NEW YORK, August 14, 2025 – Independent bottlers were an exclusively Scottish phenomenon until Joshua Hatton and Jason Johnstone-yellin founded Single Cask Nation™ in 2011. Today, the country’s leader in the category is showcasing the range of American whiskey through its latest release of rare and exceptional single cask and limited-edition bottlings, available exclusively through its website’s e-commerce platform beginning this month.

Bottled by whisky geeks for whisky  geeks, these new expressions were hand-selected by Hatton and Johnstone-yellin, whose Single Cask Nation was named Independent Bottler of the Year in 2024 and 2025 by Whisky Magazine’s Icons of Whisky America Awards. “Single Cask Nation focuses on bottling unique whiskies with flavors that always differ from bottle to bottle,” says Hatton. “Despite this variation, one consistent feature across all our releases is a signature texture. Each bottling must have a rich, viscous mouthfeel, which is essential for selection, ensuring that every whisky offers a satisfying, almost indulgent, experience.”

New York Distilling 10 Year Old Rye Whiskey
(67.8% ABV; 700ml; $100 SRP; 123 bottles)
10 years in a new charred oak barrel

Nose: Leads with delicate spice (turmeric, cumin, and coriander) but follows with cherry cordial, bergamot, and toasted walnuts. The wood notes build over time with a cedar-like spice taking center stage and a pipe tobacco sweetness playing an accompanying role.

Palate: Hot damn! A multi-layered and extremely lively tasting experience with notes of dark rye bread, cinnamon, wax Cherry Lips, black tea, freshly ground black peppercorns, brown sugar, and even pecan pie. It’s not shy!

Finish: Lingering notes of dark cherries, dark chocolate, dark rye bread, and cocoa powder.

“With this being our very first New York Distilling  Rye, we wanted to showcase the DNA of the distillery’s rye and put the mashbill up on a pedestal to highlight the distillery’s artistry,” explains Hatton. “This is New York Distilling Rye  whiskey through and through but dialed up to 11, nay, 13. This is not your typical rye  whiskey, either, in that it’s not that herbaceous dill-like rye. This is warmer with notes of tobacco, bergamot, cherries, and dark chocolate. This shows you a side of rye you don’t normally get to see.”

Balcones 4 Year Old Peated American Single Malt Whiskey
(66.3% ABV; 700ml; $80 SRP; 150 bottles)
4 years in a 1^st fill bourbon barrel

Nose:   Brightly vegetal with enveloping wood smoke and fruit cocktail syrup around the edges. In time there’s melted milk chocolate, Whoppers, and white chocolate cheesecake with just enough wood spice to keep the sweet elements in check.

Palate: Richly textured with abundant bright flavors (jalapeño skin, salted limes, grilled lemon slices, lemon bars) but with a pleasing earthy smokiness and a return of the wood spice from the nose.

Finish: The peat smoke lingers but the memory is of bright citrus, milk chocolate, and sea salt.

“This is our third release from Balcones but our first peated cask from them,” says Johnstone-Yellin. “We went with a first-fill bourbon barrel to make sure we were highlighting the beauty of the Balcones spirit. You don’t often get to see peated Balcones exclusively from a bourbon barrel as their peated whiskies are quite often married with a number of other cask types. This is a rare opportunity, to be sure, and a beautiful showcase of their spirit. The liquid is so richly textured you’d never guess it was 66.3% ABV.”

Cedar Ridge 5 Year Old Peated American Single Malt Whiskey
(61.4% ABV; 700ml; $80 SRP; 150 bottles)
Aged 5 years in 1^st fill Sauternes barrique (2-year finish)

Nose: An inviting, foody-like nose offers up warm buttery apple crumble with a slightly burnt crust, some Yuzu jam over buttered crumpets, all rounded out with some warm, somewhat nutty, muesli covered with crushed apricots. There are two sides to this coin, however, as along with the foody-like notes there’s a pleasing coal sootiness with present petrichor, and the smell of being in an auto shop (hints of new tires, sweet motor oil, and even fresh coffee from the break room).

Palate: The peat comes at you like an excited puppy but quickly calms to reveal notes of white chocolate covered apricots, shaved almonds, smoked quince jam (if there were such a thing), and hearty granola with light brown sugar. The French Sauternes oak offers up lovely spice that has the liquid dancing on your tongue. Subsequent sips reveal notes of charred lemons, honeycomb, and Honey Nut Cheerios™. The mouthfeel was nice and rich from the beginning, however, with water, the oily quality of this spirit seems to increase five-fold.

Finish: Lasting peat smoke that’s complemented by a Meyer Lemon sweetness, apricot jam, and smoked almonds.

“We worked closely with Murphy Quint at Cedar Ridge on this initial release,” says Hatton. “The challenge we had put in front of Murphy was to pull cask samples from some casks he felt best represented his distillery. Each and every cask sample Murphy sent us was a winner but, in the end, we had to pick what fit our palate best and that was this ex-Sauternes cask. This is what the ‘Spirit of Collaboration’ means, and we take it very seriously. We can’t thank the folks at Cedar Ridge enough for working with us on this initial release. It’s a banger!”

“Independent bottling is a longtime tradition in Scotland, so we always take great pride in applying the tradition to American producers,” says Johnstone-Yellin. “Our most ardent whisky fans, those we lovingly refer to as ‘Caskheads’ within ‘The Nation’ – some of whom have been with us since we started 14 years ago – expect us to uncover the unexpected and these three expressions are sure to delight.”

In addition to the independent bottlings released online, Single Cask Nation also offers distinct bottlings through select retailers nationwide. Joining The Nation is as simple as purchasing a bottle from the Single Cask Nation website. In addition, Hatton and Johnstone-Yellin are the co-hosts of the One Nation Under Whisky podcast.

For more information on Single Cask Nation, go to https://singlecasknation.com/ and follow @singlecasknation on Instagram.