Well, we’re here, folks. September. Fall is just around the bend. Then come the last months of 2023, which makes it prime whiskey season! September (and the month leading into it) is always a wild time for whiskey releases. Brands want to fill those shelves with special bottles to grab our attention (and money) as we start looking for truly special bottles to bring to holiday parties and give as gifts.
Below, I’m calling out 30 whiskeys that have just hit shelves or are hitting shelves this month. It’s a lot. There’s serious variety, from Islay limited edition peat monsters to instant classic Kentucky bourbon single barrels to rye whiskey masterpieces to beautifully finished Highland single malts. It’s a smorgasbord of whiskey options. There’s truly something for everyone on this list of brand-spanking-new whiskey releases.
Since this is a list of great whiskeys, I didn’t rank them. That said, the bigger price tags are at the bottom. My advice is to read my tasting notes on each entry, find the whiskey(s) that speak to you, and then smash that price link to see if you can snag a bottle. Be warned, there are some serious whiskeys on this list that are not going to be at your corner shop in Anytown, USA — you will have to get lucky to find some of these. Good luck out there!
Jack Daniel’s Bonded Rye Tennessee Rye Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $39
The Whiskey:
Jack Daniel’s took the bourbon whiskey world by storm last year with their Jack Daniel’s Bonded Tennessee Whiskey. This year, they’ve upped the ante with a Tennessee Rye version. The base is Jack’s signature rye whiskey with a mash bill of 70% rye, 18% corn, and 12% malted barley fermented with their own yeast and lactobacillus. The juice is then twice distilled via column stills and then slowly filtered through 10 feet of sugar maple charcoal. That filtered whiskey then rests in a barrel for four long years before batching, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Ripe peaches, cherries, Granny Smith apples lead on the nose with a light sense of molasses winter ginger cakes, a touch of cinnamon bark, and light hints of dry sweetgrass that’s just smoldering.
Palate: The taste really leans into the toffee with a good dose of eggnog spices and creaminess before veering toward roasting herbs and more sweetgrass braided with cedar bark, pipe tobacco, and smudging sage.
Finish: The end warms up just enough with red peppercorns and dried ancho chili layered into light dark chocolate tobacco leaves and more of that sweetgrass.
Bottom Line:
This is a nice, fruity, and grassy rye whiskey that drinks so easily. Seriously, this over some rocks is fire. It also makes a killer whiskey-forward cocktail. The best part? This will be on every shelf nationwide for under $40 by the middle of the month. Buy a case.
Blue Run Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Trifecta Blend
ABV: 58.55%
Average Price: $179
The Whiskey:
The latest release from craft bottler Blue Run is a blend of three ages of barrels that all lean into “wood heat”. In this case, the 189 barrels were six-, eight-, and nine-year-old barrels of wood-forward bourbon that were batched and bottled as-is at barrel strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Vanilla-dosed milky lattes with a touch of cinnamon stick drive the nose toward a hit of dried chili, old clove, and brown butter with a light sense of apple cider and figs.
Palate: The apple and cinnamon take on a mulled cider vibe on the palate with macadamia nut cookies, sourdough bread crusts, and soft caramel candies cut with mint syrup.
Finish: The soft and espresso-laden vanilla returns on the finish with a creaminess that helps the finish stay silky as a whisper of smoldering orchard barks and winter spice barks sneak in with a nice warmth.
Bottom Line:
This nice and very easy sipper feels like creamy bourbon from top to bottom. Pour this over ice and that creaminess really starts to lean into eggnog and buttercream pie.
McTavish Bottled-In-Bond Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $75
The Whiskey:
This brand-new whiskey brand from Graham McTavish (Outlander, House of the Dragon, etc.) is a lovely built batch of whiskey. The whiskey is made from a classic mash of 75/21/4 (corn/rye/barley) that’s left to rest for seven years. Those barrels were proofed down to bottled-in-bond standards and bottled as-is otherwise.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Caramel chocolate candies and vanilla cake with sprinkles drive the nose toward cinnamon and clove heavy nutcake, eggnog, and a soft layer of burnt orange zest.
Palate: The vanilla creates a lush buttercream on the palate as dark Black Forest Cake with spicy stewed cherry and very dark chocolate leads to more nutmeg and cinnamon with a fleeting sense of pipe tobacco and smoldering marshmallow.
Finish: The end leans into old oak and a light sense of fall orchard leaves, more stewed cherry, and creamy vanilla with a line of spiced winter bark warmth.
Bottom Line:
This is just really good sipping whiskey that’d also work wonders in a simple whiskey-forward cocktail.
