Wild Turkey's 8 Year Old, Jefferson's Cask Strength, Ultra-Aged Collectibles & More

The week's new releases are led by Wild Turkey 101 8 year old, which isn't a new release at all, but one that's been enjoyed for some time in overseas markets and is finally coming home to U.S. distribution. Elsewhere, Jefferson's has a new cask strength offering, and Indiana's Old Hamer label has a new 10 year old bourbon. Smaller releases were announced from Copperworks, Lasso Motel, and Round Barn. In scotch, Royal Salute adds to its Polo collection. Among collectibles, there's a new iteration from Macallan Distill Your World, Glenrothes tops the age charts with a 51 year old, and The Last Drop has a three-bottle release showcasing an ultra-aged bourbon, scotch, and Japanese whisky.

Royal Salute 21 year old Rio de Janeiro Polo Edition Blended Scotch

ABV: 40%
SRP: $250
Availability: Limited; specialty retailers including Flaviar and Caskers

Royal Salute is releasing a new expression in its Polo Collection, its globe-trotting whisky series inspired by the polo lifestyle and the history of the sport of kings. For the seventh edition, Royal Salute master blender Sandy Hyslop drew inspiration from the spirit of Rio de Janeiro to create a rich, fruity blend using whiskies aged for at least 21 years. At the heart of the new expression is single malt from Braeval Distillery, best known as a core malt in the Chivas Regal blend, integrated with whiskies aged in American oak casks intended to add creamy vanilla and coconut notes. The Polo series is one of the most colorful whisky collections to own, and the green flagon chosen for the Rio de Janeiro edition is designed to reflect the green spaces of the city and represent the flag of Brazil.

The six previous editions in the Polo Collection have scored between 90–92 points, and our Ratings page of over 7,000 reviews includes tasting notes on every edition: The Miami, The Jodhpur, The Estancia, Snow Polo, Beach Polo, and the original Polo Edition.

Wild Turkey 101 8 Year Old Bourbon

ABV: 50.5%
SRP: $45
Availability: Nationwide

While the 8 year old iteration of Wild Turkey 101 bourbon has found fans in international markets in recent years, it hasn’t been available in the U.S.—until now. While the classic 101 whiskey is a blend of bourbons aged 6 to 8 years, this new extension highlights longtime master distiller Jimmy Russell’s belief that the best Kentucky bourbon is bottled at 8 years old.

Speaking of Russell, if this release feels familiar, you’re on to something—it comes on the heels of Wild Turkey’s celebratory 2024 whiskey commemorating Russell’s 70th anniversary at the distillery, which was also bottled at 101 proof and 8 years old (though some older 9 year old bourbon was also in the mix).

Jefferson’s Reserve Cask Strength Bourbon

ABV: 65%
SRP: $70
Availability: Limited, but nationwide

Jefferson’s, the whiskey label made by Crestwood-based Kentucky Artisan Distillery and owned by Pernod Ricard, has introduced a new high-strength version of its popular Reserve bourbon. Reserve Cask Strength is an 8 year old that is bottled at an eye-watering 65% ABV—a staggering leap from the 45.1% proof point of the standard Reserve blend. Starting this month, the newcomer will be available for a limited time at select retailers, restaurants, and bars around the country.

Copperworks Washington Peated Single Cask American Single Malt (No. 497)

ABV: 59.7%
SRP: $90
Availability: Limited; at Copperworks’s tasting rooms and online

Seattle-based Copperworks Distilling Co. has released a new single cask American single malt. This one was distilled entirely from Fritz malted barley—an heirloom variety native to Washington’s Skagit Valley—that was smoked using locally sourced peat. The whiskey was aged for 4 years and 3 months in a new American oak cask. Only 200 bottles were produced.

Lasso Motel Darts Blend of Straight Bourbons

ABV: 50%
SRP: $70
Availability: CA, NY, NJ, OK, NV, CO, TX, and online at seelbachs.com

Darts is a “cigarette blend” from Lasso Motel. This cheeky newcomer is distilled from a mashbill of 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley at Kentucky’s Green River Distilling and is finished in armagnac, sherry, and cognac casks. Lasso Motel’s founder is Devin Odell, who previously launched Lasso parent company Dynasty Spirits in 2010. For his current venture, Odell took inspiration from the now-shuttered Belmont Hotel in Dallas in giving the brand its name and look.

As for Darts, Odell says he wanted this whiskey to feel “lived in,” with the vibe of a cash-only dive bar rather than a leather-and-mahogany-steeped room. Darts joins a lineup of other releases in the Lasso Motel lineup, including sherry, rosé, port, tokaji, naranja, cognac, mizunara, French oak, and amburana cask finishes; as well as 4 and 8 year old Kentucky bourbons, a 10 year old cask strength rye, and an 18 year old American whiskey.

Old Hamer 10 year old Bourbon

ABV: 50%
SRP: $85
Availability: At select retailers, with wider availability to come

Westfield, Indiana-based West Fork Whiskey Co. has unveiled its oldest Old Hamer whiskey to date. The new bourbon, Old Hamer 10 year old, was distilled by MGP from a mashbill of 99% corn and 1% malted barley, and aged in new charred American oak barrels. It is currently available in limited quantities at Indiana, Illinois, Florida, and Colorado retailers, with more states to follow by the end of the month. The whiskey is also expected to get an online sale next week, via the brand’s website.

