Bourbon Hunting Season 2023 continues with the announcement of Widow Jane The Vaults 2023.
Released annually, the Vaults is a an allocated whiskey that combines the Brooklyn distillery’s oldest stocks. The 2023 iteration is a blend of Tennessee and Indiana whiskeys, aged a minimum of 15 years and blended in small batches, before finishing for three months in air-seasoned casks at Widow Jane’s Red Hook rickhouse.
Finishing barrels were made from Chinquapin Oak staves harvested from trees grown on a limestone-rich shelf in Northern Kentucky and air-seasoned for at least 48 months, the company says.
The result is an aroma of toasted marshmallow, pear turnover, honeydew and cinnamon, the company reports. On the palate is honeycomb, butterscotch, raisin, molasses, dried apricots and root beer, before a finish of pralines and cream, roasted oolong, black walnut and licorice.
The Vaults 2023 is 99 proof. 2,600 total cases will roll out to retailers in AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, NC, NJ, NY, NV, OH, OK, PA, RI, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI and WASHINGTON, D.C.
The suggested retail price is $249 per 750-ml. bottle.
The Vaults 2023 is Widow Jane’s first national bourbon released under the direction and supervision of Sienna Jevremov, who was named head distiller and blender in October 2022.
“The Vaults allows us to explore the fascinating dimensions of both extended time resting and unique oak choices on the character of bourbon,” Jevremov says. “Blending these exceptional bourbons from our Tennessee and Indiana stocks was a meticulous process, finding gems in the bunch, then layering in flavor through matchmaking of 15-year-old with 20-year-old whiskey. Finally marrying them with the distinct flavors of this slow-growing KY white oak species (Quercus muehlenbergii), the result of which is a spirit that whiskey collectors are sure to treasure.”
As is the case with all Widow Jane whiskeys, The Vaults 2023 is non-chill filtered and proofed with the limestone mineral water from the Rosendale Mines of New York, located 100 miles north of the distillery.
Heaven Hill acquired Widow Jane in 2022.
Following Bourbon Hunting Season 2023? Other limited releases this fall include:
- Russell’s Reserve Single Rickhouse Camp Nelson F
- Remus Gatsby Reserve 15 Year 2023 Edition
- Ross & Squibb Distillery Remus Repeal Reserve Series VII
- Four Roses 135th Anniversary Limited Edition Small Batch
- Heaven Hill Distillery Spring 2023 Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond
- Heaven Hill 2023 Parker’s Heritage Collection
- Maker’s Mark Debuts Cellar Aged Bourbon
- Michter’s Distillery US*1 Toasted Barrel Finish Rye
- Little Book Chapter 7: In Retrospect blended whiskey