Glenmorangie Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky The Cadboll Estate Aged 15 Years
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $99
The Whisky:
The new batch of Glenmorangie’s beloved Carboll Estate is here. This year’s edition is made with two barley harvests from Glenmorangie’s own estate-grown barley (on the Carboll Estate). Once distilled on Glenmo’s iconic copper pot stills, the whiskey is aged in American oak (ex-bourbon casks) primarily. The final batch is vatted with a few barrels of Amontillado sherry casks as well.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Beautiful notes of hazelnut bathed in floral honey drive the nose toward stewed peaches over buckwheat pancakes, soft jasmine, and a hint of cold slate slick with rainwater.
Palate: The floral honey opens the palate toward fresh gingerbread, Nutella, and clove-laced orange layered into toffee dropped in roasted almond with this fleeting sense of summer herb gardens and bright yellow nasturtiums.
Finish: A touch of toasted coconut adheres to the gingerbread and toffee on the finish with a dash of bourbon vanilla, creamy mocha latte, and old oak stave.
Bottom Line:
This is quintessential sipping malt from the Highlands. It’s so dialed in and just … fun. Take it slow and enjoy the ride over a rock, in a cocktail, or neat.
Remus Straight Bourbon Whiskey Highest Rye Aged 6 Years
ABV: 54.5%
Average Price: $49
The Whiskey:
This new edition of Remus from MGP of Indiana’s flagship brand is all about rye grains. The bourbon is made with a mash of 51% corn, 39% rye, and 10% malted rye (no barley here, folks). That whiskey was left to age for six years before batching and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Maple syrup over vanilla-heavy pancakes pop on the nose with a sense of peach pie and mint tobacco over cinnamon bark, barrel must, and old boot leather.
Palate: That peach pie takes on a canned peach vibe on the palate with vanilla sheet cake drizzled with caramel and buttercream icing before rum raisin and leathery figs arrive with a dose of menthol tobacco packed into an old cedar box.
Finish: Bold warmth from the woody spices is countered by vanilla buttercream and eggnog on the finish with deep boot leather, old cedar humidors, and still-smoldering sage with a light sense of barrel house floors.
Bottom Line:
This is a deep and warm whiskey that’ll work wonders either over a big ice cube or in your favorite whiskey-forward cocktail.
Nashville Barrel Company Single Barrel Straight Bourbon Whiskey Topflight Series by ReserveBar
ABV: 59.7%
Average Price: $90
The Whiskey:
This single barrel from Nashville Barrel Company is a six-year-old MGP bourbon with a classic 75/21/4 (corn/rye/barley) mash bill. The barrel was pulled in late May 2023 and the whiskey was bottled 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This has a classic bourbon nose full of maple syrup over fresh pancakes with Nutella, vanilla sheet cake, and Cherry Coke all mingling together nicely.
Palate: The palate sharpens with hot cinnamon and clove-heavy Dr. Pepper (still cut with cherry) while cashews and dark chocolate nut clusters lead the taste toward hot cinnamon tobacco.
Finish: Sharp mint and cherry compote with plenty of hot cinnamon and clove drive the finish toward chili pepper-laced tobacco on a hot finish.
Bottom Line:
This is a really accessible NBC release. It’s beautifully straightforward while delivering a deep profile that’s dialed. I’d lean more towards mixing my favorite cocktails with this one, but it works perfectly well as an on-the-rocks sipper too.
Hemingway Rye, Signature Edition Straight Rye Whiskey Finished in Rum Seasoned Oloroso Sherry Casks
ABV: 51%
Average Price: $79
The Whiskey:
The second release from Hemingway Rye is a blend of six-year-old Indiana rye (classic 95/5 rye/barley) with a four-year-old Kentucky 95/5 rye. Once those whiskeys were batched, the rye was re-barreled in Oloroso sherry casks that held rum.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a hint of dry sweetgrass over berry brambles before veering into nut cake and rum-soaked raisin with a hint of spice barks and vanilla cream.
Palate: Caramel cut with orange oils and dipped in dark chocolate drives the palate toward clove and nutmeg-heavy eggnog with a touch of vanilla sugar cookies, orange cake, and a medley of dates, figs, and prunes.
Finish: That dark fruit folds into a sticky toffee pudding vibe with more of that chocolate-covered caramel and dark orange with a lush finish.
Bottom Line:
This is quintessential rye that goes a step further. The berry and grassy notes just work. Drink this neat or over a big rock and let the day slowly fade into night.
