Up next in 10
This week on the Bourbon Bytes podcast, we’re diving into a packed week of whiskey news before heading to Northern California for a Byte-Sized Review of Redwood Empire Haystack Needle. Michter’s is releasing its first-ever Barrel Strength Sour Mash Whiskey, Maker’s Mark is back with a new edition of Star Hill Farm Whisky, Widow Jane is finishing bourbon in Tequila Ocho casks, Jack Daniel’s has a new hazmat rye release, and Four Roses is expanding its single barrel lineup. Plus, we take a quick look at upcoming video game releases, including Forza Horizon 6 and 007 First Light. Then it’s time for the main event: a review of Redwood Empire Haystack Needle, an 8 year, 7 month California bourbon single barrel pick from K&L Wine and Spirits, bottled at 119 proof. This bottle completely surprised me with bright red fruit, strawberry shortcake, dark chocolate, oak, and a finish that makes me wonder if Redwood Empire is helping define the future of California whiskey. Topics covered: • Brown-Forman sale update • Michter’s Barrel Strength Sour Mash • Maker’s Mark Star Hill Farm Whisky • Widow Jane x Tequila Ocho bourbon • Jack Daniel’s hazmat rye • Four Roses single barrel expansion • Forza Horizon 6 and 007 First Light • Redwood Empire Haystack Needle review Would you pay $130 for a craft California bourbon like this? Timecodes: 00:00 Intro – Michter’s, Maker’s, Jack Daniel’s & Redwood Empire 01:15 Brown-Forman Sale Update 02:02 Michter’s Barrel Strength Sour Mash 03:40 Maker’s Mark Star Hill Farm Whisky 05:44 Widow Jane x Tequila Ocho Bourbon 06:52 Jack Daniel’s Hazmat Rye Release 08:15 Four Roses Single Barrel Expansion 09:18 Video Game News – Forza Horizon 6 + 007 First Light 11:23 Byte-Sized Review – Redwood Empire Haystack Needle 17:31 Outro + Bourbon Bytes Hotline
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0:00
Today on the Bourbon Bites Podcast, Mictors has a historic barrel strength drop
0:05
Makers is bringing us a new batch of their Star Hill Farms whiskey. Jack Daniels is back with a new special release rye whiskey
0:12
And I have a bite-sized review of Redwood Empire Haystack Needle. hello everyone and welcome to the bourbon bites podcast i'm your host clifton and this is the week
0:33
of thursday april 30th 2026 and as with the past few weeks on the podcast we are filled to the brim
0:41
with news stories to talk about. So I'm going to try to get through as many of them as I can
0:45
in the 30-ish minutes of this podcast. But there are many more stories that I haven't covered in this week's episode
0:52
So if you do want to talk about those with your whiskey-loving friends, you can join our Discord server
0:57
We have a new bot set up that pulls in the latest and greatest whiskey news stories
1:01
from the moment they hit the news desk. So check it out, bourbonbites.com, and click the link to our Discord server there
1:08
because there's a lot more where these came from. The first of which is actually kind of breaking
1:14
news. So for the past few weeks, there have been a lot of conversations about Brown Foreman and how
1:20
it is up for sale. We talked a little bit about Sazerac being interested and Pernod Ricard
1:24
interested. Well, Pernod just announced that they are no longer continuing discussions. So I guess
1:31
they just couldn't reach an agreement. This doesn't necessarily mean that Sazerac is going to win
1:35
but it does mean that Sazerac is at the forefront of those discussions. Again, as that news comes in, I will share it with you guys
1:42
but just wanted to give you a little bit of a breaking news update that Pernod Ricard is no longer in those conversations
1:49
so we'll see what happens. For the full story, check out my podcast episode from April 16th
1:54
I go into detail about the sale and what it could mean for the bourbon industry
1:59
But that's not all the news we have. We have some really cool news coming in from Mictors
2:03
they've announced their first ever release of barrel strength sour mash whiskey. So Michter's
2:09
has been doing barrel strength rye and barrel strength bourbon for a while, but this is the
2:13
first time they've announced a sour mash cast strength release. Of course, in the past, they've
2:18
had the toasted sour mash and their standard lineup of just the sour mash whiskey. But they say this
2:23
is a tribute to the whiskey that they were making in the 70s and 80s, which was most popularly the
