Whisky Watch: New Releases From Highland Park, Macallan, Willett, Widow Jane, & More

There’s a wealth of diversity in this week’s new releases, which span scotch single malts, blended malts, American single malts, finished bourbons, blended bourbons, pot still bourbons, and more. From Highland Park comes the second edition of its Between You and I series, which features collaborations with figures outside the whisky world. Also from Scotland is a new Macallan TIME:SPACE single malt, and a blended malt from Compass Box. Stateside, Willett has added a cask strength version of its Pot Still Reserve bourbon, while Widow Jane has a new 20 year old in the Black Opal range. Elsewhere, Root Shoot has two 6 year old single malts, Quest’s End has an infinity blend, and Blue Note is back with the third iteration of its honey cask-finished bourbon and rye.

Highland Park Between You and I by Laila Gohar Scotch Single Malt

ABV: 47.5%
SRP: $160
Availability: Limited

For the second chapter of its Between You and I collaborative series, Highland Park teamed up with New York-based contemporary artist Laila Gohar. The result is a 17 year old single malt, and the first created by master whisky maker Marc Watson, who came into his role at the distillery last year. Gohar and Watson sampled over 80 casks; the final whisky was matured for 11 years in refill casks, then finished for 6 years in new American oak. The packaging combines hand-drawn illustrations by Silja Goetz with visual references inspired by Gohar’s sensory response to the single malt.

Between You and I debuted last year; that first release was a 16 year old single malt made with Michelin-starred chef Björn Frantzén. As with this second edition, the first invited drinkers to consider the whisky in non-traditional ways, such as the memories, sounds, places, and music it evoked.

Compass Box This Is a 10 year old Whisky Scotch Blended Malt

ABV: 50.5%
SRP: $85
Availability: Limited

Compass Box’s latest release celebrates the blending house’s “Decade of Transparency” campaign, which has long advocated for more transparency in how blended scotch’s age statements are disclosed. Created by whisky makers Samuel Travers and Michael Stephenson, this combines Clynelish malt (66.5%) with peated (20.2%) and unpeated (13.3%) malts from Adnamurchan. All three components were aged for 10 years.

Macallan TIME: SPACE Sherry Cask 20 year old Scotch single malt

ABV: 44.8%
Price: $1,400
Availability: Ballot via Macallan’s website

Macallan TIME: SPACE Sherry Cask is the first new release in the series since the collection debuted in 2024 during Macallan’s bicentennial celebrations. After an initial 18-year maturation in sherry-seasoned European and American oak casks, this expression was married in some of the first 200 sherry casks to be crafted and seasoned at Macallan's Valdespino bodega in Jerez, Spain in 2024.

This marks the first time Macallan has controlled production of both the sherry and the whisky, including the sherry cask seasoning for the marrying cask. A new Macallan documentary, Mastery Beyond Reason, narrated by Steve McCurry, accompanies the release and records the journey of the sherry casks. This new addition to the series is priced the same as the 2024 release, Macallan TIME: SPACE Mastery.

Willett Pot Still Reserve Cask Strength Bourbon

ABV: Varies
SRP: $67
Availability: Limited

Willett’s latest bourbon is crafted from a mashbill of 65% corn, 20% wheat, and 15% malted barley and made at the distillery. The whiskey entered the barrel at 115 proof and was bottled at cask strength (which varies bottle to bottle, but generally hovers around 60% ABV). It’ll come out twice a year, once on the spring equinox and on the fall equinox. Part and parcel of the release is the pot still-shaped bottle; the decanter was designed by late master distiller Even Kulsveen, and is a replica of the patented Willett pot still designed by Vendome. The new whiskey will be available nationwide.

Earlier this year, Willett released another $67 bourbon: Willett Family Estate Small Batch. That whiskey, distilled entirely in-house, was similarly spearheaded by master distiller Drew Kulsveen. For now, Willett’s sourced releases remain some of its most renowned, though the distillery has focused on resurrecting its own production since 2012.

Quest’s End Revenant Blended American

ABV: 48.5%
SRP: $125
Availability: Limited

Find Familiar Spirits, the fandom-centric spirits company co-founded by actor Matthew Lillard and screenwriter Justin Ware, has released Revenant, a new expression in its Quest’s End whiskey line: It’s the brand’s first Infinity blend, combining select whiskeys from past Quest's End releases into one expression. The new whiskey was blended by master blender Molly Troupe, and includes portions of NPC: Master of the Thieves Guild blended bourbon; Monk, a blend of straight malt and bourbon finished in smoked oak and cherrywood barrels; Dragon, a blend of Kentucky and Indiana bourbons finished in cherrywood and smoked casks; and other whiskeys in the 8-bottle collection.

The new blend comes with a 50-ml “Potion Vial” of Revenant, for sharing or traveling. As part of the release, Quest’s End has also debuted Revenant Rattle Bones, its second dice set collaboration with Dispel Dice. Quest’s End was inspired by games like Dungeons & Dragons (Find Familiar Spirits founders Matthew Lillard and Justin Ware are both fans), with each release coming hand-in-hand with a new chapter of “Dawn of the Unbound Gods.” Both the whiskey and the dice are available at findfamiliarspirits.com.

Blue Note Volume III Honey Cask Finished Straight Bourbon

ABV: 58.9%
SRP: $65
Availability: online and select retailers nationwide

Blue Note Volume III Honey Cask Finished Straight Rye

ABV: 59.8%
SRP: $65
Availability: online and select retailers nationwide

B.R. Distilling’s Blue Note label is back with the third iteration of its honey cask-finished bourbon and rye. The Honey rye cask was launched in 2024, shortly followed a few months later by the Honey Cask bourbon. Both whiskeys were aged in wildflower honey-seasoned new American oak barrels for 6 and 9 months. 2,500 cases of each are available, an uptick from last year’s 1,800 cases of bourbon and 1,000 cases of the rye. Single barrels of each will be offered for the first time as well, available in limited quantities to select retailers for $75.

Widow Jane 20 year old Black Opal Blend of Straight Bourbons (2026 Release)

ABV: 49.5%
SRP: $500
Availability: Limited

Brooklyn craft distillery Widow Jane has unveiled the sequel to its Black Opal mizunara barrel-finished bourbon, launched in 2024. This new version keeps the same 20-year age statement, but it dials up the finishing time to 13 months—almost a full year longer than the original. The whiskeys used for this release were sourced from undisclosed distilleries in Kentucky and Tennessee, which were aged in Widow Jane’s brick rickhouse. A total of 3,300 bottles will be available in select markets next month.

Root Shoot 6 year old Single Barrel American Single Malt

ABV: 61.5%
SRP: $89
Availability: Online

Root Shoot 6 year old Bottled in Bond Small Batch American Single Malt

ABV: 50%
SRP: $85
Availability: Online

Loveland, Colorado farm distillery Root Shoot has released two new limited 6 year old single malts. The first is a commemorative single barrel with a label designed by local artist Mallory Cash that depicts a stylized view of the Rocky Mountain’s Longs Peak as seen through Root Shoot’s malthouse window. The release accounts for 50 bottles.

The other release is a bonded expression that pays homage to the Olander family farm, where Root Shoot grows all of its own grain. This is a blend of five bottled in bond barrels. The whiskey was pot-distilled and fermented off-grain, meaning the grain husks were removed from the wort prior to the yeast being added.