Scotch Whiskies from Jura and Ardbeg, Old Forester 117 Rum Finished, Cedar Ridge, Penelope & More [New Releases]

In scotch whisky, Ardbeg has a new release in its Anthology Collection and Jura offers a rye cask finished single malt—an expression that's been available overseas for the last two years and now arrives on U.S. shores. Among American whiskeys, we welcome a new release in Old Forester's 117 series, this one finished in rum casks. The 117 Series has done particularly well with our tasting panel, the last one scoring 94 points. Elsewhere, Iowa whiskey maker Cedar Ridge aims for a cigar pairing with its latest American single malt, while Chattanooga offers a new bottled in bond expression. Penelope, meanwhile, is back with its popular Toasted Rye, and Delaware brewer/distiller Dogfish Head becomes the latest American whiskey maker to try its hand at amburana finishing.

Ardbeg Anthology: The Unicorn’s Tale 14 year old Scotch Single Malt

ABV: 46%
SRP: $160
Availability: Limited; ardbeg.com, the distillery visitor center, reservebar.com, and specialist retailers; imported by Moët Hennessy USA

Ardbeg has announced the second limited-edition release in its Anthology Collection of unusual hybrid single malts that combine classic Ardbeg character with parcels of experimental stock. This is not a finished whisky: the new Islay single malt continues the collection’s sweet and smoky style with a marriage of Ardbeg matured in madeira wine casks and bourbon barrel-matured. Outside of single cask releases, it’s the first time Ardbeg has used a 14 year old age statement. The three-part series inspired by Islay myths, tall tales, and folk legends debuted last year with Ardbeg Anthology: The Harpy’s Tale 13 year old, rated 91 points, which combined Ardbeg matured in sauternes casks with traditional bourbon barrel matured Ardbeg.

Madeira casks are often used by distillers for cask finishing, such as recent releases from Boann and The Whistler. (Full maturation in madeira casks is unusual, although a recent release from Paul John did so.) Rather than releasing whiskies fully matured in wine or fortified wine casks in unadulterated form, Ardbeg’s director of whisky creation Dr. Bill Lumsden prefers to treat experimental parcels of whisky as ingredients for creating the final recipe.

Jura 14 year old American Rye Cask Scotch Single Malt

ABV: 40%
SRP: $75
Availability: CA, FL, and TX; imported by Gallo

Part of Jura’s Signature Series, the 14 year old American Rye Cask is by no means a brand new whisky—it’s been overseas since 2022—but this marks its U.S. debut. The 14 year old single malt spent the majority of its life in bourbon barrels, before finishing in American rye whiskey casks.

The Isle of Jura is Islay’s northern neighbor off the coast of western Scotland—it’s smaller than Islay with a population of only 212, compared to Islay’s 3,000, and this is its only distillery. Jura rebranded and relaunched back in 2017, and since then, it’s amassed an entirely new lineup across its Signature Series, Travel Exclusive, and Rare & Limited ranges. The Signature Series started with 5 single malts; that number is now at 7 thanks to the addition of this new whisky and a 12 year old single malt that joined the lineup in 2021. Prior to the revamp, Jura was largely comprised of non-age statement whiskies, but that’s no longer the case, with age-statement single malts making up the majority of releases.

Old Forester 117 Series: Rum Finished Bourbon

ABV: 47.5%
SRP: $120
Availability: Limited; Old Forester distillery and online with shipping to KY, NE, NH, ND, and D.C.

For its latest 117 Series whiskey, Old Forester took inspiration from the Ohio River, and its history as a transportation route for a variety of barrel-aged spirits—many of which would end up on a wharf behind the Old Forester Distillery on Louisville’s Whiskey Row. The new bourbon, which starts off as flagship Old Forester, spent six months finishing in rum barrels (which held rum for a minimum of four years).

This is the first rum finish for Old Forester, but the concept has taken hold elsewhere in Kentucky in recent times, with distillers including Wild Turkey, Kentucky Peerless, Limestone Branch, Jefferson’s, and more releasing their own takes on rum cask-finished bourbon. Generally speaking, rum casks impart more tropical aromatics and flavors on whisky: think molasses, coconut, passion fruit, papaya, banana custard, and the like.

The new whiskey is available at the distillery, as well as online, though it will only ship to a handful of states. Previous releases in the 117 Series, which launched in 2021 and showcases the distillery’s experimental side, include Scotch Cask Finish (a bourbon finished in Speyside scotch whisky casks) and Extra Extra Old (extra-aged Old Forester 1910).

