Michter's 20 Year Old, Johnnie Walker Lunar New Year Edition, Macallan Harmony & More [New Releases]

The return of Michter’s 20 year old bourbon after being away for two years was certainly the highlight of the week, although getting hold of a bottle of this limited release will prove to be a challenge as always. The 20 year old's arrival came just in time for WhiskyFest New York on Wednesday night, where it was in high demand. Elsewhere among the new American whiskey releases, Tattersall has two limited edition bottled in bond expressions, while Colorado’s Laws offers two cask-finished bourbons. Other new announcements feature Pendleton, Hidden Barn, and Wyoming Whiskey.

In scotch, Johnnie Walker Blue is out with its Lunar New Year release to commemorate the Year of the Snake, while Macallan has two new whiskies in the fourth edition of its Harmony Series, which this year celebrates Macallan’s use of oak. And finally, from Ireland, Teeling has released another of its aged whiskeys, this one a 24 year old.

Michter’s 20 year old Bourbon

ABV: 57.1%
SRP: $1,200
Availability: Limited

After a two-year absence, Michter’s 20 year old bourbon is back. The whiskey, an accomplishment considering how difficult it is to usher Kentucky whiskey to the ripe old age of 12 years old, let alone 20, comes back with its highest price tag yet at $1,200—by comparison, when it was last on the market, it went for a (still steep) $750. Price aside, if it’s anything like the distillery’s previous 20 year old bourbon releases, it’ll be something to look forward to, as master distiller Dan McKee and master of maturation Andrea Wilson only approve the ultra-aged whiskey for bottling when it meets their rigorous standards.

Michter’s has slowly, steadily ramped up its distillation, and these days it’s producing whiskey ‘round the clock to meet demand. While these 20 year old whiskeys still don’t showcase the distillery’s own liquid (Michter’s has only been distilling at its Shively distillery since 2014), ultra-aged Michter’s own-make isn’t far down the road.

Pendleton 1910 Bourbon

ABV: 45%
SRP: $50
Availability: Nationwide

Pendleton’s latest bourbon is a blend of high and low-rye bourbons that aged for 10 years in char No. 3 barrels. The whiskey is proofed down with spring water from Oregon’s Mt. Hood. The 1910 moniker comes from the inaugural year of the Pendleton Round-Up, the rodeo that inspired the Pendleton’s creation in 2003. That’s also why the 1910 bottle is fashioned after a rodeo saddle.

This is the first whiskey from Pendleton that was distilled in the U.S.—while the brand is based in Hood River, Oregon, it has always relied exclusively on Canadian whisky, most likely from Alberta Distillers. The release marks a turning for Pendleton, which has long leaned heavily into a Western lifestyle and the spirit of the American cowboy (it is the official whisky of the Professional Bull Riders and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, after all).

Laws Whiskey House Honey Cask Finished Bourbon (2024 Release)

ABV: 47.5%
SRP: $85
Availability: Limited; at the distillery, online, and in select retailers

Laws Whiskey House Cognac Foeder Finished Bourbon (2024 Release)

ABV: 47.5%
SRP: $85
Availability: Limited; at the distillery, online, and in select retailers

Colorado-based Laws Whiskey House has released new batches of two cask-finished favorites. The first one is Laws Honey Cask, the distillery’s trademark heirloom four-grain bourbon (60% corn, 20% wheat, 10% rye, and 10% malted barley) undergoes a 2-year finish in honey barrels. The barrels come from a local honey producer named Bee Squared Apiaries, and they were originally used to age Laws’s flagship bourbon.

The second release is Laws Cognac Foeder Finish, which takes that same bourbon mashbill and finishes it in French oak casks of varying sizes for at least 2 years. After that, the bourbon is transferred into Laws’s solera-style system: a 50 year old 1,600-gallon Cognac foeder that includes liquid aged for up to 7 years.

Hidden Barn “Perfect Harmony” Madeira Finished Bourbon (2024 Edition)

ABV: 49.95%
SRP: $90
Availability: Limited

“Perfect Harmony” is the latest Hidden Barn whiskey from master distiller Royce Neeley and master blender Jackie Zykan. First, the whiskey was distilled by Neeley, who used a mashbill of 70% corn, 20% rye, and 10% malted barley. After aging for 6 years, the bourbon was transferred to first-fill madeira barrels, where it was finished for 7 months, then open-air vatted for several days to allow for oxidation. That’s when Zykan came in—she selected eight barrels for the final blend, whereafter “Perfect Harmony” was bottled.

Zykan and Neeley launched Hidden Barn in 2022, with Nate Winegar and Matt Danker of Colorado’s 5280 Whiskey Society. While the brand was initially a non-distilling producer, it's now made at Neeley Family Distillery in Sparta, Kentucky.

Wyoming Whiskey Barrel Strength Bourbon Barrel No. 5540 & Barrel No. 5440

ABV: Varies
SRP: $300
Availability: Limited

Wyoming Whiskey has released two single barrel bourbons. Both are made from the same mashbill—68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley—and aged for 10 years. Where they differ is in the ABV—Barrel 5540 is bottled at 60.5% ABV, whereas Barrel 5440 clocks in at 63.7% ABV. The barrels were pulled from Wyoming Whiskey’s warehouses in Kirby, Wyoming, which sit 4,100 feet above sea level and represent the distillery’s cream of the crop. These are limited releases with a finite range; Barrel No. 5540 is available throughout Wyoming, as well as at the Wyoming Whiskey Barrel House and Wyoming Whiskey Distillery Shop, while Barrel No. 5440 goes a bit farther afield, landing in California, Colorado, Georgia, and Florida.