Blackened X Rabbit Hole A Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys Distilled in Tennessee & Kentucky Finished in Calvados Casks Cask Strength
ABV: 53.3%
Average Price: $149
The Whiskey:
This brand-new collaboration between Metallica’s Blackened and Rabbit Hole is masterful whiskey. The blend is a 13-year-old Tennessee high-rye bourbon batched with Rabbit Hole Heigold High-Rye Double Malt Bourbon (with malted rye and malted barley). Once batched, the whiskey was re-barreled into Calvados casks (an apple brandy) for a final rest before 100% as-is bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a nice sense of chili pepper warmth on the nose with a hint of macadamia cookie nuttiness, honey Graham Crackers, light summer florals, and a whisper of darkly stewed apple.
Palate: Cinnamon-infused pear brandy sparks on the palate with a sense of clover honey, walnut loaf, and this thin line of smoked applewood with a good sense of barrel warmth.
Finish: The honey and walnut drive the finish toward a soft warmth that leaves the gentlest of numbness on the senses.
Bottom Line:
This is another whiskey that’s just good. Drink it however you like to drink your whiskey.
Barrell Bourbon Cask Strength A Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskeys Batch #035
ABV: 58.75%
Average Price: $84
The Whiskey:
This brand-new blend of bourbons from Barrell Craft Spirits is a masterclass in blending. The mix starts off with six, seven, and eight-year-old Indiana bourbons and then adds in seven and 13-year-old Tennessee whiskeys alongside an eight-year-old Kentucky bourbon. That blend is then bottled 100% as-is at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Old fruit leather and plum jam drive the nose toward zucchini bread, orange oils, and Sioux City Sasparilla with a hint of old dark chocolate bars stacked with cedar bark, dry pipe tobacco, and rum raisin.
Palate: Orange-infused hot chocolate with a touch of dried red chili mingles with anise and port on the palate as eggnog and buttercream smooth everything out toward pine-driven earthiness.
Finish: Hazelnut ice cream and Almond Joys arrive on the finish with a sense of rainwater, old rye bread crusts, and soft winter spice barks with a hint of Cherry Coke.
Bottom Line:
This is another homerun from the Barrell Craft Spirits crew. Overall, this is a great sipper that really benefits from time, water, and examination as it’ll just keep opening up deeper and deeper notes as you slowly sip.
Larceny Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Barrel Proof Batch No.: C923
ABV: 63.2%
Average Price: $59
The Whiskey:
The last Larceny Barrel Proof of 2023 is a batch of six to eight-year-old wheated bourbons from Heaven Hill in Kentucky. The barrels were batched and bottled 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Lovely cinnamon cakes with a hint of milky malted chocolate shake cut with cherry, vanilla, and clove mingle on the nose next to salted caramel and maybe some smudging sage.
Palate: The sweetness of the nose carries over on the palate with a sense of cherry pie and cinnamon-laced mulled wine over cinnamon butter toast and chili-laced hot chocolate with mini marshmallows.
Finish: That cherry and chocolate dominate the end as the warmth sneaks in very slowly and leaves you with a soft numbness that’s accented with cinnamon holiday cakes and brandy-soaked cherry.
Bottom Line:
This is a great candidate for on the rocks sipping as the leaves start to turn.
Kentucky Senator Bourbon Release #4: John Sherman Cooper Very Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 8 Years Old
ABV: 54%
Average Price: $134
The Whiskey:
That latest edition of Kentucky Senator honors one of Kentucky’s biggest names in the Senate in the 20th century. Senator Cooper was a dear friend of JFK and served as everything from a judge to foreign ambassador. The whiskey in the bottle is a Bardstown bourbon made with 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. That hot juice was aged for eight years before six barrels were chosen for this small batch. Once batched, the whiskey was just touched with water before bottling, yielding only 1,000 bottles.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Soft spiced stewed cherry cut with orange oils and covered in salted caramel and vanilla crumble mingles with soft oak on the nose with this fleeting sense of Cherry Dr. Pepper and cedar kindling.
Palate: Walnut bread with a whisper of orange and banana drives the palate toward dried cherries dipped in salted dark chocolate and piled high on a pecan waffle with salted caramel drizzle and whipped buttercream before a hint of white pepper sneaks in.
Finish: Orange-cinnamon syrup drives the finish toward leathery tobacco rolled with cedar bark and smudging sage on the slow and warm finish.
Bottom Line:
The new Kentucky Senator Bourbon is a must-have slow sipper. It’s another example of the great barrels of Kentucky bourbon that are getting bottled right now. Drink it slow and enjoy the depth.
