November is the best month for new whiskeys releases of the entire year. There’s a glut that touches on all styles and regions. It’s also the month when the super rare bottles become available, adding to the sparkle of it all. That means it’s time to call out our 25 favorite bottles of whisk(e)y that we think you should track down this month. And let us tell you right off: it’s a hell of a selection.
Before we dive in, I’d be remiss not to point out that some of the whiskeys listed below are going to be hard(ish) to find. There is so much good stuff hitting shelves right now but some of it is very allocated. That means that the rarer stuff is going to be available via state liquor board lotteries, distillery-only, and by sheer blind luck when you walk into a very good liquor store. Otherwise, those higher-end bottles are going to be marked up pretty heavily on the aftermarket. I’ve listed the prices for those particular bottles with “MSRP” instead of “Average Price” because of this.
Essentially, the price of those bottles will vary too wildly depending on where you actually run across them.
Lastly, I didn’t rank these. This is about great whisk(e)y. All of these bottles are worthy of your time and money. But ranking a peated single malt over a sherry-finished rye whiskey doesn’t really mean anything since they’re two different beasts. With all of that in mind, let’s dive in and find you a great whiskey to add to your bar cart this month!
Also Read: The Top 5 UPROXX Bourbon Posts Of The Last Six Months
- We Put A Whole Bunch Of Bourbons To A Giant Blind Test And Discovered Some Absolute Gems
- The Affordable Vs Expensive Blind Bourbon Bottle Battle
- We Blind Tasted Classic Bourbons And Were Shocked By The Winner
- The Best-Known Basic Bottles Of Bourbon, Blind Tasted And Ranked
- The Single Best Bottle Of Whiskey From Each Of The 50 States
291 M Colorado Rye Whiskey Finished with Aspen Wood Staves and Maple Syrup Barrels
ABV: 63.5%
Average Price: $108
The Whiskey:
291 out in Colorado is an award darling distillery and a crowd-pleaser as well. This whiskey is made with shorter aging in new American white oak with treated Aspen staves in that barrel to accelerate the maturation process. That whiskey is then transferred to old 291 barrels that were used to age maple syrup in Wisconsin for Lincoln County Reserve Maple Syrup. Finally, those barrels were batched and bottled at cask strength as-is.
Tasting Notes:
You feel the maple syrup from the first nose with a layered sense of cinnamon toast with fig jam next to mild hints of pancakes on a buttery griddle with rich toffee and singed cedar in the background. The palate is lush and almost thick with a sense of custard-heavy cinnamon toast dusted with nutmeg, powdered sugar, and dark chocolate powder next to some serious ABV warmth that’s spiced with winter spices. The heat lingers through the mid-palate toward a viscous-y end with more of that rich maple syrup next to stacks of french toast, winter spice, and apple fritter.
Bottom Line:
This is pretty hot on the palate. I’d recommend a rock or two to calm it down and really let the flavor notes shine through.
Redwood Empire Pipe Dream Bourbon Whiskey Cask Strength
ABV: 58.4%
Average Price: $70
The Whiskey:
This uncut and unfiltered version of Redwood Empire’s beloved bourbon is a four-grain whiskey built from a blend of California, Kentucky, and Indiana whiskeys. The mash ends up being 74% corn, 20% raw rye, 4.5% malt barley, and a mere 1.5% wheat. The barrels in the final blend range from four to 12 years old with the older stuff coming from the Ohio Valley.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a soft sense of classic bourbon on the nose with a rich and dark cherry by way of a vanilla pod, light caramel sauce, and pecan waffles with a glug of pancake syrup and a dollop of cinnamon-brown sugar butter next to a whisper of old boot leather. The palate has a soft creamed honey sweetness with a twinge of Cherry Coke next to buttery toffee dipped in crushed roasted almonds with a hint of Mounds Bar and chewy caramel. A good dose of ABV heat kicks up on the mid-palate with a mulled wine spiciness and a touch of sour cherry. The end is nutty and full of dark cherry tobacco just kissed with dark chocolate and dark brown spices.
