Buffalo Trace owner Sazerac has launched its first Tennessee whiskey.

The move follows the company’s 2016 purchase of a distillery in Newport n Tennessee from Avery’s Trail Distilling Co. 

The new AJ Bond whiskey is created by master distillers Allisa Henley and the late John Lunn.

The announcement comes a month after Sazerac’s takeover offer for Brown-Forman, the owner of Jack Daniel’s whiskey, was reportedly rejected.

In April, The Wall Street Journal reported Sazerac had made a roughly $15bn bid for Brown-Forman. Sazerac has never commented publicly on any interest in the company.

According to a statement issued by the company yesterday (1 June), the AJ Bond whiskey is made from a single mash bill featuring locally sourced ingredients.

The spirits giant also pointed to the offering’s “dual-distillation” process that uses pot and column stills.

“By combining pot and column still distillation and bonding those components after ageing, we have created a whiskey that sets a new standard for the category,” Henley said.

The new product is bottled at 47.5% abv and offers aromas of “wedding cake and caramel corn, complemented by butterscotch and a subtle redwood undertone”, added the privately-owned company.

The product is available in Tennessee through Sazerac’s distributor network at a suggested retail price of $39.99.

The company plans a broader roll-out to “select” US states later this year.

Additional whiskeys under the new AJ Bond Distillery portfolio are planned for release in the coming years, Sazerac said.