by KIRK MILLER

The Best New Whiskeys to Drink This February

Garrison Brothers Balmorhea

A major award winner (the distillery estimates it’s taken home 40 award wins since 2019, ten of which were Gold or Double Gold medals), Balmorhea — named after a swimming hole south of Pecos, TX —  is almost like fudge on the nose, with that cocoa sweetness carried through the palate (along with notes of cinnamon, honey, toasted oak and dark fruit). Like dessert in a glass.

Rampur Select

A restocking of a bottle first released in 2016 (which won a Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition), this single malt — crafted in the foothills of the Himalayas and under extreme temperature extremes — features a rich mouthfeel and a palate of candied fruit, baking spices and caramel.

Waterford Organic Gaia 2.1

Gaia is Ireland’s only whisky to be distilled from 100% organic Irish barley, and it’s matured in a combination of 39% first-fill U.S. oak, 17% virgin U.S. oak, 19% Premium French oak and 25% Vin Doux Naturel oak. At 50% ABV, this outstanding release features notes of malt, vanilla, pear, kiwi and orange, rounded out by a creamy mouthfeel.

Old Elk Rum Cask Finish

The Colorado-based distillery continues its Cask Finish Series — which previously included Port and Cognac Cask Finish Straight Bourbon Whiskeys — with a rye finished in 14-year-old Barbados rum casks for 2-5 months.

Muckety-Muck 26 Year Old

Diageo’s rare whisky brand Orphan Barrel Whisky Distilling Co. recently introduced the third and final Single Grain Scotch Whisky release in its Muckety-Muck series: Muckety-Muck 26 Year Old. It hails from the ghost distillery of Port Dundas (which closed its doors in 2010 but in its prime housed a piggery; a prize pig named Muckety-Muck was the inspiration behind this name).

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