Barrel PX Finish, 15 Stars 9 and 15 Year Old, Elijah Craig and More [New Releases]

Among the more interesting news items this week was the introduction of Old Forester’s first bottled in bond rye, released as part of the distillery’s 117 Series. We have deeper coverage on that here, including an interview with assistant master distiller Caleb Trigo. Elsewhere in the whiskey world, there are new releases from Barrel Craft Spirits, 15 Stars, Elijah Craig, Kentucky Senator, and Old Potrero, as well as the latest Gentleman’s Cut expression from NBA superstar Stephen Curry, and a new addition to the Wildlife Collection from Milam & Greene.

Elijah Craig Limited Edition Toasted Barrel Small Batch Bourbon

ABV: 63.3%
Price: $100
Availability: California Exclusive; less than 200 bottles; presale signup available here

Bourbon and golf fans should enjoy Heaven Hill’s new Elijah Craig limited-edition private barrel bourbon, selected in partnership with golf pro and six-time PGA Tour winner Max Homa. This marks the first bourbon created in collaboration with Homa since he embarked on a multi-year sponsorship deal with the brand in 2022. It's a natural fit for the label’s golf-focused lineup as the official bourbon of the PGA of America and various golf competitions across the U.S.

Small Batch, the bourbon selected by Homa, alongside master distiller Conor O’Driscoll, is an 8 year old, the same as last year’s PGA Commemorative Edition, though it deviates in two ways. First, it's uncut and barrel proof, bottled at a robust 63.3% ABV—substantially higher than the core expression at 47%. It underwent a 6-month finish in no. 3 char new oak barrels on the fifth floor of Heaven Hill’s Rickhouse M.

Old Potrero Hotaling’s Bottled in Bond Rye

ABV: 50%
SRP: $199
Availability: 431 bottles

In 1906, a massive earthquake laid waste to much of San Francisco—but it left Hotaling's whiskey warehouse untouched. The company marks the occasion, and San Francisco’s eventual rebirth, each year with a celebratory bottling of Old Potrero that’s released on the anniversary of the earthquake. This 13 year old malted rye was distilled at Hotaling’s original Potrero Hill Distillery and aged in once-used, charred fine-grain American oak barrels.

In February, Old Potrero’s longtime master distiller Bruce Joseph retired after 45 years with the distillery. In his place are head distiller and blender Kevin Aslan—who joined the distilling team as this rye was being put into barrels—senior distiller Mike Boo, and distillery and facility manager Adam Hall.

Gentleman’s Cut Player Exclusive IV Edition: Straight Rye

ABV: 50%
SRP: $333
Availability: Limited,1,000 bottles; select retailers and online

When we caught up with NBA superstar Stephen Curry’s Gentleman’s Cut two months ago, the brand teased that it would soon be releasing its first rye whiskey. That day has come. Like some other Player Exclusive expressions, this one celebrates a milestone in Curry’s career —namely, recently becoming the first NBA player to achieve 4,000 3-pointers. To commemorate that achievement, this rye carries an exact age statement of 4,000 days (just shy of 11 years old.) At $333, this is the least expensive Player’s Exclusive release we’ve seen yet, with some of its peers priced as high as $4,500.

Gentleman’s Cut was launched in March 2023 by Game Changer LLC—a joint venture between Curry’s partnership company SC30 Inc., John Schwartz from Amuse Bouche winery in Napa, and Boone County Distilling Co. in Kentucky. Boone County Distilling Co. handles the production of Gentleman’s Cut, going under the pseudonym Game Changer Distillery on the whiskey’s labels.

Barrell Craft Spirits Cask Finish Series: P.X. Sherry Bourbon

ABV: 57.76%
SRP: $85
Availability: 9,000 bottles; online at barrellbourbon.com and retailers nationwide

For its latest Cask Finish Series release, Barrell has blended bourbons from Indiana (6, 7, 8, and 12 year old), Kentucky (9 and 10 year old), and Tennessee (7 and 15 year old), which altogether featured a derived mashbill of 80% corn, 16% rye, and 4% malted barley. As its name implies, the finishing focus was on Pedro Ximénez casks, and the blend of bourbons spent secondary maturation time in the rich sherry casks. Barrell’s Cask Finish Series has previously included blends of straight bourbons finished in amburana, rum, mizunara, and ice wine casks.

15 Stars 9 & 15 year old Three Ports Bourbon

ABV: 51.5%
SRP: $179
Availability: Limited; retailers nationwide and online

15 Stars, the Bardstown, Kentucky-based blending house run by father/son duo Rick & Ricky Johnson, has unveiled its latest ultra-aged bourbon. This one comprises 9 and 15 year old bourbons that were sourced from an undisclosed distillery in Kentucky. As the name suggests, this expression was finished in three different types of port barrels including tawny, ruby, and the much rarer white port.

Kentucky Senator The John Edwards Release Bourbon

ABV: 53.5%
SRP: $120
Availability: 2,000 bottles; KY, Premier Drams in Washington, D.C., and online at bourbonoutfitter.com.

Kentucky Senator’s sixth bourbon release is a 7 year old whiskey made from a mashbill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley. As a non-distilling producer, Kentucky Senator sources its bourbon from an undisclosed distillery, then bottles it at Bluegrass Distillers in Midway, Kentucky. The release also has Kentucky-exclusive single barrel bottlings at Liquor Barn and Justins’ House of Bourbon.

Each release of Kentucky Senator is named after and dedicated to a U.S. Senator from Kentucky. This latest bourbon is an homage to John Edwards, the state’s second U.S. Senator and a resident of Bourbon County, who served in the Senate from 1792-1795.

Milam & Greene 2025 Wildlife Collection Gray Wolf Straight Bourbon

ABV: 62.7%
Price: $150
Availability: online; pick up at distillery tasting room beginning 3:00 p.m. (CDT) Wednesday, March 26th

The first release in Blanco, Texas-based Milam & Greene’s 2025 Wildlife Collection is blended from two 6 year old collector’s edition bourbon casks. First barreled in 2018, it initially aged for 3 years, 8 months, and 25 days in Kentucky. It then traveled to the north side of the distillery’s Rickhouse 2 in Blanco to age for an additional 3 years and 1 month. Featuring a mashbill of 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley, it deviates from the high-corn mashbill that was a staple in the bourbons of prior Wildlife Collections. Like all whiskeys in the series, it's bottled at cask strength; this one at 62.7%.

Launched in 2023, the Wildlife Collection’s purpose remains two-fold: honoring the local wildlife that endure the state’s extreme weather, while closely exploring the climate’s effects on whiskey maturation. Joining a slew of winged and reptilian honorees of the past, this expression pays homage to the now-endangered largest species of its kind, the Gray Wolf, that once roamed the West, including the Texas Hill Country where the distillery now sits. A portion of the sale of each bottle goes to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation. For the first time, online purchases will be available for shipping or pickup at the distillery, though with only 284 bottles available, they might not last long. Last year’s releases sold out the same day.