Ten whiskeys for the US 250th anniversary
Whiskey producers across the country have unveiled a plethora of limited releases to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US.
‘Bourbon bunnies’ are once again on the hunt, hopping from store to store to find the latest batch of limited edition American whiskies. And oh boy, are producers giving them exactly what they’re looking for with the 250th anniversary of the US.
Since the Declaration of Independence on 4 July 1776, American whiskey has hit a few hurdles, to say the least. Most notably, the 18th Amendment resulted in Prohibition nationwide in 1920, lasting for a 13-year cease in distillation and alcohol sales. But, like most laws that restrict people’s access to life’s pleasures, the amendment didn’t take away their thirst for a tasty tipple. While most distillers were forced to shut down their operations, whiskey continued to be produced by six distilleries and enjoyed under prescriptions (and illegally), surviving with a taste for vengeance.
Even after the amendment was repealed in 1933, many Prohibition laws have remained in effect in individual states. Fortunately, in the past 25 years, states have finally repealed some of these laws and introduced new legislation, resulting in a tsunami of new craft and bulk distilleries surging across the country. In fact, between 2002 and 2022, more than 1,000 distilleries were established, with around half specialising in whiskey. Today, whiskey has become an essential part of the American identity.
As the US enters its 16th decade, distillers across the country, from Kentucky to the birth states of American whiskey, such as Virginia and Pennsylvania, have chosen to celebrate the semiquincentennial milestone with special releases.
Scroll down to see our top 10 standout releases.
To discover and purchase more American whiskeys, head to The Spirits Business Store.
But, without further ado, let’s raise a glass to the country younger than the Watt Steam Engine and celebrate not only its 250th anniversary but its resilient and versatile whiskey culture.
Evan Williams America250 commemorative editions
Possibly the easiest-to-find special editions for the celebration come from Heaven Hill Brands. As the officially licensed America250 partner, Evan Williams Bourbon offers three limited editions: Black Label, 1783 Small Batch, and Single Barrel.
To maximise shared celebrations, the Black Label is only available in a 1.75-litre bottle (US$24.99), while the 1783 is available in both 750ml (US$23.99) and 1.75-litre (US$37.99) formats. The Single Barrel is offered at 117.76 proof (58.88% ABV) as a tribute to the occasion and was specially drawn from 250 barrels. It retails for US$39.99 for a 750ml bottle.
Evan Williams is widely recognised as Kentucky’s first licensed distiller, having begun distilling in 1783, the same year the US formalised its independence at the end of the Revolutionary War.
1776 Whiskey
James E Pepper Distillery’s whiskey brand, 1776, is named to commemorate the founding of the US. To celebrate the semiquincentennial, the distillery has updated the labels for its 1776 Bourbon and Rye, prominently featuring Benjamin Franklin’s ‘Join, or Die’ snake illustration. What a lovely message, isn’t it?
The distillery, located in Lexington, Kentucky, offers its two 1776 whiskies unfiltered at 50% ABV, with a suggested retail price of US$30. The Rye whiskey is made from a 100% rye mash bill, while the Bourbon mash bill features 70% corn, 18% rye, and 12% malted barley.
George Washington’s Spirit Of ’76
It is not hard to guess which president Virginia-based George Washington’s Distillery pays tribute to. Located in Mount Vermont, it was inspired by the first US president, who, in his later years, operated the largest whiskey distillery in America, producing nearly 11,000 gallons of whiskey in 1799 alone. The new George Washington’s Distillery was founded on the site of his original distillery.
For the 250th anniversary of the US, the reconstructed distillery is releasing its first Bourbon, Spirit of ’76, a seven-year-old whiskey made using 18th-century techniques. The bottle reveals the Washington Crossing the Delaware painting by Emanuel Leutze as the Bourbon is consumed. Bottled cask strength at 55.8% ABV, it will be available directly from the distillery starting 4 July, limited to approximately 300 bottles, with a price tag of US$1,000.
But for those who miss out on the celebratory bottle, the distillery is set to release an annual collector’s edition label programme for its premium rye whiskey, the Washington’s Generals Series.
Brush Creek Heroes Edition
Brush Creek Distillery, set on an 1884 cattle ranch in Saratoga, Wyoming, has taken a hero approach to its celebratory bottling. Instead of releasing a barrel of its annual Heroes Edition, which debuted in 2021, the distillery has opted to triple this year’s release for the 250th anniversary.
