BHAKTA Spirits, the world’s preeminent House of Vintages, announces the launch of its inaugural whiskey vintage — marking a milestone in the portfolio’s boundary-breaking evolution into vintage spirits, a burgeoning category widely seen by experts, collectors, and consumers as the next frontier of craft spirits.
This landmark single-year whiskey curated from the global cellars of Whistlepig Whiskey Founder Raj Peter Bhakta signals the beginning of BHAKTA Spirits’ ‘Drink Vintage’ campaign; his first-ever bourbon, this singular vintage release symbolizes the tycoon’s return to his infamous métier — whiskey — which vaulted him to prominence as an iconic progenitor of the American craft spirits movement.
BHAKTA 2013 Bourbon (SRP $149) is a 99% corn bourbon from the 2013 vintage. Given a secondary cask finish in French Oak barrels which previously held ancient Armagnac vintages dating back to and including the ultra-rare BHAKTA Vintage Armagnac 1868, BHAKTA 2013 Bourbon is distinguished by a finish like no other bourbon on the market today. BHAKTA’s entry into vintage whiskey — and its founder’s return to the category after his successful exit from WhistlePig in 2019 — marks a new chapter in the story of one of the whiskey’s most iconoclastic innovators.
Considered a “legendary figure in the liquor world” and the pioneer who “spearheaded the rye revival of the last decade and inspired countless imitators,” Bhakta’s inaugural bourbon will be followed by further vintage releases across all major categories — whiskey, rum, tequila, and more — which will dramatically expand the BHAKTA portfolio and complement its crown jewel, BHAKTA Armagnac (SRP $199–$22,000), whose range of rare vintages and blends encompasses nearly every year back to 1868.
After exiting WhistlePig, Bhakta unearthed a historic cache of Armagnac vintages in a storybook French château while on a global sabbatical in search of craft spirit’s next big breakthrough. Acquiring the ancient cellar and property, Bhakta continued adding to the company’s stocks by aggressively seeking out the world’s finest vintage spirits of all ages, expressions, and categories. These miraculous finds have positioned BHAKTA as the world’s preeminent House of Vintages.
This initial limited release of BHAKTA 2013 Bourbon — consisting of only 2,000 cases — is now available in twelve states: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois, Wisconsin, Colorado, California, Texas, Georgia, Florida, Vermont, and Tennessee, to be followed by a launch in Michigan in April. BHAKTA 2013 Bourbon is also available for purchase through partners linked at bhaktaspirits.com and ships to 41 states.
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