Bourbon News for January 24, 2025

Welcome to my biweekly Distillery and Bourbon News Newsletter! I am glad you are joining me again! Things are starting to pick up, so there are quite a few news stories this week as well as new bourbon releases. Without further ado, let’s get on with the Distillery & Bourbon News For January 24, 2025!

In case you didn’t know, I also have a podcast version of the newsletter! You can listen to it on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Podcasts, Spotify Podcasts or find it here. The latest edition generally comes out around noon on the day that the newsletter is published.

Distillery & Bourbon News For January 24, 2025

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Distillery & Bourbon News For January 24, 2025

But First, Here’s What’s New on BourbonObsessed.com!

Before we get on with the news, I would like to share some of my latest bourbon reviews, as well as my article about dining at Kentucky distilleries and our visit to the Garrard County Distilling Co.

• Kentucky Distilleries with On-Site Restaurants: You’ve got to eat, right? If you’re traveling the Bourbon Trail, don’t miss this guide to seven Kentucky distilleries with on-site restaurants. These casual dining spots combine bourbon, craft cocktails and delicious food to elevate your experience. Explore the distillery restaurants here.

• Garrard County Distilling Co. Behind the Scenes: Come with us and take a behind the scenes look at Garrard County Distilling Co., one of Kentucky’s newest large distilleries, and the home of All Nations Bourbon. Learn about their state of the art distillery and their connection with Carry Nation, the famous Temperance Movement activist. Read the full article here.

• Hidden Barn Perfect Harmony Madeira Finished Bourbon Review: Hidden Barn’s latest release delivers layers of complexity. It is a delicious marriage of the flavors of the base bourbon with the effects of the Madeira cast. A “Perfect Harmony”, if you will.  Check out the review here.

• Charles Goodnight Texas Bourbon Review: Paying tribute to famed Texas cattleman Charles Goodnight, this bourbon from Foley Family Wines is distilled and aged 6 years in Texas, and bottled in California. It offers a bold and distinctive profile, which is unfortunately marred by a fairly unpleasant dominant flavor. Read more here.

Distillery & Bourbon News For January 24, 2025

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Distillery & Bourbon News For January 24, 2025

Now, on to the news!

We’ve got quite a few interesting news stories this week, including two about bourbon and your health. Read on to learn about them all!

Bourbon and Distillery News:

• Brown-Forman Announces Series of Strategic Initiatives for Growth: Brown-Forman has unveiled a global restructuring strategy designed to optimize efficiency and drive growth. These initiatives include restructuring the executive leadership team, implementing a workforce reduction affecting approximately 12% of the company’s global workforce, and closing the Louisville-based Brown‑Forman Cooperage. Learn more here.

• Kentucky Bourbon Industry Invests $2.8 Million in Sustainable Corn Farming: Leading spirits companies and the Kentucky Distillers’ Association are coming together with Precision Conservation Management and the Kentucky Corn Growers Association to support regenerative farming practices for local corn production. This $2.8 million initiative will provide tools for corn farmers to successfully implement proven practices that will support the long-term resilience of the state’s historic agricultural community, while providing economic and sustainable value to regenerative agriculture in bourbon and distilling. Details here.

• ASM Capital Whiskey Fund Launches: With the TTB’s recognition of American Single Malt as a distinct whiskey category, ASM Capital Group has introduced an American Single Malt Whiskey focused investment fund. The fund invests in barrels of American Single Malt Whiskey, storing and insuring them through the aging process, resulting in a potentially valuable finished asset. The ASM Capital Group feels that now that the ASM category is officially recognized, there will be an increasing demand for it worldwide, and that demand will not be met by current supply. Find out more here.

• Chicken Cock Whiskey Circa 1856 Joins the Kentucky Bourbon Trail: The historic Chicken Cock Whiskey brand, first established in 1856, and revived again in 2012, is now an official member of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail via their recently opened brand home, Circa 1856, in Bardstown, KY. Circa 1856 features a micro-distillery, upscale bar, tastings and curated retail space. Read the press release here.

• Four Branches Bourbon Raises $400,000 for Veterans and First Responders: Four Branches Bourbon has raised over $400,000 to support nonprofits that serve veterans, first responders and members of the special operations and intelligence communities and their families. And they have accomplished all that in the relatively short time since they introduced their brand, which was in May 2023. This impressive achievement aligns with their mission to give back to those who serve. Learn more here.

