Sazerac de Forge XO consists of selected eaux-de-vie to showcase a blend that is 86 proof and includes Cognacs aged for over two decades in French oak barrels. As the flagship expression from domaine, the XO bottle features a rounded silhouette of clear glass that showcases the spirit’s golden hue. A natural cork stopper with a wooden cap and a satin blue ribbon, resurrecting the ‘Sazerac Blue’ hue once stamped on chinaware exported worldwide from the original Sazerac de Forge pottery house.

The first vintage release from Sazerac de Forge & Fils Cognac, Grande Champagne 2000 represents over two decades of maturation in the soils of Cognac’s most celebrated cru. Distilled from a single harvest and matured in French oak barrels without blending, it is bottled at 89.6 proof. The bottle, made of clear glass with a curved silhouette and natural cork stopper, is complemented by a matching carton detailed in cream and blue with gold accents.

An blend of three rare vintage eaux-de-vie distilled in 1970, 1971, and 1974, Sazerac de Forge 50-Year-Old is the domaine’s oldest expression to date. Each vintage was hand-sealed in wax and left undisturbed for more than fifty years in small French oak barrels before being blended and bottled at 86 proof. The decanter, formed from curved crystal glass with a matching lid and the Sazerac de Forge family crest etched in gold, pays homage to the original Cognac domaine.

“At Sazerac de Forge, every expression is crafted with care to showcase the unique character of its carefully selected eaux-de-vie,” says Sazerac de Forge & Fils Cellar Master Denis Lahouratate. “Our blends are patiently shaped over time, developing complexity and depth. Others are released as vintages, capturing their singular qualities. In every case, the goal is the same: a Cognac that reveals individuality and artistry.”

“Cognac’s richness lies not only in flavor, but also in the generations of knowledge behind its craft,” adds Jess Scheerhorn, Vice President, Sazerac de Forge. “We created these expressions for those who seek to experience Cognac the way it was originally intended in 1782.”

Revived in 2019 by, owners of Buffalo Trace Distillery and Hawk’s Rock Distillery, Sazerac de Forge & Fils carries forward the legacy of the 1782 domaine founded by Bernard Sazerac de Forge. The pioneering house earned a reputation for refinement, shipping Cognac across Europe and America and lending its name to the famed Sazerac cocktail of New Orleans before fading in the late 19th century during the phylloxera epidemic. Today’s domaine cultivates its estate in Segonzac, the heart of Grande Champagne, using organic practices and a diversity of grape varietals. Beyond the estate, it curates rare, aged stocks from across the region, inspired by the methods and character of pre-phylloxera Cognacs.

Sazerac de Forge XO is now available for $149.99. Sazerac de Forge Grande Champagne 2000 is available for $449.99. Sazerac de Forge 50-Year-Old is available now for $3,999.99.

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Crafted by Master Blender Helen Mulholland, the first female Master Blender in Irish Whiskey history, the expression is named after the river that flows past the distillery through Sligo town into the Atlantic Ocean. Double-distilled and initially aged for a minimum of 14 years in ex-bourbon American oak casks, the whiskey was then transferred into a variety of finishing casks including French Muscat, French Sauternes, Spanish Pedro Ximénez Sherry and Barbadian Rum casks for further maturation. The result is a 94 proof whiskey that embodies Sazerac’s dedication to world class distillation, aging and blending.

“The current trend is for whiskey to have a rich sherry finish, but Garavogue is purposefully different,” says Hawk’s Rock Distillery Master Blender Helen Mulholland. “We believe that complexity and subtlety can work hand in hand. It is unusual for a whiskey to be blended with this number and variety of casks, but just as the river ebbs and flows, the flavors create a wonderful blend as they weave together in this 20-year-old single malt.”

Garavogue is a small-batch release and will experimental in nature, exploring different ages, maturation techniques and possibly even different types of Irish whiskey. Release #1 is housed in a distinctive reversed crescent shape bottle with a blue label reflecting the Garavogue River’s influence including subtle wave patterns that mirror the motion of water. The label also features imagery and coordinates for the Hazelwood House Windmill – an enduring landmark on the grounds of Hawk’s Rock – in tribute to the historical figures who lived and worked along Garavogue’s banks.

“We hope that Garavogue Whiskey invites Irish Whiskey fans to linger, explore and uncover the hidden stories of Sligo,” remarks Jess Scheerhorn, Vice President at Sazerac. “The Garavogue River shaped this beautiful landscape for millenniums, and Garavogue Irish Whiskey aims to shape new experiences, connections and traditions – one sip at a time.”

Hawk’s Rock Distillery’s Garavogue Whiskey will begin rolling out in limited quantities this month for $199.

