Colorado distiller Jake Norris, the founding force behind Stranahan’s and Laws Whiskey House, is returning with a new venture centered on creativity and community. Announced on March 23, The Curated Barrel Project will see Norris and a team of industry partners release eight limited bottlings over two years, each building on a 7‑year‑old high‑rye bourbon base. The whiskey is currently distilled in Statesville, North Carolina at Southern Distilling Company using a mashbill of 75% corn, 21% rye and 4% malted barley.

The first edition, slated for April 2, will showcase the straight bourbon without additional finishing. Subsequent releases will explore exotic cask finishes ranging from rum and cognac to sherry and port. Bottles will be sold exclusively through the project’s web shop, and customers can add tickets to an associated pairing dinner held at the Arvada distillery roughly a month after each release. Each event will feature local chefs and encourage conversation among guests.

Norris emphasises that the project is as much about experience as it is about whiskey. Every bottle will include a small magazine with stories, tasting notes and a curated music playlist. The team is also offering a membership program guaranteeing access to all eight releases, first dibs on dinner tickets and a commemorative tote bag. Memberships and single‑bottle purchases open April 2 at 10 a.m. Mountain Time.

“We want whiskey to be about sharing, not collecting,” Norris said in the announcement. As the creator of Stranahan’s famed Snowflake series, he has long championed experimental cask finishes. The Curated Barrel Project doubles down on that philosophy while adding a communal element.

Interested drinkers can learn more at the project’s Curated Barrel Project page, read about Jake Norris’s past work with Stranahan’s, or explore Southern Distilling Company, which produces the base spirit. The initiative invites enthusiasts to gather around a table, not just a bottle, and to savour stories as much as spirits.