Hidden Barn Debuts Organic Wheated Bourbon
Jackie Zykan’s First Organic Bourbon Is Her Passion Project
SPARTA, KY (Sept. 2024) – Hidden Barn Bourbon is releasing its first organic bourbon, a six-year-old wheated bourbon bottled at 106.2 proof to celebrate Bourbon Heritage Month.
Distilled with organic grains and certified organic by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Kentucky Department of Agriculture, this bourbon was distilled in Michigan, selected, batched, and proofed by Master Blender Jackie Zykan, and aged and bottled at the now certified organic Neeley Family Distillery in Sparta, Kentucky. Jackie’s passion project to bring an organic bourbon to market began several years ago after she did some consulting work at Journeyman Distillery in Three Oaks, MI. There she grew a fondness for Bill & Johanna Welter and their company culture of quality, experimentation, and family. She began sampling and compiling some of the earlier barrels that would later become this nine-barrel batch. Neeley Family Distillery is now distilling organic bourbon in Sparta, Kentucky to ensure the continuation of this product line for years to come.
As someone focused on quality, collaboration, and sustainability, working on an organic bourbon has been Jackie’s dream for many years. “I’ve wanted to create an organic bourbon for a long time, so this has been a passion project for me,” said Zykan. “For me, blending barrels is all about finding balance and harmony while still showcasing individuality. The nine barrels used for this blend were meticulously selected from a very large pool of inventory with much intention. The combination of the high-quality organic grains used in the distillation with the variable entry proofs used in the maturation – that range in proof from low to high – led to everything integrating beautifully.”
Tasting notes for this bourbon describe it as having a nose of buttery caramel combined with tart green apple and sweet orange. The palate is medium-bodied, where robust white pepper transitions into a lengthy and clean tobacco finish.
This bourbon will be released to the public on September 14, 2024. Suggested retail pricing for the Hidden Barn Organic Wheated Bourbon Whiskey is $79.99. It will be available for sale at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival Sept. 14 and 15 in Bardstown, Ky, at the Neeley Family Distillery in Sparta, Ky, and online and at retail in Kentucky, Indiana, New York, California, Georgia, Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico.
About Hidden Barn Bourbon
Hidden Barn’s name harkens back to the local communities who painted their barns black in solidarity with distillers during Prohibition. This sense of community is continued today through the passion for quality whiskey and camaraderie shared by its three partners, Jackie Zykan, Royce Neeley and Nate Winegar. Together, the three friends bring their own strengths – a superior palate, distilling prowess, and a powerhouse connector to form Hidden Barn Bourbon. Previous Hidden Barn Series have earned Double Golds at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2023 and 2024 and Best Small Batch, 1st Place at the 2023 New Orleans Bourbon Festival. Hidden Barn Bourbon is owned by Neeley Family Distillery. The brand is available online and in select states. For more information visit hiddenbarnwhiskey.com
There’s nothing new about the Koji fermented barley. The process was developed in 1891 by Dr. Jokichi Takamine at a distillery in Peoria, Illinois. The idea to use the Koji to break down the complex carbohydrates in barley rather than going through the time consuming and expensive malting process was revolutionary at the time. His process was ultimately not adopted, although his visionary work in medicine and culture will endure for eternity. Similar enzymes extracted from Koji are used regularly in the Canadian whisky production process, but no one has worked to recreate the process until now. The Shinozaki Distillery in Fukuoka began experimenting with technique almost three decades ago. The result is an exceptionally balanced barley whisky that stands up wonderfully against malted whiskies. This small cache of ultra aged Japanese whiskies are some of the old 100% barley whiskies available anywhere in Japan these days. Here we go with the big boy. Over 25 years in fresh sherry, thought to be PX, and it’s still kicking. If they’d just used malted barley this would easily be worth 10 or 20 fold the asking price. But that’s not the point. What we really want to know is, does it deliver! HOLY MOLY! This is it. An absolutely monstrous nose of dense sherry fruit and deep nutty character. It could easily be a massively aged Glendronach or Glenfarclas. Sweet candied fruit, roasted nuts, old leather, molasses sauce and cocoa powder. ON the palate its juicy, almost wine like in its texture. The sweet and tart dried fruit is the star of the show on the front palate before fading toward a dense dark oak and roasted spice finish. It’s long and lifted with the expected tannic structure of these European oak sherry bombs. This one is not for the faint of heart, but lovers of old sherried malt will be enamored and maybe surprised. It’s so similar to what we know from Scotland, but yet very distinct. A truly unique expression which will not ever be recreated.
