Whisky Watch: Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch, Baker's 13, Ardbeg 15, & More

The art of the blend is on full display this week, as several distillers have chimed in with new and innovative whiskies that combine different mashbills. Four Roses is back with a Limited Edition Small Batch that blends four ultra-aged bourbons; Chattanooga married two bourbon recipes to replicate the flavors of s’mores; Remus has a new Repeal Reserve batch that mixes three bourbon mashbills (alongside the label’s first rye); Shortbarrel blended four bourbons for its latest Cigar Batch; and Town Branch experimented with blending pot-still and column-still distillates. Elsewhere, Baker’s 13 year old Single Barrel has returned, Basil Hayden tries its hand at cognac cask finishing, Virginia Distillery Co. continues its work with craft beer casks, and Joseph Magnus has a new 10 year old rye. Looking to scotch, Ardbeg welcomes a new core-range 15 year old, Glendronach has a 14 year old that commemorates its 200th anniversary, and Dalmore has a trio of ultra-aged malts finished in madeira casks.

Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon (2026 Release)

ABV: 54.6%
SRP: $249
Availability: Nationwide, starting next month

Next month, Four Roses is set to release the 19th edition of its annual Limited Edition Small Batch expression. This year’s iteration has four blending components, each of which pull from one of the distillery’s 10 distinct bourbon recipes that encompass five yeast strains and two mashbills. The ingredients are as follows:

• 14 year old OBSK (60% corn, 35% rye, 5% malted barley; slightly spicy “K” yeast)
• 14 year old OESK (75% corn, 20% rye, 5% malted barley; slightly spicy “K” yeast)
• 15 year old OESV (60% corn, 35% rye, 5% malted barley; delicate fruits “V” yeast)
• 23 year old OESK (75% corn, 20% rye, 5% malted barley; slightly spicy “K” yeast)

The total batch accounts for around 16,800 bottles, available at retailers nationwide and at the distillery’s Lawrenceburg visitor center starting October 10th.

Baker’s 13 year old Single Barrel Bourbon (2026 Release)

ABV: 53.5%
SRP: $150
Availability: Limited

Baker Beam, the grandnephew of whiskey legend Jim Beam, celebrated his 90th birthday in July. Now the distillery is marking the occasion by re-releasing a fan-favorite expression from his namesake bourbon label. Baker’s 13 was initially released in 2019 when the brand transitioned away from a vatted model in favor of the single barrel format it currently uses. After a brief hiatus, it returned in 2023 with a notably impressive batch, and has since turned into an annual release.

Basil Hayden Cognac Cask Reserve Bourbon

ABV: $40
SRP: $50
Availability: Limited

Basil Hayden has added to its stable of finished whiskeys—which currently includes Toast, a bourbon finished in toasted barrels—Cognac Cask Reserve. The new bourbon follows the same template as other Basil Hayden bourbons, in that it retains the brand’s signature high-rye mashbill, but is then finished in French oak barrels that previously held cognac for 20 to 25 years. This is the first time that Basil Hayden has brought an international finish into the fold. Though it is a limited release, the new bourbon will be available at retailers nationwide.

Virginia Distillery Co. The Brewer’s Coalition: The Bruery Black Tuesday Stout Cask Finished American Single Malt

ABV: 50%
SRP: $55
Availability: At the distillery, online, and select retailers

Virginia Distillery Co. The Brewer’s Coalition: Revolution Brewing Straight Jacket Barleywine Ale Cask Finished American Single Malt

ABV: 50%
SRP: $60
Availability: At the distillery, online, and select retailers

Virginia Distillery Co. has added two new American single malts to its ongoing The Brewer’s Coalition series, which focuses on finishes in inventive craft beer barrels. The first newcomer spent time in casks that previously held Black Tuesday, an annual bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout from The Bruery in California. The second one was finished in barrels that previously held Straight Jacket, a barleywine from Chicago’s Revolution Brewing. Both whiskeys were initially aged for 5 years in bourbon barrels prior to finishing.

