Friday, May 8, 2015

New Whiskey Labels: Laphroaig, Ledaig, Old Wild Turkey and More


This week's most interesting new labels from the federal TTB database:

Beam released a new label for the 2015 Laphroaig Cairdeas commemorating the distillery's two hundredth anniversary.

A label cleared for a 42 year old Ledaig, the peated malt from the Tobermory distillery on the Isle of Mull.

Wild Turkey cleared a label for a new expression of Russell's Reserve bourbon, distilled in 1998 and bottled in 2015.  That would make it the oldest Wild Turkey expression in quite a while (assuming it's been in the barrel that whole time).

High West cleared a label for a new version of its popular, 16 year old Rocky Mountain Rye. Whereas the previous version came from the Barton Distillery, High West reports that this new version is a blend of a 16 year old Barton rye and a 17 year old LDI (Seagram's) rye. It will be a small release that will likely be available only in Utah.

Luxco Company, a St. Louis bottler, recently bought 50% of the Limestone Branch distillery in Kentucky and announced they would make it the home of the old Yellowstone brand.  Now they have released a label for a seven year old, 105 proof Yellowstone Bourbon. The new bourbon is is a vatting of three Kentucky bourbons: a 12 year old rye recipe, a 7 year old rye recipe and a 7 year old wheated bourbon. While the bourbon is bottled at Limestone Branch, it is distilled elsewhere.

Here's a Heaven Hill label for something called Evan Williams Master Blend which is helpfully described as a "masterful blend of various expressions." It looks like a gift shop item.

Diageo cleared a label for a 12 year old Port Dundas single grain whiskey.

Gordon & MacPhail cleared a label for a 32 year old St. Magdalene.

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.


3 comments:

Funky Tape said...

The Turkey looks promising. Odd they don't plaster 'cask strength' all over it because it sure seems to be. Also, why not make an age statement? Is it just a spin off of their 17 yr bottle coming out?

sku said...

Maybe this is instead of the Master's Keep...or maybe it's been tanked for some of the period and therefore not 17 years old.

VT Mike said...

Interesting. When I toured the Tobermory distillery just about three years ago I got to see the micro warehouse that is in the distillery complex (there are no other warehouses on Mull). There were several sherry butts of Ledaig from 1972 resting there. That was the first year the distillery had operated since 1930. We were told they would be bottled later that year as a 40 year old. Looks like they held out for a few more years. I'm curious to see how it's priced.