Bottom Line:
This is simply quintessential bourbon. It’s easy drinking with a big kick that never overpowers. Give it a shot over some rocks or in your next old fashioned.
Nashtucky Special Release Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 8 Years
ABV: 59.8%
Average Price: $150
The Whiskey:
This whiskey is part of the new line from the famed Nashville Barrel Company. In this case, barrels were filled in Kentucky and then sent down to Nashville to age for eight years, colliding the worlds of Kentucky bourbon with the Tennessee climate. The results are bottled as-is one barrel at a time.
Tasting Notes:
Old lawn furniture with a hint of dry grass mixes on the nose with salted caramels, figs, dates, and prunes, a mix of wintry spices, a dash of white pepper, and some light stone fruit (think fresh apricot and plum). The palate leans into spiced fig jam with a sense of spiced Christmas cake, burnt sugar, and candied citrus countered by dry sweetgrass braided with cedar bark next to singed wild sage and a hint of strawberry tobacco. The end has a mild sense of warmth next to pear fruit leather and apricot jam with a hint of dark chocolate and dried strawberry tobacco in an old leather pouch.
Bottom Line:
This is really good whiskey. The balance is spot on and this takes you on a journey. It also makes one hell of a Manhattan.
Starlight Distillery Carl T. Huber’s Bottled-In-Bond Indiana Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch no. B2205
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $60
The Whiskey:
This new release from Huber Farm’s Starlight Distillery (the distillery to know if you’re in the know) is made from their high-corn mash with a sweet mash method (each batch is fresh) in their old copper pot still. The whiskey is barreled in Canton barrels and left to age on the farm for four years before it’s batched (only 20 barrels) and proofed down to 100 proof for bottling.
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with dark stewed cherries and spiced prune compote next to cinnamon waffles with a hint of maple syrup and dark chocolate chips. The palate is pure silk with notes of Cherry Coke next to clove-studded oranges dipped in dark chocolate with a flake of salt with whispers of apple fritters, eggnog spices, and singed cherry bark with maybe a hint of apple wood in the background. The end has a subtle warmth thanks to wintry mulled wine spices that lead to fresh pipe tobacco kissed with dates and chocolate and packed into an old cedar box for safekeeping.
Bottom Line:
This is a damn near perfect pour of whiskey. It’s also a massively well-hidden gem that you might just be able to find right now. If you do find it, try it neat, on the rocks, and in your favorite cocktail.
Clonakilty Port Cask Finish Irish Whiskey Batch no. 035
ABV: 43.6%
Average Price: $53
The Whiskey:
This fan-favorite whiskey just released its latest batch. The juice in this one is a nine-year-old Irish grain whiskey blended with a classic Irish single malt. The whiskey was then proofed down slightly and re-loaded into Port casks from the famed Douro Valley. Those barrels were stored next to the Atlantic Ocean in Ireland until they were just right.
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with bright fruit — orange, lime, and lemon zest next to peach skins and juicy apricots — next to light notes of brown spices, raisins, and lightly sweetened oak staves with a hint of must. The palate leans into the stone fruit with a stewed vibe next to dried red chili flakes, cinnamon, cardamom, and a hint of orange chocolate with whispers of lemon-lime soda. The end leans into the dark spices on the finish with a plummy vibe, a hint more of that soft oak, and a final dash of peppercorn.
Bottom Line:
This is a very easy-drinking, crowd-pleasing Irish whiskey. It has depth but remains very accessible. It also makes great cocktails.