Rebel Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Single Barrel
ABV: 60%
Average Price: $53
The Whiskey:
This is Lux Row’s classic wheated bourbon recipe from 1849. The mash is made with 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley before it’s distilled and then left to mature for at least four years. Once aged, the whiskey barrels are batched and then bottled as-is at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Pecan waffles, pancake syrup, and blueberries drive the nose with a hint of toasted marshmallow and old oak.
Palate: Those blueberries drive the palate toward honeyed Graham Crackers with a sense of almost floral honey, wet brown sugar, and old boot leather.
Finish: That honey amps up through the finish with the leather as cedar kindling and dry tobacco round out the hot finish with a sense of chili peppers stewed in brown sugar syrup with cinnamon and clove.
Bottom Line:
Rebel is the unsung hero of the Kentucky bourbon scene. It’s always there, it’s always good, and it’s always affordable. You can’t beat that trio. With this one, I’d recommend starting off on the rocks and then moving into whiskey-forward cocktail mixing.
Gentleman’s Cut Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $79
The Whiskey:
This brand-new bourbon from NBA superstar Steph Curry is a classic Kentucky bourbon done right. The whiskey is made with a mash of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. After distillation, it’s left to age for five to seven years before batching, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rich vanilla and salted caramel dance with dried red chili and old saddle leather on the nose with a hint of winter spice, malted vanilla, and chocolate-covered espresso beans.
Palate: The taste opens with honeyed doughnuts next to cinnamon apple cider, eggnog, and more of that salted caramel with a buttery underbelly cut with dark chocolate.
Finish: The end stays soft and supple with a hint of old oak, leather tobacco pouches, and winter spice cake covered in hard dark chocolate with a hint of salt.
Bottom Line:
This is surprisingly good whiskey for a celeb brand. The price point is high but not egregiously so. It works as a slow sipper or great cocktail base.
Barrell Rye Cask Strength A Blend of Rye Whiskeys Batch #004
ABV: 57.85%
Average Price: $84
The Whiskey:
This brand-new blend of ryes from Barrell Craft Spirits combines four styles of rye. The main component is five, six, and 10-year-old Indiana rye mixed with a five-year-old Tennessee rye, a 6-year-old Kentucky rye, and a 14-year-old Canadian rye. Once batched, those whiskeys were bottled at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Leathery candied fruits and berries drive the nose toward tobacco leaves, roasting herbs, and nasturtiums with a whisper of woody sasparilla just kissed with spearmint and sesame seed.
Palate: There’s a candied fruit vibe on the palate with pecan waffles, butter, maple syrup, and a touch of burnt marshmallow dipped in creamy espresso that leads to anise and old boot leather.
Finish: Hazlenut shells and marzipan lead to a whisper of dried botanicals like juniper and ancho chili with a woody sense of dried herbs and tobacco dosed in old brandy.
Bottom Line:
This is a stellar rye whiskey. I’d buy a case.
Baker’s Single Barrel 13 Years Minimum Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 53.5%
Average Price: $450
The Whiskey:
This brand-new re-release of Beam’s Limited Edition “Minimum 13 Year” Baker’s just dropped. The whiskey in the barrel is from single barrels that hit just the right mark for something special. Beyond that, there’s not much else to know besides this is Baker’s at a high age that shines bright.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a nice sense of dried sweetgrass, salted ballpark peanuts, and old vanilla pods that leads to softer notes of marzipan, vanilla sheet cake, and mild cherry.
Palate: Soft winter spices and minty tobacco drive the palate toward smudging sage and roasting herbs with a sense of marzipan slowly building on the mid-palate with a minor key of orange and cherry.
Finish: The vanilla sneaks in on the finish with more roasting herbs and dry grassiness with a hint of menthol, peanut shell, and distant oak.
Bottom Line:
Baker’s is the outlier in the Beam lineup. It’s always funky and unique in all the right ways. Pour this over a single rock and follow the winding sensory path it takes you on.
Starlight Distillery Old Rickhouse Bottled-In-Bond Double Oaked Rye Whiskey Toasted Series
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $49
The Whiskey:
This new release from Indiana’s Starlight Distillery is a blend of their 90/10 and 80/20 (rye/barley) rye whiskeys that are 4.5 to 6.5 years old. Those whiskeys were then finished in heavily toasted French Canton barrels for a final mellowing before a touch of proofing water and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Orange-laced salted caramel is countered by rich and bold huckleberry pie and stewed blackberry compote with a big dollop of buttercream with plenty of vanilla and toffee.
Palate: That orange darkens with winter spice barks and berries next to a rich vanilla creaminess that leans toward eggnog and creamy caramel all accented by a nice layer of soft oakiness.
