Friday, September 19, 2014
New Whiskey Labels: Diageo's Special Releases and More
This week's most interesting new labels from the federal TTB database:
Beam cleared a label for Ardmore Legacy, a no age statement mix of peated and unpeated whisky.
Diageo announced it's new special releases this week after they cleared a number of the labels with the TTB, which include: Clynelish Select Reserve, a cask strength release; the 14th release of Port Ellen, a 35 year old distilled in 1978; Strathmill 25 year old; Caol Ila 30 year old; Cragganmore 25 year old; Benrinnes 21 year old; Rosebank 21 year old and Brora 35 year old.
Joining the ranks of Glenfiddich's storm surviving Snow Phoenix and E.H. Taylor Tornado Surviving Bourbon, Hudson steps into the disaster-whiskey genre with Double Charred, a fire surviving whiskey. Of course, Hudson is owned by William Grant, who also owns Glenfiddich, so they know their disaster whiskeys.
Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky is a South African single grain whiskey. It's been around for a while, but as far as I know, we haven't yet seen it in the US.
Label BS Award: According to the label, Homestead Single Barrel Reserve Bourbon (I love when they are single barrel and reserve!) is a "small batch handcrafted bourbon...so rare that only four barrels of it exist and there will not be anymore of this special juice for at least 4 more years." And, of course, it was distilled in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, home of all of that really rare, handcrafted bourbon in short supply.
But that's not all. The same company brings us William Walker Reserve Bourbon (also distilled in Indiana), a bourbon named for the man most famous for trying to create a massive slave state in Central America. These guys are winners!
And speaking of winners, Templeton Rye, under massive pressure, agreed to disclose the fact that it is distilled in Indiana on its labels. The new label indeed makes that disclosure, though it still contains the origin myth that it was Al Capone's favorite whiskey and is now "available legally for the first time ever."
Note: The fact that a label appears on the TTB database does not necessarily mean it will be produced. In addition, some details on the label, such as proof, can change in the final product.
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10 comments:
I know you mentioned it about the Al Capone story still being on the bottle, but do you and my fellow readers feel that the strip label that says "Uncle Al's favorite whiskey was the good stuff from Iowa-Templeton Rye Whiskey" is still purposely misleading to average consumer? I would think after that brilliantly awkward interview they did with WhiskyCast that they would get the hint that people think they are shady MFers!
Good lord, is it time to flip the 'full retard' switch yet? If anything, LDI sure does make those 'small batches' for both mouth-breathing rye lovers and enslaving aristocrats alike.
The William Walker one is really stunning: it's doesn't just incidentally name him, it's elaborately pro-white-supremacist-military-invasion.
The Templeton label still claims it was produced from the original recipe. Are they really going to keep every lie that they haven't explicitly been called out on?
@BMc It occurs to me, with the revelation that Templeton are adding 'flavorings', they might actually be using a Prohibition era recipe for doctoring up un-aged booze. Prune juice, tea, mint, spirits of nitre, etc. were common ways to make whiskey taste and look older.
When compared to the vastness of the universe, everything else is "small batch."
Wow, that "William Walker Reserve" is f-ing appalling.
>Bob: At last, a bourbon specially-made for Tea Party-ers!! :-/
Wait a minute -- producers are adding flavorings?!?!?! Is that legal? Tell me it's not legal for Scotch Single Malt, which is the only whisky I really like.
I suppose it depends what you mean by flavorings. Single malt Scotch uses peat and various casks (sherry, port, etc.) to enhance flavor, but no flavorings added directly to the liquid. Similarly "straight" bourbon and American rye cannot have added flavoring. The issue with Templeton is that it isn't straight so there was no legal problem with them adding flavoring.
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