This whisky is made entirely from polished barley fermented with white koji and Fukuoka yeast. They are double distilled on pot stills and are proofed between runs to achieve a natural still strength of around 45%. They enter the cask at still strength and are aged in Shinozaki Distillery’s former municipal rice bunker turned aging facility. The facility has thick concrete walls and ceilings (much like MGP) which creates a cave like environment resulting in unusually graceful maturation of these whiskies in a warm climate. This rare parcel of heavily aged barrels was hand selected from some of the distillery’s initial experimentation with this new production style. While the whiskies are not malted, they achieve a great deal of depth and complexity and represent the finest and oldest grain whiskies coming out of Japan today. The selected casks -3187, 3188- were distilled on January 26th, 1998. The spirit was filled into fresh Sherry butts believed to have previously held PX. These whiskies are 100% fermented, distilled, aged, and bottled in Fukuoka, Japan. They are the longest aged products ever produced and released by Shinozaki Distillery and will not be matched in age again for many years to come (if ever). These barrels were bottled without chillfiltration with a natural cask strength of 40.7% abv without coloring or the use of additives whatsoever.
Email: wine@klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA
A brand new single cask release from Ardnamurchan Distillery, bottled exclusively for us here at Tyndrum Whisky. This release was matured in a Spanish Oak, Ex Oloroso Hogshead, beautifully sweet on the palate with a wisp of smoke coming through late on the finish.
Cask Type: Hogshead
WOOD/FILL: Spanish Oak, Ex Oloroso
Spirit Type: Peated
Vintage: 2018
Cask No: 1287
TyndrumWhisky.com
The Green Welly Stop
Tyndrumwhisky, Tyndrum
Crianlarich, Perthshire FK20 8RY
United Kingdom
Laphroaig 34 Year Old Ian Hunter Book V 45.5% 70cl
This 34-year-old ex-bourbon barrel matured single malt is the fifth and final release in Laphroaig’s series of rare and collectable aged whiskies to celebrate the story of Ian Hunter who transformed the Laphroaig make whisky over many years. The whisky is matured in a combination of first-fill bourbon casks and European oak Pedro Ximenez casks.
Laphroaig’s tasting note:
Nose: lightly peaty with notes of iodine and burnt wood. Floral green malt, sweet candyfloss and vanilla fudge, and subtle blueberry and raspberry accents.
Palate: sweet and spicy, with hints of classic Laphroaig peat and cold barbecue ash. Salted caramel and butterscotch, roast chestnut, a hint of peach, dried flowers and white pepper.
Finish: peaty and malty, with a lingering sweetness
The Glenturret 15 Years Old 2024 Release has been matured in a combination of Pedro Ximenez & Oloroso sherry casks, and bottled at a higher strength of 50.8% abv. American Oak imparts vanilla and candied fruit notes, whilst European Oak highlights darker, heavier dried fruit flavours and enhances the sweet wood spice characters evident in the glass.
Notes of raisins and sultanas on the nose, alongside touches of ginger and burnished oak. The palate brings sweet wood spices and brandy snaps, with a soft yet spicy rich fruit finish.
Taste Profile; dried fruit, vanilla, ginger, burnished oakwood spice, brandy snaps & rich fruit.
