founded by a group of ex-Green Berets, is a very expensive 13-year-old bourbon released to mark 250 years of America. 1,776 bottles of this 100-proof Kentucky bourbon were released, and a portion of the proceeds from the sales will go to the Statue of Liberty &amp; Ellis Island Foundation. The brand is also opening the new Horse Soldier Farms, its new distillery and visitor center, this July 4.

The Best Bottles of Whiskey Commemorating America’s 250th Anniversary

What&rsquo;s happening in wine and whiskey this week:
<h3 dir="ltr">This Week&rsquo;s Unicorn Review Stories</h3>
🥃 We <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/unicorn-review/bardstown-bourbon-company-dan-callaway-interview">spoke to Bardstown Bourbon Company master blender Dan Callaway</a> about contract distilling, coming up with innovative blends and cask finishes, and the future of the whiskey industry in a softening market.
<h3 dir="ltr">New Bottle Releases</h3>
Green River Distillery Select Toasted Double Oak Bourbon (SRP $50)
This is the oldest release to date from Kentucky&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Green+River&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Green River</a>, the sister distillery to Bardstown Bourbon Company. This bourbon was aged for eight years and then spent six months in lightly charred, medium toasted barrels. It&rsquo;s a very tasty bourbon with notes of roasted nuts and vanilla sweetness, overall a well-balanced whiskey that fans of this distillery should check out.
Lasso Motel x James Dean 13-Year Rye Whiskey (SRP $150)
The latest release from Lasso Motel is a 13-year-old 95/5 rye whiskey distilled at MGP and bottled at 112 proof. It would be hard to mess this formula up, and Lasso Motel did not. The whiskey was released as a tribute to James Dean, but that celebrity affiliation hardly matters here because it&rsquo;s just a really good and rich rye whiskey built for sipping or mixing up in a Manhattan or any other whiskey cocktail you can think of.
<h3 dir="ltr">Unicorn Whiskey Pick of the Week</h3>
Russell&rsquo;s Reserve 13 ($200)
What&rsquo;s the greatest bourbon you&rsquo;ve ever tried? There are so many to choose from, and of course this is an entirely subjective exercise by its very nature. But one that arrived a few years, one that fans of the <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Wild+Turkey&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wild Turkey</a> Distillery were waiting for, one that proved that a higher age statement (but not too high) could make for a remarkable bourbon, was <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Russell%E2%80%99s+Reserve+13&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Russell&rsquo;s Reserve 13</a>. Sure, the <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Russell%E2%80%99s+Reserve+15&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">15</a>-year-old came out after that and is also a great bourbon, but the 13 is arguably superior&mdash;and despite that lower age statement, it does include some significantly older juice in the blend.
<img src="https://directus-11-4sui.onrender.com/assets/f4474fcc-a98c-4e5d-86e8-b443a5afb9f3.png?width=1200&amp;height=675" alt="Rr 13 Yo Close Angle 2"> 
To celebrate master distiller Eddie Russell&rsquo;s 45th year with Wild Turkey, the distillery just released the latest batch of Russell's 13, and this time Eddie&rsquo;s son Bruce was responsible for selecting and blending the barrels. And he did a fantastic job. There&rsquo;s also a new documentary about Eddie that is being released next week called His Own Way: The Story of Eddie Russell. &ldquo;My dad has given his entire life to this craft, and to see him reach 45 years is so special,&rdquo; said Bruce in a statement about this new release. &ldquo;While we were filming, Dad actually pulled an 18-year-old barrel and we tasted it together&mdash;of course, it was exceptional. That barrel ended up in this year&rsquo;s 13 Year Old release. It was just one of those moments that felt so true to who Dad is and what he does best. To have that captured on camera, and that barrel in this year&rsquo;s release, makes it all even more meaningful.&rdquo;
This bourbon is meaningful too. It&rsquo;s bottled at 121.2 proof, which is high for Russell&rsquo;s but not really that strong compared to other barrel-proof bourbons in the market these days. The palate is just quintessential Russell&rsquo;s, with rich notes of dark chocolate, fig, plum, cherry, vanilla, oak, and of course that Wild Turkey funk. The finish is warm but there is no burn. This might be the best batch of Russell&rsquo;s 13 so far, and that&rsquo;s saying a lot. No doubt this bottle is going to sell for more than its $200 SRP on the secondary market and at auction, but it&rsquo;s worth the price if you&rsquo;re a devoted fan of the distillery.

