Teeling Phoenix Legends, Compass Box Brulée Royale, King of Kentucky & More

As we move full-on into fall, we are loaded up with high-profile whiskies this week. King of Kentucky is out with its eighth annual release, while Widow Jane drops its seventh annual bottling of The Vaults, the series highlighting ultra-aged bourbons made with unusual cask finishes. Woodford Reserve has a new barrel strength rye, while Baltimore rye specialist Sagamore Spirit has released its first bourbon, a high-rye expression made entirely at the distillery. Among other whiskies, scotch whisky blender Compass Box has tapped into the dessert lover’s palate with a new expression called Crème Brulée Royale, while India’s Rampur Distillery has a new single malt. Meanwhile, college football is in the air: Teeling is back with another expression honoring the legacy of Notre Dame's legendary team, and former Rutgers University football star Eric LeGrand toasts his alma mater with a new bourbon saluting its mascot, the Scarlet Knight.

Compass Box Brûlée Royale Blended malt scotch

ABV: 49%
SRP: $160
Availability: Limited global release of 8,556 bottles available nationwide

If you love cracking the glassy sugar crust of a crème brûlée with a spoon and scooping out the rich vanilla custard underneath, this whisky is for you. Compass Box has unveiled Brûlée Royale, a limited-edition blended malt inspired by the 17th-century origins of crème brûlée at the Palace of Versailles. Compass Box whisky maker Samuel Travers re-created the caramelized sugar flavors of the dessert through the use of custom toasted and charred American oak casks to evoke dessert-like aromas and flavors from the four single malts included in the recipe: 53.3% Benrinnes matured in first-fill bourbon barrels, 39% Clynelish matured in second-fill new American oak casks, 7.2% Speyburn matured in refill American oak hogsheads, and 0.5% Ardbeg matured in re-charred American oak casks.

Chef Massialot, who cooked at the court of Louis XIV at Versailles, is credited with being the first person to publish the recipe for crème brûlée in 1691—though the French aren’t the only ones who claim to have invented it. Recently, several whisky producers have been showing us their sweeter side. The new Compass Box release leans into the dessert-inspired whisky trend, following the Singleton’s Gourmand Collection, Glenmorangie A Tale of Ice Cream, and the recent crème brûlée limited-edition in the Penelope Architect series. Crème brûlée is a popular flavor noted in whisky, but now, whisky is becoming a flavor inspiration for crème brûlée. Compass Box has teamed up with acclaimed pastry chef Dominique Ansel to create the Brûlée Royale Fondue—a decadent dessert inspired by their new whisky, featuring vanilla bean fondue flambéed with Brûlée Royale and served with bite-sized treats that mirror the whisky’s flavors. Ansel’s exclusive recipe will be available on the Compass Box website beginning October 8th.

Teeling 16 year old Phoenix Legends Series No. 2 Marsala Cask Finish Irish single malt

ABV: 46%
SRP: $350
Availability: Limited release of 1,500 bottles; imported by Bacardi

Teeling’s latest limited release honors Notre Dame’s legendary 1977 “Green Jersey” game, where the Fighting Irish triumphed over USC, defeating their opponents 49–19 and securing their 10th consensus national title. Fittingly, this milestone aligns with the celebrations taking place at Teeling Distillery in Dublin this week, as it toasts its 10th anniversary.

Teeling Phoenix Legends No. 2 is more available and less expensive than the 94-point Phoenix Legends No. 1, though it’s 8 years younger. Both editions were initially matured in bourbon barrels, with the new release being finished in marsala wine casks, whereas the series debut was finished in rivesaltes casks. As part of its ongoing sponsorship of the University of Notre Dame, Teeling also released Teeling X Notre Dame Small Batch Irish Blend in September.

Rampur Jugalbandi Series No. 7 and No. 8 Indian single malt

ABV: 55.8%
SRP: $450
Availability: Limited release; imported by SG Worldwide

The grand finale of the Rampur Jugalbandi series is set to roll out in November and includes a highly unusual cask finish for an Indian whisky. The Jugalbandi series is inspired by the Indian classical music art form between two soloists and uses contrasting pairs of casks to create a harmony of flavors. Drinks company Radico Khaitan launched the eight-part collection in 2022, though the cask strength series only entered the U.S. market in 2024 with the arrival of Jugalbandi No. 5 and Jugalbandi No. 6. The new limited-edition whiskies both begin maturation in bourbon casks; Jugalbandi No. 7 is then finished in mizunara casks, while Jugalbandi No. 8 is finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks.

