The Best New Whiskeys to Drink This May 

Rye | 62.26% ABV | Aged 6 Years
A new permanent expression from this northern Nevada farm-to-glass distillery, Uncut Rye has a mash bill of 100% Canadian winter rye. Bottled at cask strength, the elevated proof seems to bring out the best in the liquid, as this is a wonderful mix of toasted rye, cinnamon, sarsaparilla, mint and vanilla (the root beer float/cream soda of ryes, perhaps?). Note: This is available exclusively in Frey Ranch’s online whiskey shop and in the Frey Ranch Tasting Room.

Bourbon | 46% ABV | Aged 6 Years
Hailing from Foley Family Wines & Spirits (FFWS), Gambit No. 6 is the second release by Master Distiller Chip Tate, who is probably best known as the founder of Balcones. Why the name No. 6? This is a six-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon (with a 78% corn, 12% malted barley, 10% rye mash bill) with six distinct barrel finishes: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, apple brandy, Muscatel, oloroso sherry and Tokaji. It’s a sweeter, fruitier bourbon that still offers a lot of oak spice, cloves, berries, cherry and caramel with a dry finish.

Tennessee Whiskey | 47.8% ABV | Aged 6 Years
I don’t get to try a lot of new Tennessee whiskeys, so I was intrigued by Columbia Creek. Made with a mash bill of 80% corn, 10% rye and 10% malted barley (which undergoes the Lincoln County charcoal mellowing process), CC seems like a classic example of the state whiskey on the surface, albeit with a publicized age statement and a higher-than-usual ABV for a core product. It’s hard to discern from looking at the bottle, but the brand appears to be part of Tennessee Distilling Group, a contract distiller that’s worked with Uncle Nearest and Heaven’s Door (and, oddly, just acquired the remnants of Waterford, one of my favorite high-end Irish whiskeys). Is this smooth by nature, strong by proof as the bottle suggests? Honestly, yes: There’s a lot of butterscotch and lemon custard and a decent amount of heavily charred barrel character, but the mouthfeel is oily and rich. It goes down easy.

Bourbon | 53.75% ABV | Aged 9 Years
The latest release in Bardstown’s Distillery Reserve series is a blend of three bourbons, aged nine and 10 years, each featuring a different mash bill of corn, rye and malted barley. After the whiskey was blended, it was rested for 10 months in 10 custom Garryana oak barrels. Garryana is a rare oak from the Pacific Northwest that has done well for distilleries like Westland, which ages American Single Malt. So how does a bourbon do with this Oregon white oak? It’s a bit more tannic and spicy with hints of maple, cinnamon, cloves, cherry and butterscotch. Note that this is only available at the Bardstown Bourbon distillery gift shop and The Tasting Room in Louisville, KY (and as part of The Reserve Bardstown’s whiskey club).

Tennessee Whiskey | 48.5%-58.8% ABV | Aged 10-14 Years
The annual Aged Series from the Tennessee whiskey giant continues with three updated expressions that revolve around the classic No. 7 mash bill (80% corn, 12% malted barley and 8% rye). The 10-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey Batch 5, offered at 48.5% ABV, has more of the barrel char, some tobacco notes and a bit more cherry than the classic JD (though some of the typical banana note sneaks in). The fruitiness comes back a bit on the 12-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey Batch 4 (53.5% ABV) with hints of cinnamon, cloves, cherry and vanilla. Finally, the 14-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey Batch 2 (58.8% ABV) is full of molasses, tobacco, aged oak and butterscotch, and it’s a standout.

Bourbon and American Whiskey | 58.1%-78.9% | Aged 11-21 Years
A relatively new independent bottler based in Rhode Island, Copper & Cask takes stock from Indiana (primarily, but not exclusively) and matures the liquid in Kentucky, Texas and Florida to “develop unique flavor profiles through differing aging environments.” These are always rare, limited-edition releases. Up now: Small Batch Series 15, a 21-year “hazmat” Cigar Blend Whiskey, a blend of 17 whiskey barrels distilled in Alberta, Canada, and aged more than 20 years. The barrels were then transferred into Armagnac and Tawny Port casks. Coming in at a whopping 78.9% ABV, it kicks hard but also offers some surprisingly subtle fruit notes alongside salted caramel, tobacco, oak spice and raspberry. Definitely add water, then add some more. (It’s technically sold out on the official C&C site, but you can find it on various online retailers.) Small Batch Series 16, meanwhile, is an 11-year straight bourbon crafted with a high-rye mash bill. It’s spicy yet nicely sweet, full of butterscotch, milk chocolate and cherry cola notes.