The Week in Wine and Whiskey: June 19

<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Bardstown+Bourbon+Company&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bardstown Bourbon Company</a> didn't invent the idea of contract distilling, but it did make that model more innovative, more transparent, and more modern than it had ever been&mdash;and moved it into the heart of bourbon country. The distillery was founded in 2014 and began distilling by 2016, combining contract distillation, collaborative projects, and its own branded releases at a scale that was unusual at the time. Like much of the whiskey industry, BBC has faced some tough times recently and scaled back its production, but it continues to release some truly innovative and excellent whiskeys.
Dan Callaway joined Bardstown in 2018 and moved into the position of master blender in 2025 (the distillery is now part of parent company Lofted Spirits along with <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Green+River&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Green River</a>, a distillery that it acquired in 2022). Over that time, he&rsquo;s become one of the clearest voices in blending, and was even featured in a <a href="https://www.bardstownbourbon.com/news/featured-on-60-minutes/">60 Minutes segment</a> about the life of a bourbon barrel. As the broader market cools after years of expansion, Bardstown is balancing its in-house brands, large-scale custom distilling, and an expanding portfolio.&nbsp;
Just this year, the company has released an expression using hard-to-find Garryana oak, along with a collaboration with respected Japanese distillery <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Mars&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mars</a>, while Green River delivered a Honey Finished Bourbon along with their oldest expression yet, the Toasted Double Oak Distillery Select.
Callaway talked to The Unicorn Review about what the market slowdown actually looks like from the inside, how blending functions when supply and demand shift, why Bardstown rethought its visual identity, and how scale changes the creative process.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Unicorn Review: Bardstown has become a central player in American whiskey in a fairly short time. What stands out most about where the company is now?
Dan Callaway: It started with Peter Loftin, our founder. We started distilling in September of 2016, and we came out of the gate sourcing whiskey, making blends, and doing finishes. And then we slowly started incorporating our liquid. The cool part was putting the distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. We&rsquo;ve got all the history and tradition&mdash;we&rsquo;re in the bourbon capital of the world&mdash;but we bring a modern take to the industry. Innovation, collaboration, transparency; you'll see that in the building, you'll see it in the bottles, and you&rsquo;ll see it in the products.
One innovation was treating hospitality as an opportunity to build the brand. Previously, brands looked at bourbon tourism as more of an obligation, a box to check. From day one, we had this amazing restaurant and bar team getting people to stay on site. Whether it's a tour thieving from barrels or cocktail classes, we were building our brand through our hospitality program.&nbsp;
You mentioned the building. Can you talk about the glass-front rickhouse?
Initially, it was all glass looking into the distillery. In the corner of the warehouse was this little glass pocket. We started taking samples from those barrels, and when the sun hits them, we&rsquo;d get a day-to-day change, a diurnal shift. Traditionally, in Kentucky spirits, you look at the really cold winters, the really hot summers, and you're getting an annual development from the barrel change and that interaction and wood extraction.&nbsp;
We loved the flavor of that corner, so we pivoted and did an entire wall of the rickhouse facing the sunset. Every afternoon, those barrels are getting hit with direct heat, and that&rsquo;s causing more flavor development, and a day-to-day change in the temperature of the liquid. We've had barrels up there for a few years, everything from new make going into the barrel to a finishing project. We&rsquo;ll keep sampling and see.
<h3>Adapting to a Cooling Market</h3>
The global whiskey market is in a difficult place right now. From where you sit, what is just hearsay versus what is actually changing on the ground?
The narrative that I often hear, that I don't agree with, is that &ldquo;the sky is falling.&rdquo; The excitement around brands has never been higher. Look at bourbon tourism in Kentucky. Just speaking with our VIP coordinator, seeing how busy he is&mdash;the people are coming.&nbsp;
Now, we do have a lot of barrels sitting, so it&rsquo;s never been a better time to be a consumer, as these things age. The truth of it is, as those barrels age, people will still need younger bourbon for their releases, so the distillation side will pick back up. I think we're in the middle of a correction from overproduction, but it will correct itself over time.
