New American Whiskeys: Angel's Envy, Barrell, Sagamore Spirit, Woodinville, and More

Among the American whiskey releases this week, Angel's Envy, which rose to fame on its barrel-finished expressions, now has a new tequila cask-finished rye, and Washington State's Woodinville Whiskey has a new tequila cask-finished bourbon. Barrell has unveiled its first full-proof bourbon, bottled at 61.5%, while Maryland rye specialist Sagamore Spirit is out with the annual edition of its Cask Strength rye. New Riff, best known for its bottled in bond bourbons and ryes, is back with another release of its American single malt. This is New Riff's first single malt release since 2023, and it contains liquid that's 10 years old, dating back to its founding days. There's also new whiskey from Chicken Cock and Calumet Farm, as well as an unaged expression from California's Sespe Creek, where ex-Laphroaig master distiller John Campbell now creates the whiskeys since joining the company last year.

Angel’s Envy Cellar Collection Vol. 5: French Oak Extra Añejo Tequila Barrel Finished Rye

ABV: 52.1%
SRP: $270
Availability: Limited; nationwide and online

Angel’s Envy’s Cellar Collection spotlights interesting finishes beyond the distillery’s trademark ruby port casks. This year’s version is a rye that’s finished in Limousin French oak barrels that previously held Patrón Piedra extra anejo, part of the upscale Gran Patrón collection. About 90% of the blend is 6.5 year old rye that was finished for 1 year in those barrels. The remaining 10% is 11 year old unfinished rye. Both components were sourced from MGP.

According to master distiller Owen Martin, this expression originally was slated to be released next year as Vol. 6. but after tasting, he deemed that it was just right and moved up the release date. When assembling the blend, Martin’s goal was to layer different spice notes by leveraging the main components: rye grain, tequila barrels, and French oak. He picked rye as a base spirit for its inherent spiciness, which he figured would naturally pair well with some of the greener, herbaceous notes brought on by the tequila.

The Patrón tie-in is the main attraction here, but the French oak component shouldn’t be overlooked. While French oak is typically lauded for its tannin content, which works wonders for a whisky’s mouthfeel, the wood also generally gives off spicier notes than American white oak—contributing flavors of cinnamon and baking spice, which act as another point of harmony between the rye and the tequila casks.

New Riff American Single Malt (2025 Release)

ABV: 57.6%
Price: $70
Availability: Distillery beginning May 2nd; online and select retailers

The third annual single malt release from Kentucky’s New Riff Distilling, this expression includes up to 10 year old whiskey— some of the distillery's oldest liquid that was primarily aged in refill bourbon barrels and madeira casks —and features three mashbills, down from five in the last iteration in 2023. Two are composed primarily of ale malts (Marris Otter and a Barleywine-style malt), while the other is 100% Scottish peated barley, contributing to what’s said to be a warm smoke finish. The blend’s components undergo an extended secondary maturation in a variety of casks as well as varying levels of charred and toasted oak, red wine, and oloroso sherry. The blend was then rebarreled into American oak for another 3 months, a new process the distillery had yet to explore until now.

As a limited release, it sits alongside another grain-focused whiskey unveiled earlier this year, an heirloom Balboa rye, a wheated bourbon, and a “winter” bourbon made with malted oats. Malted grains, whether heirloom or an offbeat varietal, are a clear calling card for New Riff. Though the distillery is best known for its commitment to sour mash, open-air fermentation, and bottled in bond expressions, it’s been quietly working on a single malt project since opening its doors in 2014. Integral to this is New Riff’s practice of setting aside 20-30% of its new releases over the years for further aging.

Sagamore Spirit Cask Strength Rye (2025 Edition)

ABV: 61.5%
SRP: $70
Availability: Limited

The latest Cask Strength rye edition from Sagamore Spirit builds upon its predecessors, blending high-rye and low-rye whiskeys that are triple-distilled at its Maryland-based distillery. This Cask Strength release carries a 7 year old age statement; previous releases had either much younger age statements, or blends of whiskeys aged up to 7 years. The grains in both the high and low-rye mashbills come entirely from local Maryland farms.

Maryland-style rye is more full-bodied, sweet, and fruity than the spicy ryes typical of Pennsylvania. Maryland was a hub for rye whiskey in pre-Prohibition times, but lost that standing after its last rye distillery, Baltimore-based Standard Distillers Products, shuttered in 1972. Sagamore Spirit has made great strides in bringing Maryland rye back to the collective American whiskey scene, and these days makes all of its own whiskey (previously, it sourced from MGP) and has considerable farm holdings for heirloom grains.

Barrell Full Proof Bourbon

ABV: 61.5%
SRP: $200
Availability: Limited; nationwide and online

Since its inception, Kentucky blending house Barrell Craft Spirits has specialized in making cask strength expressions. (It actually inspired the company name.) But its newest expression aims to take things to the next level by bottling at full proof—at the same strength the whiskey entered the barrel, rather than its natural strength once it exits the barrel.