Uncle Nearest Rye
ABV: 59.8%
Average Price: $149
The Whiskey:
This brand-new expression from the multi-award-winning Master Blender, Victoria Eady-Butler, is a true traveling whiskey. The whiskey is made up in Canada with 100 percent locally grown rye, according to American straight rye whiskey specifications. That hot juice is then sent to New York where it is barreled and aged for at least four years. Finally, Eady-Butler steps in and selects the honey barrels, and ships them to Tennessee where she blends this whiskey and bottles it as-is.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a hint of fresh sourdough rye bread (the real good stuff you still get in Central Europe) next to a hint of fennel and almost woody black currants with a touch of soft cardamon. The palate leans toward dry wicker and fresh green herbs with a snap of spiciness (almost chive) next to woody cinnamon and allspice berries with a hint of spicy orange chocolate. There’s a hint of salt on the backend with a wonderfully layered dry cedar bark, herbal tobacco note, and a touch of dried nasturtium that ultimately leads to a silky vanilla/cinnamon finish.
Bottom Line:
This is an excellent rye whiskey. I like it over a rock or two or in a Manhattan but it totally works as a neat sipper too.
Filibuster Distillery Bottled-in-Bond Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aged 5 Years
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $90
The Whiskey:
This Virginias whiskey is a grain-to-glass experience. The juice is made from locally-grown grains — 70% corn, 20% rye, and 10% malted barley — and local spring water in the Shenandoah Valley. After five years of mellowing in Appalachia, a small bundle of barrels is batched and proofed to 100 proof before bottling.
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with a waft of old porch wicker next to floral honey, burnt orange, black tea leaves, and a classic sense of woody cherry and vanilla. The palate creams the honey while adding in soft oak and cherry pie filling with a hint of vanilla malt next to mulled wine spices — heavy with star anise, clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon with a pinch of mace or cardamom. The end has a dark chocolate-covered espresso bean vibe that leads to a mild dried cranberry note next to a strawberry-rhubarb-walnut crumble with a scoop of vanilla malted ice cream that finished back at the old porch wicker braided with dark cherry tobacco and dry cedar bark.
Bottom Line:
This is one of the biggest surprises of the recent releases to hit my desk. This is just super solid all around. It’s a nice sipper that works wonders in a high-quality cocktail too.
Alberta Premium 2022 Limited Edition Cask Strength Rye
ABV: 63.5%
Average Price: $85
The Whisky:
This year’s Alberta Premium Cask Strength Rye is made exclusively with classic Canadian Prairie rye grains grown locally in Alberta. Glacial spring water from the Rocky Mountains is in the mix as well as new white oak barrel aging. Once those barrels hit just the right spot, they’re batched and bottled with no proofing at all.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a bold sense of buttery and dark toffee on the nose with rich and oily vanilla pods, dark blackberry jam, mulled wine spices (star anise, allspice, clove, cinnamon), brandy-soaked raisins and dates, dry Earl Grey tea leaves, and a hint of dark cacao nibs. The palate builds on that with tart black currants dipped in salted dark chocolate next to a hint of espresso cream, and caraway-encrusted sourdough rye bread (the real stuff from Central Europe, not the bullshit rye you get in the Americas) that leads to a huge cinnamon spiciness on the mid-palate. The end rounds off that cinnamon Hot Tamale spiciness with a sweet sense of vanilla white cake bespeckled with dried cranberries and shredded blackberry tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is, again, delicious. This is also a bottle that you might actually be able to find. I love this stuff on the rocks with just a splash of fizzy mineral water and a dash of Angostura bitters.
Starward Vitalis 15th Anniversary Limited Release Single Malt Australian Whisky
ABV: 52%
Average Price: $150 (pre-order)
The Whiskey:
This brand-new limited edition whisky from Australia’s biggest brand celebrates the 15th anniversary of the distillery. The whisky in this bottle commemorates the brand’s finishing program that made it famous. The whisky was blended from six different barrel types, focusing on tawny port, rum, bourbon, and Apera barrels between 11 and four years old.
