Elijah Craig, Stranahan's, Penelope, Aberfeldy, Redwood Empire, Dingle & More [New Releases]

The aged whiskies just keep on coming: Colorado-based Stranahan’s is celebrating American single malt’s official classification with the release of a 12 year old, while Penelope is offering a 17 year old American light whiskey, and single malt scotch Aberfeldy has a 26 and a 39 year old—all of them being limited editions, of course. Meanwhile, Kentucky newcomer Garrard County Distilling Co., which filled its first barrel in January of 2024 at a new distillery in Lancaster, about 35 miles south of Lexington, is relaunching its All Nations brand using sourced liquid. Among other releases, Elijah Craig is out with its first barrel proof batch of the year, while Redwood Empire has a higher-proof version of its Pipe Dream expression. From across the pond, Irish single malt Dingle has the second release in its Celtic Wheel of the Year series

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon (Batch A125)

ABV: 59.1%
SRP: $75
Availability: Nationwide

Each January, Kentucky distillery Heaven Hill kicks off the new year with fresh batches of its popular cask strength bourbons. This week, the first of those whiskeys for 2025—Elijah Craig Barrel Proof A125—has made its way to retailers around the county. It was aged for 10 years and 7 months, and bottled at 59.1% ABV.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (ECBP) has been a staple of the Heaven Hill lineup for over a decade, having first hit the scene in 2013. In essence, ECPB is Heaven Hill’s flagship Elijah Craig bourbon cranked up to “11”—sporting a double-digit age statement and trading in the typical 47% ABV for bottling at cask strength. The series has earned many accolades over the years, notching numerous scores above 90 points with our tasting panel and winning our Whisky of the Year in 2017.

Heaven Hill releases three distinct batches of ECBP each year—in January, May, and September. Each one has a different age statement and proof point, and it’s always interesting to compare batches. This is the youngest ECBP bottling in recent years, 2 months younger than Batch A124 from last year. The bottling strength has also dipped, with A125 being the lowest-proofed batch since 2021.

Stranahan’s Founder’s Release American Single Malt

ABV: 60%
SRP: $200
Availability: Limited

After an exceedingly long wait, in December, the TTB recognized American single malt as an official category. To celebrate the occasion, Stranahan’s has released a 12 year old single malt made in collaboration with the distillery’s founder, Jess Graber. The whiskey starts as all Stranahan’s whiskeys do—it’s mashed and distilled from 100% malted barley and Rocky Mountain water. While the majority of the blend is aged for 12 years in charred oak barrels, a small portion was finished for 1 to 4 years in barrels that previously aged blonde ale and bourbon.

Stranahan’s was born from an unexpected meeting between Graber, a volunteer firefighter, and his neighbor George Stranahan, a brewer and whiskey connoisseur. When Stranahan’s barn caught fire in 1998, Graber responded, and once the flames were subdued, the rest was history—the pair formed a friendship that culminated in Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey, with the first bottle debuting in 2006. Little did they know that within two decades their American single malt, an undesignated, little-known style at the time, would eventually become ratified by the TTB.

Penelope 17 year old American Light Whiskey

ABV: 69.4%
SRP: $100
Availability: Limited; arriving in February

Penelope Bourbon has a new light whiskey launching next month. This one was distilled by MGP at its Ross & Squibb in 2006. It has a mashbill of 99% corn and 1% malted barley, and was aged for 17 years in second-fill oak barrels.

Light whiskey is defined by the TTB as whiskey produced in the U.S. at more than 80% alcohol by volume but less than 95% alcohol by volume and stored in used or uncharred new oak containers. It isn’t a new style—the ATF, predecessor to the TTB, designated it as a category in 1968, and the first light whiskeys began appearing in the early ’70s. Back then light whiskeys were hailed as a coming trend and were released by all the major distillers, but the idea completely bombed. (Brown-Forman had a light whiskey brand called Frost 8-80—8 years old and 80 proof, long-forgotten but a particularly notable flop.) Smaller producers have used light whiskey as a blending component, mixing it with bourbon or rye as a way of boosting batch volumes. Others like Penelope, Jacob’s Pardon, and Backbone also started bottling ultra-aged light whiskey on its own, finding that it picks up distinct sweet notes like butterscotch and powdered doughnut once it hits a certain age. As a result, the style has been making a comeback in recent years, and this Penelope release represents the latest effort.

Redwood Empire Pipe Dream 101 Proof Bourbon

ABV: 50.5%
SRP: $55
Availability: Nationwide

California-based distillery Redwood Empire has unveiled a higher-proof iteration of its mainstay bourbon Pipe Dream. This one kicks up the strength to 50.05% ABV from the original 45%. While the main focus is the higher proof, the newcomer is also distinct from a blending perspective: it’s slightly older than the flagship Pipe Dream—tapping 5–15 year old stocks, while the original is made from 4–14 year olds—and it uses more of the distillery’s own distillate in the blend. The whiskey is currently available nationwide via Total Wine, but Redwood Empire plans to expand into additional retailers by spring.

All Nations Kentucky Straight Bourbon

ABV: 48%
SRP: $40
Availability: GA, KY, TN, and online at garrardcountydistillingco.com.

