19 Hot Whiskies to Hunt Right Now

Every season brings a slew of whiskey releases that generate more noise than heat. With summer upon us, let’s focus on the ones that bring the heat.

There are a handful of long-awaited debuts—E.H. Taylor Four Grain is back after years away, Wild Turkey's Gold Foil answers a decades-old collector wish—alongside new ideas, like Virginia Distilling's effort to build a bridge for bourbon drinkers to dive into American single malt.

Scotch is contributing too, with Lagavulin entering its first new permanent expression in nine years, Glengoyne doing something rare with mizunara oak, and Ardbeg making its annual Fèis Ìle release one of the more compelling in recent memory.

A number of these inclusions have already earned high marks from our tasting panel. The rest are simply too interesting to pass up. Prices range from under $50 to well over $100, and availability swings from nationwide to a handful of bottles per state, so the hunt looks different depending on what you're after. But rest assured, each is worth your effort.

Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection Low Entry Proof Wheated bourbon, 53.5%, $47

Buffalo Trace master distiller Harlen Wheatley keeps finding new variables to test, and the 28th entry in the distillery’s Experimental Collection canon tweaks barrel entry proof. This 15-year wheated bourbon went into the barrel at 105 proof instead of the distillery's standard 114, then came out at 107 proof, testing how a lower entry proof changes wood interaction over a long aging period. It's a small batch at $47/375 ml bottle—the batch had an angel’s share of 62%—and it’s only available at the Buffalo Trace distillery gift shop.

Booker's Milkshake Batch bourbon (2026-02), 62.2%, $100

Booker's second 2026 batch leans into founder Booker Noe's love of spiking his milkshakes with bourbon. (Smart man.) This expression is aged 7 years, 6 months, and 12 days, and bottled at a sturdy 124.4 proof, with the bulk of the liquid coming from the fifth floor of warehouse G. At $100 a bottle, it's priced like the rest of the Booker's lineup, but the dessert-forward profile and extra proof mean it’ll shine in any glass, especially one filled with a milkshake.

Old Grand-Dad 114 Single Barrel 7 year old bourbon, 57%, $50

Old Grand-Dad (OGD) has long been one of the best values in bourbon. This new release is an evolution of the standard batched OGD 114, which first appeared in the early 1980s as a rare high-proof bourbon. While normal OGD runs about $35, this 7 year old single barrel selection uses the same high-rye mashbill—64% corn, 27% rye, 10% malted barley—and adds layers of flavor, intensity, and complexity for only $15 more. While individual barrels aren’t noted on the label, the lots are. We tasted Lot 001 and found it brings the same baking spice and cocoa powder notes the 114 is known for, with more structure than regular OGD 114.

Red Top Rye 7 year old, 52.5%, $65

From Lawrenceburg, Kentucky producer Old Commonwealth comes one of its first shelf-stable expressions: Red Top Rye. Old Commonwealth, a non-distilling producer, specializes in reviving historic whiskeys, and this is no exception. From the late 1800s through the start of Prohibition, Red Top Rye was the preeminent rye. Old Commonwealth’s version is a delicious 100% Kentucky rye, aged at the top of rickhouses, bursting with fun, sweet red candy notes rather than the herbaceous flavors typically associated with rye. It’ll make anyone a rye believer.

Heaven Hill Deatsville 13 year old bourbon, 54.5%, $200

Heaven Hill is paying tribute to its Deatsville warehouse campus with a 13 year old bourbon blended from 17 barrels matured on the third floor of Rickhouse AA. It's bottled at 109 proof, using the same 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley mashbill behind Elijah Craig. Heaven Hill plans to retire the Deatsville warehouses from active maturation in the coming years, making this one of the last chances to taste whiskey fully aged on that campus. The liquid sings, bright and juicy, distinctively Heaven Hill.

