PRIVATE BOTTLINGS by RAISING GLASSES
RG Release #5 : INNOCENCE
Port Dundas Single Grain Scotch
21 yr, 57% cask strength ABV
Outturn: 110 Bottles estimated
Order From:
Burlington Wine & Spirits (MA) SOLD OUT!
Norfolk Wine & Spirits (MA) SOLD OUT!
Our first Scotch is a spectacular cask strength single grain from Port Dundas that sadly closed in 2011 – once the existing stores of Port Dundas are gone this tremendous elixir will go extinct. While prices are skyrocketing for highly aged Port Dundas, not all barrels are created (or developed) equal! We tasted this hogshead barrel and her sister barrel and the difference was startling! “Sis” was fairly tame and muted but this barrel was vibrant, intense and luscious and an easy pick. It’s a lemon custard / Granny Smith apple bomb!
Single Grain Scotches are growing in popularity (and price) as they combine the complexity and sophistication of Single Malts but with the approachability of American bourbons – which makes sense as the Port Dundas mashbill consists of American corn, barley and rye (much closer to bourbon than Single Malt Scotch’s mashbill of 100% malted barley).
We commissioned Innocence’s dazzling label artwork from a young artist from Lexington MA, Mira Hsu (no relation!)
RG Release #6 : OPULENCE
21 yr Port Dundas Single Grain Scotch
(21 yr Hogshead + 6 mo Oloroso Sherry Quarter Cask)
55.7% cask strength ABV, Outturn: 150 Bottles estimated
Order From:
Burlington Wine & Spirits (MA)
Norfolk Wine & Spirits (MA)
Kappy’s (MA)
Being the savages we are, we purchased a brand new Oloroso sherry quarter cask (those suckers are NOT cheap) and used it to age over half of the Port Dundas for the last 9 months. The smaller size of the quarter cask accelerates the aging process (higher ratio of wood surface area to total liquid volume), imparting an oakier backbone and the rich fig & pistachio flavors of a first fill Oloroso sherry cask. Its deep copper hue will satisfy “Dark AF” fetishists too (you know who you are) !
Once again, the custom label artwork is from Mira Hsu of Lexington MA!
RG Release #7 : EMERGENCE
Linkwood Single Grain Scotch
9 yr, 60.6% cask strength ABV,
Outturn: 110 Bottles estimated
Available 1/2023
The Folklore Series” is our 2022 line of premium single cask rums, bottled in a wallet-friendly 375 ml format.
Each bottle displays original artwork based on a mythological legend from the country that distilled the rum.
Raising Glasses donates 5% of the profits from these bottles to charities benefitting each country of origin.
RG Release #9 : BURNING CANE
Foursquare Distillery Single Cask Rum
15 yr, 62.3% cask strength ABV
No Additives
Order:
Burlington Wine & Spirits (MA)
Reg Label • HM Label
Gordon’s (MA)
HM Label
Norfolk Wine & Spirits (MA)
Reg Label • HM Label
Kappy’s (MA)
Reg & HM Label
Wells Provisions (Western MA)
Reg Label
Row 34 (Burlington MA)
Restaurant/Bar Only
https://www.row34.com/burlington
RG Release #10 : GUARDIANS
TDL Distillery Single Cask Rum
8 yr, 67.9% cask strength ABV
No Additives
Order:
Burlington Wine & Spirits (MA)
Reg Label • HM Label
Norfolk Wine & Spirits (MA)
Reg Label • HM Label
Kappy’s (MA)
Reg & HM Label
Row 34 (Burlington MA)
Restaurant/Bar Only
https://www.row34.com/burlington
RG Release #11 : MOONGAZER
Diamond Distillery Rum
Versailles Wooden Pot Still
9 yr, 57.5% ABV
No Added Sugar
Order:
Burlington Wine & Spirits (MA)
Reg Label • HM Label
Norfolk Wine & Spirits (MA)
Reg Label • HM Label
Kappy’s (MA)
Reg & HM Label
Row 34 (Burlington MA)
Restaurant/Bar Only
https://www.row34.com/burlington
RG Release #12 :
Rum FTG Ltd Edition Blend of Single Casks
Blend of:
15 Yr Foursquare Barbados Rum
8 Yr Trinidad Rum
9 Yr Guyana Rum
62.5% ABV
View More Info
Order:
Burlington Wine & Spirits (MA)
Gordon’s (MA)
Norfolk Wine & Spirits (MA)
Kappy’s (MA)
Row 34 (Burlington MA)
Restaurant/Bar Only
https://www.row34.com/burlington
RG Release #1 : JAWS 1 (2019)
New Riff Bourbon, 4 yr, 56.1% ABV, Barrel 15-5795
Outturn: 234 Bottles
Our first private pick was a cask strength bourbon hand selected at the ultra-trendy New Riff distillery in Kentucky with the Josephine Avenue Whiskey Society (J.A.W.S.) and Nick Taylor (Found North Whiskey). Read about our picking experience here!