Barrell did that by blending together well-aged bourbon stocks from Indiana (16–18 years old), Tennessee (16–17 years old), and Kentucky (11 and 20 year olds). Prior to blending, each component was proofed back down to its barrel entry proof. The final product arrives at 61.5% ABV and has a combined mashbill of 78% corn, 11% rye, and 11% malted barley.

Woodinville Tequila Cask Finished Bourbon

ABV: 50%
SRP: $70
Availability: Limited; at the distillery on May 3rd, with online sales to follow on May 5th

This expression started with Woodinville’s flagship bourbon—72% corn, 22% rye, and 6% malted barley—which was aged for around 6 years. After that, it was finished inside Woodinville’s experimental Warehouse 1 for an undisclosed amount of time in barrels that previously held extra añejo tequila. Some 2,000 bottles were made, with the first 500 bottles set to be released at the distillery on May 3rd at 10:00 a.m. The remaining bottles will be available exclusively at the distillery website starting May 5th.

Chicken Cock Ryeteous Blonde Finished Rye

ABV: 50%
SRP: $70
Availability: Limited; online and at select retailers.

Back by popular demand, Bardstown-based Chicken Cock is re-releasing Ryteous Blonde as a limited offering this year. The expression takes Chicken Cock’s flagship rye recipe and finishes it for an undisclosed time in barrels that once held blonde ale beer from Goodwood Brewing. The 2025 version was proofed to 50% ABV prior to bottling, marking a slight jump from the 45% proof point of the original 2020 batch. The new one is also a bit more affordable than the original, which came with a $90 price tag.

Calumet Farm

18 year old Trophy Decanter Centennial Bourbon

ABV: 59%
SRP: $500
Availability: Limited

17 year old Glass Decanter Centennial Bourbon

ABV: 58.5%
SRP: $400
Availability: Limited

Ceramic Decanter Centennial Bourbon

ABV: 43%
SRP: $330
Availability: Limited

Bottled in Bond Centennial Bourbon

ABV: 50%
SRP: $100
Availability: Limited

Origin Release Centennial Bourbon

ABV: 50%
SRP: $100
Availability: Limited

Centennial High Rye

ABV: 50%
SRP: $100
Availability: Limited

Bowling Green, Kentucky-based Calumet Farm holds the distinction of being the Bluegrass State’s most successful thoroughbred breeder, at least as far as the Kentucky Derby is concerned, with eight Derby winners—the most of any horse farm. For the past decade-plus, Calumet has put its name on more than just horses, debuting its bourbon label in 2013. Now, Calumet is commemorating 100 years in the thoroughbred business with the launch of a celebratory Centennial whiskey collection.

Encompassing five bourbons and the brand’s first-ever rye, the new whiskeys represent Calumet’s most exclusive releases to date, according to Tim Livesay, president of Western Spirits (where Calumet gets its whiskey from). The five bourbons are all made with Calumet’s signature high-rye mashbill of 74% corn, 18% rye, and 8% malted barley, while the rye is comprised of 91% rye and 9% malted barley. The two age statement bourbons are Calumet’s oldest yet, and come in specialized packaging; the 18 year old sits in an elegant elongated bottle meant to look like a trophy, while the 17 year old is packaged in a glass container, and it's flagship bourbon is available in a ceramic decanter that's a miniature of the Calumet farm.

Whiskey Row

Triple Wood Bourbon

ABV: 90%
SRP: $50
Availability: CO, GA, IL, KY, MI, NH, NY, TN

Bottled in Bond Bourbon

ABV: 50%
SRP: $60
Availability: CO, GA, IL, KY, MI, NH, NY, TN

Cask Strength Bourbon

ABV: 56%
SRP: $70
Availability: CO, GA, IL, KY, MI, NH, NY, TN

Originally launched in 2021 as a Kentucky Artisan Distillery house brand, Whiskey Row bourbon is getting new life—involving entirely new liquid and packaging—as the inaugural brand of Avalon Spirits.

The company is re-launching the label with three distinct bourbons: Triple Wood, the core expression matured a minimum of 4 years and finished in cognac and Pedro Ximénez casks; a 6 year old bottled in bond; and a cask strength expression. Future Whiskey Row releases will feature blending profiles from lesser-known bourbon regions, with Avalon looking to highlight destinations that helped shape bourbon’s evolution. The brand will continue being made at Kentucky Artisan Distillery, and while it’s currently limited to eight states, a wider rollout that includes international destinations is expected down the road.

Warbringer Big Cockerel Aguardiente

ABV: 49%
SRP: $35
Availability: 12,000 bottles; CA retail and online at warbringerbourbon.com

This unaged spirit—the first Sespe Creek release from master distiller John Campbell, who joined the Oxnard, California-based craft distillery last October—is made from a mashbill of 60% mesquite-smoked corn, 15% fire-toasted corn, and 25% malted rye. It was twice-distilled in copper pot stills. Its name is a callback to California history; during the California Gold Rush “aguardiente,” which translates to “fiery water,” was made from grapes and readily available, and eventually it was ubiquitous among early Los Angeles, who created their own recipes that showcased the wide variety of local agriculture.