In scotch whisky, Glengoyne 18 year old is back after a five-year absence from the U.S. Among American whiskeys, we have Bardstown Normandie Calvados Cask, Barrell's New Riff Winter Whiskey and a sherry cask-finished malted rye, Barrell's new blend, Wyoming Whiskey's latest National Parks expression, Old Forester's Texas tribute King Ranch, and a single malt from Laws.
Glengoyne 18 year old scotch single malt
ABV: 43%
SRP: $150
Availability: Nationwide
In 2020, Glengoyne ceased bringing its 18 year old single malt to the U.S. After a five-year drought, brought on by a lapse in production in the mid-aughts, it’s now returning to the American market. The Highland malt is matured predominantly in oloroso sherry casks, with a smaller portion aged in refill casks. As it makes its way back to shelves, it’ll be in new, sustainable packaging as well, bottled in 49% recycled glass and a fully recyclable box (the latter of which features photographs of Dumgoyne Hill, a landmark peak located next to the distillery).
Old Forester King Ranch Edition
ABV: 52.5%
SRP: $70
Availability: Texas only
Old Forester has released the fourth annual edition of its King Ranch Edition, a limited release celebrating the legacy of King Ranch, the largest ranch in Texas. The whiskey is a batch of Old Forester matured in heavily charred barrels, and then filtered through mesquite charcoal made from mesquite trees grown on King Ranch. This edition has a revamped label that depicts the legendary King Ranch Quarter Horse Peppy San Badger, considered a symbol of the property. King Ranch has also produced three Kentucky Derby winners in its history.
King Ranch was established in 1853 by Captain Richard King, and today it’s a multi-state agribusiness with interests in Texas, California, and Florida. There is no specific connection between the Brown family (Old Forester’s owners) and King Ranch. The inspiration for the whiskey is that it honors the legacy of two multigenerational family businesses.
Bardstown Bourbon Co. Distillery Reserve Normandie Calvados Cask Finished Bourbon
ABV: 52.1%
SRP: $100/375ml
Availability: Distillery and Louisville tasting room exclusive starting on November 28th
Bardstown Bourbon Co. is out with its third and final Distillery Reserve whiskey of 2025. A blend of bourbons aged 12 to 13 years, the new release spent 28 months finishing in calvados—an apple brandy native to Normandy, France—casks before then being refilled into new, medium-toasted oak barrels for 4 months. The bourbon will be available at Bardstown Bourbon’s distillery gift shop and its Louisville tasting room starting Black Friday (November 28).
In tandem with the new release, the distillery is hosting a digital raffle that will give fans a chance to purchase the entire Distillery Reserve series, which also includes the Hokkaido mizunara oak-finished blend of straight whiskeys and Cathedral French Oak, a blend of bourbons finished in 300 year old French oak barrels. The raffle winners will also get a tasting experience with master blender Dan Callaway; to enter, you must be on Bardstown’s email list.
New Riff Winter Whiskey Kentucky Straight Bourbon (2025 Release)
ABV: 50%
SRP: $60
Availability: Limited
New Riff Sherry Cask Finished Malted Rye (2025 Release)
ABV: 59.6%
SRP: $70
Availability: Limited
Winter Whiskey, a bourbon that typically launches seasonally. Master distiller Brian Sprance says that it’s a deconstruction of a chocolate oatmeal stout beer recipe, with a mashbill of 65% corn, 20% malted oats, 7% pale ale malted barley, 5% steel-cut oats, and 3% malted barley. It was aged for 4 years, and like many of New Riff’s whiskeys, it’s bottled in bond.
The other one is a follow-up to New Riff’s Sherry Cask Malted rye, which first launched in 2022. It’s distilled from malted rye and was aged for at least 6 years, having been finished in a mix of PX and oloroso sherry casks. This year’s version has slightly less strength than the 2022 version, having been bottled at 111.9 proof compared to 112.7 proof.
Barrell Dovetail Toasted Blended
ABV: 61.9%
SRP: $200
Availability: Nationwide
Blending house Barrell Craft Spirits has introduced a higher-end version of its core-range Dovetail whiskey as part of its Black Label series. It sees the original recipe—a blend of whiskeys from Indiana and Tennessee that undergoes finishes in rum, port, and California cabernet casks—spend an additional 33 months in toasted American oak. The additional finish was meant to contribute notes of caramelized sugar, warm spice, and oak
Wyoming Whiskey National Parks No. 5: A Tribute to the Tetons Straight Bourbon
ABV: 48%
SRP: $75
Availability: Limited; Wyoming retailers and wyomingwhiskey.com
The latest National Parks series pays tribute to the iconic peaks that puncture eastern Wyoming’s skyline: the Grand Tetons. The 5 year old whiskey is made with grains grown in Byron, Wyoming, a town within 100 miles of the Kirby-based distillery. The distillery’s water, meanwhile, is pulled from a limestone aquifer that’s just 50 miles away. As with previous National Parks releases, proceeds from each bottle (in this case $5, up to $50,000) will go toward preservation efforts; they’ll be directed to the Grand Teton National Park Foundation, which restores trails, engages Indigenous youth, enables volunteer work, and advances natural resource restoration and wildlife research projects, among other pursuits.
Laws Whiskey House Origin Series MOSAIC American Single Malt
ABV: 55%
Price: $130
Availability: Laws Whiskey Sanctuary
Denver-based Laws Whiskey House has unveiled MOSAIC, composed of several malt varieties. The malt mashbills feature malted four-row Scottish barley grown in Colorado, a malt smoked using the label’s used barrel staves, peat-smoked malt, and smaller amounts of chocolate and crystal malt.
Heirloom barley for this whiskey comes from the Cody family (who also owns Colorado Malting Company), a longtime southern Colorado supplier and malter of heirloom barley, wheat, and rye for the terroir-driven label. Years of collaboration and experimentation resulted in the specialty malts, aged in a variety of 8 barrels. The majority (44%) of the blend comes from 7 year old barrels–one previously held armagnac, another was a used brandy barrel that previously held a blend of Laws whiskey, and yet another that aged the label’s core four-grain bourbon;18% comes from 8 year old barrels that previously aged the label’s San Luis Valley rye; while 38% comes from 9 year old char No. 3 new American oak barrels. This is the 6th annual release in the Origin series, following last year’s wheat whiskey and bourbon blend, Super Wheater.