Finish: The end is lush and just warm enough with dark winter spice, burnt orange, and brandy-soaked marzipan next to a lush sense of vanilla cake cut with stewed dark berries.
Bottom Line:
This is another great rye — ’tis the season! You are going to have to be in Indiana to get this at a good price (at the distillery) but it’s worth it. This is great stuff.
Little Book Chapter 07: In Retrospect Blended Straight Whiskeys
ABV: 59.35%
Average Price: $149
The Whiskey:
You know it’s fall whiskey season when Freddie Noe drops a new Little Book. Chapter 7 is a big blend of mostly bourbon and rye barrels with a single malt (finished in applewood smoked barrels) thrown in for good measure. The bourbons in the batch are four to 18 years old while the ryes are four to 10 years old. The final batch is bottled 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Clove-studded oranges open the nose with a bold sense of salted caramel, dark chocolate sauce, floral honey, and old vanilla cookies just kissed with almond oils and confectioner’s sugar before hitting light notes of old earthy cellars full of old firewood and leather boots.
Palate: That floral honey opens the palate with a soft vanilla cake covered in rich buttercream amped with marzipan and salted toffee before chili-laced chocolate tobacco drives the whole taste back toward earthiness and whiskey-worn oak.
Finish: The end has a soft warmth that slowly builds with winter spice barks, clove-spiked mulled wine, black-tea-soaked dates, rum raisin, and candied orange peels and cherries with a touch of malted chocolate cookies and vanilla tobacco rolled with smudging sage and dry cedar bark.
Bottom Line:
Yup. Excellent. You know what to do.
Ardbeg Anthology: The Harpy’s Tale Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $178
The Whiskey:
This brand-new Ardbeg limited edition is a funky masterpiece. The Islay whiskey was aged in Sauternes wine casks (a French dessert wine) and ex-bourbon barrels right next to the sea. After 13 years, those barrels were vatted and kissed with local spring water for bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Beeswax and unfiltered olive oil greet you on the nose with a deep sense of fatty roasting herbs, saddle soap, floral honey malted biscuits, vanilla-laced condensed milk still in the can, and blackberry brambles — dirt, berries, thorns, et al.
Palate: The salted meaty fat from the roasting herbs drives the palate toward absinth botanicals, smoldering beeswax candles, raw sugar rock candy, and this fleeting sense of smoldering white moss next to eucalyptus oils in a warm clay pot.
Finish: Smoked apricot and plum arrive on the finish with a hint of toasted coconut layered into a rich and creamy South Asian curry full of turmeric, cumin, and cardamon with a twist of smoked lemon and burnt cinnamon bark.
Bottom Line:
I really like this. It’s so funky and fresh. There’s nothing quite like this. It also really opens up with time and water. The fatty smoked meatiness and fruits just go deeper with an incredible creaminess that opens up toward espresso and vanilla butter. This is the good stuff.
Garrison Brothers Cowboy Bourbon Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 70.45%
Average Price: $249
The Whiskey:
This year’s Cowboy Bourbon from Garrison Brothers is a blend of only 118 barrels of six-year-old Texas bourbon. 1,000 bottles of the crafty Texas whiskey will be available in mid-September at the distillery with an additional 8,600 bottles going out nationwide the first week of October.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a rush of sharp cinnamon bark wrapped up with old saddle leather, freshly fried apple fritters, walnuts, old cedar bark braids twisted up with dried wild sage, and a hint of dried yellow mustard flowers with an underlying sense of maple syrup over pecan waffles.
Palate: The palate leans into the spice with a hint of allspice and ginger next to apple pie filling with walnuts, brandy-soaked raisins, and plenty of brown sugar next to spiced Christmas cake dipped in dark chocolate sauce.
Finish: The end takes its time and meanders through salted caramel, stewed plums with star anise and sharp cinnamon, a hint of vanilla Dr. Pepper, and a mild sense of chocolate-cinnamon-spiced chewing tobacco buzziness with a warming Texas hug that’s part Hot Tamales and part chili-spiced green tea.
Bottom Line:
This is still the best bourbon out of Texas.
Legent Yamazaki Cask Finish Blend
ABV: 57%
Average Price: $214
The Whiskey:
This new version of Legent leans into the marriage of Kentucky and Japan in the bottle. The whiskey is a straight bourbon from Beam that spent eight years mellowing in Kentucky. That whiskey was then sent to the Yamazaki Distillery outside of Kyoto, Japan where blending legend Shinji Fukuyo transferred the whiskey into French and Spanish oak casks for another rest before batching again and re-filling the whiskey into the incredible Yamazaki Spanish Oak whisky casks for a final rest before blending, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a leathery sense of old dried chilis that have just been kissed with heat before a sense of dried cranberry and rich malted chocolate take the nose toward soft plummy cakes full of soft powdered spices.