Chattanooga Bottled in Bond Bourbon (Fall 2022 Vintage)

ABV: 50%
SRP: $53
Availability: At the distillery and retailers in select states

Yesterday, Tennessee craft distiller Chattanooga Whiskey released its latest Bottled in Bond Vintages bourbon. This one blends two new mashbills that have never before been used for the series. The first one is “Barrel 54”, which uses malted spelt and huskless malted oats for flavoring grains. The second one, “Barrel 177”, uses a pair of specialty brewing malts called Melanoidin and Carafa to contribute notes of chocolate. According to distiller Grant McCracken, the marriage of mashbills gives the final product a profile that’s reminiscent of s’mores.

Remus Repeal Reserve Series X Straight Bourbon

ABV: 53.5%
Price: $80
Availability: Nationwide

MGP-owned Remus is marking the 10th anniversary of its Repeal Reserve Series, an annual blended bourbon release known for celebrating the end of Prohibition that historically pulls from rare ultra-aged stocks. Remus’s highest-proof release yet at 53.5% ABV, Series X is aged 9 to 18 years. It’s comprised of three mashbills: LBSV, MGP’s flagship high-rye bourbon (60% corn, 36% rye, 4% malted barley); LESV, a low-rye (75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley); and LISV, its “highest-rye” bourbon (51% corn, 39% rye, 10% malted barley), first featured in Remus Highest Rye releases, launched in 2023.

Remus Repeal Reserve Straight Rye

ABV: 55.5%
Price: $80
Availability: Nationwide

Also joining the Remus Repeal Reserve lineup is the label’s inaugural rye. The limited-edition straight rye draws from 2015 and 2016 reserves of MGP’s signature 95% rye, 5% malted barley mashbill—the same high-rye recipe behind whiskeys including Rossville Union Rye and Bulleit Rye, including its recently released 20 year old.

Joseph Magnus 10 Year Cask Strength Rye

ABV: 56.72%
SRP: $75
Availability: Nationwide

While Joseph Magnus has made a modern name for itself in bourbon and blends, this is the brand’s first rye since 1918. Head blender Will Fabry—who has taken over production at Jos. A. Magnus since master blender Nancy Fraley left earlier this year—focused on a 95% rye, 5% malted barley mashbill for the whiskey, calling it “a natural progression” given that the brand’s bourbon has a high-rye content.

When Joseph Magnus started his spirits business in the 1800s, rye whiskey was a staple of American whiskey. The style fell to the wayside following Prohibition, as more distilleries turned to bourbon, but Magnus' reintroduction of a rye—its first since the brand relaunched in 2015—points to rye's revival in the U.S.

Shortbarrel Cigar Batch No. 4 Blend of Bourbons

ABV: 53.5%
SRP: $90
Availability: Limited

The fourth release of Shortbarrel’s Cigar Batch incorporates more than 50 separate armagnac, cognac, rum, tawny port, and sherry casks (marking the first time the brand has used sherry within the blend). The liquid is a blend of aged whiskeys sourced from Kentucky and Indiana, made from four distinct mashbills:

• 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley
• 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley
• 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley
• 91% corn and 9% malted barley

Each individual whiskey component underwent its own secondary maturation before being blended together at the Shortbarrel blending facility in Georgia. While the whiskey is designed to pair with cigars—Shortbarrel calls out Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Robusto, Padrón 1964 Anniversary Maduro Exclusivo, and Liga Privada No. 9 Toro—the blending house also notes that it took inspiration from the production process of premium cigars in making the whiskey.

Town Branch Imperium MMXXVI Kentucky Straight Bourbon

ABV: 57.55%
SRP: $120
Availability: Limited

For the third edition of its Imperium series, Town Branch has crafted a wheated bourbon blend.. The 2026 release kicks off with a column-distilled wheater base made from 70% corn, 22% wheat, and 8% malted barley (accounting for 50% of the blend) that’s blended with a column-distilled bourbon made from a mash of 72% corn, 15% rye, and 13% malted barley, and a pot-distilled bourbon of the same mashbill. A total of eight barrels were selected for the blend, ranging from 6 to 9 years old.

