Leading the charge this week is Penelope bourbon, which has taken things up a notch with its barrel strength bourbon expression, raising the age statement from 4 years to 7 years. From Rebel comes a collaboration with NASCAR veteran Kyle Busch on a new single barrel bourbon, while Virginia Distillery Co. has unveiled three new single malt expressions. Minnesota distiller Keeper's Heart is rolling out the first whiskey made entirely from its own production, and Irish whiskey Proper No. Twelve has a new, more charred-oak riff on its core label.
Penelope 7 year old Barrel Strength Bourbon
ABV: 57.6%
SRP: $60
Availability: Limited
Penelope has announced a change to its Barrel Strength bourbon, raising the age statement from 4 to 7 years old. This version is a blend of four bourbons rather than three, and it has a slightly different mashbill of 70% corn, 23% rye, 5% malted barley, and 2% malted rye. The initial release accounts for 78,000 bottles, which will be available in select markets starting this month. Fans of the original will be happy to hear that the $60 price point has stayed the same.
Virginia Distillery Co. The Brewer’s Coalition 4 Hands Madagascar Stout Cask Finish American Single Malt
ABV: 50%
SRP: $55
Availability: Limited
Virginia Distillery Co. The Brewer’s Coalition North Coast Old Rasputin Stout Cask Finish American Single Malt
ABV: 50%
SRP: N/A
Availability: Limited
Virginia Distillery Co. First Cut Cigar Blend American Single Malt
ABV: 54%
SRP: N/A
Availability: Limited
American single malt maker Virginia Distillery Co. has three new limited edition whiskeys . Two of them are additions to its Brewer’s Coalition series, which sees the distillery collaborate with breweries across the country. The first single malt was made in partnership with St. Louis, Missouri’s 4 Hands Brewing Co.; it spent 5 years in bourbon barrels before finishing in Madagascar stout barrels. Just six barrels were pulled for the release. The second Brewer’s Coalition single malt, made from eight barrels, was finished in Old Rasputin stout barrels from Fort Bragg, California-based North Coast Brewing Co. It too was aged in bourbon barrels for 5 years before undergoing secondary maturation. While the 4 Hands release is available now at retailers nationwide, as well as online via the distillery’s website, the North Coast collaboration won’t hit shelves until March.
Virginia Distillery’s third new whiskey is a Cigar Cut Blend. Made from 100% malted barley, the single malt was aged for a minimum of 7 years in a combination of Spanish oak, port, STR (shaved, toasted, recharred), Château Palmer cabernet, armagnac, cognac, fino sherry, and Islay scotch casks. It’s designed to pair with cigars, joining a growing cohort of whiskies that are aimed at the stogie set. As with the North Coast release, this whiskey will be available in March at retail and online.
Rebel 108 Kyle Busch Single Barrel Bourbon (2026 Release)
ABV: 54%
SRP: $40
Availability: Nationwide
Last year, Lux Row’s Rebel Bourbon joined forces with NASCAR veteran Kyle Busch for a commemorative single barrel release—building on a multi-year partnership between the distillery and Busch’s team Richard Childress Racing. A second edition has just been released, which follows the same blueprint as last year’s version: aged for a minimum of 4 years, bottled at 108 proof (a reference to Busch’s racing number 8), and carrying a suggested retail price of $40. Each of the barrels used for this release was picked by Busch with guidance from master distiller John Rempe.
Keeper’s Heart American Pot Still
ABV: 46%
SRP: $50
Availability: Nationwide at shop.keepersheartwhiskey.com.
Nearly six years after opening its doors, Minneapolis-based Keeper’s Heart Whiskey is releasing its first own-make expression. The new whiskey takes inspiration from Ireland, master distiller Brian Nation’s homeland. It’s made from a mashbill of malted and unmalted barley, and triple distilled on a pot still, mimicking Ireland's signature single pot still style. It aged exclusively in new American oak.
Keeper’s Heart has ambitious plans for the future, with its current course set to include the debut of a triple pot-distilled American rye in 2027, followed by a triple pot-distilled bourbon in 2028. Until now, the distillery has relied on sourced liquid, with its American distillates from Indiana-based MGP and Irish components from Great Northern Distillery in Dundalk, Ireland. Under Nation’s guidance, and that of liquid collaborator and adviser David Perkins (founder of High West), Keeper’s Heart has celebrated both American and Irish whiskey heritage, melding the two together in practically every release.
Columbia Creek Tennessee Whiskey
ABV: 47.8%
SRP: $50
Availability: Online and in select markets
Columbia Creek is a new whiskey label based out of Columbia, Tennessee, a bustling city located about an hour south of Nashville that’s the self-proclaimed “mule capital of the world.” The brand’s debut release is a column-distilled Tennessee whiskey sourced from an undisclosed distillery that has a mashbill of 80% corn, 10% rye, and 10% malted barley and was aged for a minimum of 6 years in heavily charred oak barrels. Like other Tennessee whiskeys, it undergoes the Lincoln County Process, having been charcoal mellowed prior to barreling.
Proper No. Twelve Black Reserve Irish blend
ABV: 40%
SRP: $33
Availability: Nationwide
The latest whiskey from Proper No. Twelve is a blend of single malt and grain whiskey that aged for 4 years in first and second-fill bourbon barrels. It was distilled at Bushmills (which is also owned by parent company Proximo). While the whiskey is quite similar to the flagship Proper No. Twelve, the first-fill barrels used for maturation in Black Reserve are more heavily charred than those used for the flagship, lending the new release heartier notes of caramel, vanilla, and wood spice, according to Proximo.