Palate: A hint of maltiness comes through early on the palate with a fleeting sense of smoked red berries before deep vanilla buttercream creates a luscious foundation for rich pipe tobacco, cranberry sauce cut with anise, clove, and nutmeg, sticky toffee pudding, and mulled wine cut with toffee and dry reeds.
Finish: The spices warm on the finish before descending toward soft nutcakes and winter-spiced doughnuts with a light sense of stewed plum and pear over old saddle leather and rickhouse dank.
Bottom Line:
This is a slow clap that leads to thunderous applause sort of whiskey. It takes a moment but once you really give into it, it’ll take you deep.
Old Forester 2023 Birthday Bourbon
ABV: 48%
Average Price: $169 (Sweepstakes Only)
The Whiskey:
This year’s Birthday Bourbon is a subtle masterpiece expression from Lousiville’s oldest distillery. The whiskey in the bottle is hewn from 103 barrels that were filled on May 5th, 2011. Those barrels were housed on the 5th floor of Warehouse I in Louisville for 12 years for batching, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Candied orange peels draw you in on the nose as molasses and rum raisin lead to salted dark chocolate-covered coffee beans, old cedar bark, and dry orchard barks layered with soft winter spice barks and dark cherry.
Palate: That candied orange drives the palate with a sense of Luxardo cherries, old rickhouse dirt floors, and oak staves before rummy molasses and dark fruits — think dates, figs, and prunes — lead to a cedar tobacco vibe.
Finish: The end sweetens at first with a honeyed orange caramel before swinging back toward the coffee beans and cedar tobacco with a soft sense of old orchards in late fall.
Bottom Line:
If you didn’t win a bottle this year, fear not. This year’s Birthday Bourbon is about to hit bar and restaurant shelves around the country. That’s going to be your best bet at finding this one (outside of astronomical secondary market prices).
Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged Limited Edition 2023 Release
ABV: 57.85%
Average Price: $149
The Whiskey:
Maker’s Mark is a solid wheated bourbon. That means that when they do something special for a limited edition, it’s often excellent. In this case, Maker’s released a new batch of 11 and 12-year-old wheated bourbon barrels in this cask strength expression. Long story short, this is well-aged Maker’s turned all the way up.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Dark cedar and old leathery dates and apricots come through on the nose with a sense of crème brûlée (especially the burnt sugar topping), dark berry fruit leather, and a smoldering sense of old oak staves roasting some cinnamon bark and cloves.
Palate: The vanilla takes on a burnt bean pod vibe as long notes of winter spice barks lead back to dark berry crumbles and cobblers with a sharp warmth tied to smoldering oak staves, pipe tobacco, and smudging sage.
Finish: The end gets super creamy thanks to the vanilla buttercream and eggnog spices as the dark berry fruit leather offers a counterpoint before the old cedar kindling and sage take back over.
Bottom Line:
I feel like a broken record at this point. This is delicious whiskey and going to make a lifelong Maker’s fan very happy while getting a whole slew of new fans for the iconic brand.
Starlight Distillery Carl T. Huber’s Bottled-In-Bond Double Oaked Bourbon Whiskey Toasted Series
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $79
The Whiskey:
This starts off with Starlight’s high-corn bourbons that are four to six years old. Once batched, the whiskey is refilled into new toasted oak from France for an additional six to eight months.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a sense of soft apricot leather next to dark fruit layered with dry spice barks and berries, toasted oakiness, and fluttering moments of woody tobacco imbued with red chili pepper spice.
Palate: A clear dry cedar kindling vibe leads to creamy eggnog, plenty of moist winter spice cakes, and black tea cut with creamed honey on the palate.
Finish: The dark fruit darkens on the finish as dry kindling, sweet oak, and rich chewing tobacco dance with dates, figs, and plums with a distinct almond shell nutty/woody feel that ends on a warm hug of a fireplace on a cold fall day next to a fallow orchard.
Bottom Line:
This is an excellent bourbon from Indiana. Get it if you can, and then just let it wash over you.
Four Roses 2023 135th Anniversary Limited Edition Small Batch Select
ABV: 54%
Average Price: $199 (Lottery Only)
The Whiskey:
This year’s Four Roses LE Small Batch is only 15,060 bottles. In those bottles, you’ll find a blend of 12, 14, 16, and 25-year-old barrels of whiskey. Those barrels are perfectly balanced to bring deep flavors to the batch before proofing and bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Rich winter spice cakes with roasted nuts, rum raisin, and soft vanilla oils vibe with old cedar kindling, hints of dill, and a faint touch of marshmallow that’s spent too much time in the fire.
