Looking for recommendations?
This page is meant to serve as a quick reference for two areas of whiskey—new or recent faves, and perennial faves.
Whose faves? My faves! And perhaps they’ll be yours as well.
Cheers!
NEW & RECENT FAVES
updated 1/3/26
Some of these might be limited releases, others new additions to the standard worldwide whisk(e)y portfolio. All are currently open on my home shelf, and most are currently to be found somewhere somehow.
This list is updated as new bottles land on my personal faves radar. Notes are brief, with a 🔗 to more detailed notes when available.
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Elijah Craig Barrel Proof RYE
When the standard release Elijah Craig Rye came out in 2021 it seemed only a matter of time before Heaven Hill would get to a Barrel Proof edition. That time has finally come. The inaugural batch A925 is all chocolate and spice. Aged an impressive 12 years 3 months, it has both weight and ease to it. I’m a fan. 108 Proof. Heaven Hill Distillery. $80 🔗
Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage 2006
If I spy one of these dated 2006 or before on some corner store’s bottom shelf, I buy it. No question. Every time I find one it’s been sitting there since it first arrived, the price tag dusty and curled with time. These older vintages are a couple years older than releases from 2007 and later, and some other sort of magic seemed to be coursing through Heaven Hill Distillery’s pipes as well. There’s a creaminess to the texture and taste that elevates the bourbon to dive-bar perfection. 86.6 proof. Heaven Hill Distillery. $20 🔗
Rubicon Rye – Fall 2025 Batch
It’s been a minute since I’ve had some Rubicon Rye on my home shelf—and that’s a minute too long! Rubicon is easily one of my favorite ryes, and not just because it’s my hometown hooch. (I grew up near the distillery.) Each batch is double-barreled and offers familiar notes of maple, caramel, toasted oak, and rye spice in varying proportions. The younger batches (~6 years) will add a sweet cherry note to the mix. These variations come from the fact that sometimes a batch is a single barrel, sometimes a blend of two or three, sometimes older or younger. Why has to do with how a given barrel turns out. Working within the basic Rubicon flavor profile, Dry Diggings favors the delight of idiosyncrasy over the predictability of consistency. The twist on this Fall 2025 batch is that the second barrel was a once-used Rubicon Rye barrel rather than a new barrel. This lent the older whiskey (~8 years) a gentler oak profile than usual, allowing the maple and caramel to hold forth as the main event. 96 proof. Dry Diggings Distillery. $80 🔗 (☜ past Rubicon batch posts)
Sagamore 10 Year Cask Strength Rye
I love pretty much everything about this whiskey. The deep fiery red-orange color. The fragrant aromas of rye and oak spice, caramel fudge, cherry and vanilla. How all the spices get drenched by the cherry note on the taste, stirring a rich thick hot chocolate note into the mix. The syrupy texture helping the finish to linger with chocolate, coffee, cherry, the spices… Might need a back-up! 110.8 proof. Sagamore Spirit. $80 🔗
Wild Turkey 101 8 Year (US Release 2025)
Finally! An age-stated Wild Turkey 101 as a standard US release, and at a reasonable price. If this isn’t a sign that the Bourbon Boom has busted, I don’t know what is. Age statements are gradually returning to many big name brands, and few are more welcomed back than this one. It’s been available in Japan for years. Now readily available again in the US, we can enjoy those classic Wild Turkey cherry, caramel, baking spice, and sweet oak notes without having to hop a plane to Tokyo. This will be a staple on my shelf for sure. 101 Proof. Wild Turkey. $45
PERENNIAL FAVES
These are generally readily found (depending on your region) and range in price from bargains to “special occasion” pours. Any of these make a good place to start, or a good standard for the home shelf.
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Campbeltown Loch Blended Malt – Springbank, $80
Eagle Rare Bourbon – Buffalo Trace, $50 🔗
Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon – Heaven Hill, $35 🔗
Four Roses Small Batch Select – Four Roses, $60 🔗
Home Base Bourbon – Home Base Spirits, $60 🔗
Kilchoman Sanaig Single Malt Scotch – Kilchoman, $70-$100 🔗
Laphroaig 10 Year Sherry Oak Finish Single Malt Scotch – Laphroaig, $90 🔗
Maker’s Mark No. 46 Wheated Bourbon – Maker’s Mark, $40
Nikka “From The Barrel” Blended Whisky – Nikka, $75
Old Forester 1920 Bourbon – Old Forester, $60 🔗
Old Forester Rye – Old Forester, $25
Port Charlotte 10 Year Heavily Peated Single Malt Scotch – Bruichladdich, $60. 🔗
Redbreast 12 Year Cask Strength Irish Whiskey – Midleton Distillery, $100 🔗
Rittenhouse Bottled in Bond Rye – Heaven Hill, $30 🔗
Rubicon Rye – Dry Diggings, $80 🔗
Russell’s Reserve 10 Year Bourbon – Wild Turkey, $50 🔗
Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel Rye – Wild Turkey, $70 🔗
Uncle Nearest 1856 Tennessee Whisky – Uncle Nearest, $60 🔗
Westward Single Malt Whiskey (literally anything they make) – Westward, $60-$100 🔗
Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon – Wild Turkey, $25 🔗
Willett 4 Year Rye – Willett Distillery, $65 🔗
Woodinville Port Cask Finished Bourbon – Woodinville Whiskey Co., $50 🔗
The Right Spirit 