2:28
Sour Mash. And this is especially relevant because in 2019, Michter Sour Mash was the first
2:34
American whiskey to ever be named the Whiskey of the Year by the Whiskey Exchange. I remember when
2:39
this broke, everyone was seeking it out. I was super excited about it. I think that Toasted Sour
2:43
Mash is good, but being that lower proof, it's just kind of like an okay addition to their lineup
2:48
But getting it at barrel strength is super exciting. I would love to try what this whiskey
2:53
tastes like at a higher proof it says the 2026 release is going to come in at 111.5 proof so
2:59
it's a significant increase from the standard proof of this whiskey now it's also going to go
3:04
for 120 per bottle which is a bit high but for a barrel strength mictors whiskey it's not too far
3:11
out of the realm of reality i know that the toasted sour mash when it first came out was only like
3:16
$70 to $80 and then it shot up to you know over $100 for that even at the lower proof. I'm much
3:24
more interested in a barrel proof version coming in at $120 than just the toasted version at that
3:30
price. Now we don't know exact details of when this goes live but we do know it's coming out in
3:35
May so keep your eyes peeled for this. I know I will be. Another one I'm going to keep my eyes
3:40
peeled for is the second edition of Maker's Mark Star Hill Farm Whiskey. So this came out last year
3:47
and I never got my hands on it. Unfortunately, it just never quite hit my area in Southern California
3:53
But this time they're going to be back with a new edition of their Weeded Whiskey. This is going to
3:58
come in at 116.4 proof. It is a blend of two different mash bills, including whiskeys aged
4:04
seven and eight years old. Now this is made with three different wheat varieties and what makes
4:09
this Star Hill Farm release different from Maker's Mark is it's just a wheat whiskey. It's not a
4:15
weeded bourbon. So this is at least 51% wheat in the mash bill. Remember, this is huge for Maker's
4:21
Mark because they've never released a product without the Maker's Mark name. They've never released a product with a different mash bill until last year with this first Star Hill Farm's
4:28
release. So now we're getting an even further expansion into the lineup, this time incorporating
4:34
four different grain types including soft red winter wheat hard red wheat hard white wheat and barley So it is three wheats but there still some barley in there as well Their master
4:45
distiller, Blake Layford, told Food & Wine, if 2025 was about defining a new style, 2026 is about
4:52
mastering it. They said this is a dynamic process where our team continues to blend, taste, and
4:57
debate, using our growing knowledge of the category to hone in on the best possible flavor profile
5:04
Like I said, I didn't have a chance to try the release of this from last year, but this one sounds even more exciting
5:11
I love their experimenting even further. I love this for them. Listen, I know Maker's Mark is known for their weeded bourbon
5:17
It's a fantastic staple in the world of American whiskey, but I do like to see some experimentation
5:23
And this is the first Fourier into that. And it seems to be going really well because I heard some very positive things about the 2025 release
5:31
So if I get my hands on either of them, I will absolutely do a review here on the podcast or on my YouTube channel
5:37
By the way, youtube.com slash bourbon bites, where I go live every Thursday night, 7 p.m. Pacific, 10 p.m. Eastern
5:44
Now, also sticking to the experimental topic, Widow Jane is introducing a bourbon finished for eight months in tequila Ocho casks
5:53
It's coming out in May as well. They say this is the first time that tequila Ocho has allowed their barrels to be used to age whiskey
6:00
It's always been exclusively for their tequila expressions. And they say this is a rekindling of the spirit of collaboration between these two brands
6:09
And it's kind of a follow-up because back in 2022, Tequila Ocho released a Reposado tequila
6:14
that was aged for eight weeks and eight days in Widow Jane bourbon barrels
6:19
So it makes sense for them to repay the favor and age their 10-year-old whiskey in the tequila casks
6:26
Now this release will come in at 91 proof retail price of about $75 and while we don't know exactly
6:32