Bourbon | 53% ABV | Aged 10 Years 
A limited-edition release and the first of a series, Blender’s Edition pretty much sums up its mission statement in the title. This is Master Distiller Freddie Noe and his team hand-selecting and blending unique barrels to “unlock the sweet side of Knob Creek’s flavor profile.” That said, there’s still a nice amount of oak spice alongside caramel, rye spice, vanilla and tobacco.

Rye | 55% ABV | No Age Statement
The latest release in Old Forester’s 117 Series — an innovation series that highlights distinctive barrels — is a rye crafted from barrels that had elevated evaporative loss (aka the angels’ share). While some herbaceousness does come through, this is a sweeter rye, full of milk chocolate, eucalyptus, vanilla and lemon citrus notes. 

Bourbon | 47% ABV | Aged 10 Years
The second release in Buffalo Trace’s experimental Daniel Weller line — where the distillery isolates a single variable to see how it shapes the flavor of Weller bourbon — showcases the ancient grain spelt wheat in place of red winter wheat. There’s definitely a nuttiness here, along with notes of cloves, baking spices, caramel and butterscotch with a subtle fruitiness.

Bourbon | 50%-60.4% ABV | Aged 4 Years
The Vermont-based independent bottlers explore the high versus low-proof argument with their latest Spring 2026 Collection, which features single casks from eight craft distilleries and two versions of the brand’s own Far-Flung Bourbon, a blend of bourbons from different states and distilleries. “Low proof” here is a bit of a misnomer: These are, with one exception, cask-strength, non-chill-filtered whiskeys. If you’re comparing Dread River’s bourbon (high) with Fiddler Soloist bourbon (low), that’s 141.8 proof versus the still very robust 129.9 proof. The more interesting argument is comparing the two Far-Flung releases. Is 100 proof, the first non-cask-strength whiskey in Lost Lantern’s ongoing series, a better sipper than Far-Flung IV at 120.8 proof? Honestly, it’s a tie. The former offers notes of gingerbread, caramel, oak spice and a bit of milk chocolate with a lovely, not overly rich mouthfeel. IV is a bit spicier with a hint of citrus and more developed cinnamon, baking spice and vanilla notes.

American Single Malt | 57.2% ABV | Aged 6 Years
Created by Master Blender Murphy Quint, this limited-edition expression from the Iowa distillery is very much about combining peat and sherry. Specifically, it’s a two-row malted barley aged in Cedar Ridge ex-bourbon barrels and finished in Pedro Ximénez and oloroso sherry hogsheads, blended with peated malt aged in Cedar Ridge ex-bourbon barrels and finished in amontillado sherry butts. The addition of two other ex-sherry types certainly adds a lot of complexity to the mix. The 1st anniversary expression won Best American Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards, but I honestly liked this one a lot more. The smoke is softer, the chocolate notes really come out, it offers a creamy mouthfeel and the American oak influence grounds it into a realm that bourbon drinkers will also appreciate. Add in a relatively high proof, and you’ve got something that should appeal equally to American whiskey and Scotch fans.

Rye | 71.35% ABV and up | Aged 10 Years
Technically, these are five new releases. The latest limited-edition from Jack Daniel’s is five batches of barrel-proof Tennessee rye whiskey from three different barrelhouse locations. Given the hazmat levels of proof here (up to 146.1), it’s no surprise that some of these barrels originate from the Coy Hill rickhouse, which has produced the extremely high-ABV Tennessee whiskeys of the past few years. My sample, from Boiler Hill #2 and coming in at 142.7 proof, offers notes of caramel, toasted rye, black pepper, cherry cola, cinnamon and butterscotch. It’s a scorcher but also surprisingly rounded with a few drops of water. These are only available in 375ml bottles at the White Rabbit Bottle shop in Lynchburg, TN.