As I've written before the Federal Alcohol & Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) approves all spirits labels and publishes the certificates of approval on-line. This is a huge service to spirits fans as we get to see labels for new products long before they are on the shelf. Whiskey geek that I am, I spend some of my free time trolling the TTB database to see what's new and noteworthy. If I find something good, I usually tweet a link to using the hashtag #ttbtrolling, so if you want to see what's new that I've found interesting, search that hashtag.
Now keep in mind that label approvals don't guarantee that the product will hit the market. Sometimes, a company submits a label to have a product ready but then decides not to go forward or changes it for one reason or another. They also approve labels that are for private distribution for a particular event or store but which may not be widely available, so if you see me tweet an interesting label, understand that it's likely but not guaranteed to end up on the shelf.
Here are some of my recent finds:
- Jim Beam brings back its Distiller's Masterpiece series of a decade ago with a sherry finished bourbon
- Glenmorangie adds Ealanta to its Private Edition, vintage 1993 and aged in new, charred oak like a bourbon
- Old Forester brings out a single barrel BIB
- Bunnahabhain 40
- Bulleit 10 year old
- And for all you whiskey purists: Chicken Cock Root Beer Flavored Whiskey
I bet you never thought government documents could be so much fun!
In looking at the Ealanta label, it says it was aged in virgin white oak. Does that mean it wouldn't be using the typical ex-bourbon casks that most scotch does? Reads like it was aged for 19 years in 1st use casks.
ReplyDeleteNevermind...I see that SKU already confirmed it....it'll be interesting to see how that tastes, given the slower aging that Scotland provides vs. KY/TN. Scotch 19 = ~12yr bourbon or so? I know different mash, but in terms of amount of flavor extracted from wood.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you just save the space on the blog and just go ahead and tell us you don't like the new Beam or Old Forester product..and if the Bulleit is a bourbon then you won't like that either.
ReplyDeleteits a cola first, an NAS whiskey adding an age statement, and its a whopping 10!
ReplyDeleteVery cool info, Sku, thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteParkersback (Tom, SB)
We are just now starting to see shipments of Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Whiskey 10 year here in FL priced at $43.
ReplyDelete