Can you talk a little bit more about how that affects the two sides of Bardstown differently&mdash;contract distilling and in-house brands?
We balance both. Bardstown has had tremendous growth as the industry is flat or even a little down. Then we look at our distillation volumes and see what we need to do and what barrels we&rsquo;re sitting on as our partner brands adjust their inventories. That&rsquo;s a balancing act that takes the whole team. I think we&rsquo;re about a year or so away from the new-make demand coming back.
When demand cools or is a bit flat on the distilling side, does that create more room for experimentation on the brand side?
Exactly. We can free up a fermenter, for example, and our team is open to doing that if there's a unique grain or something. Nick Smith, our director of distillation, has some cool projects going, and there's an opportunity to experiment if there's room in the schedule.
Is it fair to say that things are stratifying into a bit of a winner-take-more market?
That&rsquo;s a good question. The huge success story is RTDs. But in bourbon specifically, you can look year-over-year, and certain brands are just having a really good time right now. Others are a little more flat, and it comes down to the quality of your liquid and the authenticity of your story.
<h3 dir="ltr">Custom Distillation and Radical Transparency</h3>
Bardstown is very transparent about its story, even if the history isn't necessarily long. Do you think that that is a contributing factor to your success?
It&rsquo;s funny, because I feel like we've been around forever, but we are such a new brand. A lot of people are still learning about Bardstown, and we're seeing that in the sales. As people learn about us, they like what they hear. I think the growth has been organic from the beginning. It&rsquo;s not like we suddenly hit a switch and did something different. It's just been a slow build.
Bardstown is often described as a contract distiller, but you&rsquo;ve pushed back on that language. Why?
Before Bardstown, if you wanted a bourbon, you would get the excess or an existing recipe from a big guy. You wouldn't be able to say where you got it, and you wouldn't be able to shape the profile, right? So then you&rsquo;ve got all these bourbons on the back bar that are the same liquid with different labels.
What Bardstown kicked off, instead of contract distillation, was custom distillation. You pick your yeast, how long you want to ferment, the temperature off the still, the barrel. It's like you're a chef coming in and using our kitchen. That's how Peter Loftin, the founder, wanted it from the beginning.
As you've said, contract distilling used to be something that brands weren&rsquo;t necessarily willing to talk about. Now there&rsquo;s more transparency around sourcing and production. How do you think that came to be?
When people were buying from a large distiller, they often didn't want the public to know that was happening, or that it existed. So you weren't allowed to say where you got it from. You could get away with kind of just making up a story and slapping it on a label. And now I think there is a demand for authenticity.&nbsp;
I also think our partner brands have realized that their fans appreciate the story and connection. If it&rsquo;s made at Bardstown, fans know that the brand has their own recipe, and they did it their way. If you visit us, every partner brand is on the back bar. We sell our partner brands in retail. It's just a complete pivot and a different way to look at things.
<h3 dir="ltr">Blending, Stewardship, and Green River</h3>
Talk a little bit about your background, and your history with the company.
I was a musician, my whole life. I come from a family of musicians. I was playing French horn down in New Orleans, and I was doing these tours every year that would go to China, and I met my now wife on that tour. She was from Kentucky, so I moved to Kentucky.
I had always been really deep into wine and cocktails, so when I moved I got my sommelier certification, and from there I met the people starting Bardstown. I initially came down because they were building this restaurant and beverage program, and that&rsquo;s how I got into the company. As we slowly started to add expressions, I started shifting into product development, and then went full-time into blending and finishing. With the acquisition of Green River, I now oversee that for both brands.&nbsp;
That leads to my next question: where does Green River sit in relation to the company?
To me, it's the perfect juxtaposition to Bardstown. If Bardstown is exploring, innovative, modern, then Green River is everything that's beautiful about classic Kentucky bourbon. It was started in 1885, DSP-KY-10, the tenth registered distillery. It&rsquo;s accessible, and honestly, it's really fun to blend, because you're making these beautiful traditional profiles. We have the bourbon, the wheated bourbon, the rye, we're now launching a full-proof wheated to go with our full-proof bourbon, and then single barrels. What I'm looking at right now, as we expand Green River, is a lot of distillery-only releases. I think it's a unicorn of a brand, and we've only scratched the surface of what Green River can do. &nbsp;