Last month, Wyoming promoted Brendan Cook to master blender. Cook, who joined the distillery late last year, takes over from blending expert Nancy Fraley, who had worked with Wyoming since 2014.

Tattersall Distilling 7 year old Bottled in Bond Rye

ABV: 50%
Price: $60
Availability: pre-order here. Available in select MN and WA retailers next week

Tattersall Distilling 6 year old Bottled in Bond Wheated Bourbon

ABV: 50%
Price: $60
Availability: Ready for pre-order here. Available in select MN and WI retailers next week

Tattersall Distilling has launched two new bottled in bond expressions, a rye and a wheated bourbon. The rye is a 7 year old made from an 85% rye and 15% malted rye mashbill, while the wheater is a 6 year old from a mashbill of 51% corn, 35% red wheat, and 14% malted barley. Both whiskeys, which are Tattersall’s oldest to date, were aged in charred American white oak barrels. The two new releases join a Tattersall spirits lineup of other whiskeys, as well as rum, gin, aquavit, liqueurs, and canned cocktails. Less than 100 cases of each release are being made available.

Tattersall Distilling was founded in 2015 by childhood friends Jon Kreidler and Dan Oskey as a small craft distiller in Minneapolis. Constrained by Minnesota microdistillery laws that limit producers with over 40,000 proof gallons in annual capacity, in 2021 the company opened a new, much larger facility across the state line in River Falls, Wisconsin, about 35 miles east of Minneapolis. It’s a modern, 75,000-square-foot space with amenities including a full-service restaurant, cocktail bar, food market, concert amphitheater, and more. Tattersall still maintains its facility in Minneapolis, and grain sourcing remains local to Minnesota. Corn for the bourbon comes from farms in western Minnesota, while rye, wheat, and barley are grown on a family farm in Cambridge, Minnesota, all within 50 miles of Minneapolis.

Teeling 24 year old Phoenix Legends Irish Single Malt

ABV: 46%
SRP: $500
Availability: Limited

Teeling is rolling out another one of its highly limited Irish single malts, this one carryng a 24 year old age statement. After spending 20 years in bourbon barrels, the whiskey was finished for around 4 years in barrels that previously held Riversaltes—a sweet fortified wine produced in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France. Only 1,000 bottles will be available in the U.S.

Back in September Teeling became the official whiskey of the University of Notre Dame’s sports fans, and this new whiskey commemorates a very special part of the school’s football history. A century ago, The Fighting Irish went on a truly historic run—sweeping the 1924 season with an undefeated 10-0 record, going on to topple Stanford in the Rose Bowl following a legendary match against rivals Army Cadets at the New York Polo Grounds. The whiskey launch comes on the eve of a special centennial rematch between Notre Dame and the Army Black Knights, set to take place at Yankee Stadium this Saturday.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label Year of the Snake Blended Scotch

ABV: 46%
SRP: $300
Availability: Limited edition; imported by Diageo, New York, and available in specialist stores and online

Getting into the holiday spirit, Johnnie Walker has released its 2025 Lunar New Year edition of Johnnie Walker Blue Label. Visual artist James Jean designed the Year of the Snake pack, following up his collaboration with Johnnie Walker on the Year of the Wood Dragon edition for 2024. Born in Taipei, Jean studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York and now lives in Los Angeles. Drawing inspiration from Chinese scroll paintings, Japanese woodblock prints, and Renaissance-style portraiture, his new design represents renewal and reinvention. Three colorful snakes, representing wisdom, intelligence, and intuition, are shown shedding their skins ready to embrace the next chapter in life. Lunar New Year will be celebrated on January 29, 2025. Many brands now produce special packaging for their best-selling whiskies for Lunar New Year, but this Johnnie Walker Blue Label Year of the Snake edition marks the 12^th annual release in the series, completing the entire Zodiac cycle of 12 animals.

Macallan Harmony IV Collection

Vibrant Oak

ABV: 44.2%
Price: $200
Availability: Limited

Guardian Oak

ABV: 44.2%
Price: $185
Availability: U.S. customers contact clientservices@macallan.com. Overseas buyers can try the Macallan Online Boutique

Macallan has unveiled Harmony IV, the latest edition in its Harmony Collection, a limited annual release that embraces the distiller’s connection with nature and highlights the recycling of organic materials in its packaging. This one celebrates Macallan’s history with oak and includes two whiskies: Vibrant Oak and Guardian Oak.

Vibrant Oak was matured in a combination of first-fill American and second-fill sherry-seasoned oak casks. Guardian Oak was aged mainly in a mix of first-fill European and second-fill sherry-seasoned oak casks. The idea is to showcase the differences between the two, in terms of the oak and how it is used. Macallan’s cask seasoning process is lengthy, taking about 5 years, and is touted by the distiller as the “greatest single contributor” to the quality of its whiskies.

The releases are part of a collaboration between Macallan and Cirque du Soleil, which has an experiential performance called Spirit that debuted at the Macallan Estate earlier this year and will be an ongoing event.

The oak chippings created from making the casks have been repurposed and made into the presentation box and bottle label for these whiskies. The Vibrant Oak label has a picture of Ayla, a character from the Spirit performance, entwined in American oak branches. The box for Guardian Oak has an image of Davonna, another Spirit character, surrounded by branches of European oak.