Whisky Watch: Booker's Milkshake, Penelope Classic Series, and More New Whiskies

The pace of new releases has picked up this week, with many distillers announcing new whiskies out this month and others releasing in July to coincide with the nation’s 250th birthday. Leading the charge is Booker’s, which has a new batch inspired by Booker Noe’s beloved malted chocolate milkshakes, and Penelope, which released its first-ever Kentucky bourbon and flagship rye as part of the new Classic Series. There’s also a toasted version of Barrell’s Seagrass rye blend, a follow-up batch for Hard Truth’s Double Oaked rye, a bourbon/malt whiskey blend from Union Horse, two bottles from country singer Lee Greenwood, a colonial-style four-grain rye from Stoll & Wolfe, and a patriotic bourbon from Florida-based St. Petersburg. Scotland also chimes in with two well-aged malts, including a single-vintage peated 31 year old from Benriach and GlenAllachie’s latest Masters of Wood expression.

Booker’s “The Milkshake Batch” Bourbon (Batch 2026-02)

ABV: 62.2%
SRP: $100
Availability: Limited

This year’s second batch of Booker’s is comprised of barrels from four production dates that were matured in four separate warehouses. The components are as follows:

• 26% of the whiskey aged on the fifth floor of 7-story warehouse 3
• 23% aged on the third floor of 7-story warehouse L
• 19% aged on the third floor of 7-story warehouse M
• 32% aged on the fifth floor of 7-story warehouse G

The average age of the whiskey is 7 years.

“Milkshake Batch” takes its name from Booker Noe’s love of his dessert, with son Fred noting that he loved sweet treats just as much as he loved bourbon. He brought those two loves together in the form of a malted chocolate milkshake, which he regularly shared with family and friends.

Penelope Classic Series Kentucky Bourbon

ABV: 46%
SRP: $45
Availability: Select markets next month, with nationwide expansion to follow soon

Penelope Classic Series Straight Rye

ABV: 46%
SRP: $35
Availability: Select markets next month, with nationwide expansion to follow soon

Penelope is shaking things up with two new expressions. The bourbon is the brand’s first from Kentucky, which stands in contrast to the rest of its portfolio, which is from MGP in Indiana. This one has a three-grain mashbill of 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% barley malt, which is a departure from the brand’s typical four-grain bourbon mashbill. Penelope is also introducing its first core rye expression, which is distilled in Indiana from a mashbill of 93% rye and 7% malted barley. Until now, Penelope’s rye has largely been set aside for special finishing-focused releases like Toasted Rye and Tokaji Cask, or blended with bourbon for its bottled cocktail line.

Barrell Toasted Seagrass Rye

ABV: 62.01%
SRP: $199
Availability: Online

This expression comes from a very limited production run that takes Barrell’s signature Seagrass recipe—a blend of Canadian and American ryes finished in Martinique rum, madeira, and apricot brandy barrels—and finishes it for an additional 3 years in grand cru toasted American oak barrels. Only 350 bottles are available.

Hard Truth Double Oaked Sweet Mash Rye (2026 Release)

ABV: 54.4%
SRP: $70
Availability: At the distillery and select retailers starting in July

Last year, Indiana distiller Hard Truth released Double Oaked, a whiskey finished for at least 3 years in new charred oak barrels. Now the distillery is bringing it back for 2026. This year’s version has the same mashbill of 94% rye and 6% malted barley, but it’s bottled at a slightly higher strength than the original’s 53.45% ABV. It’s slated to make its debut at Hard Truth’s second-annual Bourbon & BBQ festival on July 18th, which will also preview a distillery-exclusive single barrel amburana-finished bourbon.

The new whiskey also comes with the news that Hard Truth is now lowering the barrel entry proof of its sweet mash rye to 113. Low entry proof—that is to say, barreling distillate at a lower strength than the legal maximum of 125—is a sort of secret weapon for some distillers like Michter’s, Maker’s Mark, Wild Turkey, and others, who say it speeds up flavor extraction and cuts back on harsher oak flavors as whiskey ages. It’s also a particular favorite for those who dabble in sweet mashing, with fellow practitioners Wilderness Trail and Kentucky Peerless both leveraging low entry proof to preserve fruity notes created during fermentation.