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Formerly known as Lough Gill Distillery, Hawk’s Rock will continue to produce and age Irish Whiskey under the watchful eye of Master Blender Helen Mulholland on the over 100-acre site located in County Sligo, Ireland, which includes the nationally listed historic landmark Hazelwood House.

The name change reflects Sazerac’s vision for the future of Irish Whiskey – the art and science of blending, innovation and respect for Sligo’s rich heritage. Named after a prominent outcrop in the Ox Mountains that inspired Nobel Prize winning poet William Butler (W.B.) Yeats’ play “At the Hawk’s Well”, the distillery aims to become a global hub for Irish Whiskey, while offering a gateway to explore the traditions of Sligo and the surrounding region.

“The renaming of Hawk’s Rock Distillery marks a new, yet familiar, frontier for us,” says Sazerac President and CEO Jake Wenz. “Sazerac is known for its balanced approach to honoring tradition while embracing change in constant pursuit of crafting the world’s best spirits at our distilleries in America, India, Canada and France. Our mission holds true for Ireland, and we are excited to reveal how we are blending time-honored traditions with bold innovation to advance the art of Irish whiskey-making.”

Mulholland, the first female Master Blender in Irish Whiskey history, and her carefully-selected team have been entrusted with leading the creation and blending of Hawk’s Rock’s innovative new-to-world Irish whiskey brands, the first of which will debut in June.

Sazerac acquired Lough Gill Distillery in 2022, drawn by its historical significance and the cultural richness of Ireland. Since then, the team has upgraded and tripled its warehouse capacity, expanded production and is modernizing the distillery, ensuring continued growth while maintaining its commitment to quality.

“This rebrand is just the beginning for Hawk’s Rock Distillery,” says Wenz. “Throughout the changes at Hawk’s Rock, our vision remains the same – creating a track record for the aging and blending of award-winning whiskeys – and this name change brings us one step closer to bringing that vision to life.”

While Hawk’s Rock Distillery is closed to the public during renovations, Sazerac has received planning permission to develop a future visitor experience in Sligo.

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Mayville, a founding member of The Last Drop Assembly’s panel of spirits industry experts, is no stranger to the brand. To bring his vision for The Last Drop to life, he blended vintage whiskeys that he had been saving since he joined the Buffalo Trace Distillery team. He tasted more than 40 different vintage bourbon and rye whiskeys, creating multiple combinations before arriving at the final expression that bears his signature. Bottled at 121.4 proof, Mayville left this high-proof blend uncut and unfiltered to maximize its flavor and complexity.

“As a master blender, I wholeheartedly believe that one can take individual components that are already exceptional to create an extraordinarily-beautiful end product,” says Sazerac Master Blender Drew Mayville. “As with music, a clarinet can be beautiful in its own right. However, when you combine it with other instruments in an orchestra you create a symphony – a masterpiece. This blend fully epitomizes this notion, and it’s been a dream come true to create this truly one-of-a-kind spirit for my friends at The Last Drop.”

Since becoming Sazerac’s Master Blender in 2004, Mayville has cultivated a dream of creating an ultra-rare whiskey. To achieve this, he began preserving extremely small quantities of his favorite whiskeys at Buffalo Trace Distillery to fulfill this vision.

“It has been a wonderfully exciting experience to work with my friend, colleague and inspiration, Drew Mayville, to create this phenomenal blend,” says Rebecca Jago, managing director, The Last Drop Distillers. “The creation of The Assembly in 2020 was one of The Last Drop’s proudest achievements: to see the visions of such stellar icons of the industry come to life in a Last Drop bottle is, for me, a dream come true.”

Mayville’s Blend follows The Last Drop Distillers first Signature Blend: a 50 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky created by Master Blender Colin J.P. Scott. Released in July 2021, this was the brand’s first foray into the creation, as well as curation, of extraordinary spirits by the members of The Last Drop Assembly.

Each bottle of The Last Drop Signature Blend of Kentucky Straight Whiskeys is individually numbered and bears Mayville’s physical signature. As with all recent Last Drop bottlings, it is artfully-contained in a bespoke bottle that suspends mid-air in an oak frame, held within in a signature green leather case alongside a 50ml miniature for private enjoyment, certificate of bottling and pocket-sized tasting book.

Only 1,458 bottles of The Last Drop Signature Blend of Kentucky Straight Whiskeys will be released worldwide for $3,999.

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Ingredients:

• 2 oz Aberfeldy 12
• 1 tsp local honey
• 3 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
• 1 dash Angostura Bitters
• 1/4 oz Absinthe (to rinse)
• Expressed lemon peel garnish

Instructions:

Rinse inside of a chilled glass with Absinthe and set aside. Combine remaining ingredients (aside from lemon peel) in a mixing glass over ice and stir. Strain into the prepared glass. Garnish with the expressed lemon peel and enjoy.

Let us know if you have a cocktail recipe you love or if there’s a recipe that you want us to break down on social media with the hashtag, #TWLcocktail. Please drink responsibly.