where this is going to be available we do know it's going to be out in May 2026 so keep an eye
6:36
out this sounds like a really fun one I love an experimental cask and I always love seeing that
6:41
kind of cross collaboration you know we'll give you our barrels if you give us yours and this just
6:46
seems like a really cool experiment so well done for those folks I'll keep an eye out for that one
6:50
as well. Now I also want to quickly mention the fact that Jack Daniels is doing yet another release
6:55
of their special edition rye whiskey. So this one is coming in hot and I mean hot. Proof wise it's
7:02
going to be 142.7 proof. Yes that is a hazmat whiskey. It is not age dated but it's going to
7:10
be about 8 to 10 years old according to the distillery. Now these are going to be coming in
7:13
as 375 milliliter bottles priced around $65 each. So again quite a bit different from the standard
7:21
single barrel rise or the barrel strength rise we already have on the shelves. These are almost
7:26
double the cost, but they are high, high proof. Now, this release is supposed to highlight three
7:31
distinct barrel houses on the company's campus, and all of them are coming in at over 140 proof
7:37
So the proof I've read earlier is from one specific release of it, the 142.7, but every
7:42
single one in this new batch is over 140. So it's all hazmat. Now, unfortunately, this release is
7:48
being sold exclusively at the White Rabbit Bottle Shop in Lynchburg, Tennessee at the Jack Daniels
7:53
Distillery. So if you are local, keep an eye out for those. I would love the opportunity to try them
7:59
I've had some really high proof Jack Daniels rye whiskey and it's been incredible. So it makes
8:04
sense for them to do more of this. I just hate to see it being a little more limited to the
8:08
distillery itself, but I'm happy for those folks, I guess. All right, last bit of whiskey news. I do
8:14
want to mention the fact that Four Roses is expanding its single barrel lineup. These are
8:19
the Red Label single barrels we've been seeing pop up with specific recipes. Well, they've now
8:24
expanded three new expressions to this lineup as of March of this year. They're going to be adding
8:30
OESQ, OESF, and OBSK releases to this. Now, these are all 100 proof, same as the other Red Label
8:38
single barrels, but they're going to be aged between seven to nine years old. Of course
8:42
if you're curious about the differences between those recipes you can check it out on the Four
8:46
Roses website but these are coming in at $50 a bottle and I've heard good things. I've had a
8:51
chance to try a couple of these. I've never done the full lineup of what was available but this
8:55
makes me really curious to seek out these new releases and see how they compare to the first
8:59
batch. So let me know if you have a chance to pick up any of these new recipes from this lineup
9:05
I think it's a great opportunity to try these individual recipes and not pay the price of a
9:09
single barrel pick. You know, these are $50, 100 proof and well aged
9:14
So I think it a win for fans of Four Roses All right Lastly before we get into our bite size review I do a little bit of video game news You know we gotta keep the video game twist in the name There are some new games coming out this May
9:27
that I want you guys to know about. Whether or not you pick them up is up to you. The first of which that I know a lot of folks
9:33
are really excited about is the new Forza game. Forza Horizon 6 is coming out on Xbox Series X, S, and PC
9:40
This has been a long-awaited sequel to the Xbox original game. It's set in Japan this time
9:47
and it's coming out on May 19th. I've seen some of the visuals from this game. It's a very vast
9:53
open world set in the Kanto region, and it just looks beautiful. I've always loved the Japanese
9:58
landscape, and I think they do a really good honor of that in this game. There's a gameplay teaser
10:05
out now. There's a lot of different videos teasing the looks of this world, and it's just beautiful
10:10
It's everything you would expect from a Japan-based racing game. Now, the other game that I think many of you would be excited for is the new 007 game
10:19
It is called 007 First Light. And this is coming to all platforms, PS5, Xbox, PC
10:25
I guess not Nintendo Switch, but it'll probably make its way there eventually. So this was announced back in 2020, and it's going to be the first proper James Bond game since 2012
