Earlier in the week, we saw the release of the new Sazerac Full Proof. Here, we cover the release of Booker’s fourth and final batch of 2025, Phantom Pipes, as well as two new expressions from Barrell—its New Year edition and a 21 year old. In scotch, Johnnie Walker Blue is out with its annual Lunar New Year expression. From Bardstown, Kentucky, veteran-owned Four Branches has a new bourbon. And from New York’s Hudson Valley, Tenmile Distillery is calling all history buffs with a collection commemorating next year's 250th anniversary of the United States, which has already begun releasing.
Johnnie Walker Blue Label Year of the Horse Blended Scotch
SRP: $264
ABV: 46%
Availability: Limited-edition design, imported by Diageo, New York
Johnnie Walker has released its 2026 Lunar New Year edition, a limited-edition design of Blue Label. The Year of the Horse edition was created by fashion designer Robert Wun, known for dressing stars such as Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Florence Pugh, and Billy Porter. Marking the start of the new Chinese zodiac cycle on February 17th 2026, Wun’s design captures his sculptural couture style. The pack depicts a powerful horse in full charge, alongside a figure draped in Wun’s flowing garments. Inside the bottle, it’s the standard Blue Label, blended by Johnnie Walker master blender Dr Emma Walker, which the brand suggests should be enjoyed neat after a sip of iced water. Lunar New Year limited edition whiskies are often bright and vibrantly colorful, but this wasn’t always the case. Johnnie Walker designs have evolved dramatically over the years; the new design is a far cry from their first Lunar New Year release, Johnnie Walker Blue Label Year of the Horse 2014 edition.
Booker’s Batch #4 “Phantom Pipes Batch” Straight Bourbon
ABV: 63.2%
SRP: $100
Availability: Limited
The year’s final batch of Booker’s is a blend of barrels from five different production dates, with the youngest barrels of the bunch coming in at 7 years old. The biggest piece of the blend (30%) came from the sixth floor of 7-story warehouse G; 28% came from the fifth floor of 7-story warehouse 4; 22% came from the fourth floor of 7-story warehouse 3; 11% came from the fifth floor of 7-story warehouse 1; and the reminder (9%) came from the third floor of 7-story warehouse O.
The whiskey’s name comes from a maze of pipes discovered in the rafters of Beam’s Booker Noe Distillery in Boston, Kentucky. Upon realizing that the pipes led nowhere, they were deemed “phantom pipes”—the result of late master distiller Booker Noe’s ceaseless tinkering around the distillery.
Barrell New Year Bourbon (2026 Release)
ABV: 55.15%
SRP: $85
Availability: Nationwide and online
Barrel 21 year old Toasted Single Barrel Bourbon
ABV: 62.28%
SRP: $200
Availability: Limited
Kentucky blending house Barrell Craft Spirits has released its 10th annual New Year expression, a blend of numerous bourbons sourced from seven states, including Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wyoming. The components range in age from 5–16 years old. It has a combined four-grain mashbill of 74% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley, and 1% wheat.
The second newcomer is a follow-up to last year’s 20 year old Toasted Single Barrel release. It’s a blend of bourbons from Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The parcel from Kentucky is from Barrell’s inaugural 15 year old Grey Label bourbon that was set aside and finished for 6 years in toasted American oak barrels. Only 119 bottles were produced.
Four Branches Honor Reserve Straight Bourbon
ABV: 48%
Price: $150
Availability: limited
Veteran-owned Four Branches has released a limited edition bourbon in partnership with Folds of Honor, a non-profit that provides scholarships to families of veterans, including fallen or disabled military and first responders. Over 30% of the sale of each bottle will go directly to the organization, supporting recipients in the full scope of their academic journeys from kindergarten through high school.
The Honors Reserve bourbon–composed of 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley–was aged for 7 years in barrels donated by industry veteran and Four Branches investor Jeff Hopmayer. Hopmayer is best known as the founder of Brindiamo Group, a service that helps whiskey clients grow their brands, as well as a board member for Bardstown Bourbon Co. The bourbon is the third release in the label’s portfolio. It joins the inaugural Founder’s Blend bourbon released in 2023, followed by The Continental bourbon released earlier this summer. Though the label has a history of sourcing whiskey from Bardstown Bourbon Co., it would not disclose the source for this year’s bottling.
This is a limited run of only 127 cases. Patrons can purchase the bottles only by subscribing to both the Folds of Honor newsletter beginning December 1st and the Four Branches newsletter beginning December 9th. Newsletter sign-ups can be found on the respective websites, fourbranches.com and foldsofhonor.org.
Tenmile Semiquin Revolutionary Series American Single Malts
ABV: Varies
SRP: $60
Availability: Limited
Next year marks the United States’ 250th birthday, and some whiskey makers are starting the celebrations early: Tenmile Distillery in New York’s Hudson Valley region has launched the first whiskeys of its new Revolutionary Series this fall. It’s an ambitious project—eventually, there will be a bottle for each of the 55 significant battles fought during the Revolutionary War, as well as two honoring George Washington and West Point, for an eventual total of 57 releases.
The first five are American single malts (Tenmile’s core style), have already come out. Three of them—Battle of Forts Clinton & Montgomery, Battle of Brooklyn, and Battle of White Plains—are sold out, while the other two, Battle of Stony Point and Battle of Groton Heights, are well on their way to selling out. Next year, 12 bottles will debut over the course of the year, on a schedule of three per quarter. Unlike their predecessors, those 12 bottles will be sold as a set ($625), available for purchase online and shipped nationwide.
At 4 to 5 years old, the Revolutionary Series whiskeys represent an uptick in age for Tenmile, which launched its flagship Little Rest single malt at the 3-year mark after filling its first barrels in January 2020. While all of the celebratory whiskeys are made with 100% New York-grown barley, they’ll differ in age and maturation, with master distiller Shane Fraser using quarter casks, sherry casks, various wine finishes, and more. ABVs will also differ, with some bottled at cask strength and others at 92 proof. Whiskey lovers-cum-history buffs will find a lot to love here—each bottle has descriptions of the battle it commemorates, oftentimes illuminating more obscure aspects of its history.
Collectible
Blade and Bow 30 year old Straight Bourbon
ABV: 54.5%
SRP: $1,200
Availability: Limited
In creating Blade and Bow’s latest bourbon, Diageo director of American whiskey Nicole Austin selected 42 barrels that began their maturation at Stitzel-Weller in the spring of 1993. The whiskey is available at Stitzel-Weller’s Garden & Gun Club as a pour ($225), at the distillery’s visitor center, and in select markets across the country.
This is the latest in a long series of ultra-aged releases from Stitzel-Weller, following in the footsteps of the 24 year old Stitzel Reserve bourbon in June, and I.W. Harper 34 year old bourbon in July. It’s not likely to be the last, either, as Austin confirmed that future Stitzel Reserve releases will feature ultra-aged whiskey.