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Created to honor Sam Bronfman, or “Mister Sam,” as he was affectionately known, this blend was created by Sazerac’s Master Blender Drew Mayville whose career included 22 years at Seagram’s where he was the fourth and final Master Blender under the Seagram dynasty. Mayville had an arsenal of Sazerac’s best American and Canadian Whiskey stocks at his disposal while developing Mister Sam. This project holds a special place in Mayville’s heart, a native Canadian now living in Kentucky.

“Creating Mister Sam has been one of the highlights of my career,” said Mayville. “The second release is very evocative of the first, with the same bold and complex flavors, but I believe this blend to be even closer to perfect. We’ve blended it with whiskies that slightly softened the explosive finish to allow a greater enjoyment of the essence of the whiskey.”

The first release of “Mister Sam” in 2019 was lauded by spirits industry and received several industry awards. 

Bottled at Sazerac’s Old Montreal Distillery in Montreal, Quebec, the bottles are presented in an elegant wooden box and included a copy of the legendary “From Little Acorns” book which Bronfman penned in 1970 and which details the history of the Seagram’s company.

The Old Montreal Distillery, located adjacent to the Port and Old Montreal, dates back to 1929. Sazerac purchased the Distillery in 2011 and brought distilling back to Old Montreal for the first time in decades when it installed a still and began producing whisky in early 2018. The Distillery has recently added a visitor center which pays tribute to Mister Sam and a gift shop. Public Tours will be offered soon.

The Sazerac Company’s “Mister Sam” is 122.6 proof and it will be available only in the United States and Canada for $249.99.

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Taking a page from parent company Sazerac’s annual Antique Collection release, the Last Drop Autumn Collection is available in very limited quantities and offers some of the rarest spirits in the world.

The 1980 Buffalo Trace Bourbon was distilled in 1980, at what was then George T. Stagg Distillery, now known as Buffalo Trace Distillery. In 1992 Sazerac Company purchased the Distillery in Frankfort, Ky. A few barrels rested until a complete inventory was taken in 1998, at which point the barrels were 18 years old. For two years, the barrels remained in place, until at twenty years old they were vatted into stainless steel, which is a very common process distillers use to halt the aging effects of the barrel on the whiskey.

However, as Sazerac knows from its experience with prolonging its Sazerac 18 Year Old Rye Whiskey, the taste and characteristics will change over time. After another 20 years in stainless, Sazerac and The Last Drop believe the forty years total maturation has produced one of the finest bourbons ever made.

The 1980 Buffalo Trace is release number 19 from The Last Drop and its second bourbon release, both of which hail from Buffalo Trace. Only 240 bottles of the bourbon are available worldwide for a suggested retail price is $4,600.

The 1976 “Overproof” Very Old Jamaica Rum is The Last Drop’s 20th release but its first rum. Distilled from pure sugar cane in 1976 and put into ex-bourbon barrels to begin its long maturation, this rum spent its formative years at home in Jamaica. However, the extreme temperatures also mean that rum will mature and evaporate rapidly. After several years there, this barrel, along with many others, was loaded onto a ship that set sail for Liverpool, England.

When The Last Drop team tasted this 43-year-old rum, they knew they had found the elusive liquid it had long sought, one worthy of being included in its first Autumn Collection. The 1976 “Overproof” Very Old Jamaican Rum will be available for a suggested retail price of $3,400. There are 183 bottles available worldwide.

The 1959 Vintage Grande Champagne Cognac is The Last Drop’s smallest release to date. Cognac has been at the heart of The Last Drop’s collection of spirits since the company’s earliest days, and this latest release is no exception.

This single cask of vintage cognac matured for over 60 years in its original barrel, and only enough for 21 bottles remained. The 1959 Vintage Grand Champagne Cognac is The Last Drop’s 21st release. The suggested retail pricing is $5,200.

The Autumn Collection is available now. As with all of The Last Drop releases, each bottle comes packaged with a signature 50 ml miniature and pocket-sized tasting book with additional pages for personal tasting notes.

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The house, located at the intersection of Canal and Magazine Street, is just a few hundred yards from the original 1850 Sazerac Coffee House—the site where the Sazerac Cocktail was first introduced and the American family-owned company was born in 1850. The experience allows guests to dive into the French Quarter in the 1800s, take a seat at a simulation of the original Sazerac House café tables, chat with virtual New Orleans bartenders about their signature drink recipes and learn how to build drinks from the famous Mr. Boston guide, based on their favorite flavor profiles. 

Guests will learn about the roots of the Sazerac family, which date back to the 1630s in France, explore interactive exhibits about the iconic Sazerac Cocktail, as well as learn about the impact of New Orleans on international cocktail culture. The Sazerac Company worked with a number of archivists to research and document all of the information in the exhibits. Guests can also take part in the production of Peychaud’s Bitters and Sazerac Rye Whiskey, marking the first time that whiskey has been legally distilled in the New Orleans Central Business District.

