The Cut Weekend: On Deck — July 5, 2026 — SE02E70 — Four Roses 2026 Pre-Allocation Closes Today

SE02E70 — On Deck

This is The Cut Weekend. I’m Franklin. Sunday’s the planning hour, so let’s look at the road ahead and decide what’s worth chasing.

There’s one date with a clock on it, and that clock is today. The Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2026 pre-allocation closes July 5 — that’s this afternoon. Brent Elliott confirmed the recipe last week: four expressions, 108.2 proof, median barrel age running thirteen to fourteen years. The 2025 LESB cleared secondary at $248 against a $145 MSRP. This year’s entry price is $149.99, and when the pre-allocation portal closes today, MSRP goes with it. If you’ve been sitting on the fence, that fence is closing. Seelbach’s, Binny’s, ReserveBar — any of the participating retailers. Don’t let the holiday weekend be your reason it slipped.

Once that window shuts, the week ahead opens up considerably. Wild Turkey Rare Breed Barrel Proof 2026 hits standard retail mid-July — 116.8 proof, $59.99, no lottery, no list, just walk in and buy it. The same goes for Larceny Barrel Proof B926, also arriving at retailers through July 15, same story. No barrier. Both are worth having; the side-by-side of those two mash bill families is about as educational as $130 gets in American whiskey right now.

If you’re in Ohio, the George T. Stagg 2026 lottery portal stays open through midnight July 14. Entry is free. Five minutes. A winning ticket gets you $129 MSRP on a bottle with a secondary floor above $1,100. A losing ticket costs exactly nothing. Any eligible Ohio resident who hasn’t entered yet — that’s the move this week.

Further out, Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2026 is tracking for September retail. The TTB already confirmed it — 100 proof, 11-year minimum, $89.99, 47 states, no lottery. The spec change from last year’s 12-year is real and public; September is when secondary prices the conversation. If you follow the Birthday Bourbon series, August is when you want your retailer to know you’re looking.

And keep an eye on Michter’s social channels this week. Fort Nelson has two more July walk-up dates for the US★1 10-Year at $159.99 — no lottery, no application, just a drive to 801 West Main Street in Louisville when they post the dates. The secondary floor on that bottle runs $275 to $350. Those upcoming dates will show up on Michter’s channels when they confirm them.

Now — the feature. And this one’s worth telling properly.

If you’re anywhere near Lake Cumberland this weekend, something historic is happening in Somerset, Kentucky. Horse Soldier Farms — the distillery founded by members of the Special Forces team that rode into Afghanistan on horseback in October 2001 — is holding its grand opening, July 4th and 5th. This is a $200 million facility, and they didn’t open it quietly. The weekend includes live concerts, PBR bull riding, and fireworks. General admission tickets are available directly through the distillery. This is the kind of opening that doesn’t happen twice — the first chapter of a distillery that’s been years in the making, launched on the Fourth of July weekend at a project that carries a genuinely American founding story. If the drive makes sense, today’s still the day. Tomorrow the gates close and this becomes a memory other people have.

So here’s how you set your week. One move today, before the afternoon’s gone: the Four Roses pre-allocation portal, if you haven’t already closed that. Then you’ve got mid-July arrivals on two non-allocated barrel-strength releases — no urgency, just plan to go get them. Enter the Ohio Stagg lottery before the 14th. And let your retailer know you want Birthday Bourbon before the fall allocation lists open in August.

Every one of those drops — the Rare Breed arrival, the Stagg lottery window, the Birthday Bourbon September window, the Michter’s Fort Nelson dates when they post — all of it lives in the allocation calendar inside The Perfect Pour. The app holds the dates and nudges you before a window closes, so you’re not running the calendar in your head. It’s available now at theperfectpourapp.com.

That’s what’s on deck. If The Cut Weekend earned a few minutes of your Sunday, do me one favor — follow the show wherever you’re listening, so Saturday’s edition finds you on its own. The written brief’s always free at chasingtheunicornpodcast.com, and the full American Whiskey Industry Brief is on our Patreon. I’m Franklin. Pour something you like, share it with somebody worth sharing it with — and remember, your unicorn is out there.