What’s happening in wine and whiskey this week:

This Week’s Unicorn Review Stories

🍷 Gamay Noir is an exciting red wine varietal, but one that’s sometimes overlooked Vicki Denig dove into the world of Gamay to explain why it’s worth seeking out.

🥃 Ted Simmons wrote about some recent spirits releases that are tied to the upcoming World Cup, and the potential value of the greater world of sports-spirits collabs moving forward.

New Bottle Releases

Blue Note Special Reserve ($150)

This is the third release of this limited-edition whiskey from Memphis company B.R. Distilling. Blue Note Special Reserve is a blend of whiskey aged from five to 19 years that was aged in nine different casks: cognac, madeira, sherry, port, vino de Naranja, vanilla cognac, apricot brandy, cognac, and winter bock. The final blend was bottled at 119 proof, and official tasting notes describe notes of cedar, warming spice, dried apricot, allspice, peanut, and vanilla on the palate.

Gambit No. 6 ($70)

This is another whiskey that was finished in a large amount of casks—six, in this case. Gambit No. 6 is the second release from former Balcones founder Chip Tate, who is now master distiller for innovation for Foley Family Wines & Spirits. The whiskey started as six-year-old, low-rye Kentucky bourbon. 15 percent was finished for 19 months in Cabernet Sauvignon wine barrels. The remaining 85 percent was finished for three months in Chardonnay French oak, and that whiskey was then divided into oloroso sherry, Muscatel, apple brandy, and Tokaji barrels for 12 to 16 months more. The final blend has notes of cacao, sweet tobacco, and ripe fruit on the palate. 

Unicorn Whiskey Pick of the Week

Talisker Magma 47-Year-Old ($5,250)

You may have seen this particular whisky gimmick before, as unlikely as it seems. A few years ago, Dewar’s released Double Double Magma Stone, a 21-year-old blended scotch that was finished in French oak casks that were toasted with Icelandic magma rocks. Okay, so how exactly was that supposed to affect the whisky’s flavor? The radiant heat from the rocks was meant to precisely control the way that the cask was toasted, which in turn would add some consistency to how the wood interacted with the whisky.

Did it work? I remember that this was a good whisky, but I certainly can’t say if that was because the cask was toasted with hardened lava or not. Still, Diageo’s Talisker distillery seemed to have thought this was worth a try, because it just dropped a new 47-year-old single malt that was given a similar treatment. The whisky was initially matured in refill American hogsheads before being moved to American oak casks that were toasted with magma for four months. And not just any magma, but volcanic rocks from the Isle of Skye where the distillery is located, perhaps to give the whisky some rocky terroir, or maybe just to tie this gimmick together in a nice, neat bow.

Here’s a little more about that process from the distillery press release: “Replacing the traditional open-flame method, the rocks are heated before the barrels rotate around them, toasting the interior without direct contact with the staves. Steaming during the process keeps the cask hydrated and maintains a steady, controlled temperature. The absence of combustion brings out the taste of the fruit, developing notable depth and complexity.” Again, I really can’t say if any of that really had an effect upon the whisky or not, or rather what that effect actually was. But what I can say is that this is a very tasty ultra-aged single malt, with rich notes of old oak, soft smoke, sweet fruit, and rich and buttery vanilla. It’s another good release from a distillery that consistently makes high-quality whisky, regardless of whether the cask was toasted with volcanic rock, moon rocks, or, someday, Martian rocks.

Talisker Magma 47-Year-Old is available in limited quantities, just 622 bottles total with 105 coming to the U.S., with a suggested retail price of $5,250.