Free Next Day Delivery for 12 Months For just £14.95 you can enjoy free next day delivery on all your orders for a whole year! Geographic restrictions apply, see full T&Cs. Find out more ❯
LITTLEMILL REFLECTS ON ITS INNOVATIVE PAST WITH THE LAUNCH OF A NEW ANNUAL COLLECTION
Littlemill has announced a new annual collection, which draws on the treasured remaining liquid of Scotland’s oldest licensed distillery with a series of rare cask finishes, honouring its innovative past.
The Cask Reflections Collection will revive the past like never before in the history of Littlemill, honouring tradition yet embracing innovation, with recrafted flavours and finishes to create a remarkable fusion of different eras for the modern day.
The first release, Cask Reflections Release No.1, has been aged for 33 years and was initially stored in refill bourbon barrels, followed by a four-month finish in the highly sought-after Japanese Mizunara oak casks.
Japanese Mizunara oak is the innovative selection of Littlemill Master Blender, Michael Henry, who used his unrivalled knowledge of the liquid, which has quietly laid for over three centuries, to find the perfect marriage of flavours, to enrich the delicate tasting profile of Littlemill’s signature summertime notes.
The result is a fusion of flavours from different eras for the modern day: a fragrant whisky carefully rich in sandalwood spice, perfectly completing the floral elderflower and fruit of the Lowland malt.
Founded in 1772 in Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Littlemill was at the forefront of whisky innovation for its time. It closed in 1994 before it was lost to a fire in 2004 and since then, Michael Henry has guarded the precious remaining casks..
Michael Henry, Master Blender at Loch Lomond Group, owners of Littlemill, said:
“The Cask Reflection Collection will revive the spirit of discovery associated with Littlemill’s founding years and subsequent boom. We have worked to honour the liquid, enhancing its delicate Lowland qualities with the fascinating traits of the Japanese Mizanura oak.
“Mizunara oak takes time to grow and only yields a small amount of wood annually. Like Littlemill, it is rare. The staves are thick and porous, imparting flavour at a much greater pace, which requires my keenest attention and care to ensure the finish doesn’t overpower what would have been the distillery character.
“The stakes are high when you’re responsible for a liquid this finite, but the result is an exquisite start to this journey of Cask Reflections – one that I feel very fortunate to be able to undertake on behalf of those who came before me.”
Nick Bradley, Prestige Portfolio Manager at Loch Lomond Group, owners of Littlemill, said:
“What precious Littlemill casks remain now fall under the care of Michael; with over 30 years’ experience, no one has such intimate appreciation of Littlemill’s style, and how best to preserve it.
“Cask Reflections is a revival of the past while looking at Littlemill through a new lens. The goal is to maintain the essence of what made our Lowland malt so distinctive but now recrafting it with new and previously unexplored cask finishes to provide an entirely new dimension to the whisky, which even the most avid of collectors and whisky enthusiasts won’t have experienced before.
“This is rare whisky that deserves to be open and enjoyed; to experience the level thought and craft of Michael and to taste something truly exceptional. It is our homage to that enduring spirit of discovery that defined Littlemill’s leaders over two and a half centuries.”
Only 570 bottles of Cask Reflections Release No.1 are available worldwide, priced at £3,800.
Bottled at cask strength, the liquid (49.1% ABV, natural colour) is presented in the traditional Littlemill-style decanter from Glencairn Crystal, and housed in a beautiful wooden display box with etchings inspired by Japanese art.
Cask Reflections Release No.1 is available from 12th of September, initially exclusively from specialist wine and spirits merchant, Berry Bros. and Rudd, before becoming available for wider purchase via the Littlemill website and other specialist retailers from the 24th of September.
For further information and to enquire, visit www.littlemilldistillery.com.
Tasting Notes
About Littlemill
The Littlemill distillery was established in 1772 on the site of an old brewery that had been founded during the 14th century in Bowling on the banks of the River Clyde near Glasgow.
It is rumoured that illicit distilling had taken place there since 1750 when the site was bought by George Buchanan, a malt master, and according to the renowned whisky historian and writer Misako Udo in her book ‘The Scotch Whisky Distilleries’, distilling may have taken place there for centuries before.
