Brooklyn-based Widow Jane has announced the release of The Vaults 2024, the latest in the brand’s annual exploration of wood finishes on barrels from the distillery’s older whiskey collection.
Finished in Amburana wood casks, this 15-year-old blend hits shelves in October.
Since the original edition of The Vaults in 2019, Widow Jane has worked to source unique wood casks in which each year’s edition is finished. The Vaults 2024 began in the Widow Jane rick house, where head distiller and blender Sienna Jevremov and her team tasted through the brand’s oldest casks, whittling their selections down to include only those whose flavor profile would match the complexity and flavors of the Amburana finishing casks. The team then blended the liquid from these casks into small batches.
Once married, this whiskey was finished in the Amburana casks, known for a combination of warm spices, floral and tropical notes. Also known as “Brazilian oak,” Amburana grows in the dry jungles of southeastern Brazil and northern Argentina — challenging environments with soil scarce in nutrients and irregular rainfall which leads to slow growth and limited availability.
“The 2023 Vaults release was my first big project leading the blending team,” says Jevremov. “With that one, I wanted to explore the terroir of American oak while also gently pushing us to new flavor explorations. Now after a year as head blender I felt it was time to challenge myself. Ambruana is a bombastic wood, full of heady, rich aromatics. My first task was to create a gorgeous blend highlighting the earthy and textually robust qualities of 15- and 20-year-old whiskeys. My next imperative was to slowly introduce the Amburana to work with the whiskey’s notes in delicate harmony. I hope everyone can enjoy the dance of deeply aged whiskey and tropical spiced aromatics.”
On the nose is Amaretto cookie, fig leaf, cherry blossom, honey graham cracker and cinnamon bark, according to distillery notes. The palate brings rosemary, cinnamon raisin, olive oil, sencha green tea and roasted yam. The finish contains black licorice, honeysuckle, coconut macaroon, caramelized carrots and satsuma.
As is the case with all Widow Jane whiskeys, The Vaults 2024 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.
Widow Jane The Vaults 2024 comes bottled at 99 proof. The suggested retail price is $250 per 750-ml. bottle.
The season also sees the return of Widow Jane Decadence, the brand’s signature 10-year bourbon blended in small batches and then finished in American Oak Barrels that PREVIOUSLY held Upstate New York’s Crown Maple artisan maple syrup. Widow Jane Decadence is bottled at 45.5% ABV (91 proof); SRP: $100.
This follows the recent release of Baby Jane Bourbon by Widow Jane.
