Onyx & Amber Announces Commodore’s Cut: A Whiskey Collaboration Rooted in Service, Built on a Standard That Honors It

Commodores Cut #1 Single Barrel 11 Year Bourbon

Two brands that refuse to compromise on what’s right come together to select the finest barrels — and honor the bravest among us

DENVER, CO, UNITED STATES, May 5, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Onyx & Amber today announced Commodore’s Cut, a new whiskey collaboration with retired Navy Captain Don “Willie” Williamson. Together, they are releasing limited single-barrel expressions personally selected by CAPT Williamson from Onyx & Amber’s premium sourced inventory — each one held to the uncompromising standard that has defined both brands. A portion of every sale is directed to organizations that serve and support military, law enforcement, fire and rescue, and emergency medical services.

The partnership begins with a shared conviction: that the right barrel — like the right choice when it would be easier to settle — is worth waiting for. Onyx & Amber built its reputation on sourcing exceptional whiskey and giving it the time and environment it needs to become what it’s meant to be. CAPT Williamson built his life the same way — earning his place, holding firm regardless of the pressure to do otherwise. When he walked into Onyx & Amber’s Denver tasting room, what he found wasn’t just a whiskey. He found a philosophy he already lived.

For Onyx & Amber, the collaboration is a natural extension of who they are. Before the brand existed, founder Benjamin Rosen spent a decade conducting over 150 single-barrel selections and raising more than half a million dollars for charitable causes — a commitment woven into Onyx & Amber from its very first barrel selection. Commodore’s Cut carries that same intention forward: that exceptional whiskey and genuine service to others are built on the same principles — patience, transparency, and the conviction that putting your name on something is never a casual act.

“There are people who hold a standard because it’s the right thing to do — not because someone is watching, not because there’s a reward in it,” said Benjamin Rosen, founder of Onyx & Amber. “Don is one of those people. So is every barrel we release. Nothing leaves until it’s ready. Nothing gets through that doesn’t deserve to. That’s not a coincidence. That’s a choice — one we make every time, with every barrel, without exception.”

The first release
Commodore’s Cut No. 1 is an 11+ Year single barrel bourbon sourced from Indiana, bottled at 109.9 proof from a Canton Cooperage barrel air-dried for 24 months — a process that contributes directly to its richer, sweeter character. Before Cut No. 1 was selected, other barrels were considered and set aside — not for lack of quality, but because they hadn’t yet become what they were meant to be.

Cut No. 1 releases on May 11, 2026, in conjunction with the Naval Helicopter Association Annual Symposium — the first of four planned releases in 2026, each timed to a date that holds meaning for the communities this collaboration exists to honor.

Like every Onyx & Amber expression, each Commodore’s Cut release is a one-time event. The barrel that produced it will never exist again. The conditions that shaped it — the years, the wood, the air, the time — will never align the same way twice. What’s in the bottle is what existed once. That is not a limitation. It is the entire point. And it is precisely that rarity — the irreplaceable nature of what each bottle holds — that makes the trust represented by every Commodore’s Cut release something worth honoring.

“People are buying this bottle before they ever taste it. That’s trust — the same kind of trust that every person in uniform, every first responder, every person who runs toward danger extends every single day. My job is to make sure neither of those acts of trust goes unrewarded. The whiskey has to be worthy of the pour. And the pour has to be worthy of the people.” — CAPT Don “Willie” Williamson

About CAPT Don “Willie” Williamson
CAPT Don “Willie” Williamson served 26 years in the United States Navy, retiring as a Navy Captain with the honorary title of Commodore — earned through his final command as Commander of Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing, US Pacific Fleet. He flew helicopters, commanded a squadron, and served as Executive Officer of an amphibious assault ship during the Second Battle of Fallujah in 2005. After the Navy, he spent over a decade in industry leadership before stepping away to care for his aging parents full-time — a chapter he describes as the best 2.5 years of his life. He still serves today, chairing his county’s Veterans Advisory Board and EMS Board.

For Don, a glass of whiskey has always carried meaning beyond the pour. His father — a 22-year Air Force veteran — introduced him to bourbon at the Friday evening gatherings where Don first learned what leadership sounds like. He calls those moments a leadership incubator. That thread runs through everything he has built since.

About Commodore’s Cut
Commodore’s Cut is a whiskey collaboration founded by retired Navy Captain Don “Willie” Williamson. The brand selects premium single barrels in partnership with Onyx & Amber, releasing limited expressions tied to the service community’s calendar, with a portion of every sale directed to organizations serving military, law enforcement, fire and rescue, and emergency medical services. For more information, visit commodorescut.com.

About Onyx & Amber
Onyx & Amber is a Colorado-based whiskey brand built on a decade of genuine immersion in the whiskey community. Founded by Benjamin Rosen — who spent ten years conducting over 150 single-barrel selections and raising more than $500,000 for charity through the Colorado Bourbon & Rye Collectors group — the brand was created around a specific discovery: no one was doing what Onyx & Amber does — sourcing exceptional, already-aged whiskey and finishing it in Colorado, where the climate transforms it into something that can’t be made anywhere else. And the barrel selection experience that enthusiasts once loved had quietly disappeared after COVID. Onyx & Amber was built to bring both to market.

Based in Denver, Colorado, with appointment-only Kentucky experiences now open in Louisville. No reruns — every release is a one-time expression. For more information, visit onyxandamber.com.

Benjamin Rosen
Onyx and Amber
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