After one year, on the 2nd of November 1773, local Justice of the Peace records for Dumbarton show that ‘Robert Muir of Littlemiln’, an employee, was granted the first-ever license by the Government of King George III to “…retail ale, beer and other excisable Liquors”, thus making Littlemill Scotland’s first and oldest licensed distillery.
In 1931 Littlemill led whisky still innovation whereby its innovative design could create three styles of spirit under the stewardship of the American Duncan Thomas, including the light fruit-forward triple-distilled character Littlemill is most known for today. It was these stills that inspired the stills that remain in place at Loch Lomond Distillery today.
Littlemill fell into perpetual silence in 1994 and then the distillery was destroyed by fire in 2004. The remaining casks have since been under the care of Loch Lomond Distillery, stored just a short distance from where the original distillery once stood.
In 2015 Loch Lomond Group released a limited number of its Littlemill Private Cellar Edition. Since then, a mere handful of bottles have been released annually, which have become sought after by collectors and whisky enthusiasts around the world.
Pioneering Scotch Whisky Distillery Nc’nean
Pushes the Boundaries of Spirit Making in a New Limited Release
Scotland’s leading organic whisky distillery, Nc’nean, continues to build its reputation as an industry innovator with the launch of its latest limited edition whisky, Huntress Orchard Cobbler, into the USA.
The Huntress series is inspired by Nc’nean’s namesake – the Gaelic goddess Neachneohain, who was known as a huntress and for walking her own path. This series is centred around that ethos of discovery, and Nc’nean’s passion for hunting for unique flavors in whisky making.
This year’s release is named Orchard Cobbler, for its deliciously warming and homely flavors of Cherry Bakewell, apricot marmalade, and vanilla custard. This particular Huntress release is incredibly unique, in that the spirit used is only produced once a year when the distillers cross over from one distillation recipe to another.
Nc’nean is widely recognized for pushing the boundaries of conventional Scotch. Unlike most distilleries, it runs two different spirit recipes each year – one for whisky set to be released at a younger age, and one set to be released after ten or more years. The spirit matured for Huntress Orchard Cobbler comes from the distillation in the week after the spirit recipe is switched – a time where cut points are changed and unusually high fruity compounds flood into the spirit. So fruity, that the whisky is named after one of the team’s favorite fruit desserts.
Nc’nean Founder and CEO, Annabel Thomas, comments: “This dram perfectly encapsulates our creativity, innovation, and unique approach to whisky. Its origins trace back to our Master Distiller, Jim Swan, who played a pivotal role in developing what would become the Nc’nean spirit and maturation process. Throughout the year, we run two different spirit recipes at the distillery, a practice that Jim and I discussed. Huntress Orchard Cobbler is crafted from the transitional weeks between these recipes, resulting in this wonderfully fruity spirit. This unplanned outcome highlights the magic of experimentation and the beauty of doing things differently.”
Nc’nean Founder Annabel Thomas, and Blender Matt Hastings, tell the full story behind this one-of-a-kind release in their boundary-pushing Huntress range.
Nc’nean’s innovative approach is resulting in strong interest in the brand worldwide. Nc’nean is now available in 20 countries, including here in the US.
In 2021 Nc’nean became the first whisky distillery in the UK to be verified as net zero carbon emissions for scopes 1 and 2. It is B Corp certified and uses only organic Scottish barley in the distillery which is powered entirely by renewable energy. The whisky is bottled in 100% post-consumer-recycled glass, which saves 40% of the carbon emissions compared to using virgin glass.
Nc’nean’s experimental distilling methods led it to win Craft Producer of the Year at the 2023 Icons of Whisky Awards and its organic Single Malt has received several top taste awards, including Double Gold, 91 points at the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The small female-led distillery was also ranked 21st in Drinks International’s Top 50 Most Admired Whisky brands in the world 2023. Nc’nean was the only new Scotch whisky to make the top 25, putting the fledgling distillery amongst some of the world’s biggest heritage brands.