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with rich, buttery toffee candy next to rum raisin, salted dark chocolate bars, grilled pineapple, bruised apricots, and tangerine skins. The palate leans into the raisin vibe with black-tea-soaked dates, stewed prunes, and mashed dried apricot next to tart red currants with a hint of mango skin and savory papaya. That’s all countered by a mid-palate full of toasted coffee beans and creamy mocha latte notes next to a hint of dark and warm spiciness on the back of the finish with a dash of tart berry tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is a bold whisky that never overpowers any note. It’s welcoming and soft with a deep flavor profile. It’s really just freakin’ good.
Jefferson’s Ocean Aged At Sea New York Edition
ABV: 49%
Average Price: $99
The Whiskey:
This version of Jefferson’s famed Oceans Series sailed through the North Sea, around Europe, along the Atlantic Seaboard, and through the Panama Canal before ending up in New York City. Once there, the whiskey was batched and proofed down with New York City’s famed water (which is unfiltered and from closer to the Catskills).
Tasting Notes:
There’s a nice sense of soft caramel chews on the nose with a dash of cigar tobacco and old humidors next to old leather cloves, burnt orange, and a hint of saline. The palate leans into brash winter spices with spicy and woody cinnamon, fresh nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and a hint of cardamom next to lush crème brûlée with a hint of that cigar vibe. The end stays strong with the spices and tobacco next to a soft vanilla creaminess and slightly salted pasta water finish.
Bottom Line:
This feels like a gimmick. But … who cares if the whiskey is good? This has a nice profile that’s both familiar and unique. It’s a nice balance. And what better whiskey can there be to make a Manhattan than one with New York water?
Sagamore Spirit Reserve Series Sherry Finish 2022
ABV: 53%
Average Price: $79
The Whiskey:
This is Sagamore Spirit’s signature rye whiskey (95/5 rye/malted barley) that’s aged for four long years. That whiskey is then re-barreled into 132-gallon Pedro Ximénez sherry casks for an additional 18-month-long rest. Finally, those barrels are batched, proofed a tad, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is a deep mix of old oak staves dipped in a mash of dates, figs, and prunes with cinnamon, black licorice, and clove next to soft leather pouches full of fresh pipe tobacco with a hint of apricot and blackberry in the mix. The palate opens with soft marzipan laced with orange oils and dipped in salted dark chocolate with sticky toffee pudding, minced meat pieces, orange marmalade, and creamy honey. The end leans into the dark and almost bitter dark chocolate with a hint of espresso bean before a mild sense of old oak leads to a nutty and dark orange-forward finish.
Bottom Line:
This is a really tasty whiskey. It’s versatile and satisfying.
Kirkland Signature Single Barrel by Barton 1792 Master Distillers
ABV: 60%
Average Price: $32 (1-liter bottle)
The Whiskey:
This Costco release is sourced from Sazerac’s other Kentucky distillery, Barton 1792 Distillery down in Bardstown, Kentucky. The whiskey in the bottle is very likely the same distillate/barrels as 1792 Full Proof. However, this is proofed down a tiny bit below that at 120 proof instead of 125 proof, adding some nuance to this release.
Tasting Notes:
This is a classic nose full of salted caramel next to dried red chili, Mounds bars, mulled wine spices, and creamy vanilla malt milkshakes with a cherry on top. The palate really leans into the sour mulled wine focusing on star anise, cardamom, allspice, cinnamon, and maybe even some cumin next o brown sugar clumps, creamy eggnog, and a cherry-dark chocolate tobacco vibe with a slightly woody edge. The end into the spiciness and wood with a hint of black potting soil, firewood bark, and warm cinnamon in a cherry-apple hot buttered rum cider.
Bottom Line:
This is probably the best value on this list. It’s a deeply flavored whiskey that doesn’t blow out your palate with those high ABVs. It’s damn good for a budget single barrel liter of booze from Costco.