Old Hamer takes inspiration from a pre-Prohibition bourbon brand of the same name, which was shepherded by the Indiana-based Hamer family that historically used the curious mashbill of 99% corn and 1% malted barley. That’s a fairly uncommon mashbill in bourbon for sure: These days it’s more commonly seen in MGP-distilled light and corn whiskeys, which lean very heavily into the inherent sweetness derived from a corn-heavy mashbill by aging in new uncharred or used barrels.

Round Barn Distillery Port Barrel Finished Baroda Straight Bourbon

ABV: 50%
Price: $90
Availability: Limited

About 90 miles east of Chicago sits Round Barn Distillery in Baroda, Michigan. Aptly named after the Amish-style barns for which its region is known, the distillery began in 1992 as a boutique winery known as Heart of the Vineyard. It has since expanded to include a craft brewery and distillery that produces whiskey, vodka, gin, rum, and canned cocktails.

This blend starts with the distillery’s core straight bourbon (70% locally sourced corn, 15% rye, and 15% malt) that was finished for 2 to 5 years in freshly dumped port barrels from sister winery, Tabor Hill. For now, this whiskey can only be enjoyed at any of the Round Barn’s locations, including the brewery in downtown Baroda and the Winery and Estate, which is home to the distillery and cocktail bar, Bourbon Barn. Plans are underway to expand into distribution later this year.

Collectible

Macallan Distil Your World Hong Kong Scotch Single Malt

ABV: 46.8%
SRP: $4,750
Availability: 500 bottles for the U.S.

Macallan’s latest Distil Your World venture (made once more in partnership with restaurateurs Joan, Josep, and Jordi Roca) puts the spotlight on Hong Kong and cask finishing. Created by lead whisky maker Euan Kennedy, the new release is a marriage of single malt aged in American oak with single malt matured in European oak sherry casks; according to Kennedy, this yields flavors that reflect Hong Kong’s myriad market spices.

In tandem with the release, the Roca brothers have introduced a new dining experience inspired by Hong Kong that’s available at Macallan's TimeSpirit restaurant; the menu is meant to reflect a night out at Hong Kong’s famed Temple Night Market, and also points to other landmarks of the city (dessert, for example, is a duck and milk tea mooncake made to resemble the Hong Kong skyline). The latest Distil Your World film, “Reimagining Spaces,” has also debuted, documenting Euan and Joan’s journey through Hong Kong to gather inspiration for the whisky.

Glenrothes The 51 Single Malt Scotch

ABV: 44.2%
SRP: $46,500
Availability: Highly limited; select retailers nationwide and online

The Speyside-based Glenrothes—sister distillery of Macallan—has unveiled its oldest whisky to date. This 51 year old single malt is blended from two separate casks, with the final product said to have perfume-y and floral notes throughout. Master whisky maker Laura Rampling says that the profile is reminiscent of the orchids that grow on the Glenrothes estate. Only 100 bottles were produced, and can be found at select whisky retailers nationwide, online via ReserveBar, or directly from Glenrothes.

Whenever there’s a new whisky with a five or six-figure price tag aimed at collectors, it’s almost always accompanied by some intricate or extravagant packaging. But this one is definitely one of the strangest we’ve seen. The whisky is encased fully in a shell made out of Jesmonite—a composite material made from a water-based resin and mineral powder. In order to get to the whisky, you need to smash the shell (each bottle comes with a small hammer). After the shell is broken, the shards can be sent back to Glenrothes, which commissions a Kintsugi artist to turn them into a vase using precious metal to fill the cracks.

The Last Drop 2025 Collection

The Last Drop, a London-based purveyor of ultra-aged and rare whiskies, has released its 2025 Collection. This year’s lineup comprises three expressions from distilleries in Kentucky, Japan, and Scotland. Each release is highly limited, and they can be found at high-end retailers around the country.

The Last Drop 27 year old Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon (No. 37)

ABV: 60.9%
SRP: $10,500
Availability: 508 bottles

The first expression, which is sure to be of interest to bourbon devotees, comprises some of the oldest stocks distilled by Buffalo Trace. It’s blended from stocks distilled in 1995, 1996, and 1997, which were picked and then blended by Buffalo Trace master distiller Harlen Wheatley and master blender Drew Mayville. These stocks were matured in Warehouse P—the same rickhouse which was used to age Eagle Rare 25 year old.

The Last Drop 55 year old Tomintoul Single Malt Scotch (No. 38)

ABV: 43.1%
SRP: $6,950
Availability: 430 bottles

The second release is an ultra-aged single malt which clocks in at 55 years old. It’s a blend of three casks which were all distilled at Tomintoul in April 1969 and matured in a mix of sherry butts and refill sherry hogsheads. The whiskies underwent a 2 year old marriage in a Matusalem sherry butt before bottling. This expression is a sister cask to last year’s The Last Drop Release No. 36 which, at the time, was the oldest single malt released by the brand.

The Last Drop 22 year old Japanese Blended Malt (No. 39)

ABV: 59.1%
SRP: $5,500
Availability: 319 bottles

The Last Drop 2025 Collection is rounded out by a Japanese blended malt whisky that comes from Hanyu, a respected distillery in central Japan that was demolished in 2004 and is best known today through the Ichiro’s Malt Card Series. The whisky is blended from two casks that were both distilled during Hanyu’s final year of production in 2000 and aged in mizunara oak.