10:35
And from what I'm hearing, a lot of people are cautiously optimistic about this release
10:40
As someone that grew up with GoldenEye on Nintendo 64, it's going to be hard to beat that one
10:44
Classic 007 games have always had a soft spot in my heart. And this new one, you know, like I said, cautiously optimistic is a good way to think about it
10:52
There hasn't been a new game in this series in 14 years. So I'll wait to see the reviews
10:56
I definitely won't be buying this like a day one purchase. But I want you guys to know about it because it's a pretty big deal that we're finally getting a new 007 game for the modern era
11:06
But that does it for this week's Whiskey and Video Game News. I think it's time to get into our bite-sized review
11:20
Alright, well for this week's bite-sized review, I have a fun one coming in from none other than
11:26
California. We have a new single barrel select of Redwood Empire's Haystack Needle. And this is
11:34
slightly different than other releases if you've heard of this before because this is actually
11:38
distilled and bottled at their distillery. So this is an eight year seven month pick from them
11:44
distilled grain to glass in Northern California. And this is a barrel pick from K&L Wine and Spirits
11:50
which is my local liquor store. And they have done some incredible picks. So I'm very excited to try
11:57
my first take at High Proof High Age Redwood Empire. This was coming in at 119 proof and
12:06
And it's super exciting to me because as someone that lives in California, I love to see great spirits coming from here
12:13
And I've heard good things about these haystack needle picks. Funny enough, the first time I saw one was when I was in North Carolina and they were the first to get a pick, apparently
12:21
Not sure how that happened, but I'm glad to see that K&L has finally got their own
12:25
So this is some of the oldest stock available of Redwood Empire's own distillate
12:29
They didn't start laying down barrels until 2016. So with this being an eight year, seven month pick, this was coming out about a year into their process of making their own whiskey, which is super exciting
12:41
Now, the mash bill is 72 percent corn, 18 percent rye, 5 percent wheat and 5 percent malted barley
12:47
So this is indeed a four grain whiskey. This was distilled in December of 2016 and bottled without chilled filtration and is bottled at natural cast strength of 119 proof
12:59
Now, price on this was $130, so not cheap by any means
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But when it comes to Redwood Empire's own stuff, that's relatively within their line of pricing just across the board
13:11
Now, I've heard that some of these previous Haystack Needle releases have been, you know, older, but they are sourced from places like MGP
13:18
So this is some of the first stuff coming out of their distillery themselves. And I'm very happy to give it a first impression review
13:26
By the way, this is one of the bottles that I shared with my bourbon terabytes and bourbon daddies over on my Patreon or Bite Club membership
13:35
They get a monthly sample box where I share some of the things I'm excited about
13:38
And this is one of the ones they're getting for the month of April. So if you are curious and trying some of my favorite new pickups, definitely check that out
13:46
BourbonBites.com. You can see all the details there. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a message
13:50
I'm happy to answer them and let you know all the perks of joining the Bite Club
13:55
Of course lower tiers like the tier gets you access to our monthly movie night and the tier gets you access to our after hangout after every live stream on YouTube
14:05
It's a great community, and I just want to say thank you to all my Bite Club members who have supported me up to now, and all future Bite Club members who may join me in the future
14:14
You make this possible. Actually, this bottle was recommended to me by them
14:17
They said, you know, we want to try this. Buy it. So, of course, I did
14:21
Listen, I listen to the people, right? I give back. but let's go ahead and give this Redwood Empire eight-year-old haystack needle a nose
14:30
Oh, surprisingly bright. There's some nice fruitiness here in the glass. Not too much oak
14:37
surprisingly. I kind of thought with this being eight years, it was going to have a lot of oak