Cedar Ridge The QuintEssential Special Release: The Untitled Cigar Malt Project American Single Malt

ABV: 57.45%
SRP: $100
Availability: Limited

When creating The QuintEssential: The Untitled Cigar Malt Project, Cedar Ridge master blender Murphy Quint wanted a whiskey that would emulate the experience of smoking a cigar. In doing so, he blended peated malt finished in a ruby port cask with single malts first aged in Cedar Ridge bourbon barrels, then finished in a variety of casks: first-fill amontillado sherry; madeira-inspired wine made at Cedar Ridge; new French oak; and new American oak. Altogether, Quint says these casks imbued the final single malt with notes of tobacco and subtle smoke, reminiscent of those you’d get after savoring a cigar.

This is the third limited-edition release under The QuintEssential banner, following in the footsteps of The QuintEssential Pete & Sherri and The QuintEssential Portside. Cedar Ridge is a combination distillery-winery based in Swisher, Iowa, run by Quint and his father, Jeff, who serves as the master distiller.

Chattanooga Whiskey Bottled in Bond Bourbon Spring 2020 Vintage

ABV: 50%
SRP: $53
Availability: Limited; at the Chattanooga Whiskey Experimental Distillery and in AL, CO, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, OH, OK, SC, TN, and WI

Chattanooga’s new Bottled in Bond series whiskey was barreled from January 2020 through June 2020, and crafted with the intention of highlighting lighter, more honeyed flavors. The whiskey is a blend of five mashbills, three of which are unique versions of the distillery’s wheated recipe, and contain Tennessee-grown malted wheat, honey malted barley, and cherrywood-smoked malted barley. The bourbon aged for four years, and as with all Bottled in Bond Series releases—this is the seventh—it was bottled in four batches consisting of 10 barrels each.

Chattanooga has two distilleries in its namesake city; the Experimental Distillery is its public-facing outfit, open for tours and tastings, and home to its more innovative distillation, while the Riverfront Distillery is responsible for production of its flagship Tennessee High Malt bourbon.

Penelope Toasted Rye (Batch 24-304)

ABV: 50%
SRP: $75
Availability: Nationwide

Penelope has dropped the second batch of its Toasted Rye, which is now an annual offering. This one was initially aged for 6 years before being transferred into No.-2 char casks with a heavy toast for just under 4 months. It was distilled from a mashbill of 95% rye and 5% malted barley.

The first Toasted Rye touched down last July and carved out a place for itself as one of the only ryes in Penelope’s bourbon-centric portfolio, alongside a tokaji cask finished one that belonged to the Cooper Series. As is typically the case with Penelope, changes have been made to the recipe for the new batch. The original whiskey was a year younger and had a 100% rye mashbill.

While the toast level has remained constant, the new finishing casks sport a heavier char than the ones used for the original, which had a No.-1 “flash” char. That’s a bit of a strange decision for an expression that’s meant to spotlight barrel toast, but it was done to contribute notes of butterscotch to the whiskey.

For Penelope fans, the good news is that the new batch is significantly bigger than the first one. The total release encompasses 54,000 bottles, and it will be available in 47 states.

Dogfish Head Samba Amburana American Single Malt

ABV: 42.5%
SRP: TBA
Availability: Dogfish Head’s EmPOURium beer & merchandise shop in Delaware

Dogfish Head, renowned for its popular beers, has added a new finished whiskey to its roster. Called Samba Amurana, it sees Dogfish Head’s American single malt recipe (a four-malt blend that’s aged for 4 years) undergo an additional finish using amburana wood. This limited release is available exclusively at Dogfish Head’s EmPOURium beer & merchandise shop in Delaware.

Often called “Brazilian Oak,” amburana is a hardwood that’s native to the jungles of South America. Though it’s been used to age cachaca in Brazil for quite some time, whisky makers have also joined in on the fun—using it to add accents of cinnamon, baking spices, chestnuts, and gingerbread to their whiskies. Amburana’s defining feature is how fast it starts contributing flavors, which can flood in within mere days of the wood being added. For that reason, stave finishes have become common.

Amburana is still in its formative years as far as whisky applications go, having been introduced in 2019 as part of a super-limited WhistlePig rye. Since then, it’s mostly made its dwelling in the bourbon and rye scene. Samba Amburana is one of only a few single malts to include an amburana finish. Teeling notably used the wood to finish some Irish single malts, though most weren’t readily available in the U.S.