Month: February 2025

“It’s so funny that you mention it as a ‘milestone,’ I didn’t consider that when I was working on this release,” Master Distiller Elizabeth McCall tells Maxim. “We work so far ahead on our releases and, of course, releasing a product when the flavor is optimal, so I was thinking more about that than it being the ‘20th release.’”

Taking the reins at Woodford Reserve from the legendary Chris Morris, the man most responsible for elevating Woodford Reserve to the top of the bourbon conversation, McCall has shouldered the responsibility with great deft. Today she’s discussing a true milestone, the 20th release in the well-awarded Kentucky distillery’s highly coveted Master’s Collection: the fall 2024 Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection, Madeira Cask Finish. 

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“We have our own set of ‘guard rails’ for innovation within the Master’s Collection: only change one of the five sources of flavor,” McCall explains, highlighting how Woodford Reserve first introduced the Master’s Collection in 2006 with ‘Four Grain,’ an expression that played with mash bills. The following year, in 2007, Woodford Reserve was among the first bourbons to finish in wine casks. 

“It was quite controversial at the time, but is now a common practice by other distillers. This 20th expression marks that historic milestone, with a new Madeira wine cask,” notes McCall. “With each release you will notice that we change only one thing: grain recipe, maturation, or finish. We will not or have not changed the other two sources of flavor: water and fermentation. This allows our consumers to taste how changing just one flavor source changes the flavor of our whiskey.”

While the inaugural Master’s Collection in 2006 played with mash bills, the 20th iteration follows the 2007 expression by experimenting with wine finishes. In this case, using casks that previously aged renowned Madeira — a fortified wine from the Portuguese island off the coast of Africa, made famous during the Age of Exploration for being the launching pad for boats looking to cross the Atlantic (including Christopher Columbus’ own Niña, Pinta and Santa María).

As such, these voyages required fortified wines that could make the long voyage to the New World without spoiling. It also helped bring casks of the famed Madeira wines across the quickly expanding world map. “Madeira Cask Finish is a tremendous way to celebrate 20 years of the Master’s Collection,” the Master Distiller contends. She says with the Maderia finish she was hoping to enhance their whiskeys rich, dried, dark fruit character, as well as its nutty malt profile.

So Woodford Reserve finished a trio of their whiskies — bourbon, rye, and wheat — each separately in these Madeira casks, which McCall and her team tasted individually and then blended together. “I liked the blend flavor profile, I felt it had some delightful complexity,” she explains. “After I tasting the blend of just the whiskies finished in Maderia I knew I wanted to tone down the Maderia just slightly, and the wheat was the perfect whiskey for the job… it made sense to look to our wheat whiskey for blending.”

Although not as famous as their bourbon or rye, and only sold in limited markets, Woodford Reserve’s wheat whiskey mash bill is known for being “very fruit forward with hints of cinnamon.” Drawing from her extensive knowledge of Woodford Reserve’s offerings McCall knew this expression — the wheat whiskey without any Madeira second aging — would be the perfect ingredient to tone down the heavy Maderia influence. “That was magnificent! Hence the final product was born,” she says proudly. “When I taste this it reminds me of dried cherries sprinkled with baking spices, and a long lingering finish of a dried dark fruit medley and toasted walnuts.” Woodford Reserve ‘Master’s Collection 2024’ Madeira Cask Finish is available for $180 SRP. 

Follow Deputy Editor Nick Stecher on Instagram at @nickstecher and @boozeoftheday. 

The fast-moving world of Formula 1 is about to get a little more luxurious: Famed fashion house Louis Vuitton is now an Official Partner of F1 and the title sponsor of the Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Australian Grand Prix 2025.

There’s much to love in the world of Louis Vuitton these days, from a buzzed-about collection with Takashi Murakami (and a campaign starring Zendaya) to an ultra-luxe Men’s Ski Collection designed by the label’s creative director, music mogul-turned-fashion powerhouse Pharrell Williams.

The glittering new partnership embraces both fashion and motorsports, as Louis Vuitton will appear on trackside advertising, while its signature Trophy Trunks will be presented to winning drivers and teams following Formula 1 global races.

Louis Vuitton Trophy Trunks have graced the biggest stages in sports, including the Olympic Games, and that crossover between luxury fashion and the sleek world of high-end motorsports is set to deepen further. The tagline “Victory travels in Louis Vuitton” is a key element of the elevated crossover effort.

Its role as Title Partner of the Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Australian Grand Prix 2025 is also a major moment for LV, and is poised to stretch across the next decade. As reported by Hypebeast, the partnership “reflects the growing convergence of fashion, culture, sports and entertainment.” And as F1’s popularity grows in the United States seemingly with each pulse-pounding race, a bold collaborative effort is poised to lift both luxury fashion and high-voltage auto racing to an even more opulent level.