14:41
up front, but really it's bright and fruity. I like that. You know what's funny? It has a bit
14:46
of a jammy quality. Like, I don't know if it's like a raspberry jam or something like a fruit
14:50
filling on a pastry, but it's really bright. I, again, I'm kind of thrown off by this because
14:58
it's so bright and fruit forward. You know, after this first nose, I had to take a quick look at what
15:04
other people were saying, and they're saying strawberry shortcake, and yes, holy moly, that is
15:08
such a strong red fruit note. I'm glad I'm not the only one getting that. All right, I'll look away
15:14
because, again, I don't want to be influenced by too many people, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy with that bright red fruit nose. Let's go ahead and give it a taste though. This is my
15:21
first impression of Redwood Empire Haystack Needle. Cheers! Wow okay yeah not too far off from the
15:29
nose. It's not as bright of a strawberry nose but it's still juicy and sweet for sure. It's working
15:35
super well at that proof point as well. You know the the heat actually helps enhance some of that
15:40
like mouth kind of tingles that's happening that reminds me of like a like biting into like a juicy
15:45
piece of, dare I say it, a juicy strawberry. Okay, I'm still in the strawberry mood. Wow, this is
15:51
crazy. But beyond that, I'm starting to get a little more of the oak on the palate than I was
15:55
getting on the nose. It actually has a nice background. It's kind of like a dark bitter note
15:59
It's almost how a dark chocolate would work with a bright cherry note. It's really complimentary
16:03
and it's actually tastes pretty darn good. Probably some of the richest and most flavorful
16:08
bourbon I've had out of California, and I'm glad to see their stuff finally come of age because
16:13
we can really see where their distillery shines. You know, not only are they great at aging and
16:18
sourcing, but they make a damn good bourbon. This is on par with being some of the best bourbon I've
16:24
had all year, so there's a good chance this could make my top 10. Finish-wise, it does go on for
16:29
quite a while. It's definitely one that sticks around, but lingers with those brighter, sweeter
16:34
notes that I think make it unique and some of the most interesting bourbon I've tasted all year
16:39
So overall, I'm genuinely impressed with this hay sack needle. I don't know if it's just this pick, because I know K&L does some incredible picks, but it could just be that this whiskey at this age just is worth every penny
16:53
So when I paid $130, I was a little hesitant about the price point. But now that I've had a chance to try it, I think it's worth the money
16:59
And dare I say, this is an 8.5 out of 10 for me. I mean, it's a little pricey for a relatively, you know, youthful bourbon
17:08
But for it being a craft distillery out of California, it gets some points for me
17:13
I look forward to trying this whiskey at even older ages because I think it's holding up really well
17:17
It's not over-oaked, and it tastes like it has a lot of room to develop a really unique characteristic that could maybe define the flavor of California whiskey
17:26
So, I'm here for it. If you guys have had a chance to try one of these Haystack Needle picks, let me know if you experience the same thing
17:32
or if I'm just gushing over a really good barrel pick, because it could go either way. I've not had another one to compare it to
17:39
If so, you can reach out to me, contact at bourbonbites.com. You can also give me a call, because we have a Bourbon Bites hotline that is open for any questions or comments you have
17:47
on my takes on things on the podcast. You can call me at 916-642-9837 or 916-64-bytes with a Y
17:58
Thank you all so much for listening. Make sure to follow me wherever you get your podcasts and
18:01
leave a thumbs up slash rating review if you can. It does mean the world to me. I'm really trying to
18:06
grow out my social media presence across all the platforms. So wherever you follow me, just give me
18:11
a like or a review. It does mean a lot. I'll talk to you guys next episode. And until then
18:17
this has been the bourbon bites podcast a whiskey podcast with a gaming twist
18:21
cheers and i'll talk to you next episode bye
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