Whisky Watch December 5th: The Week's New Releases

Today, we unveiled our 2025 Whisky of the Year, capping off a week of Top 20 reveals. The list features whiskies from around the globe, all of which came out over the past year. As we celebrate our 2025 winners, let’s look at the whiskies rolling out this week—who knows, maybe one of these bottles will appear in next year's Top 20.

Still Austin is back with its second edition of Tanager, a bourbon series that's intended for pairing with cigars. Wilderness Trail has three new single barrel whiskeys, all 6 years old; elsewhere in Kentucky, Buzzard's Roost has debuted a single barrel bourbon of its own, this one celebrating Repeal Day. Bourbon-armagnac blend Hogsworth is back with its oldest releases yet, and on the collectible side, Glenlivet has released a 56 year old single malt.

Still Austin Tanager Cigar Blend Bourbon (2025 Release)

ABV: 53.75%
SRP: $150
Availability: Limited

Texas craft distillery Still Austin has unveiled the second iteration of its annual Tanager bourbon, designed to pair with cigars. Unlike the first, this version is a blend of the distillery’s three heirloom corn bourbons—including 53% Blue, 25% Red, and 22% White. Like its predecessor, this one was cut to proof using a 6 year old 50% ABV whiskey rather than water, mirroring a process called petites eaux (French for “little water”) that’s often used in cognac and armagnac production.

Wilderness Trail 6 year old Private Barrel Wheated Bourbon

ABV: 55%
SRP: $70
Availability: Nationwide

Wilderness Trail 6 year old Private Barrel High-Rye Bourbon

ABV: 55%
SRP: 70%
Availability: Nationwide

Wilderness Trail 6 year old Private Barrel Rye

ABV: 52.5%
SRP: $80
Availability: Nationwide

Kentucky craft distillery Wilderness Trail has unveiled three single barrel expressions, all of which are permanent additions to the lineup. All three were made via sweet mash fermentation using the distillery’s proprietary yeast strain, and were aged in No. -4 alligator char barrels. The main difference between them is their mashbills:

• Wheated bourbon: 64% corn, 24% wheat, and 12% malted barley
• High-Rye bourbon: 64% corn, 24% wheat, and 12% malted barley
• Rye: 56% rye, 33% corn, and 11% malted barley

Hogsworth The 15 H.W.’s Master Blend specialty spirit

ABV: 55%
SRP: $179/3 pack of 750-ml bottles
Availability: Limited

Hogsworth The 15 High Hog specialty spirit

ABV: Varies
SRP: $195
Availability: Limited

A blend of bourbon and armagnac, Hogsworth—a brand launched last year by WhistlePig founder Raj Bhakta, who also owns Bhakta Spirits—is introducing its oldest expressions yet. First up is The 15 H.W.’s Master Blend, which consists of 53% bourbon and 47% armagnac and carries an average age of 15 years. It’s bottled at cask strength and available now for preorder on the Hogsworth website; note that it’s sold as part of a three or six-bottle set.

In tandem with the launch of H.W.’s Master Blend, Hogsworth has introduced three new The 15 High Hog bottlings, which are similarly sold as a set and have an average age of 15 years old. Included in the set are:

• High Corn, a blend of 55% bourbon (20% 6 year old from Minnesota, 30% 5 year, 9 month from Tennessee, and 5% 5 year old from Tennessee) and 45% armagnac (15% 52 year old, 15% 15 year old, and 15% 12 year old), bottled at 57.8% ABV
• High Rye, a blend of 53% bourbon (8% 6 year old from Minnesota, 5% 5 year, 9 month old from Tennessee, and 40% 5 year old from Tennessee) and 47% armagnac (15% 52 year old, 15% 15 year old, and 17% 12 year old), bottled at 50.7% ABV
• High Islay, a blend of 53% bourbon (6 year old 18% from Minnesota, 15% 5 year, 9 month old from Tennessee, and 20% 5 year old from Tennessee) and 47% armagnac (23% 40 year old, 24% 11 year old), bottled at 58.5% ABV

As their names suggest, High Corn features a high-corn mashbill, High Rye a high-rye mashbill, and High Islay, a peated component that lends itself to a smokier flavor profile.

A private barrel program for Hogsworth The 15 has launched as well; it includes six unique recipes of The 15, available to retailers across the country. All of Hogsworth’s spirits are bottled in Poultney, Vermont, where Bhakta Spirits is based.

Buzzard’s Roost 8 year old Repeal Day Single Barrel Bourbon (2025 Release)

ABV: 56.7%
SRP: $125
Availability: At the distillery and online

This single barrel bourbon has a mashbill of 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley. It was aged for 8 years, spending time in both charred and toasted oak barrels. Buzzard’s Roost is set to debut this whiskey at the distillery’s third annual Repeal Day party in downtown Louisville later today. In keeping with tradition, co-founders Judy Hollis Jones and Jason Brauner, distiller Jeff Holmes, and brand ambassador Jimmy James Hamblin will lead the parade by rolling a barrel of whiskey down the street.

Collectible

Glenlivet Eternal Collection Second Edition 56 year old Speyside Single Malt Scotch

ABV: 42.6%
SRP: $56,000
Availability: Limited global release of 60 bottles

Glenlivet has released a collectible 56 year old single malt, set within a sculpture created by London-based design studio Fredrikson Stallard. This is the second bottling in the distillery’s Eternal Collection, a five-part series of rare single malts, each one older than the previous one, launched in 2024 during the Glenlivet bicentennial celebrations. Glenlivet cask master Kevin Balmforth created this from aged Glenlivet that was finished for 3 years in a sherry butt seasoned with a blend of oloroso, Pedro Ximénez, and palo cortado sherries. The sculpture was inspired by the wild Speyside landscape, evoking scorched heather twigs rising from a cairn, while the bottle’s 24k gold-plated closure is topped by a bas relief profile of founder George Smith. incorporates the distillery’s branding in teal-colored glass.

Earlier this year, a Glenlivet Eternal Collection Second Edition 56 year old was bottled for the One of One auction at Sotheby’s, London. Though filled with the same whisky, its one-of-a-kind sculpture helped it reach a hammer price of $65,386, with proceeds from the sale benefitting the National Trust for Scotland. In October, Glenlivet SPIRA 1965 60 year old set the year’s highest hammer price so far with a bid of $693,682.