From a volume perspective, what would you say is the split between Green River and Bardstown?
They&rsquo;re pretty much 50-50, if not Bardstown by a hair. And with the price point, I wouldn't be surprised if they kind of go back and forth.
<h3 dir="ltr">Collaboration and Creativity</h3>
Speaking of partners, Bardstown has a huge range of collaborators. What makes a collaboration something that's worth pursuing?
We&rsquo;re always looking for firsts. That might be Indian whisky barrels with <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/auction/8d1c3e8d-dc32-4cc3-8925-ee795db81e8d/lot/46328d94-ee6e-4247-b106-3aa96dca14dd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amrut</a>, or Armagnac barrels; with Chateau de Labaude, they had to cut a hole in the roof to get the barrels out. I get excited when I hear it&rsquo;s a first. These collaborations are personal relationships. Probably my favorite part of the job is partnerships, because a lot of these aren&rsquo;t contracts, they&rsquo;re relationships. Some of them actually start on Instagram: &ldquo;Hey, do you want to do something cool?&rdquo;
Do you feel there's something important about being in Kentucky for building these relationships?
Absolutely. To me, it&rsquo;s the central nervous system, it's where the knowledge is. You're seeing people constantly and connecting with them, and there are so many warehouses and labs and innovation happening here. I always tell people, when they ask, "How do I get into bourbon?" I say move to Kentucky. It&rsquo;s a welcoming group, too.
<h3 dir="ltr">Cathedral, Scarcity, and 60 Minutes</h3>
When you look at the company now, what stands out to you most about its trajectory?
We're in this unique place as a spirits brand, because we're still a tiny team, and we are able to be agile and make these quick decisions&ndash;although we've grown! We now have three stills, and we're producing a large volume of liquid, but at our core, we can shift and pivot on a dime. So whether it's the Cathedral French Oak, a finish featuring rare wood, or distilling from popcorn or rare grains, we're able to innovate and explore and push flavor.&nbsp;
I also think one thing that people are still finding out about is the quality of our core lineup. The six-year bourbon, the rye, the high wheat, the wheated bottled-in-bond, these are all something I think people are still learning about and discovering. The core is still our driver; that's probably 10 times the volume of the experimental side.
It feels like you can&rsquo;t find that Cathedral release anywhere.
It is so hard to find, but I mean, the <a href="https://www.bardstownbourbon.com/news/featured-on-60-minutes/">60 Minutes</a> thing just catapulted it.
What happened there?
60 Minutes was doing a story on the life of a whiskey barrel with a barrel maker, a barrel broker, and then us, since we're known for these creative projects. Someone basically said, "Hey, talk to the Bardstown guys." They were really interested in what we did with India, and then I was talking with their producer and I was telling him about the Cathedral. They were about to air their piece on the reopening of Notre Dame. So it was just this perfect timing and fit, and it was really great to have their team visit.&nbsp;
Has that been your personal favorite release?
It would be hard not to say the Cathedral, for how cool that was. But I also loved one that was in the same series, the Normandie release. All the releases are different, but the flavor of that one just really resonates with me, and I was proud of the team for creating that.
What flies under the radar for me is our double-barreled rye. It&rsquo;s true cask-strength rye finished in cherry wood and American oak zebra barrels, going around with alternating staves, and an infrared toast. The flavor is incredible. Every time someone tries one for the first time, they buy a bottle.
<h3 dir="ltr">Labels and What&rsquo;s Next</h3>
On the topic of bottles, you recently modified your labels. What was the thought process there?
[There was] push on the label redesign to, one, get a little more type up higher, so nothing's buried and so you can see it. Second, underneath Bardstown is a clear way to identify the bottle, whether it's bourbon or bottle-in-bond. And then, with our Collaboration and Discovery offerings, you'll see some revamping there that elevates it as well.
Can you share anything that you have coming up?
Our next distillery-only that's coming soon is Garryana oak, which only grows in the Pacific Northwest [this has been released since the interview took place&mdash;ed]. It&rsquo;s rare, and it has to fall naturally. That oak with bourbon, to me, is just tremendous. We worked with a micro cooperage, Oregon Barrel Works, who do about a thousand barrels a year. We produce about 800 barrels a day, just at Bardstown, so it's been very cool to partner with them. They initially sent us some staves to play around with, and I was really impressed by the character that we were getting. It's not something you see regularly, and I think that could be a really popular one.