Knob Creek 18
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $170
The Whiskey:
This limited-edition release celebrates the 30th Anniversary of Knob Creek, which started back in 1992 during the darkest days of bourbon. The juice is Beam’s standard mash bill that’s distilled at a slightly different temperature and treated with a little more care during aging by placing barrels in very specific locations throughout their vast warehouses. After 18 long years, the best of the best barrels are small batched, and just proofed before bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Dark molasses and pecan clusters with salted dark chocolate lead to brown butter, old figs, and salted caramel with a woody sense of cherry and apple bark next to cinnamon-laced cedar sticks with burnt orange. The palate is full of lush vanilla notes next to singed cherry bark, apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks, star anise, salted black licorice, and dark chocolate-covered espresso beans with a hint of dried red chili spice turning up the heat on the mid-palate. The end has a floral honey sweetness that balances everything toward orange blossoms and bruised peaches, cherry tobacco, and clove tobacco.
Bottom Line:
This is great whiskey. If you’re a bourbon acolyte, then this is a must-buy right now.
Ardbeg Hypernova
ABV: 51%
Average Price: $215
The Whisky:
This whisky starts with heavily peated malts with phenol levels above 170ppm. Translation: this is a peat monster. From there, mad scientist Dr. Bill Lumsden selected the peatiest of the peaty barrels for a batch and dumped them into Ardbeg’s special tun (mixing vat) for a final rest before adding a little Islay spring water and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
This is massively peated from the jump with freshly lain asphalt mingling with fireplace ash, old Weber grills left out in the rain, and hurricane lamp oil with a burnt wick and maybe some burnt apple chips next to smoldering hickory. The palate opens with burnt cacao nibs and over-roasted espresso beans with a clear peatiness tied to burnt oyster shells and fresh Ace Bandages with a mix of star anise, salted black licorice, clove, and fennel next to Mounds bars. The end has a heavily smoked vibe that’s kind of like smudging some wild sage while boiling heavily roasted coffee on the stove with a sense of an electric-coil burner raging in bright orange underneath the pot.
Bottom Line:
Shifting entirely, this just dropped and is not for the light of heart. This is a true peat monster that’ll be adored by whisky folks seeking out the big phenols. If you’re not ready for that, maybe check out the Oban below.
Angel’s Envy Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Port Wine Barrels Cask Strength
ABV: 59.9%
MSRP: $229
The Whiskey:
This modern classic is a yearly limited release from the beloved Lousiville distiller. The juice is made from a mix of locally sourced barrels that are finished in Ruby Port casks. The best of the best are hand-selected by Angel’s Envy’s team for as-is batching and bottling with only 14,000 odd bottles making out this year.
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a deep sense of blackberry jam over a Southern biscuit with plenty of brown butter, vanilla sauce, and apple fruit leather with a dash of cinnamon, allspice, and star anise next to a whisper of cherry cream soda and orange-chocolate tobacco packed into a cedar box. The palate is soft and supple with a brandy butter vibe next to mince meat pie with powdered sugar icing, meaty dates, black tea, and rich Black Forest cake. The end subtly meanders through shaved dark chocolate and stewed cherry, eventually landing on a vanilla-laced tobacco leaf rolled up with apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks and old wicker canes.
Bottom Line:
This was just delicious and really feels like a holiday vibe whiskey.
George T. Stagg Bourbon (BTAC 2022)
ABV: 69.35%
MSRP: $99
The Whiskey:
This year’s return of the Stagg is hewn from whiskey distilled all the way back in 2007 with Kentucky corn, Minnesota rye, and North Dakota barley. The juice was filled into new white oak from Independent Stave from Missouri with a #4 char level (55 seconds). Those barrels were then stored in the famed Warehouse K on the first and fifth floors over 15 years, wherein 75% of the liquid was lost to the angels. Finally, the barrels were batched and bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
This whiskey is hot. Your nose is met with buttery pecan waffles loaded with dark salted chocolate chips and dripping with maple syrup that feels expensive next to darkly roasted espresso beans, singed vanilla husks, and dried sour cherries next to a medley of holiday spices. The palate leans into those spices with a clear sense of sharp cinnamon, old clove buds, allspice berries, and whole nutmeg bulbs next to a hint of star anise and maybe some cardamom before that darkly roasted coffee jumps back in with a deeply stewed cherry in a dark treacle syrup before the ABVs buzz hard on the mid-palate. The end amps up the woodiness with the spices and adds in a sense of old cedar bark, dark chocolate nibs, and a cherry-tobacco buzziness.
