Chattanooga Whiskey has announced the release of its 2025 Vault Series, featuring three long-finished single barrel bourbons available December 11 at the Experimental Distillery for US$46.99 per 375ml bottle. The limited collection revisits Apricot Brandy, XA Tequila, and Sauternes finishes from the brand’s Experimental Single Batch Series, extending finishing times to four to five years.
The release comprises just three single barrels with proofs ranging from 123.2 to 132.0, yielding fewer than 800 bottles total.
“Those original batches had varying finishing times between 3-19 months and yielded a range of subtle to pronounced effects, whereas for these barrels, we threw caution to the wind and pushed our finishing times to four to five years, leading to much more dramatic results,” said Grant McCracken, founding distiller.
Unlike previous releases, the distilling team used Chattanooga’s signature mash bill across all three barrels rather than selecting specific mash bills to complement each finishing cask.
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“Rather than building a specific profile through mash bill curation and blending, we took a more restrained approach with these long finishes,” explained Tiana Saul, head distiller.
“Using the strong foundation of our signature mash bill as the ‘canvas’, we gave these barrels the time and space to develop on their own – resulting in a series of familiar yet evocative profiles with deep, sophisticated characteristics.”
Official tasting notes from the brand describe the Apricot Brandy finish as featuring orange marmalade and jasmine, while the XA Tequila finish offers banana bread and crème brûlée notes.
The Sauternes-finished expression presents white peach and wildflower honey characteristics.
Chattanooga Whiskey operates “the only standalone experimental distillery” in the United States, welcoming over 50,000 visitors annually.
The company successfully challenged Tennessee laws in 2011 to become the first distillery to produce whiskey in Chattanooga in 100 years.