The NFL has drafted a clutch musical player for this year’s Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. The league announced that Post Malone will headline the YouTube Tailgate Concert just before the big game outside Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The tailgate show starts at 4 p.m. ET on February 9 and will air on YouTube.

It’s the second straight year that Postie has played at the Super Bowl—he performed “America the Beautiful” on the field ahead of last year’s championship game between the Chiefs and 49ers. Malone also joined Beyonce and Shaboozey for an NFL halftime performance during the Ravens vs. Texans game on Christmas Day.

The NFL has hosted a tailgate event since 2021, with Miley Cyrus, The Black Keys, Jason Derulo, Gwen Stefani and The Chainsmokers—who recently played at Maxim’s Las Vegas F1 Grand Prix party—all performing previously. Following Malone’s live set, 17-time Grammy-winning hip-hop superstar Kendrick Lamar will headline the halftime show. It was recently announced that singer (and past Lamar collaborator) SZA would join him on stage. Check out their splashy teaser video below.

With Harrison Ford on the payroll, Glenmorangie is pushing beyond the limits and expectations of the standard celebrity ambassadorship. The legendary leading man stars in the whisky label’s impressively full-fledged new Once Upon A Time In Scotland campaign, featuring a series of 12 shorts and a movie directed by actor, filmmaker (and star of Netflix’s excellent 2022 crime thriller, The Stranger) Joel Edgerton.

A prologue introduces the very meta premise, which is that a somewhat aloof version of Ford will be participating in a Glenmorangie campaign advertising the Original 12 Years Old and Infinita 18 Years Old expressions. “I’m going to Scotland. But I’m not doing all of that action-man shit they want. But I will sit by the fire and drink amazing, smooth Glenmorangie single malt whisky.”

Subsequent episodes show Ford somewhat haphazardly exploring the country, beginning with an impromptu tour of a Glenmorangie rickhouse punctuated by an exchange with employees who have little idea what’s going on. He then departs in a Jaguar E-type en route to the 19th-century Ardross Castle, landscapes surrounding Loch Glass and other Scottish sites as he bonds with locals, tries on kilts for size, and generally attempts to assimilate.

“I’ve spent my whole life watching commercials that follow an expected format and so I really like it when things are a little disruptive, fun, and irreverent,” Edgerton said of the campaign. “It was nice that we got a chance within the very traditional industry of whisky to get behind the scenes, to subvert the seriousness that often goes into an advertising campaign and have fun with that. I hope that people get to see the short film and the full-length episodes—and enjoy them and share them around.”

Glenmorangie also didn’t skimp on the stills, hiring acclaimed fashion photographer Lachlan Bailey to capture suave shots of Ford. Check out the prologue below and head to Glenmorangie’s website to see all 12 episodes as they’re available.

Ever changing the conventional wisdom behind timepieces and what a watch can be, the latest Ulysse Nardin timepiece strips things down to the basics altogether, part of a collaboration with fashion designer Amoureuxpeintre.

The sleek and minimalist 42mm timepiece, built with a anthracite lightweight sandblasted titanium case, is billed by the horologist as “an artistic interpretation of a horological object,” and calls back to the famed Ulyss Nardin “Freak” Watch. That particular timepiece debuted in 2001 with no dial, hands or crown, and the new Ulysse Nardin Blast [Amoureuxpeintre] is similarly minimal.

The unconventional partnership and watch proved a natural fit for Ulysse Nardin, said Chief Product Officer Jean-Christophe Sabatier, noting that the Kyrgyzstan-born designer sevolod Sever Cherepanov “is a very curious, intelligent and articulate designer,” adding that “he has an energy you find amongst younger generations, where everything feels possible, and boundaries do not exist.”

The ultra-clean, crisply designed watch is bolstered by the 96-hour power reserve of its Manufacture Calibre UN-371 movement, while the case and bezel itself “complement Amoureuxpeintre’s muted color palette and visionary aesthetic.”

An advanced laser technique lends a frosted look to the dial, which Ulysse Nardin calls a blurred effect. The skeleton construction remains visible within, and the watch is billed by the haute horologist as one of the most intricate,” in the Ulysse Nardin collection, said Jean-Christophe Sabatier,” not only in terms of modifying the components around the calibre but also in giving it a unique personality.” Accordingly, the elegant yet sporty Ulysse Nardin Blast [Amoureuxpeintre] retails for $32,700, befitting its groundbreaking design.