Laphroaig Càirdeas, Old Forester 1910 , Knob Creek, Wyoming Whiskey and More New Releases

This week in new whisky, it's all about returns. Laphroaig has introduced the latest release of fan-favorite Càirdeas; this year's edition is a cask-strength iteration of the distillery's core single malt Lore. In Kentucky, Knob Creek has brought back Bourbon x Rye, a limited edition blend of straight whiskeys that landed on our Top 20 list last year, while Old Forester is rolling out its 1910 Extra Extra Old bourbon for the first time since 2022. Elsewhere in the U.S., Wyoming Whiskey has its newest National Parks release, this one an ode to Acadia in Maine, Bib & Tucker has a bourbon that combines the worlds of whiskey and coffee, and Wolves returns with its latest Willett collaboration.

Laphroaig Càirdeas Lore Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch

ABV: 59.6%
Price: $110
Availability: Limited

Laphroaig has unveiled its annual Càirdeas release, a fan favorite that launched in 2008 for its Friends of Laphroaig club members (Càidreas is Gaelic for friendship). This year’s is a cask strength version of core-range Lore; bottled at 59.6% ABV, compared to the classic’s 48% ABV. The single malt is a blend of 7 to 21 year olds aged in five different cask types: bourbon, European oak, oloroso sherry, and quarter casks.

Keeping with tradition, this expression was unveiled at Islay’s Fèis Ìle festival that takes place every May. This marks the second Càidreas release under the guidance of master blender Calum Fraser and the second year in a row that distribution has expanded beyond a club-exclusive.

Knob Creek Bourbon x Rye Blend of Straights

ABV: 56.5%
SRP: $45
Availability: Nationwide

When it launched last summer, Beam’s Knob Creek Bourbon x Rye was billed as a one-off experimental blend. Had that been the case, we would’ve remembered it fondly; after all, it landed at No.-13 on our Top 20 list of 2024. However, fans will be delighted to learn that Bourbon x Rye is returning to shelves nationwide this month.

Like the first batch, this is a blend of Knob Creek 9 year old bourbon and its 7 year old rye, for a melding of bright spice and black pepper with vanilla, caramel, butterscotch, and soft fruit.

Old Forester 117 Series: 1910 Extra Extra Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon

ABV: 46.5%
SRP: $65
Availability: Limited

1910 Extra Extra Old, part of Old Forester’s double-barreled 117 Series, is back again. The bourbon starts as the distillery’s 1910 bourbon, a callback to a historic bottling known as Old Fine Whisky that’s matured and then re-barreled into new lightly toasted, heavily charred barrels for under a year. With Extra Extra Old, Old Forester finishes 1910 in those secondary barrels for a full 2 years.

The returning whiskey is available at the Old Forester Distillery on Louisville’s Whiskey Row, Kentucky retailers, and Old Forester’s online store for shipping to Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Kentucky, and Washington, D.C.

Wolves and Willett 10 Year Rye

ABV: 51.5%
SRP: $355
Availability: Limited

American single malt bottler Wolves Whiskey has partnered with Kentucky’s Willett for a third release, this one a blend of straight ryes. In making the whiskey, Willett selected 10 year old Kentucky rye barrels, while Wolves’ head blender Eddie Gonzalez pulled 10 year old Indiana rye that was aged 7 years in the Hoosier State, then moved to California for the final 3 years of maturation. The whiskey is available on the Wolves website. Previous collaborations between the Wolves and Willett were also aimed at rye; this is the first to carry an age statement.

Wyoming Whiskey National Parks: Acadia Edition Straight Bourbon

ABV: 49%
SRP: $80
Availability: Maine exclusive

Each year since 2021, Wyoming Whiskey has released bottlings that are inspired by the state’s two national parks, Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Now, in a first for the series, it’s putting the spotlight on a park beyond Wyoming’s boundaries: Acadia National Park, located on Maine’s Atlantic coast.

Like all Wyoming’s whiskeys, this is made with grains grown in nearby Byron, Wyoming, and water drawn from a limestone aquifer that’s 50 miles from the distillery. It’s aged for a minimum of 5 years, and subject to some serious temperature swings—courtesy of the state’s frigid winters and warm summers—throughout its maturation.

The whiskey was created in partnership with Friends of Acadia, a conservation organization in Maine that’s dedicated to the preservation of Acadia and its surrounding communities. As such, Wyoming has made a $10,000 donation to the group. Sales of the new bottle are limited to Maine retailers.

Bib & Tucker Gold Roast Infused Bourbon

ABV: 46%
SRP: $50
Availability: Nationwide

Bib & Tucker’s latest project aims to combine the worlds of whiskey and coffee. Gold Roast starts off as a 6 year old Tennessee bourbon that was filtered through maple sugar charcoal in keeping with the Lincoln County Process. At the end of the maturation process, some barrels were infused with custom-roasted Arabica coffee beans from local coffee purveyor Muletown Coffee Roasters. Afterward, the infused barrels were blended back into the rest of the batch. This expression will be joining the Bib & Tucker lineup permanently starting in August.