Made with a ‘patriotic blend’ that includes 7% each of Red Winter Wheat, Blue Corn, and White Corn, the limited edition straight Bourbon sits at 50% ABV. It can now be found at the distillery and, from mid-July, via spirits retailers in Wyoming and by shipping to select states.
Blue Run Kentucky Straight High Rye Bourbon Whiskey
Molson Coors celebrates the milestone with USA 250th Commemorative Packaging for its Blue Run Kentucky Straight High Rye Bourbon Whiskey. With a patriotic framing, the bottle features the brand’s signature Viceroy butterfly in navy blue with white stars. To add an element of bling, the text is etched with 22-carat gold ink.
The high-rye Bourbon has an ABV of 55.5% and retails for US$89.99. It can be found in multiple states, including California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. Happy hunting.
Four Branches Bourbon Liberty Reserve
It takes four branches to tango, or something like that, to celebrate the US semiquincentennial in style. Four Branches prides itself on being ‘the first’ spirits company founded by veterans representing the US Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.
For the 250th anniversary, the distillery has focused on highlighting the country’s independence with Liberty Reserve, limited to 1,776 individually numbered bottles as a nod to the founding of the US. The release builds on Four Branches’ 10-year-old Kentucky straight Bourbon and is finished in toasted American white oak barrels.
Bottled at 50% ABV, Liberty Reserve retails for US$119.99 and is available nationwide in limited supply.
Jefferson’s Founder’s Reserve 20-Year-Old
Only 250 people will be able to raise their hats to the third president of the US, Thomas Jefferson, with this 20-year-old Bourbon from Louisville, Kentucky. Described as one of Jefferson’s rarest releases to date, Founder’s Reserve 20-Year-Old serves as a tribute to the spirit of its namesake president.
Finished in a French Bordeaux wine cask, the ‘ultra-rare’ expression is bottled at 47% ABV cask strength and is limited to 250 individually numbered bottles. Lucky bunnies might be able to hunt one of the priced bottles down through select retailers for US$499.99.
Wolfe & Wilson Straight Rye Whiskey
Stoll & Wolfe Distillery, which calls itself a Pennsylvania rye whiskey craft specialist, is a unique collaborative project between two American craft distillers: head distiller Erik Wolfe and southern Indiana farmer distiller Alan Bishop, formerly of Spirits of French Lick.
The duo pulled a recipe from a pamphlet written by Frederick Heinrich Gelwicks, an early American distilling document from the late 1700s to early 1800s. The two set about working from a mash bill of one bushel rye malt, one bushel wheat, one bushel rye, and three pecks of oats (in today’s mashbill terms: 26% rye, 26% rye malt, 26% wheat, 22% oats).
The result is Wolfe & Wilson Straight Rye Whiskey, which claims to take a unique approach compared to the more generic 250th-anniversary offerings with ‘legitimate colonial ties’. Batch 1 was aged a minimum of two years in new charred American oak before being bottled at 50% ABV. The release is limited to 1,000 bottles, each retailing for US$80, and will be available from 4 July through Stoll & Wolfe’s tasting room in Lititz, Pennsylvania, and online for contiguous states.
Breckenridge Patriotic Reserve
Tilray Brands’ Breckenridge Distillery took a more literal, patriotic approach with its limited 250th-anniversary edition. The Colorado-based distiller’s Patriotic Reserve is a four-grain, high-rye blend of straight Bourbons brought to 43% ABV with water from the Rocky Mountains.
Crafted for ‘moments of connection that celebrate freedom, community, and the American way of life’, the limited release retails for US$34.99-US$39.99 and is available through national retailers.
Chicken Cock Old Glory Kentucky Straight Rye blend
To terribly misquote Barenaked Ladies, this ‘Chickity Cock, the American chicken’ blend combines 70% Chicken Cock Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey with 30% Laird’s Apple Brandy in honour of the 250th anniversary. Old Glory is a first-of-its-kind whiskey-and-brandy blend with components aged for at least four years before marrying.
It is offered at 50% ABV and described as ‘undeniably 100% American’, marking a shared moment for two spirits companies with a combined history of 416 years.
Blessed with a name-monster of Old Glory Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Blended With Laird’s Apple Brandy, the release is available nationwide with an SRP of US$64.99.
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