Holladay Files Three: Ancient Cave Double Oaked and New 4-Year Entries for Both Brand Names

Missouri's oldest distillery — Holladay in Weston, operating on its original limestone-spring site since 1856 — swept through TTB approval with three new labels in late May 2026, and together they sketch a picture of a distillery expanding in two directions at once: upward with a complex, cask-strength experimental release and outward with what look like accessible entry-level expressions for both of its principal brand names.

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Ancient Cave Collection Double Oaked

The most technically interesting of the three, this is a new chapter in the Ancient Cave Collection — Holladay's experimental secondary-finish series that ages its barrels inside the 1837 stone cave structure on-site (now housing 72 specialized ricks). The label makes the spec sheet unusually legible: Soft Red Wheat mash bill (Holladay's wheated recipe of 73% corn, 15% red wheat, 12% malted barley), aged 7 years, 6 months, then re-barreled into American Oak, Char #3 for a secondary "double oaked" finish. The label carries both Cask Strength and a listed proof of 100/50% ABV — but for a cask-strength designation, that figure is almost certainly a COLA filing placeholder; the actual bottling proof will be confirmed at release and could land considerably higher or lower depending on the barrel. Everything here — distilled, aged, and bottled by Holladay Distillery, Weston, MO — is in-house, no sourcing involved. Prior Ancient Cave releases have included a French Oak, Heavy Toast Char 1 expression reviewed by critics in late 2025; the Double Oaked slots in as a more classically American finishing profile, using a heavier char to amplify vanilla and caramel notes on the wheated base. Holladay describes Ancient Cave releases as rare and, historically, distillery-exclusive — no retail availability has been announced for this expression yet.

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Holladay 1856 Original (4-Year)

The neck strip identifies this as "Holladay 1856 Original" — the same fanciful name as the distillery's established flagship — but the specs here diverge meaningfully from what's currently on shelves. The label reads Missouri Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Aged 4 Years, 750ml, 40% Alc./Vol. (80 proof). The existing Holladay 1856 Original is a Bottled-in-Bond, 100-proof expression aged 6+ years; this filing describes a younger, lower-proof product that, as filed, would not carry BiB designation. As always with COLA filings, proof can shift before release, but the 4-year age statement is a regulatory floor and won't change. Whether this represents a new entry-level tier, a label refresh for a different market, or something else entirely remains unclear — no announcement has surfaced yet. The back label confirms the same production address: Holladay Distillery, Weston, MO.

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Ben Holladay 1856 Original (4-Year)

Filed the same day as the Holladay 1856 Original above, and structurally identical in specs: Ben Holladay Missouri Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Aged 4 Years, 750ml, 40% Alc./Vol. (80 proof), distilled, aged, and bottled at Holladay Distillery in Weston, MO. The neck strip reads "Ben Holladay 1856 Original." The existing Ben Holladay 1856 Original is a small-batch, non-chill-filtered, Bottled-in-Bond expression released monthly with a barrel-blending chart — a prestige-tier product at 100 proof. The parallel timing of these two lower-spec filings (one under "Holladay," one under "Ben Holladay") suggests a deliberate, coordinated product strategy rather than a one-off refresh. No public announcement has accompanied either label filing.

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Holladay is clearly building infrastructure — Rickhouse D was breaking ground in early 2025 — and a batch of new COLA filings this varied suggests the distillery is simultaneously deepening its premium Ancient Cave line while potentially laying groundwork for a broader, more accessible tier. We'll be watching for shelf appearances or official announcements.