The Best New Bourbons of 2025

Every year, legacy and craft distillers release a barrage of new limited-edition whiskeys. It can be difficult to keep up. As budgets shrink and booze prices continue to soar, it’s even more difficult to decide where to splurge.

I’m fortunate to have tried many of these new whiskeys. I also often get to share a pour with the people who make them, sometimes at their distilleries. Writing about spirits has taken me all over the world. I’ve visited producers of every major category and sat at some of the world’s best bars. I’ve learned a thing or two from those experiences, and hope to share this unique perspective about what works and what doesn’t.

I had to leave some very deserving whiskeys off this list. Some may also disagree with my selections, and that’s great. Part of what makes whiskey fun is that everyone has their own preferences. With so many options out there right now, there’s a whiskey for everyone.

What makes a great whiskey?

To me, there are two important factors to consider when you assess a whiskey. First, what is the distiller trying to accomplish? A specific flavor profile? Did they use unique ingredients or try something completely off the wall? How well did they execute this vision? A bottle with a compelling story, or one that takes a big risk, interests me more than another overpriced bottle of sourced whiskey.

And, of course, it has to taste good. There’s always going to be subjectivity when you evaluate a whiskey. But certain things, like balance in aroma, and flavor, mouthfeel, and finish, are all crucial factors in whether a whiskey is enjoyable. Even if the distillers take a big swing, there should be some harmony between the elements, without overtly negative flavor notes like ethanol or tannins dominating.

Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Beacon

Food & Wine / Wild Turkey Bourbon

Beacon is the final installment of Wild Turkey’s long-running series of limited-edition whiskeys, and it’s the first to bear the signature of associate master blender Bruce Russell. The Master’s Keep series has allowed Bruce’s father, Wild Turkey master distiller Eddie Russell, to explore ideas that don’t quite fit within the distillery’s core lineup. This release feels like a passing of the torch from father to son.

Beacon, a 118-proof blend of 16-year-old and 10-year-old bourbons, is relatively straightforward for a Master’s Keep release. Don’t let that fool you — this is Wild Turkey at its best. The nose is rich with notes of sweet tobacco and baked, spiced orchard fruit. Once sipped, Wild Turkey’s trademark pop of baking spice is immediately evident, followed by notes of brown sugar, toffee, and allspice. The finish is lingering and caramel-forward, with a hint of warm cinnamon and orange zest.

None of those flavors or aromas is unique to Beacon, but the way they’re balanced and expressed in this whiskey is special. There’s depth and evolution of flavor in every sip. It’s one of the most well-crafted releases I’ve tried from the distillery. It rivals last year’s outstanding Russell’s Reserve 15 as one of its strongest releases in recent years.

Booker’s The Reserves 2025

Food & Wine / Booker’s Bourbon

Booker’s is known for its no-holds-barred take on uncut bourbon. Last year, James B. Beam Distilling released The Reserves, a special annual release of Booker’s. It’s where eighth-generation master distiller Freddie Noe can play around with barrel finishes and blending, rather than to stick with the classic Booker’s profile. Freddie has shown a unique creativity with blending. He’s not afraid to try new things, and his experiments are often quite tasty.

This is a very distinctive bourbon, especially for Booker’s. The influence of the tequila barrels is most noticeable on the nose, with a slight cooked agave note amid caramel, spice, and barrel char. The palate has a distinct minerality and citric brightness that I suspect also comes from the tequila. This is one of the more surprising and intriguing whiskeys I tried this year, though this choice might be controversial to those who prefer more traditional flavor profiles.

Star Hill Farms Whisky

Food & Wine / Star Hill Farm Whiskey

Maker’s Mark distillery surprised the whiskey world this year as the brand released its the first whiskey with a new mash bill since its founding in 1953. Star Hill Farms is a wheat whiskey distilled entirely from estate-grown red winter wheat from the farm that surrounds the Maker’s Mark property.

Named after the distillery’s farm, Star Hill Farms Whisky (that’s how Maker’s preferred to spell it) is one of the best and most interesting bottles that the brand has ever released, even if it isn’t technically a bourbon. The mouthfeel is outstanding: it’s buttery, viscous, and perfectly coats the mouth. From the nose through the finish, Star Hill Farms can be best described as a bowl of raspberries and blackberries drizzled with butterscotch and dark chocolate shavings.

Larceny Barrel Proof C925

Food & Wine / Larceny Bourbon

Heaven Hill Distillery has had a great year. It finally opened its new distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. It also celebrated its 90th anniversary with an outstanding 9-year-old bourbon, among many other excellent releases that could have wound up on this list. Oddly, my favorite from Heaven Hill this year was the third batch of Larceny Barrel Proof.

