Drink Like a Bootlegger With Lock Stock & Barrel’s 16-Year-Old Rye Whiskey

The 107 proof Philly rye was inspired by a bygone era.

Philadelphia’s Cooper Spirits Co. is coming out with a new limited edition 16-year-old rye whiskey bottled at 107 proof in homage to a bygone era of illicit saloons and bootleggers of frontier America. 

Only 3,000 bottles of the Lock Stock & Barrel 16-Year-Old, which just copped a double gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, will be released this month at a suggested retail price of $149.99.

Building on the success of Lock Stock & Barrel’s 13-year-old expression, it is also double pot stilled and unfiltered to create the finest and rarest straight rye whiskey available. It achieves the most intense flavor possible while “maintaining the balance and nuance of a tightly woven fabric of aromatics that dance between rich, sweet dried fruits and intoxicating spices.”

Lock Stock & Barrel was double distilled by Canada’s Alberta Distilleries Ltd. from a rare mash bill of 100 percent rye grain in copper pot stills with a “robust cut” selected by master distillers, unfiltered, then aged in cold weather for 16 years in newly charred American oak barrels. 

It is explosively flavorful, yet perfectly balanced, with notes that suggest roasted acorns, sour grass, wild cherries, stewed blackberry, dried pear and sassafras.

Bottled in Philadelphia, the whiskey comes in a black glass bottle with a gold embossed label and wood cork closure for a vintage feel. Lock Stock and Barrel 16 is meant to be savored neat, though no one would fault you for adding a large ice cube or a splash of spring water. 

So long as you’re pouring for two….