Bottom Line:
It’s back! Rejoice, taters! This year’s George T. Stagg BTAC is an ABV monster. You’ll definitely need a rock to calm it down. If you don’t, you’re lying.
Octomore 13.3
ABV: 61.1%
Average Price: $215
The Whisky:
This brand-new limited edition Octomore from Bruichladdich is all about Islay. The whisky is made from heavily peated malts grown on the island (most malts are shipping in from the mainland) back in 2015. In 2016, the whisky was distilled right by the sea at Bruichladdich and then loaded into first-fill, ex-American whiskey casks and second-fill European oak casks from the Rivesaltes region of France and the Ribera del Duero region of Spain. After five years, the casks were vatted and then bottled completely as-is.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is a subtle mix of salted caramel with sweet caramel malts, apricot jam, gingerbread, and a touch of nasturtium with a whisper of smoked apples and pears before the ashen peat starts sneaking in. The palate opens with smoked brown sugar next to rich marzipan with a hint of Almond Joy next to Kiwi boot wax, orange marmalade, dried roses, lemon pepper, and a hint of oyster liquor. The end has a caramel maltiness that’s just kissed with sea salt and potpourri cut with mild dark spices and more of that marzipan, finishing on a light fruit soda vibe.
Bottom Line:
This whisky kicks around in the peat bog for a while but then layers in some seriously delectable notes. I like the complexity of this one. It takes you somewhere and feels fresh and old at the same time.
Chicken Cock Chanticleer Cognac Barrel Finish Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 56%
MSRP: $499
The Whisky:
This is the second major holiday release from Chicken Cock. This year’s super rare whiskey is made from a classic mash of 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley. That whiskey was aged for an undisclosed amount of years before it was re-barreled into 32 French cognac barrels. Those 32 barrels were then batched, proofed, and bottled as-is for this release.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is supple and full of creamed honey, moist marzipan, peaches and cream ice cream with a hint of waffle cone, and fresh plums dashed with clove and star anise. The palate leans into the plums with a spiced cake vibe next to rich Black Forest Cake, candied dates, rum-raisin, and banana bread with plenty of butter, cinnamon, and walnut with a twist of fresh orange zest. The end embraces the orange and adds in salted dark chocolate tobacco with a hint of brown butter, pecan shells, and cedar boughs.
Bottom Line:
This is subtle and delicious. It’s pricy but we’ll never see this bottle again.
Cardhu 16-Year-Old 2022 Diageo Single Malt Special Releases Collection
ABV: 58%
Average Price: $179
The Whisky:
This Speyside unpeated malt was aged in refill and re-charred American oak bourbon barrels for 16 years. That whisky was then refilled into Jamaican pot still rum-seasoned casks for a final rest before vatting and bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a definite sense of aura of funky rumminess with a hint of barrel char and grilled tropical fruits with plenty of brown spices — clove, allspice, nutmeg — surrounded by creamy lemon meringue pie, mango lassi, and freshly washed sheets flapping in the summer breeze (it’s wildly engaging and kind of weird but I love it). The palate has a rummy toffee syrup mood with spiced rum cocktails cut with banana bread, walnuts, and brown butter with a hint of brandy-soaked oak staves. The end has a light black pepperiness with more of that rummy barrel funk and soft and sweet (not acidic) tropical fruit.
Bottom Line:
This is a brilliant unpeated malt. It’s devilishly simple with a truly great flavor profile. It’s fruity and fresh and embracing. If you add a rock or a little water, it’ll really bloom in the glass with deeper fruit and creamy flavor notes.