New Riff whiskeys are currently unavailable (no distribution) in MA, so we had to drive the bottles AND the barrel all the way from Kentucky back to Boston.
#RG Release #2 : YOUNG AMERICANS (Spring 2020)
Privateer Rum (Rich/Fine Recipe)
3 yr (with 7 month finish in New Riff bourbon barrel)
54.2% ABV
Outturn: 225 Bottles
Released in partnership with Burlington Wine & Spirits
We dropped the JAWS 1 barrel off at the Privateer Rum distillery in Ipswich, MA … but what to age in it? Maggie Campbell arranged a tasting of 5 different barrels – we went in assuming we’d go with one of their spectacular Queen’s Share barrels but another selection was not to be denied. Finished for 7 months in the extremely “wet” JAWS 1 barrel (wrapped in plastic right after the bottling of the original bourbon), “Young Americans” hit that sweet spot of heavy bourbon influence meeting the rich backbone of Privateer Rum. It’s the ultimate crossover rum for bourbon lovers!
RG Release #3 : NOTORIOUS RUM BG (Fall 2020)
Privateer Rum, Bottled in Bond50% ABV
4 yr (with 6 month finish in New Riff bourbon barrel)
Outturn: 230 Bottles
Released in partnership with Norfolk Wine and Spirits
Maggie judged our fearsome JAWS 1 barrel to be still frisky and hungry, so immediately after the dumping of Young Americans, we fed it a cask of Privateer’s excellent Bottled in Bond juice. To qualify as “Bottled in Bond”, a spirit must be aged 4 years minimum in a government supervised facility and bottled at 100 proof. “BiB” is predominantly a bourbon designation, and Privateer is currently the only distillery producing Bottled in Bond rum. In honor of the departed Ruth Bader Ginsburg, we dubbed this release the “Notorious Rum BG” and are donating $10 of each order to her favorite charity, the Malala Fund. While still featuring the magical bourbon sugar influence of “Young Americans”, Notorious Rum BG leans more towards a classic rum drinker’s palate.
RG Release #4 : JAWS 2 (Fall 2020)
New Riff Bourbon, 4 yr, 50.6% ABV, Barrel 16-12162
Outturn: 240 Bottles
The pandemic was no match for the Raising Glasses thirst for bourbon! Through the magic of Zoom and Fedex, we conducted a remote barrel pick session with New Riff (again with the assistance of Nick Taylor) and blasted an SUV across the post-apocalyptic quarantined Midwest to retrieve the JAWS 2 barrel. A chance encounter with a New Riff aficionado in the New Riff parking lot took note of the 101.2 proof and the grayish barrel and deemed it one of the New Riff barrels secretly aged in Louisville at the Castle and Key distillery (formerly the historic Old Taylor distillery of Colonel E.H. Taylor fame). While retaining the signature New Riff potency, JAWS 2 is perhaps lighter and more elegant than the brawny JAWS 1.
Special Collaboration : GATOR LEGS (2021)
Belgian Tripel from MadTree Brewing
9.9% ABV, 40 IBU (4.02/5 on UNTAPPD)
The final destination of our first Raising Glasses private barrel was Cincinnati’s MadTree Brewing company, where Barrel Manager Spenser Kern created a limited edition Belgian-style tripel. Reviews on Untappd.com say “Rich dark chocolate, black coffee, molasses, and dark fruit with a long, lingering finish” and “This beer is better than any corporeal experience you’ve yet had.”
RG Release #7 : Bohemian Rum-sody (expected Spring 2023)
Privateer Queen’s Share rum aged in first fill New Riff bourbon barrel
How to out-do our uber-popular (and long sold out) Young Americans and Notorious Rum BG releases? Acquire a cask of Privateer’s finest distillate, the “Queen’s Share”, and give it an extra-long finish in an ultra-wet, first fill New Riff bourbon barrel (our “JAWS 2” barrel).
“Queen’s Share” is the most-prized (and priciest) rum from Privateer’s standard line and gets its name from its painstaking process of taking the richest cuts from multiple distillation runs: The first “head” cuts are harsh alcohol, the middle “heart” cuts are used for bottling, and the last “tail cuts” are overly strong and bitter. The “Queen” cuts are the last “heart” cuts, the most luxurious and flavorful cuts before the bitter tail takes over. These queen cuts are set aside and collected over time until enough can be re-distilled into the superb award-winning “Queen’s Share”.