Shortbarrel has released its Cigar Batch #4, the latest edition of its annual limited-release American Whiskey.
This year’s expression from the Atlanta-based brand is bottled at 107 proof and is non-chill filtered. This year’s release incorporates whiskey finished in more than 50 separate Armagnac, Cognac, rum, Tawny Port and Sherry casks, with Sherry casks appearing in Cigar Batch for the first time.
The foundation of Cigar Batch #4 is built from mature bourbon components mature bourbons and whiskeys with mash bills of 60% corn, 36% rye and 4% malted barley; 70% corn, 21% rye and 9% malted barley; 75% corn, 21% rye and 4% malted barley; and 91% corn and 9% malted barley. Distilled in Kentucky and Indiana, these whiskeys were selected and blended to contribute different expressions of body, spice, fruit, oak and texture to the finished whiskey.
The individual whiskey components underwent extended secondary maturation in their respective finishing casks before the final blend was assembled. Rather than finishing one completed blend in multiple cask types, Shortbarrel matures components independently and evaluates them individually before determining their role in the final whiskey. While the whiskey begins its journey in Kentucky and Indiana, Cigar Batch #4 takes its final shape in Georgia. The process reflects the approach that has come to define the Cigar Batch series: mature American whiskey, extended secondary maturation, multiple finishing cask types and a final blend constructed to balance the characteristics of each component.
For Shortbarrel Master Blender Clinton Dugan, the Cigar Batch series has always been an exercise in patience, precision and balance. Rather than relying on a single finishing cask type to define the whiskey, the series is built by blending separately finished components, allowing different mash bills, maturation profiles and finishing casks to each contribute to the final whiskey.
“Every barrel has a purpose,” said Clinton Dugan, Co-Founder and Master Blender at Shortbarrel. “Our responsibility is understanding what each component contributes, giving the whiskey the time it needs to develop and then finding the blend where those individual characteristics work together. Cigar Batch has always been about building layers rather than allowing any single finish to dominate.”
Shortbarrel Cigar Batch #4 is available for a $89.99.