The whiskey is a limited release that will be available at the distillery in September in a custom flight featuring all three Imperium releases, as well as at the 2026 Kentucky Bourbon Festival in Bardstown (Friday, September 11th through Sunday, September 13th). It'll also have limited distribution at retailers across the U.S.

Ardbeg Trudernish 15 year old Islay single malt

ABV: 48.8%
SRP: $90
Availability: Nationwide; imported by Moët Hennessy USA

Ardbeg’s core range is getting a major shake-up, led by a new peaty 15 year old. Matured in bourbon, charred new oak, and oloroso sherry casks, it is named after the ancient settlement of Trudernish on Islay’s southeast coast, where reputedly, there is a well that never freezes.

Trudernish is Ardbeg’s fourth age-stated core range expression, slotting neatly between the 10 and 25 year old. Its release heralds a complete refresh of the Ardbeg core range look, with lighter green cartons bringing the brand’s storytelling to life through woodcut-style illustrations, their canine mascot Shortie, expanded tasting notes, and cask recipes. A QR code tucked inside each carton lid also makes it easier to join the Ardbeg Committee. Islay fans have been treated to a run of major new releases recently, with Ardbeg Trudernish 15 year old following the launches of the new Laphroaig 15 year old, Bowmore 20 year old, Bruichladdich Greener Still, and Octomore Series 17 releases.

Glendronach Boynsmill House Edition Highland single malt

ABV: 46.8%
SRP: $125
Availability: Limited

In celebration of its 200th anniversary, Glendronach has released a 14 year old single malt named after founder James Allardice’s home estate. The whisky is matured in a combination of casks, including oloroso and Pedro Ximénez—both beloved by Glendronach—as well as a number of Bordeaux red wine casks, in a nod to the wine that would’ve been served at Allardice’s dinner parties. According to the distillery, the Bordeaux casks imbue the whisky with unmistakable red berry fruit and elegant complexity.

In tandem with its anniversary celebration, Glendronach has restored the Boynsmill House, turning it into an invitation-only experience for guests. Glendronach, by way of parent company Brown-Forman, has invested heavily in its public-facing sites this decade, unveiling a visitor center renovation at Glendronach back in 2020, in addition to these Boynsmill House renovations.

Dalmore Cask Curation Series: The Madeira Cask Edition Highland single malt scotch

SRP: $47,000
Availability: Limited edition global release of 150 sets

The fourth and final release in Dalmore’s Cask Curation Series is a collaboration with Blandy’s Madeira, which, for seven generations, has been creating madeira on the Portuguese island. Master whisky maker Dr. Kirstie McCallum decided to finish each Highland whisky in a different type of madeira pipe to accentuate different facets of Dalmore’s spirit.

• Dalmore The Madeira Cask Edition 30 year old, 49.3%, was initially matured in bourbon barrels for 29 years before an 8-month finish in a 2010 Terrantez madeira pipe, an elegant and semi-dry style of madeira.
• Dalmore The Madeira Cask Edition 34 year old, 44.5%, was finished in a 2018 Bual madeira pipe following its initial maturation in bourbon barrels. Bual is a richer and more rounded style of madeira.
• Dalmore The Madeira Cask Edition 45 year old, 40.7%, is the oldest whisky in the entire series. After 44 years in bourbon barrels, it was finished for 3 months in a 2012 Malvasia madeira pipe, the richest and most decadent style of traditional madeira.

The annual Cask Curation Series debuted in 2023, and each release has featured a distinctive trio of rare high age statement whiskies in collaboration with Dalmore’s exclusive cask partners, including González Byass, Graham’s Port, and Château Mont-Redon. Each set is presented in colorful leather cases inspired by the golden age of travel, handcrafted in Saffiano leather in Florence by Italian luggage makers AB Florence. In April, Dalmore reopened its doors, welcoming small groups for private tours of its new luxury visitor experience.