Thursday’s Hunt window has a clear lead — and a clock running out. Michter’s US★1 Barrel Strength Sour Mash Batch 25S1 is open for walk-up purchase at Fort Nelson, Michter’s distillery store at 801 West Main in Louisville, this morning at $119.99 MSRP. No reservation. No lottery. Day 4 of the national allocation window. The…
Wednesday morning, Heaven Hill put every number on paper. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof C926 — the third batch of the 2026 EC Barrel Proof calendar — locks in at $79.99 MSRP, 130.4 proof, fourteen years and two months average age, with a June 8 national ship date across all fifty states. Approximately thirty-two thousand bottles….
Tuesday morning, Beam Suntory put the specs on paper. Booker’s “Charlie’s Batch” 2026-01 — the Booker’s program’s first quarterly release of 2026 — locks in at 124.5 proof, seven years and three months average age, approximately twelve thousand bottles across all fifty states at $99.99 MSRP. Pre-allocation lists at most specialty retailers close tonight. Wednesday…
Monday morning, the bourbon shelf got a little more stable. Wild Turkey’s parent company, Campari Group, announced before market open that Bruce Russell — Eddie Russell’s son and fifteen-year Wild Turkey production floor veteran — has been named to a newly created role: Master Distiller-in-Training. Eddie Russell formally extended his own tenure through at least…
Sunday morning, two bourbon clocks. The Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond Spring 2026 allocation closes today at end of business — Heaven Hill’s wheated bonded program at $44.99 and 92 points from Whisky Advocate has absorbed 91% of its national allocation through Saturday close, and what remains in Sunday-sales markets wraps this afternoon. The Fall 2026 cycle…
The Kentucky Bourbon Affair opened its pre-event weekend this morning in Louisville and Bardstown — and the ticket resale market delivered the clearest signal of the bourbon correction cycle yet. Every one of the festival’s 21 signature events sold out in 90 minutes, the fastest in the festival’s eleven-year history. The Michter’s Fort Nelson vault…
Friday’s Cut answers the question every bourbon buyer eventually hits: wheated, high-rye, or traditional — which mash bill family is yours? The r/bourbon community debated it all week. 2,100 upvotes. 510 comments. The answer is not complicated. It’s a $90 experiment. Maker’s Mark at $30, Buffalo Trace at $35, Bulleit at $28. Three bottles, three…
Two stories collided Thursday in American whiskey, and one of them requires action today. Old Rip Van Winkle confirmed the 2026 Pappy Van Winkle barrel cohort — the 23-Year draws from 2003 fill barrels, approximately 6,200 cases projected nationally, with fall lottery windows expected to open in June. If you’re in a control state, that’s…
The most time-sensitive story Wednesday is a Louisville distillery opening its doors for one day. Michter’s Fort Nelson Distillery opens for walk-up access Thursday, May 7 at 801 West Main Street — three simultaneous releases including US★1 Barrel Strength Sour Mash Batch 25S1 at a series-high 116.2 proof. That’s the only single consumer-access event before…
The biggest whiskey news Tuesday isn’t about a scarce allocated bottle with a three-digit secondary floor. It’s about a category most shoppers skip entirely. Heaven Hill announced Parker’s Heritage Collection 2026 as a ten-year American Blended Whiskey at 96 proof — $99.99 MSRP, 22,000 bottles nationally, specialty retail starting late June. The American Blended Whiskey…