At Bardstown Bourbon Company, Dan Callaway Is Defining the Modern Era of American Whiskey Blending

What&rsquo;s happening in wine and whiskey this week:
<h3 dir="ltr">This Week&rsquo;s Unicorn Review Stories</h3>
🥃 Some of the NBA&rsquo;s biggest names have become major wine collectors, <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/unicorn-review/nba-wine-sommeliers">helped along by a couple of expert sommeliers</a>.
🍷 If you like Compass Box blended scotch, there&rsquo;s a whole world of <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/unicorn-review/what-to-drink-next-compass-box-whisky">blended American whiskeys to try now</a>.
<h3 dir="ltr">New Bottle Releases</h3>
Elijah Craig 21-Year-Old Single Barrel Bourbon (SRP $300)
<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=elijah+craig&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Elijah Craig</a> has expanded its Single Barrel lineup over the past few months. First it introduced a new 15-year-old, then relaunched the 18-year. And just this past week, Heaven Hill announced that the 21-year-old was back in production for the first time in about a decade, bottled at 94 proof. This is an oaky, rich, deep bourbon that fans of this Kentucky bourbon brand will love.
Starlight 2026 10-Year Reserve Bourbon (SRP $250)
Indiana distillery <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=starlight&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Starlight</a> just released a new batch of its 10-year-old bourbon. This is a blend of ten barrels of two whiskeys, one made from three grains and one from four. The bourbon was partially aged in Starlight&rsquo;s Warehouse #2, which it says is the warmest onsite and augments the interaction between wood and whiskey. Look for notes of toffee, stone fruit, and seasoned oak in this 114.2-proof bourbon.
<h3 dir="ltr">Unicorn Whiskey Pick of the Week</h3>
Seelbach's Private Reserve Classic ($40)
Online whiskey retailer <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=seelbach%27s&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Seelbach&rsquo;s</a> has been putting out whiskeys under its own label for years now, in addition to selling some fine bottles from a variety of other brands. Some of these are on the pricier side, and some of them are higher proof. But the latest release, Private Reserve Classic, is an attempt at a midrange bourbon in terms of cost, strength, and age that can be enjoyed neat or in a cocktail&mdash;and it&rsquo;s a success.
<img src="https://directus-11-4sui.onrender.com/assets/a4f4356e-e044-438e-a3aa-033979e2fdfe.jpg?width=1000&amp;height=563" alt="Sprclassic"> 
The details of this bourbon are as follows: it was distilled at an unnamed distillery in Owensboro, Kentucky, which makes <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Green+River&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Green River</a> a likely suspect (this is just speculation, of course). It was made from a mashbill of 70 percent corn, 21 percent rye, and nine percent malted barley (again, sounds like Green River), aged for seven years and eight months, and bottled at 99 proof. According to Seelbach&rsquo;s, the bourbon was inspired by the legally allowable entry proof being raised from 110 to 125 in 1962&mdash;they prefer the lower proof, and add water to the whiskey while still in the barrel to allow water and spirit to marry and slowly dilute. That&rsquo;s not a new method&mdash;some other distilleries use this practice as well, and Cognac producers have been doing it for a long time. And it was also a conscious attempt to bottle a lower proof bourbon that still delivers strong flavor.
And it does. This is a versatile and very sippable bourbon that also works very nicely in an Old Fashioned or Manhattan (that higher rye content helps here). And yes, Classic is very classic in its flavor profile, with notes of oak, maple, butterscotch, cinnamon, grape jelly, vanilla custard, and baked apple. 99 proof is a sweet spot in terms of strength, providing heat without much burn. Overall, Seelbach&rsquo;s latest is a bottle that should be a staple on your home bar.