Like many whisky makers outside of Japan, whisky companies in India have been conducting finishing experiments using mizunara casks. At Rampur Distillery, the climate—marked by hot summers, a monsoon season, and cool, dry winters—intensifies the interaction between the spirit and the wood. Mizunara casks have a reputation for being leaky, so in Uttar Pradesh, home to the Rampur Distillery, the climate can accelerate evaporative losses in the warehouse. Overcoming these challenges, Rampur’s first mizunara cask finish signals an exciting new chapter for Indian whisky on the global stage.

Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select Barrel Strength Rye

ABV: 62.55%
SRP: $130
Availability: Limited

Woodford Reserve’s core whiskeys adhere to one particular proof: 90.4, or 45.2% ABV. For Woodford fans who also appreciate slightly higher proofs, it can be quite exciting, then, to see barrel proof iterations of the distillery’s whiskeys. That’s the case with its latest release, which takes the flagship Woodford rye—which is made using a pre-Prohibition-style mashbill of 53% rye, 33% corn, and 14% malted barley—and bottles it at cask strength. As part of the Distiller’s Select series, a range that pushes Woodford’s creative boundaries with one-off releases, this is a limited-edition rye; that said, it will be available nationwide, as well as at the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles, Kentucky.

King of Kentucky (8^th Edition) bourbon

ABV: 62.2%-67.5%
SRP: $399
Availability: Limited

Brown-Forman has released its eighth annual edition of King of Kentucky. This one was aged 17 years, and just 5,000 bottles were produced from 63 single barrels. The barrels came from the fourth floor of Warehouse J and the first floor of Warehouse G at the Brown-Forman distillery (formerly Early Times distillery) in Shively, Louisville.

King of Kentucky has a long history. First established back in 1881, for many years it was produced by a company called Selected Kentucky Distillers until it was acquired by Brown-Forman in 1936. It then became a blended whiskey for a time starting in 1946, and was finally discontinued in 1968. In 2018 Brown-Forman revived the brand, with an emphasis on high proof, aged whiskey, and curated barrel selection. It uses the same mashbill as Early Times bourbon (79% corn, 11% rye, and 10% malted barley), which is also used in other Brown-Forman whiskeys including Old Forester 1924 and Cooper’s Craft.

Town Branch Imperium MMXXV Kentucky Straight Bourbon

ABV: 52.5%
SRP: $120
Availability: Limited

For its second Imperium release, Lexington, Kentucky-based Town Branch once more drew from some of its finest barrels, with a focus on three distinct bourbon mashbills:

• Pot distilled Kentucky bourbon made from a mash of 72% corn, 15% rye, and 13% malted barley
• Column distilled Kentucky bourbon made from a mash of 72% corn, 15% rye, and 13% malted barley
• Column distilled wheated Kentucky bourbon made from a mash of 70% corn, 22% wheat, and 8% malted barley

Just six barrels made it into the final blend. Head blender Dave Bob Gasper started with the wheated bourbon as a base, selecting three barrels of it (or 50% of the blend), all of which were filled on the same date—March 6, 2020, making them 5 years old. He then blended in one barrel of 6 year old Kentucky bourbon, and two barrels of 8 year old Kentucky bourbon. Imperium MMXXV is limited, with only 1,314 bottles available.

Sagamore Spirit Reserve Series High Rye Straight Bourbon

ABV: 59%
SRP: $49
Availability: Baltimore exclusive

For the first time in its eight-year history, Sagamore Spirit—a leader of the Maryland rye revival—has released a bourbon. It's distilled entirely at Sagamore, and is made from a high-rye mashbill of 60% corn, 25% rye, and 15% malted barley, and aged for 6 years. It’s part of Sagamore’s Reserve Series, which highlights innovative releases, among them barrel finishes and older age statements; this also indicates that it’s limited in nature, and in this case, it’s a Baltimore exclusive, available at the distillery or the city’s retailers.

Widow Jane The Vaults (2025 Edition) blend of straight bourbons

ABV: 49.5%
SRP: $250
Availability: Limited; nationwide

Brooklyn-based whiskey maker Widow Jane has released the 2025 edition of The Vaults series, this one finished in what it calls “mythological oak,” which is oak harvested from ancient forests surrounding the Greek coastal town of Amfilochia. The whiskey is 15 years old, and has an allocation of 15,672 bottles.

Widow Jane said the oak trees in this area of Greece are particularly subject to forest fires, which add a bit of char to the barrel finish. Head distiller Sienna Jevremov said the choice was inspired by her many visits to the Amfilochia area.

