The Best New Whiskeys to Drink This August

Welcome back to our monthly guide to all things whisk(e)y. Please check out our more in-depth looks at new releases here.

A twice-barreled Straight Tennessee Rye Whiskey, this limited release from Jack Daniel’s is only available at select locations in Tennessee. After being charcoal mellowed, the liquid is first matured in charred, white American oak barrels then finished in a second round of new, charred American white oak barrels for another two and a half years. Bottled at 107 proof and only available in 375ml bottles, there’s a molasses sweetness and a sandalwood note nicely balancing the rye spice with lingering notes of lemon zest and caramel.

Sweet and spicy — that’s the pitch behind Knob Creek’s latest limited edition, which conceptually reminds us a bit of High West’s Bourye release. Here, Knob Creek 9-Year-Old Bourbon and 7-Year-Old Rye are blended into a 113-proof whiskey that successfully picks up the best characteristics of both — vanilla, baking spices, a little cherry, black pepper and caramel, with more of the rye spice coming through on the finish.

Because bottled in bond means a spirit made at one distillery in one distilling season (among other things), it’s already a vintage release. But labeling the exact year/season is relatively rare in the whiskey world, so props to this Tennessee distillery, which specializes in “high malt” expressions. Barreled from January 2020 through June 2020, this seasonally-inspired vintage — and their seventh BIB release — contains three versions of the distillery’s wheated recipe, which features multiple varieties of malted wheat and malted barley (including Tennessee-grown malted wheat, honey malted barley and a small amount of cherrywood smoked malted barley).

The second Elements release (an experimental range started last year) finds this Islay distillery tempering its famous peaty flavor. This single malt, fermented for an extended 115 hours (more than twice the usual timeframe), is non-chill filtered and bottled at 59.6% ABV. There’s plenty of smoke and salinity here, but the fruitiness both on the nose and palate (primarily apple) and hints of vanilla make this a surprisingly approachable sipper.

Cigar cuts or blends don’t have a formal definition, but the third release in this limited-edition series from Cedar Ridge Master Blender Murphy Quint was specifically designed to evoke the experience of a cigar. It’s a blend of American single malts first aged in Cedar Ridge ex-bourbon barrels and then finished in casks of first-fill Amontillado sherry, Cedar Ridge Wine (their Madeira-inspired wine), new French oak, char #3 new American Oak and peated malt finished in a ruby Port cask. Coming in at 57.45% ABV, there are tobacco and leather notes but also a lot of dark fruit, cinnamon and baking spice.

What Is Cigar Blend Whiskey?

The labels Cigar Cut or Cigar Blend are becoming more noticeable in the spirits industry

Bhakta 2012 Indian Single Malt Whisky

These Vermont-based vintage spirits/Armagnac experts just released their first single vintage out of India, which undergoes a 131-day cask finish in Bhakta 1982 Armagnac. Initially aged 10 years in a decidedly tropical climate and released at cask strength (113.8 proof), it features a deep cacao note on the nose and palate, followed by toasted oak, creme brûlée, almond, a hint of cherry and Earl Grey tea.

What makes this blend of two distinct mash bills interesting is that the final result is neither a bourbon nor a rye (it’s 48% winter rye, 40% corn and 12% malted barley). Labeled as an American Straight Whiskey, the latest variation from this annual release (100 proof) is still rye-forward and full of spice and mint, but there’s a creamier mouthfeel and some underlying notes of caramel, vanilla, white chocolate and orange peel.

A family-owned and operated distillery located in Fife, this Lowland single malt utilizes barley and water taken from the family farm’s property (it also operates seasonally around the farming schedule). Coming in at 58.7% ABV, this cask-strength 12-year-old release was aged entirely in ex-bourbon barrels and on the ground floor of the property’s dunnage warehouse. Tthe appearance of this whisky is a very light golden hay, and you’ll pick up the bourbon notes on the nose and a fair amount of buttered popcorn. But the liquid itself is rich, creamy, malty and fruity, with a little salinity and a fair amount of vanilla and citrus.

The second bourbon release from Booker’s in 2024 — which, as always, is barrel-strength, uncut and unfiltered — is named after Master Distiller Fred Noe’s family home, where Jim Beam himself (and Booker Noe, the namesake of this whiskey) lived. Aged a bit more than seven years and coming in at 124.6 proof, the Beam House Batch features an abundance of cherry, vanilla, oak spice and a warm, sweet finish.

This annual release features four “boundary-pushing” single malts from the Yamazaki and Hakushu distilleries, with each emphasizing a particular grain, oak or peat. If you don’t like smoke, Yamazaki Golden Promise offers notes of pineapple, malt and chocolate. If you do like it smoky, however, the same distillery’s Islay Peated Malt has a strong salinity but a gentle smoke, with a whisky full of biscuit and bitter orange.