Palate: The palate is all sticky toffee pudding and honey cake with a rush of red huckleberry and tart raspberry next to pear cider cut with clove, cinnamon, and allspice and a faint touch of brandied marzipan.
Finish: The finish turns into a luscious masterpiece of soft pear brandy-soaked marzipan with creamy dark chocolate and spiced Christmas nut cakes next to a soft chili tobacco dipped in molasses.
Bottom Line:
If you didn’t win a bottle of this year’s LE Small Batch from Four Roses, don’t worry. There will be bottles at great whiskey bars and restaurants soon. It’s worth the wait!
Ocotmore Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Super Heavily Peated 14.1 Edition Aged 5 Years
ABV: 59.6%
Average Price: $135
The Whiskey:
2023’s Octomore’s have arrived. The 14.1 Edition is made with 100% Scottish-grown Concerto barley that was heavily peated during the malting process. The barley was fermented and distilled in 2017 and left in the barrel to age — in ex-bourbon casks — next to the sea on Islay until 2023 when it was batched and bottled 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose beckons you in with a soft and moist coconut cake imbued with rich vanilla, soft buttery toffee, roasted almonds, and salted caramel all smoked next to a seaweed-fed fire as whispers of slow-smoked pork butt and grandma’s lemon meringue pie dance in the background.
Palate: Smoked lemons preserved in salt open the palate toward vanilla buttercream cut with toffee and stewed pear, cinnamon bark, and clove before soft smoldering charcoal and burnt honeycombs veer the palate toward dark chocolate-covered espresso beans, floral honey, and eggnog spice.
Finish: That creamy eggnog spiciness mounts on the finish with saltwater-soaked applewood charcoal, nasturtiums, and a deep sense of old earthy peat that’s part black soil, part dry smoldering seaweed, and part smoked fatty pork meat with a light sense of red berries lurking underneath.
Bottom Line:
“Super heavily peated” is on the label. You’ve been warned thoroughly. While this isn’t for everyone, it’s still a masterpiece of peated whisky. Try it over ice to get a foothold and go from there. If you’re already initiated into the world of Islay peat, then this is going to be a year-end favorite.
Michter’s US*1 Barrel Strength Toasted Barrel Finish Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
ABV: 54.45%
Average Price: $520
The Whiskey:
This whiskey is Michter’s standard rye that’s finished in a second, toasted barrel. In this case, those barrels are air-dried for 24 long months before being lightly toasted and loaded with the rye. The whiskey then goes into the bottle at barrel strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This has a spicy and sweet nose that’s just like a buttery, candied and dried fruit, and nut-filled holiday cake that’s been drenched in good whiskey and left to sit for a month to really amp up those flavors while a flutter of dry cedar kindling dipped in dark chocolate sneaks in.
Palate: The taste has a clear sense of black-tea-soaked dates, creamed vanilla honey, black walnuts, wet brown sugar, and a touch of salted dark chocolate with a whisper of bitterness that feels like vanilla pods still on the branch and old smoking hickory just kissed with brisket fat.
Finish: The mid-palate dries out towards that pitchy yet dry woodpile with an echo of dirt from the bottom of that woodpile on the finish before the roasting herbs and soft dark berries arrive with a whisper of dark chocolate tobacco and leather.
Bottom Line:
This year’s last major Michter’s release is the return of a fan favorite. This is stellar rye that really benefits from slow sipping (rock optional). It’s just good goddamn whiskey, folks.
Old Fitzgerald Bottled-In-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 10 Years “Spring 2023” Decanter
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $139
The Whiskey:
Old Fitzgerald Botted-In-Bond Decanters always holds Heaven Hill’s wheated bourbon, which is made with a mash of 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley. That recipe harkens back to before the brand was part of the Pappy Van Winkle line at the old Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Louisville. In this case, the bourbon went into the barrel in the spring of 2013 and was left for 10 years. In the spring of 2023, those barrels were batched and just proofed with that soft Kentucky limestone water before bottling in Heaven Hill’s bespoke decanters for the official 11th Old Fitz release.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose draws you in with lemon cake with a whisper of meringue next to honey Graham Crackers, winter spiced Nutella cut with orange oils, soft vanilla sheet cake, and this fleeting sense of Double Mint gum by way of a vanilla malt milkshake.
Palate: The palate is luscious and sweet with a sense of rum-soaked raisins covered in dark salted chocolate next to toffee rolled in almond and dipped in eggnog with a light moment of stewed cherry compote with whole clove, allspice, and cinnamon bark.