This is the seventh edition of The Vaults series, which comprises older whiskeys made with unique cask finishes. Last year’s release was a blend of 15 to 20 year old bourbons that was finished in amburana casks.

Eric LeGrand Bourbon The Scarlet Knight Series

ABV: 46%
SRP: $55
Availability: Limited, available in NJ and online at ericlegrandwhiskey.com

Eric LeGrand Bourbon has released a new, limited edition bourbon series called the Scarlet Knight Series, in partnership with Rutgers University. Unveiled on October 1, it’s a Kentucky straight bourbon that pays tribute to the Rutgers mascot, the Scarlet Knight. The whiskey was aged for 5 years and was made from a mashbill of 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% barley, the high-rye component aiming to “capture the fighting spirit” of Rutgers University, the company said.

Company co-founder Eric LeGrand was a Rutgers University football star who suffered a spinal cord injury during a game in his junior year that left him paralyzed from the neck down. He launched his first whiskey, Eric LeGrand Kentucky straight bourbon, in 2023, partnering with spirits industry veteran Brian Axelrod and Kentucky-based Green River Distillery. Its whiskeys have centered around his ties to his alma mater.

“Since we entered our partnership with Rutgers Athletics in 2023, it has opened many doors for the brand, so this was a long time coming,” said LeGrand in a statement. “The university means so much to me, and it’s been great seeing fellow Rutgers fans enjoying our bourbon on game days.”

Wildrye Distilling The Confluence Collection

This Bozeman, Montana-based distillery’s new Confluence Collection is a quartet of whiskeys made in partnership with River of Life, an organization dedicated to river advocacy, preservation, and community. The limited-edition lineup includes a single malt, wheated bourbon, port-finished rye, and a blend of all three. Each one is a tribute to one of the four rivers significant to Big Sky Country, ultimately paying homage to the “confluence” of rivers into the Missouri, wherein the first three whiskeys are blended to create the fourth. Like all other spirits from Wildrye, all grains are grown in Montana.

10% of all bottle sales will be donated to the non-profit Upper Missouri Waterkeeper, a Montana-based river protection group that oversees conservation of waters that run throughout 25,000 square miles of Montana’s Upper Missouri River Basin. Those interested in the full collection can purchase it online, packaged in a sustainable wood case. For each purchase of the entire set, a tree is planted in areas in need of reforestation. Bottles can also be purchased at the distillery.

The Gally American Single Malt

ABV: 47.5%
Price: $121
Named after the Gallatin River, this is made from 100% Montana Malted Barley, aged in barrels that previously held rye for just under 2 years.

The Maddy Wheated Bourbon

ABV: 52.6%
Price: $123
Paying homage to the Madison River, the mashbill includes 60% sweet corn, 8% wheat, 8% malted wheat, 32% malted barley, then aged in new American oak for 2 years and 9 months.

The Jeff Port Cask Finished Rye

ABV: 49%
Price: $134
A nod to the Jefferson River, the mashbill is composed of 67% malted rye and 33% malted barley, then aged for 4 years in bourbon barrels and 2 years in second-fill port casks.

The Mo Blend

ABV: 50.4%
Price: $141
As the three rivers converge into the Missouri River, so do the three other whiskeys in the collection to make up this blend, with the port cask finished rye (The Jeff) making up 41.6%, followed by 35.5% wheated bourbon (The Maddy), and 22.9% American single malt (The Gally).

Collectible

Dalmore Cask Curation Series: The Red Wine Cask Edition scotch single malt

ABV: 40.3%-40.7%
SRP: $44,500
Availability: Limited, only 26 sets available in the U.S.

As part of its Cask Curation Series, first launched in 2023, Northern Highlands scotch distiller Dalmore has released its third installment, The Red Wine Cask. This one comprises three whiskies matured in Matusalem oloroso sherry casks and finished in barrels from Rhone winemaker Château Mont-Redon of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The three separate bottlings are aged 24 years (40.7% ABV), 34 years (40.5%), and 43 years (40.3%).

Only 150 sets are available globally (26 in the U.S.), and are packaged in cases from Italian luggage maker AB Florence. The case color is lapis blue, which the company says is inspired by the skies of the Rhone region.

Last year’s release in the series was The Port Edition, a trio of whiskies celebrating Dalmore’s long-standing ties with Graham’s Port, the famed house that was founded in the Douro Valley back in 1820. The Cask Curation debut series was The Sherry Edition in 2023.