The Week in Wine and Whiskey: June 12

There&rsquo;s still a corner of the whiskey world that hears the term &ldquo;blend&rdquo; and assumes it means an inferior product, even though brands like <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=dewar%27s&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Dewar&rsquo;s</a> and <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Johnnie+Walker&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Johnnie Walker</a> have been proving for generations how refined blended whisky can be. Those houses built their reputations on scale, consistency, and the mandate to recreate a signature profile year after year&mdash;the classic mentality of a storied blender.
Relative newcomer <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Compass+Box&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Compass Box</a> came along in a different era, working on a smaller scale and with a different set of priorities: transparency about components, a willingness to put grain whisky in the foreground, and blends built for character rather than consistency. The brand&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Hedonism&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Hedonism</a> expression became one of the early examples of how grain whisky could stand on its own when treated with real age and attention.
When Hedonism first appeared in 2000, it didn&rsquo;t look or behave like the blended grain whiskies most people knew. It was built from older parcels than most people associated with grain whisky at the time, and it immediately stood out for its silky, almost custard‑like texture and maturity. As those parcels became harder to source, Hedonism moved into an annual limited‑release format, shaped each year by whatever older grain components were available. The 2026 release (46% ABV, $165) reflects that shift, built around older grain components that give it more weight and darker flavors than recent editions.
This year&rsquo;s blend leans on some of the oldest grain whisky Compass Box has used to date, including a 30‑year Strathclyde and 20&ndash;24‑year whiskies from Port Dundas and Cameronbridge. There&rsquo;s also an older sherry element in the mix, and it shows. The nose is warm and rich&mdash;clove‑spiked fruitcake, dates, toffee&mdash;with that familiar Hedonism dryness underneath. On the palate, the texture is classic: soft, melting, almost custardy. But the flavors run darker than in previous editions, with coffee, roasted almond, tart raisin, and a cocoa‑tinged creaminess that lingers. The sherry doesn&rsquo;t take over; it simply adds depth.
That idea is showing up in American whiskey too, where a handful of producers are making straight blends built from mature straight components assembled with intention. If Hedonism shows how blending can evolve within scotch, these bottles show what happens when American distillers and blenders take the same approach.
<h3 dir="ltr">High West Bourye ($125)</h3>
<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=High+West&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">High West&rsquo;s</a><a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=bourye&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc"> 2026 Bourye</a> leans more heavily on older stock and is a higher proof than previous editions, built entirely from 10 to 19‑year‑old bourbon and rye and bottled at 50.5% ABV without chill filtration. The blend includes two MGP bourbons (75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley; and 60% corn, 36% rye, 4% malted barley), MGP&rsquo;s 95% rye/5% malted barley rye, and High West&rsquo;s own 80% rye/20% malted‑rye distillate&mdash;one of the few house‑made components that has now reached meaningful age. The elevated proof gives the blend a darker, more concentrated profile and a confectionary nose with orange‑cr&egrave;me and ginger‑spice character peeking through.
<h3 dir="ltr">Barrell Craft Spirits 12‑Year French Oak Cask Finish Bourbon ($159)</h3>
<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Barrell%E2%80%99s+12%E2%80%91Year+French+Oak+Cask+Finish+Bourbon&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Barrell&rsquo;s 12‑Year French Oak Cask Finish Bourbon</a> is a blend of straight bourbons distilled in Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, and Wyoming, all at least 12 years old. Each was given a secondary maturation in French oak casks with distinct toast levels designed to build aromatic spice and deepen the nutty, vanilla‑forward character. The French oak shows immediately, revealing hazelnut, vanilla, nutmeg, and allspice notes, with a worn‑leather earthiness that keeps the sweetness grounded. The palate carries the same toasted‑nut and baking‑spice profile, but there&rsquo;s also a faint herbaceous lift&mdash;a little spearmint, a little green freshness&mdash;that cuts through the richness.&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">WhistlePig 12‑Year Market Street Bank Heist ($165)</h3>
Available only at <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=WhistlePig&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WhistlePig&rsquo;s</a> Vault tasting room in Louisville, the 12‑Year Market Street Bank Heist is built from mature rye finished across three cask types&mdash;20% Port, 28% Sauternes, and 52% Madeira&mdash;a combination that gives the whiskey a broader mouthfeel, a longer finish, and a darker flavor profile than the core 12‑year releases. According to Jennifer Bowker, lead tasting room host at the Vault, the Port component brings deep chocolate, dark fruit, and a warm baking‑spice edge, while the Sauternes and Madeira add lift while it remains a dessert dram.&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">Little Book Chapter 9: None for Granted ($160)</h3>