Finish: Those woody winter spices amp up through the finish with a deep dark cherry jam over lemon-kissed shortbread with plenty of real vanilla before a light sense of tobacco rolled with molasses softens the very end.
Bottom Line:
The 11th Old Fitz Decanter is everything you could possibly want in a rare Kentucky bourbon. It’s dynamic, delicious, and delicate in all the right ways.
The Balvenie Single Malt Scotch Whisky A Revelation of Cask and Character Aged 19 Years
ABV: 47.5%
Average Price: $392
The Whiskey:
There are a lot of great The Balvenie expressions out there right now. This new one is part of The Balvenie’s Stories range and celebrates the coopers making barrels at the distillery. The whisky in the bottle aged for 19 years in ex-Oloroso sherry casks before vatting, proofing, and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is brash and bright with sticky and tart berry brambles leading to an orange cake covered in vanilla sugar with a hint of dark-tea-soaked plum and apricot with this fleeting sense of Digestive Biscuits lurking in the background with old spent oak barrels.
Palate: The boldness continues on the palate with stewed black cherry cut cream soda next to leathery figs and dates, moist marzipan kissed with pear brandy and dipped in salted dark chocolate, and a spicy moment of rum raisin.
Finish: The end warms with malty spices before the berries, marzipan, and chocolate combine to make a delicious holiday cake full of all things nice.
Bottom Line:
This is going to be hard to find in the U.S. but it’ll be worth the hunt, especially for a smashing holiday sipper.
Parker’s Heritage Collection 17th Edition Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Cask Strength Aged 10 Years
ABV: 64.4%
Average Price: $184
The Whiskey:
The latest edition to Heaven Hill’s Parker’s Heritage Collection is a brashy 10-year-old rye. The whiskey is made from 142 barrels from specific warehouses and floors, all made with Heaven Hill’s 51% rye mash bill (supported by 35% corn and 14% malted barley). Once batched, the whiskey went into the bottle 100% as-is at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Dark stewed and dried fruits lead on the nose with a deep leatheriness that makes for chewy dried chili peppers, old tobacco leaves, and musty spice racks full of cumin, cinnamon, and clove.
Palate: Stewed black cherries dipped in dark chocolate open the palate toward deep creamed honey, cinnamon-infused mulled wine, and clove-studded blood oranges with a hint of old wicker porch furniture and piles of fall leaves just moistened by the rain.
Finish: Dry winter spice barks and berries mingle with dark black cherry compote on the finish before the wicker reeds take on a moment of dank and more tobacco drives the finish to a warm yet eggnog-creamy end.
Bottom Line:
This is another stellar rye whiskey.
Jack Daniel’s Twice Barreled Special Release Tennessee Rye Whiskey Heritage Barrel Rye
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $75
The Whiskey:
This whiskey starts off with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Rye Whiskey which is hewn from a mash of 70% rye, 18% corn, and 12% malted barley with Jack’s own yeast and lactobacillus strains. After a slow drip-drop filtering through 10 solid feet of sugar maple charcoal (which strips oily graininess and highlights sweet fruitiness, among other notes), the mellowed juice is filled into “Heritage Barrels.” Those barrels were seasoned in the open air for years. Once coopered, the American white oak barrels are heavily toasted and lightly charred. That toasting allows the sugars to caramelize and become more easily available to the distillate while the light char means less filtering as the whiskey moves in and out of the wood.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a deep sense of Christmas spiced cakes brimming with candied cherries and orange peels next to roasted walnuts and a moist strip of pear brandy-soaked marzipan with a light hint of homemade cranberry sauce, roasting herbs, and a light sense of fresh pipe tobacco just kissed with spicy chili-infused Mexican hot chocolate with a real vanilla pod as a swizzle stick.
Palate: That vanilla gets super creamy on the palate as eggnog with clove and nutmeg drive the taste back to candied pear, cherry, and orange with an underbelly of dry smudging sage, cedar bark, and tobacco leaves braided and rolled into an old cigar humidor with a sweet leathery edge.
Finish: The end marries the candied cherry, spiced chocolate, and vanilla buttercream into a bespoke Black Forest cake with a holiday spice vibe next to soft sweetgrass, more of those roasting herbs, and a whisper of dried ancho chili soaked in pear brandy that’s just kissed with huckleberry pie.
Bottom Line:
2023 is shaping up to be the year rye whiskey really starts to hit insane new heights. This is not just a great rye, it’s a great whiskey full stop. Buy a case… if you can find it.