Union Horse Match Day American Straight

ABV: 48%
SRP: $24-$27/375 ml; $52-$54/750 ml
Availability: Limited

In honor of the FIFA World Cup coming to Kansas City, Missouri, Union Horse Distilling Co.—based in nearby Lenexa, Kansas—is releasing a commemorative American whiskey. The new expression is a blend consisting of 82% 6 year old bourbon and 18% 6 year old malt whiskey that aged in new oak. Once blended, the whiskey finished for 2 years in a combination of new and used American oak. Union Horse is hosting a release party on Thursday, June 18th from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; the first 100 bottles of the whiskey will be available then, joined by whiskey flights, cocktails, and food. After that, it’ll begin rolling out across Missouri and Kansas in limited quantities, as well as at the Union Horse distillery.

Soldier Valley Lee Greenwood Signature Bourbon

ABV: 45%
SRP: $60
Availability: Nationwide

Soldier Valley Lee Greenwood Signature Whiskey

ABV: 43%
SRP: $40
Availability: Nationwide

Ahead of the Semiquincentennial, country music singer Lee Greenwood has reintroduced his Soldier Valley Spirits line, which includes bourbon, an American whiskey, and vodka. The bourbon is a high-rye variant, made with 21% rye and unspecified amounts of corn and malted barley. The American whiskey is distilled from 99% corn (sourced from the Midwest) and aged for at least 3 years. A portion of the proceeds from every bottle sold will go toward veteran and first responder charities, among them Helping a Hero, Tunnels to Towers Foundation, and Folds of Honor. Both whiskeys and the vodka are available at soldiervalleyspirits.com and leegreenwoodwhiskey.com.

Wolfe & Wilson Straight Rye (Batch 1)

ABV: 50%
SRP: $80
Availability: At the distillery and online starting July 4th

Pennsylvania distillery Stoll & Wolfe’s latest expression is a fascinating look at colonial-era whiskey. This is a modern interpretation of a rye whiskey recipe preserved in a pamphlet written by Frederick Heinrich Gelwicks, a German distiller who lived and worked in Pennsylvania until his death in 1783. It has a very uncommon four-grain mashbill of rye malt, wheat, rye, and oats, was fermented with wild yeast and cheese culture, and has a notably low barrel entry proof of 105. It’s a collaborative release between Stoll & Wolfe head distiller Erik Wolfe and whiskey maker Alan Bishop, best known for his work as head distiller at Indiana’s Spirits of French Lick.

St. Petersburg Freedom 250 Bourbon

ABV: 57.5%
SRP: $150
Availability: Tasting room exclusive starting July 3rd

Florida craft producer St. Petersburg Distillery is releasing a whiskey that celebrates America’s 250th birthday. It’s a 5 year old high-rye bourbon that was finished for an undisclosed period of time in barrels that previously held honey. The batch yielded 900 bottles, which will be available exclusively at the distillery’s tasting room starting July 3rd. A quarter of the proceeds will be donated to Hire Heroes USA, a charity that helps service members, veterans, and military spouses find employment.

GlenAllachie 19 year old Masters of Wood Ex-Solera Sherry Cask Matured Single Malt

ABV: 50%
SRP: $257
Availability: Online

In 2024, GlenAllachie introduced Masters of Wood, part of its larger Wood Series that focuses on long-term aging in rare casks, with the release of a 17 year old single malt aged in virgin mizunara oak. Now we’re treated to the second entry, which was aged for 19 years in casks that were previously used in a sherry solera system. Prior to being filled with GlenAllachie’s distillate, these casks held PX and oloroso for over 55 years. The single malt is currently available on GlenAllachie’s website, with a wider global launch slated for next week.

Benriach 1994 31 year old Shades of Smoke Speyside Single Malt

ABV: 48.1%
SRP: $925
Availability: Limited

Speyside distillery Benriach is renowned for its smoky spirit, tapping mainland peat from the northeastern Highlands rather than Islay, which has a distinctly aromatic and floral quality. It’s rolling out this notably old peated dram that was distilled in 1994 and aged in a variety of casks including bourbon, PX, oloroso, marsala, and virgin oak. 31 years of aging seems very old, but this one fits neatly in the middle of the pack among Benriach’s other currently available ultra-aged whiskies, which includes The Twenty Five, The Thirty, The Forty, The Forty Octave Cask, and 1966 50 year old.