<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=little+book+chapter+9&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Little Book Chapter 9</a> is built from five Kentucky straight whiskeys: 11‑year bourbon, 8‑year rye, 8‑year brown‑rice bourbon, and two 7‑year bourbons (one fermented for five days at a lower distillation proof, the other finished in toasted oak). Freddie Noe still jokes about his first attempt at a blend&mdash;&ldquo;terrible&hellip; it tasted pretty much just like corn whiskey,&rdquo; he said in a recent interview&mdash;and how people questioned whether blending was even worth pursuing. The success of the <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Little+Book&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Little Book</a> series, each of which has a different inspiration, has long since answered that skepticism, and Chapter 9 leans into the classic whiskey flavors he wanted to honor. The profile is deliberately traditional: caramel, vanilla, butterscotch, and toffee, with a little spice and dried fruit in the background.&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">Stranahan&rsquo;s Snowflake 2025 &mdash; Windom Peak ($120)</h3>
Snowflake has always been <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=snowflake&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Stranahan&rsquo;s</a> annual showcase for what blended American single malt can do. Each year&rsquo;s blend is built from a different set of finishing casks, and each year&rsquo;s release is treated like a pilgrimage by the brand&rsquo;s fans&mdash;a two‑day winter festival, a camp‑out, and a bottle that sells out within hours. Windom Peak, the 2025 edition and Justin Aden&rsquo;s third Snowflake since taking over blending in 2023, leans into that ethos with one of the most layered cask medleys Stranahan&rsquo;s has assembled to date.
The blend draws on 8- to 13‑year-old American single malts, all initially aged in new American oak before being moved into a set of expressive finishing barrels. The backbone is extra a&ntilde;ejo tequila casks, a profile Aden says he uses sparingly because agave barrels can dominate, but here they&rsquo;re softened by the presence of other finishes. Around that core he layers rhum agricole, peach brandy, applejack, white port, and orange wine casks, each contributing a different shade of fruit, texture, or acidity. Aden describes the process as &ldquo;staying under the same fruit umbrella&rdquo; as 2024&rsquo;s Redcloud Peak, but shifting the spectrum from dark, jammy fruit to bright and tropical flavors.
<h3 dir="ltr">Bardstown Bourbon Co. Distillery Reserve Mars Single Malt Japanese Blend ($100)&nbsp;&nbsp;</h3>
Launched in 2025, <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=bardstown+bourbon+company&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Bardstown&rsquo;s</a> Distillery Reserve series serves as an outlet for small‑scale experimentation, including one‑off releases built around unusual casks, extended aging, and blending ideas that sit outside the core lineup.&nbsp;
This <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Mars+distillery&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">edition</a>, developed with Japan&rsquo;s Mars distilleries, is the first Distillery Reserve built around co‑aging rather than finishing. Japanese single malts from Mars <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Komagatake&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Komagatake</a> and Tsunuki were shipped to Kentucky and introduced directly into barrels holding mature 10‑ and 16‑year bourbons, then aged together for a full year. Instead of layering flavors after the fact, the spirits integrated in‑barrel through a warm Kentucky summer, picking up additional wood sugars and structure along the way.
You can taste both the bourbon backbone and the Japanese malt character in the whiskey. Komagatake&rsquo;s Umeshu‑cask maturation adds plum and floral notes, while Tsunuki&rsquo;s Sakura‑cask influence contributes delicate spice.
<h3 dir="ltr">Jefferson&rsquo;s Marian McLain, Second Release ($300)&nbsp;&nbsp;</h3>
The second release in <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=jefferson%27s&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Jefferson&rsquo;s</a> Marian McLain series continues Trey Zoeller&rsquo;s effort to honor his eighth‑generation grandmother, a woman arrested in 1799 for illicit whiskey production while supporting her family after the Revolutionary War.&nbsp;
Bottled at 106 proof and built from older components, this is a bolder expression than the inaugural release. The 2025 blend is anchored by 62% 13‑year Kentucky bourbon, a dark‑fruited, tobacco‑leaning whiskey that sets the tone. It&rsquo;s joined by 15% 11‑year Indiana wheated bourbon double‑barreled in oak for added coconut, leather, and toasted sweetness; 11% Kentucky bourbon finished in wine barrels that brings spice and red fruit; 6% Kentucky bourbon finished in rum barrels for honeyed brown sugar; and 6% 9‑year Kentucky bourbon for caramel and fig notes.
<h3>Laws Whiskey House Solstice Barrel Series, Armagnac Cask ($80)</h3>
The Solstice Barrel Series began as an internal tradition at <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=laws&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Laws Whiskey House</a> in Denver. Every winter solstice, the blending team would gather employees, toast a barrel, and fill it with something experimental, according to Casey Rizzo, brand manager at the distillery. After several years of these annual fills, one of the early barrels finally reached maturity, and the distillery decided to bottle it as a limited distillery‑exclusive.
This first Solstice release is a blend of bourbon and rye, a style Laws has explored before in its Rackhouse Series. The whiskey was aged in an Armagnac cask that had been re‑toasted in 2022&mdash;a detail that matters, because the re‑toast opened up fresh oak to add more fruit and baking spice notes once the whiskey went in the barrel. The result is a whiskey that sits comfortably between the two mashbills: the bourbon brings warmth with caramel and vanilla, while the rye, grown in the high‑altitude San Luis Valley, is green, herbaceous and savory.

