Whisky Watch: Russell's Reserve Single Rickhouse 2026, Keeper's Heart Rye, Isle of Skye & More

This week sees a series of special releases from distilleries on both sides of the pond. The lone scotch comes from Isle of Skye, which has introduced a new whisky finished in magma stone-toasted casks. In the U.S., the latest release in the Russell’s Reserve Single Rickhouse series is here, High West has another act of A Midwinter Night’s Dram, Buzzard’s Roost is back with its Cigar Blend bourbon, Keeper’s Heart has debuted its first rye, and Maker’s Mark has launched the World Wood Collection. And from Oklahoma’s Wanderfolk Distillery is a new blended bourbon.

Isle of Skye Magma Stone Toasted Cask Finish Blended Scotch

ABV: 46
SRP: $47
Availability: Nationwide at Total Wine & More

Isle of Skye Whisky pays homage to its home with this latest blend, which underwent secondary maturation in a magma stone-toasted cask. Why magma stone? Skye, the largest of Scotland’s Inner Hebrides islands, formed in part by volcanic activity that shaped its mountains and rock formations over millions of years and left plenty of magma stone (about three-quarters of the island’s surface). The finishing casks were toasted with heated volcanic stone—a controlled process said to distribute toast more evenly throughout the barrels. The new blend, while limited, is available nationwide at Total Wine & More stores.

This isn’t the first magma-toasted barrel-finished whisky. Others have included Talisker Magma 47 year old single malt, Talisker Molten Seas 14 year old, and Dewar’s 21 year old Magma Stone Toasted blended scotch. All three were similarly finished in casks that were toasted with magma rocks (Talisker’s came from its home base of Skye, while Dewar’s sourced its volcanic stone from Iceland). The practice of using heated rocks to toast barrels comes from the wine world, and dates back to the early 2000s, when Maison Moussié cooperage founder Thomas Moussié started experimenting with heated rocks as a cask-toasting tool. He patented the lava stone-toasting process in 2018.

Russell’s Reserve Single Rickhouse Bourbon 2026: Camp Nelson D

ABV: 60.4%
SRP: $300
Availability: Limited

For the fifth release of the terroir-driven Russell’s Reserve Single Rickhouse series, master distiller Eddie Russell turned to Camp Nelson D, one of Camp Nelson's highest-elevation rickhouses (one of three maturation sites Wild Turkey owns). Rickhouse D, one of five rickhouses on the Camp Nelson property, was built in 1946. It sits on the western side of the site, experiences consistently strong airflow, and represents the highest-elevation rickhouse ever featured in the Single Rickhouse collection. The rickhouse also holds a special place in Russell’s heart—it was the first site he worked at when he joined Wild Turkey 45 years ago.

In creating the new whiskey, Russell pulled barrels from floors one, three, four, five, and six of the seven-story rickhouse—incorporating more floors than any previous Single Rickhouse release. Russell describes the resulting bourbon as earthy, with a “spicy, rye-like profile” that’s rounded out by notes of baked fruit, vanilla, and stone fruit. Russell’s Reserve Single Rickhouse 2026: Camp Nelson D is available across the U.S. in limited quantities, and at the Wild Turkey visitor center in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky.

High West A Midwinter Night’s Dram Act 14

ABV: 49.3%
SRP: $125
Availability: Limited

The latest chapter of High West’s A Midwinter Night’s Dram is a blend of 4 to 10 year old straight rye whiskeys that’s finished in a combination of ruby port, tawny port casks, oloroso, amontillado, and Pedro Ximénez casks—the first time sherry casks have been used for the whiskey’s secondary maturation. The components of the blend (which is High West’s Rendezvous Rye) are 95% rye, 5% malted barley from MGP; 80% rye, 20% malted rye distilled at High West; and 64% rye, 30% corn, and 6% malted barley from Bardstown Bourbon Co. A Midwinter Night’s Dram Act 14 is available at the High West General Store in Park City, Utah, and online. Of the nine A Midwinter Night’s Dram releases we’ve reviewed, seven have scored 90 points or above.

Buzzard’s Roost Cigar Blend Bourbon (2026 Edition)

ABV: 52.5%
SRP: $85
Availability: Nationwide

Another edition of Buzzard’s Roost Cigar Blend bourbon is here. The new whiskey follows the same path as its forebear: a mashbill of 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley, and is double-oaked, aged first in new oak, then finished in the brand’s standard lightly charred, heavily toasted barrels. While the bourbon has national distribution, it’s also available at the Buzzard’s Roost tasting room and microdistillery on Louisville’s Whiskey Row, and online. Buzzard’s Roost launched its cigar blend program with a rye in 2022 and has since alternated between bourbon and rye releases each fall.

Keeper’s Heart Triple Pot Distilled Straight Rye

ABV: 48%
SRP: $50
Availability: Nationwide

The second release in the Keeper’s Heart Triple Pot Distilled range is a rye, made from a mashbill of 90% rye and 10% malted rye, all sourced from the Midwest, and triple distilled in copper pot stills. The triple distillation, not often seen in American whiskey, is spearheaded by master distiller Brian Nation, an Irishman (former master distiller at Midleton Distillery) who has melded the whiskey-making traditions of Ireland and the U.S. at the Minneapolis -based O’Shaughnessy Distilling Co., the home of Keeper’s Heart. The new rye will be available next month, both in stores and online.

The first whiskey in the distillery’s Triple Pot Distilled series, American Pot Still, debuted last year. That whiskey was a blend of malted and unmalted barley and underwent triple distillation in the distillery’s copper pot stills.

Tallbird Blend of Straight Bourbons

ABV: 46.5%
SRP: $25
Availability: Limited

Guthrie, Oklahoma-based Wanderfolk Distillery has introduced a new blended bourbon. Tallbird, whose name is a nod to the nickname given to aircraft during sonic boom tests throughout the 1950s and ‘60s, is comprised of 7 year old bourbons sourced from Kentucky’s Bardstown Bourbon Co. and Tennessee-based TN Distilling. Once in Oklahoma, blending was overseen by head distiller Jeffrey Cole. At just $25, Tallbird is a real bargain. It’s available on Wanderfolk’s website and in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. The distillery is opening a tasting room later this fall.

Maker’s Mark World Wood Collection Expedition 01 Bourbon

ABV: 47.5%
Price: $85/liter
Availability: Limited

Maker’s Mark has launched the World Wood Collection, a Travel Retail-exclusive series with a triple oak-finished bourbon as its inaugural release. Expedition 01 marks the first use of Japanese mizunara oak staves in the label’s history, alongside French and American white oak. The parcels were individually finished before blending. The release builds on Maker’s Mark’s longstanding approach to oak as more than just an aging vessel, spotlighting its role in shaping the final whiskey. Bottled at 47.5% ABV, it comes in a 1-liter bottle, available exclusively through Avolta retail outlets at New York (JFK), London (LHR), Istanbul (SAW), Perth (PER), and Bengaluru (BLR) airports.