Whisky Watch: Deanston's Unusual Finish, Barrell's Latest Canadian Release, & More

Many of our new release roundups are dominated by American whiskey, but this week’s edition is a bit different. Sagamore’s High Rye bourbon is the only one on the list, now available nationwide after a limited launch last year. In Irish whiskey, Sailor’s Home has a new triple-casked blend and Dublin’s Pearse Lyons has a brown ale barrel-matured single malt that's part of a larger single cask series. Elsewhere, Highlands distillery Deanston has an orange wine cask-finished 17 year old and Barrell Craft Spirits has an ultra-aged Canadian whisky.

Deanston 17 year old Orange Wine Cask Finished Scotch Single Malt

ABV: 53.6%
SRP: $132
Availability: Limited

Deanston’s second expression in its Experimental Whisky collection was matured for 15 years in bourbon barrels before undergoing a 2-year finish in vino de naranja (orange wine) casks sourced from southern Spain. This is an unusual cask finish for a scotch whisky, to say the least, as this is only one of a few. It’s also the second unconventional finish for Deanston in recent years, following the release of its tequila cask-finished expression in late 2023.

Barrell Decade 2 Canadian whisky

ABV: 70.65%
SRP: $200
Availability: Limited

A year after debuting its first Decade release, Barrell is back with the second batch. It’s crafted from the same barrels as the inaugural edition: Canadian whiskies distilled each year from 1995 to 2005, finished in a combination of Spanish brandy and Hungarian oak casks. The whisky is part of the brand’s Black Label series, which also includes ultra-aged whiskies like 21 year old Toasted Single Barrel bourbon and 33 year old Canadian whisky finished in French oak and oloroso sherry casks. It’s available online at Barrell’s website, as well as at select retailers nationwide.

Sagamore High Rye Straight Bourbon (2026 Release)

ABV: 54%
SRP: $50
Availability: Nationwide

Sagamore Spirit, which has recently rebranded as Sagamore Whiskey, has announced that its High Rye bourbon is now available nationwide starting this month, following a limited launch last year. The new batch has the same 60% corn, 25% rye, and 15% malted rye mashbill and 6 years of aging, but it’s bottled at a slightly lower proof compared to the original’s 59% ABV.

Sailor’s Home Journey Blended Irish

ABV: 43%
SRP: $35
Availability: Arkansas, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York; imported by Park Street Imports

This sourced, triple-distilled Irish whiskey undergoes a distinctive triple cask maturation process. Part of the Explorer Series, Irish grain whiskey is first aged in virgin American oak casks, then re-casked into bourbon barrels, and blended with bourbon cask-matured Irish malt whiskey. The blend is then finished in Jamaican rum casks for 6 months.

Inspired by the historic Sailors' Home in Limerick, founded in 1856, the brand takes its name from this building, which was created to welcome and support visiting seafarers. The recipe was devised by Dr. Jack Ó'Sé, an Irish whiskey maker, who began his career in the spirits industry in 1979. Previously, Ó'Sé worked for Alltech and commissioned the Pearse Lyons Distillery in Dublin, before consulting for other Irish distilleries

Pearse Lyons Camino Collection Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale Single Cask No. M 14–C398 KA Irish single malt

ABV: 54.3%
SRP: $125
Availability: Single cask releases will be available from either Pearse Lyons Distillery, Ireland or Town Branch Distillery, Lexington.

Pearse Lyons Distillery is launching its first-ever single cask series of double-distilled Irish whiskeys, drawing inspiration from the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. The distillery opened nine years ago, housed within the beautifully restored St. James's Church in Dublin's historic Liberties district. For centuries, the church served as a gathering place for Irish pilgrims beginning their journey to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Every traveler completing the Camino follows the same broad route across the network of pilgrim trails, but experiences their own unique journey: Pearse Lyons uses that idea as a metaphor for single cask maturation. Each Camino Collection whiskey is fully matured in its respective cask; no finishing takes place.

The whiskeys come from the Kentucky-made Vendome stills that operated at the Alltech Carlow Distillery between 2012–2015, and were moved to the new distillery in St. James’s Church from 2017 onward. The debut U.S. release, an Irish single malt matured in a Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale cask, will be available at Town Branch Distillery in Kentucky. The collection also includes Oloroso Hogshead Single Cask No. PS 21–118 0 Irish single pot still and Pedro Ximénez Hogshead Single Cask No. M 19–043 PX Irish single malt, which are available at Pearse Lyons Distillery in Dublin, while More single casks will be available for selection by Pearse Lyons’ partners, while further single casks will be selected as distillery exclusives under the Pearse Lyons Irish whiskey portfolio.