Tap List | J. Rieger & Co. Releases Holiday Whiskey  Warm Feelings Abound

This week we’re going to take a quick detour from the taproom to the distillery to let you know about an exciting local release about to hit the market. 

J. Rieger & Co. has announced its 2022 Holiday Edition Kansas City whiskey. This release will be a blend of their Straight Bourbon, Straight Rye and Light Corn whiskies along with having a hint of sherry.

The bottle will run you $40 retail and will be available exclusively in Kansas and Missouri. Of course, you’ll be able to pick it up at J. Rieger’s East Bottoms distillery as well.

This year’s label was designed in collaboration with Charlie Hustle. The two decided on a cozy fireplace scene to evoke the warm nostalgic feeling of the holiday season.

The distillery also will be bringing back holiday cocktails starting on Black Friday. This year they’ll be offering a hot whiskey cider, spiced sangria, and distiller’s nog. You’ll be able to enjoy these cocktails at any of the distillery’s bars. Each holiday cocktail will come in a limited edition souvenir mug.

In case that’s not enough, Rieger announced they’ll be hosting holiday night markets featuring a cast of rotating local vendors. Holiday night markets will take place the first three Fridays and Saturdays in December from 6-10 p.m. To make the experience even more jolly, Rieger will have carolers singing festive tunes in their Electric Park Garden Bar.

The new holiday whiskey won’t last long so be sure to grab it before it disappears for a year!  

Beer Releases

Servaes Brewing Co. — 10921 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, Kansas — had a happy accident that led to the creation of a new beer perfect for the season. Runaway Yam is a 5% ABV sour ale that is reminiscent of sweet potato pie. It was brewed with sweet potatoes, squash, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and brown sugar.

3 Trails Brewing Co. — 111 N. Main St., Independence, Missouri — just released Active Straw, a hazy double IPA. This 9% ABV beer pours a straw to light golden color with a soft, pillowy head. It’s very tropical with flavors and aromas of passion fruit, papaya and coconut.

Alma Mader Brewery — 2635 Southwest Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri — has been pushing the envelope with its beers, especially IPAs. This week the brewery decided to release a classic hazy double IPA. Content Creation comes in at 8% ABV and is bursting with flavors and aromas of peach-mimosa and strawberry-kiwi. It has a soft, pillowy mouthfeel and finishes with some classic West Coast bitterness.

Border Brewing Co. — 512 E. 18th St., Kansas City, Missouri — brought back one of its popular seasonals. Sweater Weather has made an official return to Border’s tap lines. The beer is an easy drinking brown ale that comes in at 6.4% ABV. It’s got a delicious flavor profile featuring notes of cinnamon, roasted dates and vanilla.

City Barrel — 1740 Holmes St., Kansas City, Missouri — has a new beer to help you whisk you away to warmer locales. They just released Yacht Rock, a 7.2% ABV West Coast IPA. It’s plenty juicy from the hop makeup. This IPA was brewed with Citra Incognito and then dry hopped with Centennial, Chinook, Citra and Simcoe. Let your taste buds sail away with this deliciously hoppy brew.

Beer Events

Friday, Nov. 25

Red Crow Brewing — 1062 W. Santa Fe St., Olathe, Kansas — is releasing new holiday glassware just in time for holiday shopping. To celebrate, they’re throwing a party that includes some fun specials. Individual glassware will cost $12 on Friday only during the event before jumping up to $15. You can also snag their $14 combo deal where you can get a glass filled with any beer, cider, mimosa or seltzer you want. Throughout the day Red Crow will be offering beers for $5.50 along with $5 mimosas and seltzers.

Saturday, Nov. 26

Servaes Brewing Co. — 10921 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, Kansas — wants you to kill two birds with one stone. Get some holiday shopping done during Small Business Saturday with Servaes’ Helianthus Books pop-up shop. Helianthus Books will be at the taproom from 1-4 p.m. selling their line of carefully curated books. As a bonus, you can try all of the beers Servaes will release for Black Friday.

Crane Brewing Co. — 6515 Railroad St., Raytown, Missouri — is getting in on the Small Business Saturday fun. They’ll be hosting a holiday sip and shop event in the taproom. You’ll be able to shop for holiday gifts from eight different vendors including Carmona’s Chamoy, Meek’s Treats Co, Poppy Seed Homestead and Stitched on a Tuesday.

Transport Brewery — 11113 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, Kansas — has an event for a good cause. They’ll be hosting a Military Road IPA Release Party & Fundraiser. For the event, Transport will be partnering with Caregivers on the Homefront, Ritter Cigar Co. and Cigars for Warriors. A portion of the sales from Military Road IPA will be donated to Caregivers on the Homefront. You can also purchase cigars from Ritter Cigar Co. to be donated to Cigars for Warriors who will then send them overseas for our troops. Last but certainly not least, Smoke N Seoul will be out front with their food truck serving up delicious Korean inspired BBQ dishes.

Sunday, Nov. 27

Crane Brewing Co. — 6515 Railroad St., Raytown, Missouri — wants you to wind down after your long Thanksgiving weekend with another iteration of their Sip ‘N Stretch yoga classes. The class is taught by instructor Teri Cartwright from Way of Life Yoga. The hour-long class is meant for everyone from beginners to pros. Tickets cost $15 and include one beer after the yoga class is over.

Alex Andujar is a former beer sales rep turned personal trainer. When he’s not training clients you can find him trying new beers at many of Kansas City’s great local breweries.