Garrard County Distilling Co. is relaunching its key whiskey brand, All Nations. The label first launched in 2019, before Garrard’s parent company, Atlanta-based Staghorn, had secured a distillery. The name is a cheeky call back to Garrard County’s whiskey history—it’s the birthplace of Carrie Nation, the most famous figure in the temperance movement that ultimately led to Prohibition. Known as she was for hatchet-wielding attacks on saloons, many saloons and tavern keepers alive in Carrie’s day hung signs in their windows that read, “All Nations Welcome Except Carrie.”

The newly launched All Nations is a blend of 5 to 7 year old whiskeys, with three mashbills included in the final bottling: 75% corn, 12% rye, and 13% malted barley; 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley; and 64% corn, 24% rye, and 12% malted barley. The whiskey was aged in no.-4 alligator char barrels in Clermont, Danville, Owensboro, and Boston, Kentucky, before a final round of aging at Garrard County.

Mr. & Mrs. Bourbon Co. October London’s Kentucky Bourbon

ABV: 50%
SRP: $100
Availability: Online exclusive, with a retail launch planned for spring

Grammy-nominated R&B singer and songwriter October London has partnered with Kentucky-based Mr. & Mrs. Bourbon brand for a collaborative release. The whiskey is a wheated bourbon, with a mashbill of 64% corn, 24% wheat, and 12% malted barley. It was distilled in 2018 by an undisclosed producer and bottled at 6 years old.

The bourbon is currently available online only, with bottles shipping by April 1st. In addition, the label is offering bundles that include a bottle of the bourbon alongside a pair of rocks glasses, an candle, and a playlist of unreleased songs by October London for $250.

Mr. & Mrs. Bourbon Co. was founded in 2019 by former NBA player Russ Smith, who currently plays in a basketball league based out of Iran. The brand, which touts an inventory of 100,000 barrels, is the result of a partnership between Smith and several undisclosed distillers in Kentucky. In addition to bourbon, the brand has a pair of ryes: Green Oak Tree and the cask strength Black Oak Tree.

Dingle Lá le Bride Single Malt Irish

ABV: 50.5%
SRP: $150
Availability: Limited CA, CO, D.C., FL, GA, IL, MA, MD, and NY; imported by Hotaling & Co.

Dingle Distillery’s second release in its eight-part Celtic Wheel of the Year series is all about the joys of spring. The follow-up to the series debut, the 90-point Dingle Samhain, Lá le Bride was released to mark St. Bridget’s Day for Ireland’s patroness saint on February 1^st. The Celtic festival, known as Imbolc or Imbolg in Gaelic, marks the beginning of spring and lands at the midpoint between the winter solstice and spring equinox. Although the label doesn’t carry an age statement, Dingle Lá le Bride was matured in bourbon barrels for around 5 years and then finished in American rye casks for 2.5–3 years.

Aberfeldy 26 year old Languedoc Red Wine Cask Finished Scotch Single Malt

ABV: 52.2%
SRP: $765
Availability: Limited; imported by Bacardi

Aberfeldy 39 year old Single Cask Scotch Single Malt

ABV: 50.8%
SRP: $4,250
Availability: Limited; imported by Bacardi

Highlands distillery Aberfeldy has unveiled two new limited-edition whiskies under its Exceptional Cask collection of high-end expressions. The first is a 26 year old that was finished for just over 2 years in casks that previously held red wine from the Languedoc appellation in southern France. This whisky was distilled in December 1996 and it was bottled last November. The other whisky is a 39 year old single cask expression that was aged in a refill puncheon. It’s one of the oldest whiskies released by the distillery, following a 40 year old expression that is available only at the distillery.

Founded in 1896 by the Dewar family, Aberfeldy is the lead single malt label in Bacardi’s portfolio, which also includes Aultmore, Craigellache, Glen Deveron, and Royal Brackla. Aberfeldy’s whisky has long played an important role as a component in Dewar’s blended whiskies—in fact, it wasn’t bottled and released as a single malt until 1999. The distillery has since found great success with its own bottlings, with five recent expressions scoring 91 points or higher with our tasting panel. Wine cask finishes are a main attraction for the label, with expressions finished in barrels that once held Bolgheri, Côte Rôtie, Cabernet from Napa, and malbec.

Rod & Hammer Wildfire Resilience Straight Bourbon

ABV: 45%
SRP: $50
Availability: Limited

In light of the ongoing California wildfires, San Luis Obispo-based Rod & Hammer has released a special-edition whiskey honoring California firefighters, with proceeds providing survivor benefits, disaster relief, and essential resources for the eventual rebuilding of lives and communities through the California Fire Foundation. The 2 year old bourbon is made from a mashbill of 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% barley; as with all Rod & Hammer spirits, the whiskey was cut with distilled and purified Pacific Ocean water.

In tandem with the new release, Rod & Hammer is hosting Songs of Solace, a benefit concert for the LA wildfires, which will take place on Sunday, January 26, from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the distillery. The concert lineup features a slew of local artists, and 100% of ticket sales will go toward the California Fire Foundation. In addition to the live performances, a community raffle will also be held, with donations from local businesses. Tickets are live now, going for $23.27 a pop. Songs of Solace will be free for kids 12 and under.