Willett Distillery Kiamichi A Family Reunion Whiskey Aged 5 Years
ABV: 54%
Average Price: $149
The Whiskey:
This whiskey from the new Kings of Leon’s collaboration is their entry point to the trio of bottles released this year. The juice is a 12-barrel blend a mix of two Willett rye mash bills that were aged in both char 5 oak (a very heavy alligator char) and 24-month cured oak from Hoffmeister Cooperage. Those extremely rare barrels were then batched and just kissed with water and then bottled in only 2,780 bottles.
Tasting Notes:
Wow! This nose is gorgeous with subtle notes of tart cherries tossed with flakes of salt next to dark plum jam laced with soft cinnamon, ground clove, and nutmeg, vanilla pound cake with poppy seeds, red and orange nasturtiums, floral honey, and salted cashews. The taste is fruity but moves more toward pineapple cores, peach skins, and lemon pith next to a soft dry sweetgrass braid twisted up with wild sage and cedar bark with notes of pine-infused honey, old black tea leaves, and cinnamon sticks that have just been singed on the mid-palate. The end is lush and beautifully layered with real sourdough rye crusts, honey-dipped Graham Crackers, dark chocolate-dipped sour cherries, and a hint of walnut bread with plenty of wintry spices and butter.
Bottom Line:
This is one of my favorite whiskeys of the year.
Oban 10-Year-Old 2022 Diageo Single Malt Special Releases Collection
ABV: 57.1%
Average Price: $109
The Whisky:
This lightly peated Highland whisky from the tiny Oban Distillery is rendered from refill and new American oak barrels. That whisky is vatted and then refilled into Amontillado-seasoned casks for a final rest before batching and bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a lithe sense of lemon/lime saltwater taffy wrapped in white wax paper with a hint of lime leaves and wild sage next to salted smoked lemons and tangerines with a hint of really good and cloudy extra virgin olive oil speckled with smoked sea salt and freshly cracked red peppercorns. The palate is silken and full of layers of smoked grapes, smoked plums, and salted chili pepper candies with a fleeting sense of violet and lavender creaminess tied to a lush vanilla underbelly. The end has a mild woody chili pepper spiciness that’s dry and leads to a limber finish with warmth, lightly caramelized malts, and smoked apricot jam with brandy cream.
Bottom Line:
This might well be the best of the new Special Releases from Diageo. It’s just haunting and mesmerizing. There’s nothing quite like it yet it transports you straight to Oban (if you’ve been there).
Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 15 Years Old 2022 Release
ABV: 53.5%
MSRP: $119
The Whiskey:
This is where the “Pappy Van Winkle” line starts in earnest. The juice in this expression is pulled from barrels that are at least 15 years old. Once batched, the whiskey is just touched with water to bring it down to a sturdy 107-proof.
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with freshly fried sourdough fritters dusted with ground almonds, sharp cinnamon, cloves, orange zest, burnt sugars, and maple frosting with a hint of old vanilla pods next to soft figs. The palate leans into rich toffee with a sense of minced meat pies covered in powdered sugar frosting right next to sticky toffee pudding with salted caramel, orange zest, and tons of brown wintry spice countered by a moment of sour mulled red wine cut with dark maple syrup. The end has a soft cedar vibe that leads to vanilla and dark cherry tobacco leaves and a hint of pine next to old white moss.
Bottom Line:
This is the best new release from the Pappy line this year. The 15-year-old just hit right and clear this time around. You’ll get the hype immediately about Pappy the moment you raise this to your senses. Plus, these are hitting shelves this month, so you might get lucky.
Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old Bourbon (BTAC 2022)
ABV: 50.5%
MSRP: $99
The Whiskey:
Back in the spring of 2005, a humble bourbon was made with Kentucky distiller’s corn, Minnesota rye, and North Dakota barley. That hot juice was then filled into new white oak from Independent Stave from Missouri with a #4 char level (55 seconds) and stacked in Buffalo Trace’s warehouses H, K, and L on floors one and four. It was left alone for 17 years, which allowed 70% of the whiskey to be lost to the angels. In 2022, the barrels were batched and the bourbon was proofed down to 101 proof and was bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
The nose subtly draws you in with soft pipe tobacco that feels fresh and vibrant next to dried sour cherries dipped in salted dark chocolate and rolled in vanilla seeds and vanilla-laced streusel with a good dose of woody maple syrup with this fleeting hint of red brick, moldy cellar beams, and soft and sandy cellar dirt floor. Old maple trees dripping with sap lead to a rich salted caramel candy vibe next to rich vanilla pound cake topped with a creamy dark chocolate frosting and bespeckled with orange zest, dried cranberries bits, and crushed espresso beans. The mid-palate takes on a woody spiciness with a whisper of apple bark that informs a spiced Christmas cake full of soft cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, mace, and maybe some anise and dried dark fruits with creamy eggnog baseline next to old Whether’s Originals wrapped up in dry tobacco leaves and stacked in a musty pine box for safekeeping.
Bottom Line:
This is a perfect bourbon.
The Last Drop Signature Blend No. 28 A Blend Of Kentucky Straight Whiskeys
ABV: 60.7%
MSRP: $3,999
The Whiskey:
This blend is from Buffalo Trace’s Master Blender Drew Mayville, who’s been at the distillery since 2004. Mayville created this blend by sampling bourbons and ryes from the rarest and sometimes oldest barrels of whiskey in Buffalo Trace’s vast and numerous warehouses. While the exact details of the final blend are unknown, we do that the whiskeys in this blend are some of the rarest that the distillery had on its ricks. And since it is a blend of bourbon and rye whiskey, this is technically a “blended straight whiskey.”
Tasting Notes:
The nose on this feels like the dark red brick and black mold with the old rickhouse beams, dirt floors, sour mash fermenters, and green grass with fall leaves crunching under feet at Buffalo Trace Distillery. It then deepens into sticky toffee pudding, old dried-up figs, black-tea-soaked dates, burnt orange, cinnamon sticks, dried ancho chilis, firewood pitch, and a creamy underbelly of vanilla and toffee. The palate warms with an ABV buzz that leads to soft vanilla cream with tart but dark berries floating next to orange zest and salted caramel. There’s a sense of old boot leather and Kiwi boot cream next to waxy cacao nibs, cherry cream soda, pecan and dark chocolate clusters, pistachios, and roasted root veg — think caramelized parsnips and carrots next to a Yorkshire pudding. The end becomes a luxuriously soft and creamy sip of stewed black cherries with anise and clove next to holly bushes and fir needles with a little bunch of spices — cinnamon sticks, star anise, dried rose, a stick of pine, dried orange peel — tied with an old waxy piece of twine.
Bottom Line:
This is amazing. Truly a one-of-a-kind whiskey everyone should at least get to try once in their lifetime.
Michter’s Limited Release Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 20 Years Old 2022 Release
ABV: 57.1%
MSRP: $1,000
The Whiskey:
Master Distiller Dan McKee personally selects these (at least) 20-year-old barrels from their rickhouses based on, well, excellence. The bourbon is bottled as-is with no cutting with water.
Tasting Notes:
Imagine a nose full of dark and sweet cherries smothered in rummy molasses with a touch of dried roses, roasted almonds, and cedar bark all leading towards the soft — almost wet — tobacco leaves with a hint of dry apple and pear next to lush vanilla and wintry mulled wine spices. The palate doesn’t veer too far from those notes while adding in a touch of burnt ends from vanilla pods with a light clove spice that leans more towards that tobacco than woody cinnamon sticks and star anise next to a hint of dried sage and fleeting, almost spicy mint with a touch of singed marshmallow. The finish really embraces the cherry but more towards the stem and seed as the nuttiness leans into moist marzipan, orange oils, and chewy fresh tobacco with a hint of leather and cedar.
Bottom Line:
This is one of the absolute best bourbons money can buy … right now. You might actually be able to find one of these too (if you’re in the right region).