“The opening of the Sazerac House gives us a show-stopping homeplace in the heart of New Orleans, in a building with a history that aligns so closely to ours,” said Mark Brown, president and chief executive officer of the Sazerac Company. “The Sazerac House showcases our roots in this remarkable city, our commitment to our guests to create an incredibly memorable experience and our celebration of the Sazerac Cocktail.

The Sazerac House is a full renovation of two nearly 200-year-old buildings which were previously vacant for more than 30 years. Local historic preservation architects Trapolin-Peer Architects and Ryan Gootee General Contractors led the renovation efforts of the 48,000 square foot space over the course of two years. Throughout the renovation there was a focus on restoring and reusing historic elements of the building, which reduced landfill load by 5300 tons and saved 2.557 metric tons of CO2.

Sazerac has a history of buying hidden gems and restoring them to their natural beauty. In 1992 the company bought Buffalo Trace Distillery. Today, Buffalo Trace is one of only 2,600 national historic landmarks in the United States, employing nearly 500 workers, and welcoming more than 250,000 visitors a year.

The Sazerac House is open Wednesday through Saturday from 1pm to 6pm through the end of November, and will then be expanding its hours. Complimentary tickets, available here, are required for entry.

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The annual collection features five limited-release whiskeys of various ages, recipes and proofs. Here’s this year’s lineup:

This year’s George T. Stagg comes in at 116.9 proof this year, the lowest proof in this whiskey’s history. Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley cites barrels located on the lower warehouse floors as the reason. “Many of the barrels for this year’s Stagg composite were taken from the first floor of the warehouse,” says Wheatley. “The first floor is cooler with higher humidity levels, therefore the alcohol evaporates faster than the water.” This year’s release contains bourbon from barrels filled in the spring of 2004. Storage location of these barrels varied across warehouses C, H, I, K, and Q. The evaporation loss for this year’s batch was 56%, a bit higher than last year’s release.

The Antique Collection’s wheated recipe bourbon is William Larue Weller. The 2019 offering was distilled in the winter of 2007 and aged in Warehouse I. This bourbon registers in at 128 proof.

This year’s Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye was distilled in the spring of 2013; aged in warehouses K, M, and N, and weighs in at 125.7 proof.

Last year’s release of Eagle Rare went back to its roots with a proof change from the previous 90 proof back to 101 proof, in tribute to the original strength used when the brand was launched in 1974. The proof remains at 101 this year and will continue forward. This year’s release was distilled in the Spring of 2002 and has been spending its time aging on the first floor of Warehouse P.

2019’s Sazerac Rye 18 Year Old has notable flavors of vanilla and maple syrup, with a finish of black pepper and spearmint. The barrels for this whiskey were filled in the spring of 2001 and it rested on the second floor of Warehouses K and L.

The Antique Collection was introduced more than a decade ago and has become a cult favorite among whiskey connoisseurs. This year’s collection will be available in limited quantities starting in late September or early October for $99 each.

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Bronfman, or “Mister Sam” as he was known, propelled Seagram’s into the then largest and most successful distilled spirits company in the world and created some of the world’s most iconic spirit brands while at the helm of the empire until his death in 1971. The tie between the Seagram and Sazerac Companies was formed in the 1940s, when Sazerac’s owners became one of the first distributors of Seagram brands in the United States. Today, Sazerac owns 15 former Seagram’s brands including the iconic Seagram’s V.O., Seagram’s Five Star, and Seagram’s ’83, along with its own Distillery in Montreal.

The Mister Sam blend was created by Sazerac’s Master Blender Drew Mayville whose career included a 22-year stint at Seagram’s where he was the fourth and last Master Blender under the Seagram dynasty. Mayville had the vast array of Sazerac’s American and Canadian whiskey stocks at his disposal while developing the final blend. This project holds a special place in Mayville’s heart, a native Canadian now living in Kentucky.

“I was thrilled to be able to work on the blend for this exciting tribute whiskey,” says Mayville. “Mister Sam was known to say ‘Distilling is a science; Blending is an art,’ and he’s right. Creating the elusive perfect blend is every bit about experimentation and precision. We’re very proud of the whiskey we’ve created.”

Bottled at Sazerac’s Old Montreal Distillery in Montreal, Mister Sam is 133.8 Proof and will be released once a year. The bottles will be housed in an elegant wooden box (seen above) which will include a copy of the legendary “From Little Acorns” book which Sam Bronfman penned in 1970 and which details the history of the Seagram’s company. The recently bottled 2019 release features just 1,200 750ml bottles and will be sold only in the United States and Canada for $249.99. 

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