The aged whiskies simply carry on coming: Colorado-based Stranahan’s is celebrating American single malt’s official classification with the discharge of a 12 12 months previous, whereas Penelope is providing a 17 12 months previous American mild whiskey, and single malt scotch Aberfeldy has a 26 and a 39 12 months previous—all of them being restricted editions, after all. In the meantime, Kentucky newcomer Garrard County Distilling Co., which crammed its first barrel in January of 2024 at a brand new distillery in Lancaster, about 35 miles south of Lexington, is relaunching its All Nations model utilizing sourced liquid. Amongst different releases, Elijah Craig is out with its first barrel proof batch of the 12 months, whereas Redwood Empire has a higher-proof model of its Pipe Dream expression. From throughout the pond, Irish single malt Dingle has the second launch in its Celtic Wheel of the Yr collection
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon (Batch A125)
ABV: 59.1%
SRP: $75
Availability: Nationwide
Every January, Kentucky distillery Heaven Hill kicks off the brand new 12 months with recent batches of its common cask power bourbons. This week, the primary of these whiskeys for 2025—Elijah Craig Barrel Proof A125—has made its solution to retailers across the county. It was aged for 10 years and seven months, and bottled at 59.1% ABV.
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (ECBP) has been a staple of the Heaven Hill lineup for over a decade, having first hit the scene in 2013. In essence, ECPB is Heaven Hill’s flagship Elijah Craig bourbon cranked as much as “11”—sporting a double-digit age assertion and buying and selling within the typical 47% ABV for bottling at cask power. The collection has earned many accolades over time, notching quite a few scores above 90 factors with our tasting panel and profitable our Whisky of the Yr in 2017.
Heaven Hill releases three distinct batches of ECBP annually—in January, Could, and September. Each has a distinct age assertion and proof level, and it’s at all times attention-grabbing to match batches. That is the youngest ECBP bottling lately, 2 months youthful than Batch A124 from final 12 months. The bottling power has additionally dipped, with A125 being the lowest-proofed batch since 2021.
Stranahan’s Founder’s Launch American Single Malt
ABV: 60%
SRP: $200
Availability: Restricted
After an exceedingly lengthy wait, in December, the TTB acknowledged American single malt as an official class. To have fun the event, Stranahan’s has launched a 12 12 months previous single malt made in collaboration with the distillery’s founder, Jess Graber. The whiskey begins as all Stranahan’s whiskeys do—it’s mashed and distilled from 100% malted barley and Rocky Mountain water. Whereas the vast majority of the mix is aged for 12 years in charred oak barrels, a small portion was completed for 1 to 4 years in barrels that beforehand aged blonde ale and bourbon.
Stranahan’s was born from an surprising assembly between Graber, a volunteer firefighter, and his neighbor George Stranahan, a brewer and whiskey connoisseur. When Stranahan’s barn caught fireplace in 1998, Graber responded, and as soon as the flames have been subdued, the remaining was historical past—the pair shaped a friendship that culminated in Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey, with the primary bottle debuting in 2006. Little did they know that inside twenty years their American single malt, an undesignated, little-known fashion on the time, would finally grow to be ratified by the TTB.
Penelope 17 12 months previous American Gentle Whiskey
ABV: 69.4%
SRP: $100
Availability: Restricted; arriving in February
Penelope Bourbon has a brand new mild whiskey launching subsequent month. This one was distilled by MGP at its Ross & Squibb in 2006. It has a mashbill of 99% corn and 1% malted barley, and was aged for 17 years in second-fill oak barrels.
Gentle whiskey is outlined by the TTB as whiskey produced within the U.S. at greater than 80% alcohol by quantity however lower than 95% alcohol by quantity and saved in used or uncharred new oak containers. It isn’t a brand new fashion—the ATF, predecessor to the TTB, designated it as a class in 1968, and the primary mild whiskeys started showing within the early ’70s. Again then mild whiskeys have been hailed as a coming pattern and have been launched by all the key distillers, however the thought fully bombed. (Brown-Forman had a lightweight whiskey model referred to as Frost 8-80—8 years previous and 80 proof, long-forgotten however a very notable flop.) Smaller producers have used mild whiskey as a mixing element, mixing it with bourbon or rye as a means of boosting batch volumes. Others like Penelope, Jacob’s Pardon, and Spine additionally began bottling ultra-aged mild whiskey by itself, discovering that it picks up distinct candy notes like butterscotch and powdered doughnut as soon as it hits a sure age. Because of this, the fashion has been making a comeback lately, and this Penelope launch represents the newest effort.
Redwood Empire Pipe Dream 101 Proof Bourbon
ABV: 50.5%
SRP: $55
Availability: Nationwide
California-based distillery Redwood Empire has unveiled a higher-proof iteration of its mainstay bourbon Pipe Dream. This one kicks up the power to 50.05% ABV from the unique 45%. Whereas the primary focus is the upper proof, the newcomer can be distinct from a mixing perspective: it’s barely older than the flagship Pipe Dream—tapping 5–15 12 months previous shares, whereas the unique is made out of 4–14 12 months olds—and it makes use of extra of the distillery’s personal distillate within the mix. The whiskey is at present accessible nationwide through Whole Wine, however Redwood Empire plans to develop into further retailers by spring.
All Nations Kentucky Straight Bourbon
ABV: 48%
SRP: $40
Availability: GA, KY, TN, and on-line at garrardcountydistillingco.com.