Be sure to check out the most recent ratings from Whisky Advocate for Nc’nean including Huntress Orchard Cobbler, the first US Exclusive Aon Single Cask, and Quiet Rebels Gordon.
When asked about the US launch of Nc’nean Huntress Orchard Cobbler, Sam Filmus, President of ImpEx Beverages said “Huntress Orchard Cobbler is just another example of how Annabel and her team of “Quiet Rebels” are taking innovation to the next level. The complexity of flavors and thoughtful approach to this whisky has truly succeeded in capturing Autumn in a bottle.”
The US’ first ever Nc’nean Huntress Seasonal Release is available now in California and is making its way to Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Texas, and Washington D.C. with more states to follow.
For information on where to find this delicious Limited Release, please email Office@ImpExBev.com for a personal and individual response.
About Nc’nean:
Nc’nean is an award winning, independent, organic whisky distillery on the West Coast of Scotland. Nc’nean began distilling in March 2017 and from inception has strived to do things differently.
In pursuit of new flavors in whisky, Nc’nean uses longer mashing times, slower fermentation, and experiments with unusual yeasts not commonly used within whisky distilling. Nc’nean matures its whisky on site in ex-Bourbon, Sherry and STR ex-red wine casks, along with many other smaller and more unique cask experiments.
The high, narrow cut on the still helps to produce a purer spirit; the unusual lamp-glass-shaped stills encourage a gentle distillation and significant amounts of reflux, creating a lighter spirit that retains its fruity notes.
The Nc’nean ethos of sustainable production is embedded in everything they do, all Nc’nean’s products are certified organic, bottled in 100% post-consumer recycled glass, and made in their verified net zero carbon emission distillery. They also divert 99.97% of their waste from landfill, including feeding leftover draff to the cows on the neighboring farm, and spreading ash from their biomass boiler on vegetable patches.
About ImpEx:
In 2008, a new chapter began for Sam Filmus, his vision was to import premium and rare spirits from around the world, with a special emphasis on the best of what Scotland has to offer.
In 2018, whisky veteran Chris Uhde joined Sam as his business partner in ImpEx Beverages and together they have expanded the portfolio and vision for ImpEx.
Now, ImpEx boasts an impressive portfolio, including some of the most notable small to medium sized distilleries and independent bottlers.
ImpEx Beverages imports Whisky, Gin, Rum, and Mezcal from Scotland, Wales, Japan, Israel, Mexico, England, the Caribbean, India, and New Zealand with future anticipated additions from unexpected destinations. We also feature a fine line of Liqueurs and Cordials produced in the US.
Regardless of your preference, you are sure to find something that pleases from the ImpEx Beverages Portfolio.
Redbreast 18 Year Old 46% 70cl
Irish Distillers is here with a brand new permanent addition to its beloved Redbreast range of single pot still Irish whiskeys. Redbreast 18 Year Old represents a milestone for the brand – it uses rare cream sherry casks in maturation! Sourced from the Antonio Páez Lobato cooperage, they join a recipe of ex-bourbon and ex-oloroso oak, with a portion also aged in ruby Port too. Alongside the malted and unmalted barley mashbill and triple distillation methods, Redbreast 18 is a sumptuous, full-bodied and vibrant take on the traditional Irish whiskey category.
Tasting notes from Redbreast:
Nose: Delectable berry fruit aromas of ripe blackcurrants and raspberries accompanied by sugar glazed cherries and dried fig. Indulgent tones of hazelnut chocolate and caramelised stone fruits with warming and fragrant notes of toasted almonds and cinnamon, nestled alongside polished oak and worn leather.
Palate: Full-bodied and rounded, with the oak tannins complementing the decadent sweetness of sun-kissed grapes and autumnal fruits. Vibrant spices of freshly peeled ginger and hints of liquorice weave amongst the wine seasoned oak influences of dried fruits, dark berries and orange peel.
Finish: Rich and lasting. The pot still spices, fruit and oak slowly fade harmoniously, showcasing the balance of this wonderfully complex whiskey.
