What’s happening in wine and whiskey this week:

This Week’s Unicorn Review Stories

🥃 Gina Pace picked some of the best bottles of bourbon to drink during the Kentucky Derby this year, from official Derby-affiliated expressions to bourbons that encompass the spirit of the event.

New Bottle Releases

Abraham Bowman Special Release #26 Rye Whiskey ($80)

This is the first rye whiskey that the A. Smith Bowman distillery has released since 2010. Abraham Bowman Special Release #26 (110 proof) was entirely distilled and aged onsite at the Virginia distillery, which is not always the case—this is a sister distillery to Buffalo Trace, and some of the whiskey is first distilled there or at another Sazerac distillery before being shipped to Bowman and redistilled. Look for notes of vanilla, apricot, black pepper, and spice on the palate.

Blue Run Blueprint Series ($70)

This new release takes the role of flagship bourbon for Blue Run, a brand owned by Molson Coors Beverage Company. It was blended by head of whiskey and innovation Shaylyn Gammon, combining two different mashbills—a wheated recipe and an experimental mashbill known as “Founders' Mash” (details are not revealed)—and bottled at 105 proof. This bourbon is meant to be sipped or used in a cocktail like an Old Fashioned, with notes of orchard fruit, vanilla, cinnamon, baking spice, and and toasted oak.

Unicorn Whiskey Pick of the Week

Cedar Ridge Pete & Sherri Married — 2nd Anniversary ($100)

Do you give whiskey made in Iowa much thought? And no, I’m not talking about Templeton Rye, which is actually making whiskey at its Iowa distillery after sourcing from MGP for many years (it still does that too, to be clear). But have you heard of Cedar Ridge Distillery? That name is a reason to pay attention to Iowa whiskey, because it’s making some really good stuff, and the latest example is the third installment in the Pete & Sherri Married series, which is part of its QuintEssential Special Release series. That’s a lot of setup, so let’s explain what this whiskey is all about.

Cedar Ridge makes different kinds of whiskey, but it excels in particular at making American single malt, which is what this new release is. The QuintEssential series focuses on this style, and for this release master blender Murphy Quint blended single malts aged from six to nine years together, and bottled it at cask strength of 116.8 proof (58.4% ABV), with no chill filtration and, of course, no color. The two main whiskeys in the blend are as follows: single malt made from two-row pale malted barley initially aged in ex-bourbon barrels from the distillery and then finished in Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry hogsheads; and peated malt whiskey initially matured in the distillery’s bourbon barrels and then finished in amontillado sherry butts.

The result is a really complex and rich sipper, with notes of dried fruit, black pepper, creme brulee, ripe grapes and dried raisins, dark chocolate, and cinnamon. At nearly 117 proof, there’s a flash of heat on the palate as you sip, ending with a lingering bit of warmth that lasts for a moment or so after the liquid is gone from your glass. If you like this whiskey, and I’m pretty sure you will, there will be more to come, as the series continues to focus on different blends and cask finishes. In the meantime, give the rest of the Cedar Ridge lineup a try as well, and you may decide that Iowa whiskey is something you need to start paying more attention to.