Garrard County Distilling Co. is relaunching its key whiskey model, All Nations. The label first launched in 2019, earlier than Garrard’s dad or mum firm, Atlanta-based Staghorn, had secured a distillery. The title is a cheeky name again to Garrard County’s whiskey historical past—it’s the birthplace of Carrie Nation, probably the most well-known determine within the temperance motion that in the end led to Prohibition. Often called she was for hatchet-wielding assaults on saloons, many saloons and tavern keepers alive in Carrie’s day hung indicators of their home windows that learn, “All Nations Welcome Besides Carrie.”
The newly launched All Nations is a mix of 5 to 7 12 months previous whiskeys, with three mashbills included within the remaining bottling: 75% corn, 12% rye, and 13% malted barley; 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley; and 64% corn, 24% rye, and 12% malted barley. The whiskey was aged in no.-4 alligator char barrels in Clermont, Danville, Owensboro, and Boston, Kentucky, earlier than a remaining spherical of getting old at Garrard County.
Mr. & Mrs. Bourbon Co. October London’s Kentucky Bourbon
ABV: 50%
SRP: $100
Availability: On-line unique, with a retail launch deliberate for spring
Grammy-nominated R&B singer and songwriter October London has partnered with Kentucky-based Mr. & Mrs. Bourbon model for a collaborative launch. The whiskey is a wheated bourbon, with a mashbill of 64% corn, 24% wheat, and 12% malted barley. It was distilled in 2018 by an undisclosed producer and bottled at 6 years previous.
The bourbon is at present accessible on-line solely, with bottles transport by April 1st. As well as, the label is providing bundles that embrace a bottle of the bourbon alongside a pair of rocks glasses, an candle, and a playlist of unreleased songs by October London for $250.
Mr. & Mrs. Bourbon Co. was based in 2019 by former NBA participant Russ Smith, who at present performs in a basketball league primarily based out of Iran. The model, which touts a listing of 100,000 barrels, is the results of a partnership between Smith and several other undisclosed distillers in Kentucky. Along with bourbon, the model has a pair of ryes: Inexperienced Oak Tree and the cask power Black Oak Tree.
Dingle Lá le Bride Single Malt Irish
ABV: 50.5%
SRP: $150
Availability: Restricted CA, CO, D.C., FL, GA, IL, MA, MD, and NY; imported by Hotaling & Co.
Dingle Distillery’s second launch in its eight-part Celtic Wheel of the Yr collection is all concerning the joys of spring. The follow-up to the collection debut, the 90-point Dingle Samhain, Lá le Bride was launched to mark St. Bridget’s Day for Eire’s patroness saint on February 1st. The Celtic pageant, often known as Imbolc or Imbolg in Gaelic, marks the start of spring and lands on the midpoint between the winter solstice and spring equinox. Though the label doesn’t carry an age assertion, Dingle Lá le Bride was matured in bourbon barrels for round 5 years after which completed in American rye casks for two.5–3 years.
Aberfeldy 26 12 months previous Languedoc Crimson Wine Cask Completed Scotch Single Malt
ABV: 52.2%
SRP: $765
Availability: Restricted; imported by Bacardi
Aberfeldy 39 12 months previous Single Cask Scotch Single Malt
ABV: 50.8%
SRP: $4,250
Availability: Restricted; imported by Bacardi
Highlands distillery Aberfeldy has unveiled two new limited-edition whiskies below its Distinctive Cask assortment of high-end expressions. The primary is a 26 12 months previous that was completed for simply over 2 years in casks that beforehand held crimson wine from the Languedoc appellation in southern France. This whisky was distilled in December 1996 and it was bottled final November. The opposite whisky is a 39 12 months previous single cask expression that was aged in a refill puncheon. It’s one of many oldest whiskies launched by the distillery, following a 40 12 months previous expression that’s accessible solely on the distillery.
Based in 1896 by the Dewar household, Aberfeldy is the lead single malt label in Bacardi’s portfolio, which additionally consists of Aultmore, Craigellache, Glen Deveron, and Royal Brackla. Aberfeldy’s whisky has lengthy performed an vital function as a element in Dewar’s blended whiskies—the truth is, it wasn’t bottled and launched as a single malt till 1999. The distillery has since discovered nice success with its personal bottlings, with 5 current expressions scoring 91 factors or increased with our tasting panel. Wine cask finishes are a important attraction for the label, with expressions completed in barrels that when held Bolgheri, Côte Rôtie, Cabernet from Napa, and malbec.
Rod & Hammer Wildfire Resilience Straight Bourbon
ABV: 45%
SRP: $50
Availability: Restricted
In mild of the continuing California wildfires, San Luis Obispo-based Rod & Hammer has launched a special-edition whiskey honoring California firefighters, with proceeds offering survivor advantages, catastrophe reduction, and important assets for the eventual rebuilding of lives and communities by way of the California Fireplace Basis. The two 12 months previous bourbon is made out of a mashbill of 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% barley; as with all Rod & Hammer spirits, the whiskey was lower with distilled and purified Pacific Ocean water.
In tandem with the brand new launch, Rod & Hammer is internet hosting Songs of Solace, a profit live performance for the LA wildfires, which is able to happen on Sunday, January 26, from 12 p.m. to eight p.m. on the distillery. The live performance lineup includes a slew of native artists, and 100% of ticket gross sales will go towards the California Fireplace Basis. Along with the stay performances, a neighborhood raffle may also be held, with donations from native companies. Tickets are stay now, going for $23.27 a pop. Songs of Solace will likely be free for teenagers 12 and below.