Distillery & Bourbon News For January 24, 2025

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Distillery & Bourbon News For January 24, 2025

New Bourbon and Other Whiskey Releases:

After a bit of a lull during the holidays, the new whiskey releases are picking up again:

• Buffalo Trace Prohibition Collection 2025: Buffalo Trace Distillery has unveiled the second edition of its Prohibition Collection, an annual limited-edition set featuring five bottles commemorating the whiskeys legally produced and sold at the Distillery while the 18th Amendment was in effect. This year’s whiskeys are: Mirror Brook, Very Oldest Procurable (V.O.P.), Anderson’s Belle, Old Fashioned Mountain Corn and Silver Wedding Rye Whiskey. In addition, there is the option to get a companion cigar set from the Scandinavian Tobacco Group. (MSRP: $999.99/5x375ml, various proofs) Learn more here.

• Stranahan’s Founders Release: Stranahan’s honors the official recognition of American Single Malt as a spirit category with its new Founders Release. The whiskey is first matured in new, charred American white oak barrels before finishing in casks that had previously matured bourbon and blonde ale, for a total maturation time of 12 years. It also happens to be the highest proof liquid the brand has ever released on a national level. (MSRP: Not Provided, 120 proof) Read more here.

• Penelope 17-Year American Light Whiskey: This whiskey was distilled to 189 proof in 2006, at the historic Seagram’s site in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. (Now the Ross & Squibb Distillery) The whiskey was aged for 17 years in second-fill oak barrels and bottled at cask strength. (MSRP: $99.99, 138.8 proof) More info here.

• Doc Holliday Bottled-in-Bond Straight Bourbon: The World Whiskey Society (WWS), known for its portfolio of rare whiskey expressions, announced the launch of its latest release: Doc Holliday Bottled in Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey. This limited-edition bourbon expands the Doc Holliday portfolio, which includes 7, 8, 10, 11 and 15 year-old expressions. (MSRP: $39.99, 100 proof) Full press release here.

• Old Forester 117 Series Extra Old Bourbon: Old Forester announced the return of Extra Old, first released in 2022. It is a limited-edition whisky derived from an extra-long double-barreling process. Old Forester aged its 1910 whisky in a heavily charred secondary barrel for an additional 18 months, resulting in a rich flavor profile with pronounced caramel notes. (MSRP: $64.99/375ml, 93 proof) Learn more here.

• Colonel Randolph 16-Year Bourbon: The third expression from Old Commonwealth Distillery is Colonel Randolph 16-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon. This single barrel offering was personally selected by Gordon Hue, the industry luminary responsible for reviving the Colonel Randolph brand in 1990. (MSRP: $349, 106 proof) More details here.

• Woodford Reserve Double Double Oaked: The latest release of Woodford Reserve Double Double Oaked Bourbon is first matured for five to seven years and then aged an additional two years in a second, heavily toasted, lightly charred, oak barrel, similar to prior releases. However, for the first time ever, this bourbon will be available nationwide, although the specifics were not provided. The bottle size has increased, as well as the price. ($200/700ml, 90.4 proof) Learn more here.

• Gentleman’s Cut Player Exclusive 16 Year Father and Son Edition: This is the latest bourbon released by Stephen Curry. It is a tribute to both he and his father playing 16 seasons in the NBA. According to the brand website, the bourbon is said to have began distillation in August 2008 in a 500-gallon copper pot still. However, the identity of the distillery where it was made is not provided, and I’m having a difficult time thinking of who might have made a bourbon in Kentucky in a 500 gallon pot still back in 2008 and saved it until now. I’m intrigued. (MSRP: $950(!), 100 proof) Brand Website.

Distillery & Bourbon News For January 24, 2025

Well, that’s it! I hope you have enjoyed this week’s Bourbon News! If you would like our bourbon and distillery news delivered directly to your inbox, please sign up for our newsletter here. You can also follow us on Instagram and Facebook. I hope you have a great weekend, and stay safe with all of the crazy weather and fires that we are having. We’ll see you again in two weeks! ! Cheers!🥃

If you would like to read some of my other recent newsletters, then check out my Bourbon News for January 10, 2025 and my Bourbon News for December 27, 2024. You can also head over to the Newsletter Archive to see all the prior editions.

Would you like to learn more about distilleries and bourbon? Are you planning a trip to Kentucky Distilleries? Maybe you would like to live the bourbon life vicariously through us? If any of these are true, then check out BourbonObsessed.com today!