Wild Turkey Austin Nichols Archives Gold Foil Edition 16 year old bourbon, 60%, $400

Wild Turkey's Austin Nichols Archives series returns with a 16 year old Gold Foil edition, a modern tribute to the brand's beloved "Cheesy Gold Foil" bottles from the 1980s and '90s. The inaugural blend, overseen by associate master blender Bruce Russell, is drawn from 16 year old barrels primarily aged in the distillery's Camp Nelson F, D, and E rickhouses and bottled non-chill filtered at 120 proof. Russell opted for 16-year bourbon rather than the original's 12-year statement to best match the spirit and flavor of the original Gold Foil. We tasted it alongside vintage gold foil bottles and found it to be pure vintage Turkey funk, dialed in.

Rare Perfection 10 year old bourbon, 65.35%, $249

Preservation Distillery's Rare Perfection line has built a following on sourced whiskey with serious age, and its first new release of 2026, bottled unfiltered at cask strength, is a home run. Each three-barrel batch of Rare Perfection is personally selected by owner Marci Palatella and general manager Kyle Lloyd. Originally intended to be an 8 year old expression, it received an extra 2 years in the barrel, a choice that paid off in spades. This bourbon is packed with syrupy sweetness, orchard fruits, robust oak spice, and dark caramel. The longer you roll it around in your mouth, the more flavors you unlock. It’s a wide, deep, and infinitely interesting pour.

Fathertime Caboose Empty Nester Strength bourbon, 60.5%, $199

A comic who makes solid bourbon? We’re not joking. Jim Gaffigan's Fathertime Precious Batch line built its reputation on the standard 92.4 proof release, but "The Caboose," the fifth release in the series, cranks things up to cask strength at 121 proof, earning the "Empty Nester's Strength" name. The series has been a pleasant surprise: well-sourced Kentucky straight bourbon bottled at serious proof. It’s a high-rye—believed to be 30%—and packs plenty of baking spice and a touch of honey. A hearty and enjoyable dram you’ll come back to repeatedly.

Very Olde Saint Nick Immaculata blended bourbon (2026 Release), 59.1%, $260

A second Preservation Distillery offering? Yep, because this year's Immaculata blend is a proper banger. Melding 18 year old Kentucky bourbon with Preservation's house-distilled 8 year old pot still whiskey, bottled in the Ancient Cask series, we can see how well the younger pot still component holds its own against the older bourbon. This gives the blend a brightness that keeps it from leaning too heavily on oak. It's one of the most thoughtfully constructed blends in the Very Olde Saint Nick lineup, and worth chasing when it goes from a distillery-only release to national distribution later this summer.

Bernheim Barrel Proof Wheat (A226), 62%, $67

Heaven Hill's Bernheim Original Barrel Proof wheat whiskey, scored 92 points, with this batch (A226) featuring ice cream-themed tasting notes. Waffle cone, caramel, chopped walnuts, cherry pie, chocolate springs, and raspberry coulis. The whiskey’s high proof means it may read a touch hot in the glass, but it mellows with a splash of water or ice. For wheat whiskey fans, this is one of the best versions of the style on shelves.

Pride of Anderson County bourbon (2026 Release), 60.79%, $279

Rare Character Whiskey Co.'s collaboration with Rare Bird’s David Jennings saw an initial Pride of Anderson County expression that was 13.5 years old, sourced from Wild Turkey, an age that puts it in the same strata as Russell’s Reserve 13 year. Exceptionally well received, those bottles fetched well over $1,400 at auction. The 2026 release moves away from Wild Turkey liquid in a bid to transition from exclusive lottery-only to ongoing single barrel series, launching with a 9.5 year old Kentucky straight bourbon. With only 40 barrels in this run, bottled at 121.58 proof, expect this one to go quickly.

Glengoyne 16 year old scotch Oak Masters Mizunara scotch single malt, 53.4%, $400

Glengoyne's sublime Highland single malt spent its first decade in first-fill and refill sherry casks before moving into its final home: virgin Japanese mizunara oak. It spent another 6 years there, a duration that moves this beyond a finish and more like a co-maturation. Mizunara casks are notoriously hard to work with, expensive and leaky, but Glengoyne’s creation proves that when you get it right, it’s well worth it. The scotch has ample vanilla, sherry, toffee, and incense flavors. While it launched last year, the scant 150 bottles for the U.S. arrived in March.

