In collaboration with the iconic Willett Family Estate, this exclusive blend of straight rye whiskey highlights both brands’ commitment to quality, technique and flavor, while paying tribute to their respective homes of Kentucky and California. Bottled at 103 proof, this release marks the third installment in the collaboration and the only product to feature an age statement.

To create this expression, Willett hand-selected 10-year Kentucky rye barrels, while Wolves’ Head Blender Eddie Gonzalez chose 10-year old rye, aged for seven years in Indiana and finished with three years in Northern California. The diverse aging environments soften the rye’s natural spice, resulting in a richer, more balanced profile.

“Partnering with Willett on this release has been an honor,” says Jennifer Marks, President of Wolves. “This rare blend reflects our shared dedication to craftsmanship and bridges two distinct whiskey traditions, combining Willett’s storied Kentucky legacy with Wolves’ modern California perspective.”

The packaging nods to Willett’s long-standing heritage, featuring the signature bird and crown emblem, which first appeared in London’s Pewter’s Hall in 1684 and still graces Willett’s bottles today.

Wolves and Willett Limited-Edition 10-Year Rye Whiskey is now available for $355.

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Moving beyond its previous focus on limited editions, the California whiskey brand aims to capture the essence of the American Single Malt category with this new release.

The 96 proof expression is aged for five years in California wine barrels in the Arizona heat. Afterward, it’s blended from hand-selected barrels and finished in aged cognac casks.

Its packaging reflects deep Pacific hues and features topographical linework that visually represents the rugged and varied terrain of the American West. Subtle finishes evoke the natural landscape, such as layers of sediment or the rings of a tree trunk.

“We were captivated by the challenge of creating a standard-bearer in the emerging category of American Single Malt,” says Jennifer Marks, President of Wolves. “We’re proud of our innovative approach and the result, a contemporary yet timeless classic that can be enjoyed year-round.”

Wolves American Single Malt is available online and at select retailers nationwide for $89.99.

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Wolves acquired a very limited supply of single malt and malted barley whiskeys that were put down in 8 to 12 barrel lots starting in 2011. 13th generation Master Distiller Marko Karakasevic distilled each lot over a 10-day period in a small alembic pot still imported from Cognac, France in 1983. Lot One was distilled in 2015. Eleven of the twelve barrels were blended together by Wolves and bottled at 110-proof. The 12th barrel (barrel #574) was selected as a single barrel release, and bottled at 125-proof.

“Marko is an artist…this could be his opus,” said Wolves Co-Founder Jon Buscemi about the Single Malt. “This library of whiskey is insanely good.”

“We believe this could be the richest and most complex American Single Malt whiskey ever produced,” added Wolves CEO Jeremy Joseph. “ASM [American Single Malt] is an emerging category within the domestic whiskey landscape, and this is a best-in-class example of craftsmanship and flavor within it.”

Each bottle in the Wolves Malted Barley Series will be hand-numbered and wrapped by hand in a laser-cut, embossed, sheepskin label printed with UV light, and laid flush on heavy, French-cut glass.

Wolves will continue to offer its signature blend whiskeys, which are uniquely driven by whiskeys made from craft beer, and include American Single Malt in its focus moving forward.

In addition to rolling out its first Single Malt, Wolves has also announced it is erecting a new still in partnership with Karakasevic at its home distillery in Northern California. The new still will allow Wolves to continue its line of unique beer whiskeys and single malt whiskeys into the future and at scale.

Dropping tomorrow (April 6), 2,250 bottles of Wolves Lot One blended single malt expression will be made available through select retailers as well as through the Wolves Allocation List for $289. All 228 bottles of Wolves’ Lot One single-barrel expression will be offered privately to certain members on its Allocation List for $350.

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The Wolves signature blend consists of whiskey distilled from craft beer, with the balance of the blend comprised of Rye whiskey sourced in Indiana and aged in Northern California.

The beer whiskeys in this run are a whiskey distilled from craft Stout beer, aged in used French Oak for 9 years, and a whiskey distilled from a craft California Pale Ale, aged in used French Oak for 7 years. The two Rye whiskeys were aged for 7 and 6 years in new American Oak. 

Wolves Master Distiller Marko Karakasevic distills these whiskeys over a 10-day period, sleeping in four hour shifts so that he alone can make each cut, selecting ‘the heart of hearts’ for double distillation. He does so in a small, slow, alembic Brandy still that was imported to California from Cognac in 1983.

“It’s amazing that the whiskeys Marko has been making from beer for decades have not reached a wider audience,” said Wolves CEO and Master Blender, Jeremy Joseph. “The body and quality of these whiskeys is on par with the best spirits in the world.”

No flavoring has been added to the whiskey, but the TTB requires the “Hop Flavored” designation because the whiskey was distilled from a refined starting product (bottle-ready beer) rather than a grain mash.

“This Rye-forward expression exudes the vanilla, hops, chocolate, and citrus that the signature blend is known for. We are honored to help share what Marko started long ago,” said Wolves Co-F ounder Jon Buscemi. “I’m glad Wolves can help push the limits of how whiskey is traditionally done.”

