The Beauty of Solera Aging

Good morning. Welcome to the Second Edition of the Bourbon Central Bulletin!

Whiskey is a perpetually interesting category to geek out over, and we’re here to bring some of the best snippets from the space directly to your inbox. Today, we’re talking about something a little different—not a specific spirit, but broader contour of Solera Aging. Hillrock, Westward, and a couple other labels that use this method have ascended to be fan (and our) favorites—so, let’s peel back the fold and uncover what makes it so good.

Buckle up, and let’s talk spirits!

MYSTERY BOX: THIS WEEK’S ALLOCATIONS
The Mystery Box Markets

Markets: Bullish on the week. Eagle Rare and Weller Special Reserve have both stepped up total available allocation quantities. Plus, fan-favorite Blanton’s is back. Weller 12 hits the sidelines this week as we await a quick restock before getting it back into the game. Cheers!

WHISKEY CONVO OF THE WEEK
The Beauty of Solera Aging

Solera aging is far from new. It’s origins date back to Spain’s Jerez Region in the 18th century, where sherry makers sought methods to deftly blend various vintages of wines, while maintaining consistently across the palate.

Before we bore you with a history lesson, let’s get right into what Solera aging looks like:

Only in Egypt. Just kidding. There it is folks — barrels of all ages stack atop each other in pyramid formation; the oldest liquid rests at the bottom, while the newest is at the top. With fractional blending, wherein a small portion of aged whiskey is removed while a new whiskey is added, young whiskey can seamlessly mingle with older whiskey as it moves down the stack. Given that each barrel is ever fully emptied, both age and complexity increase over time.

Pretty cool, huh?

The Hillrock Estate Distillery, in NY’s Hudson Valley, produces one of our favorite expressions of bourbon with solera aging. Specifically, they stack small barrel-aged Hillrock Estate bourbon (distilled in house) on top of mature, seed MGP bourbon, before it hits 20 year-old Oloroso Sherry casks at the bottom of the pyramid to add that layer of complexity.

As per the TTB, age-stated alcohol labels can only show the age of the youngest subset of juice in the bottle. So, while Hillrock is compelled to label their Solera Bourbon as ‘at least 6 years old’—it’s way older, if you consider the blend.

Onto the tasting notes:

Nose: Sweet and light. Some dark fruit, rye spice, and floral connotation.

Palate: Full-bodied, yet light and delicate. Influence of Oloroso is prominent, imbuing notes of cherries, candied raisins, and dried apricot. Roll it around in your mouth for a bit, and the more traditional bourbon flavors—vanilla, caramel, burnt brown sugar—come through.

Finish: Medium-length and crisp. A little rye spice that fades into the taste of sweet cherries, balanced by seasoned oak.

Is it a Buy?

All day, everyday. The combination of uniqueness and product here is next to none: a farm-to-bottle distillate with solera aging that yields an incredible, mature, and consistent bourbon. Plus, we’re excited to announce some extra perks to fully maximize your Hillrock experience.

VIRTUAL TASTING
Join Us For A Hillrock Solera Tasting…

We’re excited to have Alex Eckstein, a Partner at the Hillrock Estate, join you all and walk through the history of the distillery and tasting their phenomenal product.

The date is set: Sunday, 3/10 at 3 PM EST. Please RSVP below if you’re available:

Plus, we’ll be randomly adding 15 free vouchers for in-person Hillrock Distillery tours into orders for the product this week. Keep an eye out for this free, $100 value!

OTHER BOOZE NEWS
Wrapping Up The Spirits Space…

• Inside the multibillion-dollar alcohol industry’s battle for ‘sober curious’ Gen Z

• How Latvia became the whisky hookup for sanction-hit Russia

• The FBI is seeking documents on some of Napa’s most famous wineries. The question is why.

• WA proposal would allow biometric ID for alcohol purchases

Have any questions or suggestions for us? Please let us know by directly responding to this email - we’d love to chat!