Larceny Barrel Proof isn’t groundbreaking by any metric, but it was probably the most surprising and satisfying whiskey that I tried from Heaven Hill this year. This cask-strength wheated bourbon drinks much easier than its 119.6 proof might suggest. It’s full of notes of baking spice, orchard fruit, vanilla, and buttery caramel. A friend described Larceny Barrel Proof C925 as “caramel apple in a glass,” and he was dead on. It’s delicious served neat and also makes an outstanding Old Fashioned.

Knob Creek 21

Food & Wine / Knob Creek

Twenty-one years is a long time to age a bourbon. Most whiskeys that spend that much time aging in Kentucky come out over-oaked and with bitter tannic notes. Knob Creek’s 18-year bottling was one of those that toed the line. Many found it too oaky, though I enjoyed it. Released this fall, Knob Creek 21 took things a bit further.

On a visit to the Jim Beam distillery earlier this year along with a small group of other whiskey writers, I previewed Knob Creek 21 alongside the 18-year-old expression. The group’s consensus was that the 21-year was less tannic than the 18-year, which is a testament to the blending prowess of the Knob Creek team. The 100-proof whiskey still has the trademark notes of hazelnut and roasted peanut, but it’s bolstered by a rich, sweet oaky richness that presents as dark chocolate, dried fruit, and warm spice.

Bardstown Bourbon Company Distillery Reserve Normandie Calvados Barrel Finish

Food & Wine / Bardstown Bourbon Company

Earlier this year, the ever-innovative Bardstown Bourbon Company launched its distillery reserve series. The first two whiskeys in the series, finished in 300-year-old French oak and Mizunara oak, respectively, were quite tasty. The newest in the series, finished for 24 months in Calvados barrels, is my favorite.

If you enjoy Calvados as much as I do, this whiskey is a must-try. There’s a strong French oak influence with notes of dried fig, raisin, and warm spice that pairs perfectly with the apple flavor imparted by the Calvados barrels. Similar to a fine brandy, it’s an ideal after-dinner whiskey.

Frey Ranch Harvester Series Second Harvest

Food & Wine / Frey Ranch Distillery

Of the many craft distillers in the United States, it’s hard to find one that makes whiskey as interesting and consistently delicious as Frey Ranch. The Nevada-based producer, led by Colby and Ashley Frey, is a true grain-to-glass operation. It grows the grains used to produce its whiskey.

Frey Ranch experiments routinely with unique mash bills, where it malts different grains with great results. This year’s entry in the Harvester Series is like a “best of” compilation of the distillery’s best single barrels of whiskey, with a 100% wheat whiskey that makes up a majority of the blend.

The finished whiskey starts with a gentle nose of honey and nutmeg. On the palate, rich butterscotch and dark chocolate fade into a berry-like finish. It’s a very complex pour that takes you on a unique journey from start to finish. It’s a great expression of Frey Ranch’s creativity as whiskey makers.

E.H. Taylor Jr. Buffalo Trace Antique Collection

Food & Wine / E.H. Taylor

The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection needs no introduction among whiskey aficionados. The annual releases are among the most sought after by collectors each fall. This year, the distillery announced the first addition to the lineup with a 15-year-old, bottled-in-bond E.H. Taylor Jr. bottling.

The new bourbon is one of the standouts of this year’s collection. Those who enjoy the standard E.H. Taylor Jr. bottling will find the familiar note of medicinal cherry on the palate. However, here it’s tempered by more of a sweet, oaky depth that adds complexity without the astringency that some 15-year-old bourbons can express.

It might not have the hefty proof of William Larue Weller or George T. Stagg, but it’s undoubtedly one of the most satisfying and sippable new whiskeys released by Buffalo Trace in recent years.

Russell’s Reserve Single Rickhouse Camp Nelson E

Food & Wine / Russle’s Reserve

Wild Turkey fans are a different breed. Since the introduction of the Russell’s Reserve single-barrel program, enthusiasts have obsessed over each bottling’s provenance and which of the distillery’s three warehouse campuses oversaw its maturation.

Camp Nelson has been a favorite among the faithful for a few years now. The brand’s Single Rickhouse series highlights the effect that the campus’s unique aging environment has on the whiskey.

It’s a fascinating exercise for anyone interested in how different microclimates affect whiskey maturation. But more importantly, all of the bottlings so far have been very good to great. Camp Nelson E might be my series favorite. It has all of the warm, baking spice and cola-like notes that the campus is known for, with a rich mouthfeel and an aroma of rich cherry and vanilla.

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