What to Drink Next If You Love Compass Box Scotch Whisky

What&rsquo;s happening in wine and whiskey this week:
<h3 dir="ltr">This Week&rsquo;s Unicorn Review Stories</h3>
🥃 We picked some of the <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/unicorn-review/best-fathers-day-whiskeys">best bottles of whiskey to give to your dad</a> this Father&rsquo;s Day, all of which have a strong father-son family legacy behind them.
🍷 Vicki Denig <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/unicorn-review/hidden-gems-wine-list-coqodaq">spoke to COQODAQ wine director Ian Smedley</a> about his career trajectory and how he keeps the Champagne list relevant at this NYC fried chicken and bubbles hotspot.
<h3 dir="ltr">New Bottle Releases</h3>
Russell&rsquo;s Reserve 13 (SRP $200)
<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=russells+reserve&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Russell&rsquo;s Reserve</a>&nbsp;released the latest batch of its always popular 13-year-old bourbon, and this one clocks in at a high 121.1 proof. This also coincides with master distiller Eddie Russell&rsquo;s 45th anniversary at <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Wild+Turkey&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">Wild Turkey</a>, and to celebrate the distillery is also releasing a documentary about him called&nbsp;His Own Way: The Story of Eddie Russell. You can see the film starting June 23 at select Alamo Drafthouse locations.
New Riff 10 Year Bourbon and Rye (SRP $90)
Kentucky distillery <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=New+Riff&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc">New Riff </a>continues to impress with its bottled-in-bond whiskeys and fantastic American single malt. They also have some older barrels aging in the warehouses, as evidenced by the release of these new 10-year-old whiskeys. The bourbon was bottled at 116.9 proof and made from a mashbill of 65% corn, 30% rye and 5% malted barley; the rye was bottled at 118.8 proof and made from a mashbill of 95% rye and 5% malted rye. Both are available now to New Riff Whiskey Club members.
<h3 dir="ltr">Unicorn Whiskey Pick of the Week</h3>
Penelope Bourbon&rsquo;s Cooper Series: Riviera ($80)
Every now and then, <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/search?term=Penelope+Bourbon&amp;state=LIVE%26UPCOMING&amp;sortBy=number_asc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Penelope Bourbon</a> comes along and releases something pretty special. The brand, which was founded in 2018, was acquired by MGP in 2023, the same distillery that it sources its whiskey from. Penelope puts out a lot of new releases, and some of them are really good, while others sometimes feel a little bit redundant. But when the whiskey hits the right notes, it sings&mdash;and that is the case with Riviera, the new edition in the Cooper Series which is focused on different cask finishes.
&nbsp;<img src="https://directus-11-4sui.onrender.com/assets/c0068a9d-bf2b-4d4c-9756-8912f36d01a4.jpg?width=1200&amp;height=675" alt="Penelope Bourbon">
Past releases in the Cooper Series include Rio, which was aged in the very divisive Brazilian amburana wood, and Havana, which was finished in maple syrup and rum barrels. Both of these drove their flavor points home very clearly, but that is not necessarily the case with Riviera, and I mean that in a very good way. This whiskey is similar to Rose Cask Finish, another Cooper Series release, which was finished in&mdash;you guessed it&mdash;rose wine casks. That expression was a bourbon, but Riviera is a blend of non-age statement bourbon (made from a mashbill of 74% corn, 16% wheat, 7% rye, 3% malted barley) and eight-year-old light whiskey. After initial maturation, it was finished in rose wine barrels from Spain and bottled at 94 proof.&nbsp;
The result is a really light and flavorful whiskey, with the rich, juicy fruit notes that you might expect from this type of secondary maturation. I&rsquo;m not sure what the percentages of each component in the blend are, but the bourbon&rsquo;s vanilla and oak character are certainly present, along with notes of apricot, citrus, butterscotch, caramel, and red berries. There is a sweetness to this whiskey, but it&rsquo;s soft and not overpowering. Overall, this is a very well executed finish that stands out from the rest of the series, and is further proof that the Penelope team has really mastered the art of the secondary maturation&mdash;but please, no more amburana!

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The Best Bottles of Whiskey Commemorating America’s 250th Anniversary

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The Week in Wine and Whiskey: June 19

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Bourbon

At Bardstown Bourbon Company, Dan Callaway Is Defining the Modern Era of American Whiskey Blending

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The Week in Wine and Whiskey: June 12

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What to Drink Next If You Love Compass Box Scotch Whisky

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The Week in Wine and Whiskey: June 5

Week in Wine & Whiskey

The Week in Wine and Whiskey: June 5

The modern platform
for spirits & wine

Spirits

African Agave Spirits and Rum are Ready For The Spotlight

Spirits

African Agave Spirits and Rum are Ready For The Spotlight

Whiskey

A Field Guide to Reading a Whiskey Label

Whiskey

A Field Guide to Reading a Whiskey Label

Everyday Drinking

The Best Bottles of Whiskey Commemorating America’s 250th Anniversary

Everyday Drinking

The Best Bottles of Whiskey Commemorating America’s 250th Anniversary

Week in Wine & Whiskey

The Week in Wine and Whiskey: June 19

Week in Wine & Whiskey

The Week in Wine and Whiskey: June 19

Bourbon

At Bardstown Bourbon Company, Dan Callaway Is Defining the Modern Era of American Whiskey Blending

Bourbon

At Bardstown Bourbon Company, Dan Callaway Is Defining the Modern Era of American Whiskey Blending

Week in Wine & Whiskey

The Week in Wine and Whiskey: June 12

Week in Wine & Whiskey

The Week in Wine and Whiskey: June 12

What to Drink

What to Drink Next If You Love Compass Box Scotch Whisky

What to Drink

What to Drink Next If You Love Compass Box Scotch Whisky

Week in Wine & Whiskey

The Week in Wine and Whiskey: June 5

Week in Wine & Whiskey

The Week in Wine and Whiskey: June 5

The modern platformfor spirits & wine

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The modern platform
for spirits & wine