Whisky Watch: Old Elk 10 Year Old Collection, Bib & Tucker 8, And More Aged Releases

This week’s new whiskeys are dominated by age-statement American releases of all styles. From Old Elk, there are two 10 year olds, a bourbon, and a wheat whiskey, and Dancing Goat Distillery also has two decade-old whiskeys under its new Stillman’s Sonder brand. Bib & Tucker, too, has a new 8 year old bourbon. Rounding out the new releases are a new peach brandy cask-finished American single malt from Root Shoot and a single malt scotch from Streathearn.

Old Elk 10 Year Old Collection

ABV: 51.5-52.5%
SRP: $70
Availability: Nationwide

Old Elk has rolled out its 10 Year Old Collection with a bourbon (52.5% ABV), wheated bourbon (52.5% ABV), and wheat whiskey (51.5% ABV). The bourbon has a high-malt mashbill of 51% corn, 34% malted barley, and 15% rye; the same as the brand’s flagship blended bourbon. The wheater has a mashbill of 51% corn, 46% wheat, and 3% malted barley, having just a smidge higher wheat content than its core wheated bourbon. The wheat whiskey has a mashbill of 96% wheat and 4% malted barley. All three whiskeys were contract distilled by MGP early in Old Elk's history. But the brand has already started distilling these same mashbills at Middle West Distillery, which acquired it back in May of last year.

Bib & Tucker 8 year old Bottled in Bond Bourbon

ABV: 50%
SRP: $65
Availability: Nationwide

While this 8 year old bottled in bond whiskey was distilled in spring 2018 at Tennessee Distilling Group, it was blended by Bib & Tucker apprentice blender James Joseph—marking his first release for the brand. It features a Tennessee high-rye bourbon mashbill, with corn sourced from within 100 miles of the distillery. As a Tennessee whiskey, it was filtered through maple charcoal (a method known as the Lincoln County Process). The new bottled in bond bourbon will be available next month.

This isn’t the first Tennessee whiskey from Bib & Tucker—the brand previously launched a 15 year old bourbon, The Golden Spike, in 2024, which was also distilled at Tennessee Distilling Group. Bib & Tucker is owned by Deutsch Family Wines & Spirits, which also owns Redemption Whiskey. Master blender Alan Kennedy oversees both.

Stillman’s Sonder 10 year old Bourbon

ABV: 47%
SRP: $70
Availability: Online and select retailers

Stillman’s Sonder 10 year old American Single Malt

ABV: 48.2%
SRP: $70
Availability: Online and select retailers

These are the inaugural expressions from Dancing Goat Distillery’s new Stillman’s Sonder brand. Both were sourced from MGP, specifically from experimental stocks distilled between 2010 and 2016. The bourbon sports a dual maturation, having been aged in a mix of American and rare Andean oak barrels. The American single malt was finished in a mix of barrels including virgin oak, bourbon, Wisconsin brandy, cognac, and calvados.

Root Shoot Spirits Peach Brandy Cask Finished American Single Malt

ABV: 49%
SRP: $70
Availability: 480 bottles; Colorado exclusive

Colorado malting house Root Shoot has released a new cask finish. The base whiskey is the brand’s flagship 4 year old American single malt, made from barley grown and malted on-site and distilled in partnership with Boulder Spirits. It was finished in casks that previously held Palisade peach brandy from Peach Street Distillers in Colorado.

Strathearn (Batch 03) Highland Single Malt Scotch

ABV: 50%
SRP: $115
Availability: Limited release available at Total Wine and K&L Wines

Strathearn's third batch signals the next chapter for Douglas Laing & Co.'s distillery, as lead distiller Angela Brown continues to fine-tune the emerging house style for this Highland whisky maker. Presented in its signature acorn-shaped bottle, the third batch revisits the bourbon, virgin oak, and sherry cask recipe of its predecessors, but with a heightened sherry cask influence to enhance its depth and richness.

Strathearn opened as a microdistillery in 2013 in Methven, Perthshire, not far from Glenturret and Aberfeldy Distilleries, releasing its debut whisky in 2016. Douglas Laing & Co. acquired the distillery in 2019, marking the independent bottler’s first move into distilling. The company upgraded the distillery’s capacity but continued the founder’s handcrafted approach; each production shift at Strathearn produced enough spirit to fill a single barrel. The first Strathearn release of the Douglas Laing era was released in 2024. Batch 03 is drawn from 31 casks, selected from both inherited stocks and spirit distilled under Douglas Laing's ownership.