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 3/21/26
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 🔗
Laphroaig Càirdeas “Cask Favorites” Aged 10 Years (2024)
I’m on my second bottle of this stuff. Laphroaig’s wildly medicinal peat is tamed here by the sweetness of sherry cask aging. Aged an even 10 years, it offers the brightness of youth grounded by maturity. And bottled at a very approachable cask strength, the flavors are allowed their full robust range of smoky fruity goodness. 104.8 proof. Laphroaig Distillery. ~$100
Mars Tsunuki Single Malt Limited Edition 2022
Japanese whisky is a category I struggle with. The prices are typically quite high, and the flavor profiles lean delicate. Could be I’m just too American, and if I’m going to spend a lot of money I want a lot of spectacle for my buck. But spectacle is not what Japanese whisky aims to offer. Nuance and subtlety are what make the category special. So when I tried this Tsunuki L.E. 2022, I was absolutely delighted. The Tsunuki distillery is located in Japan’s hotter southern region, making a sharp contrast with the familiar northern distilleries—e.g. Yamazaki, Yoichi—given the humid heat rips more robust flavors from the casks. This 2022 release uses ex-bourbon casks, and features vanilla, gooey caramel, milk chocolate, melon, lovely oak, and a subtle savory smokiness. A thick, rich, complex single malt offering its brighter and darker qualities in excellent balance. Easily my favorite Japanese whisky to date! 100 proof. Mars Hombo Shuzo Tsunuki Distillery. $130 🔗
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)
Westward PX Sherry Cask Finished (2026)
I’m a big ol’ Westward fan. Their standard single malt release is a celebration of fruity and nutty barley. It takes to cask finishings very well. And the Westward folks know their way around cask finishing, never overwhelming the original whiskey with it but rather teasing out more of what’s already there. Some sherry-finished scotch and Japanese whiskies can be such sherry bombs, I’m left wondering why I didn’t save some money and just buy a bottle of sherry. So I was curious what Westward would do with PX Sherry casks, so ubiquitously used in scotch. Sure enough, this release is beautifully balanced. The PX sherry pulls forward the Westward barley’s own fruitiness, darkening it, without converting it to straight-up sherry. I predict this bottle will go fast! 100 Proof. Westward Whiskey Co. $100
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 