The card stock labels were made in collaboration with a local California wine label maker.

This release of Wolves is limited to 11,000+ bottles and is available in select retail in now for $145.

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“The Rye Project” is anchored by a very low-content (51%) rye whiskey distilled in Indiana, aged in new American oak for 6 years, then transplanted to Sonoma County for additional aging. This whiskey was blended with additional rye barrels selected from the renowned Willett Distillery. The majority of the resulting blend is Willett’s 6 and 7 year rye. Wolves Master Distiller Marko Karakasevic and Willett Master Distiller Drew Kulsveen selected 6 and 7 year old barrels of Willett straight rye whiskey with a 74% rye mash bill. The barrels were pulled from Willett warehouse A, South Rick 14, and warehouse H, South Rick 6.

“We want to deliver straightforward and balanced expressions of the best rye in the world, in a lower-rye format.” explained Wolves Co-Founder Jon Buscemi. “We started from a place of sweet more than spice, and built from there.”

“The collaboration whiskey developed out of a friendship,” Willett Master Distiller Drew Kulsveen added. “I met the Wolves guys at a bourbon and cigar event in Bardstown a few years ago and our relationship grew from there. The project was born out of the good times we’ve had together and will certainly fuel future celebrations. The Wolves team pays attention to every detail – down to the cork.”

The custom cork top was inspired by the knob of a baseball bat that is a family heirloom of Buscemi. The textured label was created in partnership with a bespoke wine label producer in Sonoma County.

“We wanted to deliver a rye on the low-rye side of the spectrum, and we didn’t want to alter the spirit with a barrel finish. Find the best barrels, balance the blend,” added Wolves CEO Jeremy Joseph. “When you’re working on a blend with Drew and Marko, your job is largely to get out of the way and let them do their thing. These are two of the best in the game, and this product represents that.”

The Rye Project, Volume One, Batch One is limited to 623 9-liter cases and is available now in CA, NY, TX, IL, CO, NJ, FL, CT, NV, AZ, MN, MD, and DC for $219. The second and final batch will be released at barrel strength in the Spring. 

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This expression of their signature California whiskey blend consists of four whiskeys — whiskey distilled from finished Stout craft beer and aged in French Oak for 10 years; whiskey distilled from finished Pilsner beer and aged in New American Oak, Char 3, for 6 years; a rye; and a single malt whiskey distilled from two-row malted barley and aged in used French Oak for 9 years.

Another year in French and New American oak has added some complexity to the Stout and Pilsner whiskeys, which were balanced out by increasing the amount of rye slightly for this release. Each bottle is wrapped by hand in custom dyed Robin’s Egg blue sheepskin.

Spring Run will be the last ‘Run’ that Wolves releases for a while. Wolves’ next release is a new, limited concept in collaboration with Willett Family Estate.

Only 1,110 bottles of the Wolves Spring Run blend are available for $200. A portion of these bottles were made available first to the Wolves Allocation List yesterday (May 19). Consumers may sign up for the email Allocation List at the Wolves website while spaces remain available.

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Winter Run contains a whiskey distilled from craft stout beer and aged in French Oak for 8 years, a whiskey distilled from craft pilsner beer aged in New American Oak for 5 years, a rye selected for its spice, and a single malt whiskey aged for 9 years in used French Oak. The flavors are remisicent of Wolves’ critically acclaimed First Run. With the exception of the rye, the whiskeys in the blend were distilled by Master Distiller Marko Karakasevic in northern California using a rare copper Alambic pot still imported from Cognac in 1983.

“We wanted to run it back again with Marko, who is a generational artisan working with a tried and true still,” says Wolves co-founder Jon Buscemi. “The still is old and slow but the result is better. We took some cues from First Run while incorporating a really earthy single malt – I like single malts all year round but enjoy them most in the colder months. It took a lot of work to get this right, but the result is special and I’m happy we were able to crank out a few more bottles this time in production.”

Each small, bespoke batch of distillate is created by Karakasevic over a near-sleepless 10-day period to ensure the heads and tails are cut out properly, and that only the hearts remain for barrel aging. The still creates massive body that you cannot easily find in whiskey made from a more efficient column still. And because the Stout and Pilsner whiskies are distilled from finished craft beer, the hoppy flavors are pronounced and the nose is slightly sweet. The team landed at 104 proof for this edition.

“Our group comes from apparel and music background, our concept to do multiple drops like you would a fashion/shoe brand or new music was to always keep it fresh and exciting,” says Wolves co-founder James Bond. “Continue to add to the catalog, and in theory when you collect all the drops you get a piece of our story.”

Each bottle of Winter Run is wrapped by hand in a chocolate espresso Italian sheepskin leather, which is laser cut, embossed, printed with UV light, and laid flush to the glass by hand. The bottle is heavy and French-cut, while the cork top is made of Maple wood. Each bottle is delivered in a canvas sleeve that was stitched by hand and designed to fit Winter Run like a glove.

Wolves produced 1,338 bottles of Winter Run that are available for purchase on a first-come first-served basis now for $185.

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