Lagavulin 11 year old Sweet Peat scotch single malt, 43%, $70

Lagavulin's first new permanent release in nine years scored 91 points from us and is designed as an entry point into peated scotch. Aged entirely in first-fill bourbon barrels and bottled at 86 proof, Sweet Peat brings peat smoke, seashells, and cigar box on the nose, with dried strawberries, dark chocolate, and sugared coffee on the palate. At 35 ppm, it sits below Ardbeg 10 and Laphroaig 10 on the peat scale, approachable without losing Lagavulin's character.

Still Austin Cask Strength bourbon, 59%, $59

Austin's grain-to-glass distillery built its reputation on a maturation process developed by master blender Nancy Fraley, who has barrels periodically dosed with small amounts of water to counteract Texas's brutal heat and humidity during aging. Still Austin’s cask strength bourbon—which enters and leaves the barrel at the same 116 proof—shows what that process can produce at full proof: bold, concentrated flavor that combines floral and savory in a way that doesn’t show up in many glasses. Look for notes of burnt sugar, browned butter, shortcrust, and blackberries, then look for the bottle to pour another.

Virginia Distilling Co. 50/50 Split Barrel blend (Project 1), 45%, $45

How do you get bourbon drinkers to realize that American single malt is worth their time? Combine the two spirits. Virginia Distillery Co.’s (VDC) 50/50 Split Barrel Project 1 melds 4 year old Bardstown, Kentucky bourbon (75% corn, 15% rye, 10% malted barley) and 5 year old VDC-made American single malt, aged in first-fill bourbon barrels. It’s a first-of-its-kind, and one that’s worth your attention. You can pick out the bourbon notes—warm oak, vanilla, caramel—alongside what the malt’s bringing to the party—stone fruit and chocolate.

E.H. Taylor Four Grain bourbon, 50%, $80

Buffalo Trace's Colonel E.H. Taylor line built its name on small-batch experiments, and Four Grain is one of the standouts, built on a mashbill of corn, rye, wheat, and malted barley. The first release, a 12 year old, scored 90 points when it debuted in 2017. The 2026 version sees the age dip to 10 years, but we doubt that’ll deter rabid Taylor fans from snapping this one up, especially since it’s the first Four Grain to release since 2018. Though any bottle of Four Grain is a strong pickup—if you can find it near its suggested retail price.

Brook Hill x Liquid Ministry Widowmaker 10 year old bourbon, 67.62%, $375

Rare Character's Brook Hill series revives a Prohibition-era brand, pairing it with exceptional single barrels, selected by the industry’s top palates, including Mel Joye from glassware company Liquid Ministry. Joye is dropping two Brook Hill single barrels this July, “Widowmaker” and “Femme Fatale,” both 10 year old Kentucky bourbons, both above 130 proof. The duo is exquisite, though in a blind tasting Widowmaker may win by a nose, and drinks significantly under its proof. To match the whiskey, Liquid Ministry brings ultra-premium touches to the packaging, recreating the labels in synthetic leather resembling alligator skin for Femme Fatale and Japanese lace paper that resembles a spider web for Widowmaker.

Elijah Craig 15 year old Single Barrel bourbon, 54%, $150

Heaven Hill has been on a roll, especially with Elijah Craig. We named Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Rye our 2025 Whisky of the Year. And now the newest addition to Elijah Craig's single barrel lineup—also its youngest—arrives to blow the rest of the lineup out of the water. It handily beats the 18 year single barrel in terms of flavor. The 108 proof is intentional, per master distiller Conor O’Driscoll, to enhance the liquid’s “natural complexity.” Well, it definitely works. We gave this stunner a score of 94.

Ardbeg Dolce, 47.8%, $110

Ardbeg's annual Fèis Ìle releases, always tied to Islay’s Festival of Music and Malt, don’t miss. Of the last four that we’ve scored, none were below 92 points. No surprise then that the 2026 Ardbeg Dolce, received a 94 from us. The scotch blends classic bourbon cask-matured spirit with whisky finished in casks that previously held marsala dolce, a sweet Sicilian fortified wine. It opens with ripe apricot and peat smoke, moving into lemon curd, bitter orange, and Santa Rosa plum before a long finish of cacao and sooty oak. It's a limited release available now and one of Ardbeg's strongest bottlings.