What we’re drinking: Angel’s Envy Cask Strength Bourbon and Angel’s Envy 10-Year Cask Strength Rye, collectively known as the 2026 Cask Strength Dual Release
Where they’re from: Founded in 2010 and located in downtown Louisville, KY, Angel’s Envy is best known for its array of American whiskeys that undergo secondary barrel finishing.
Why we’re drinking these: We’re big fans of Angel’s Envy, and their cask-strength expressions rank among our favorites. Not to mention, these annual releases are some of the most anticipated limited-edition bottles in the whiskey community. This year, they’re doing something a little different.
“I think the best way I can frame this is one of these has to do with time, and the other has to do with technique,” says Owen Martin, master distiller of Angel’s Envy. “The time one is the rye with a 10-year age statement on it, just like we did in the fall with the [2025 cask strength] bourbon. And the technique is a bourbon with a solera-inspired process.”
About that second one. The 2026 Cask Strength Bourbon doesn’t have an age statement. Instead, this expression actually builds upon past Cask Strength bourbon releases. “When we blend a release, we actually overblend,” Martin says. “Typically, our Cask Strength bourbons are around 100 barrels, but I’m typically blending more in a 110 to 120 barrel range of liquid. That amount of liquid goes into a tank, and then 100 barrels of that go into bottles. The other 10 to 20 barrels, we re-cask.”
When Can You Buy This Year’s Pappy? Consult Our Whiskey Release Schedule.
Behold, the release dates for all your favorite rare and limited-edition bottles, including Buffalo Trace, Booker’s and PappyIn other words, part of the makeup of the new Cask Strength Bourbon consists of prior releases that were then re-casked and aged for additional time (roughly half a year to 2.5 years). The final product finishes for up to three years in Ruby Port barrels. It creates a continuity with past releases, with just under 40% of the new expression made up of additionally aged barrels meant for previous releases. (Admittedly, Martin had to explain it to me a few times, though he basically notes prior releases will serve as the “bedrock” for future Cask Strength Bourbon releases.)
The rye is easier to comprehend. Angel’s Envy introduced a Cask Strength Rye in 2023, but the 10-Year Cask Strength Rye is the distillery’s first age-stated rye at cask strength. The liquid begins as Straight Rye distilled in 2013 and 2015, aged in new charred American oak and then matured in Caribbean rum casks for up to four years for a total of at least 10 years in casks (the younger rye spent more time with the rum finish, the older rye less so).
The results were either going to be overly complicated or a cool refinement of an existing series — let’s dive in.
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How they taste: Reminder that these are cask strength, so have a little water handy.
- Angel’s Envy Cask Strength Bourbon: Bottled at 117.8 proof, this is my favorite of the Cask Strength series (I tried this against some of the re-casked older samples that helped make up the final product). This one is rich, fruity and full of molasses, red berries, vanilla, cloves and cinnamon.
- Angel’s Envy 10-Year Cask Strength Rye: Bottled at 111.6 proof, the rye is herbal, grassy, a bit minty and features hints of root beer, vanilla and toasted rye bread.
Fun fact: Angel’s Envy normally releases its Cask Strength in the fall, including most recently in 2025. “We’re flip-flopping our release schedule,” Martin says. “The Cask Strength will now be coming out every spring, and then our more inventive stuff, like last year’s tequila barrel release, will be for fall.” As Martin explains, most distilleries are releasing their special bottles around the same time in the later season. “So instead, we want to show our more inventive side then, whereas in the spring, it’ll be more the mainstays like our Cask Strength, which is now going on 15 years,” he adds. (If you want to know when all the distilleries are releasing their special editions, check out our rare whiskey calendar.)
Where to buy: The 2026 Angel’s Envy Cask Strength Bourbon has a suggested retail price of $249.99, with approximately 20,640 bottles released nationwide. The Angel’s Envy 10-Year Cask Strength Rye is $269.99, with approximately 10,800 bottles available exclusively in the United States. Both will be available for purchase beginning April 17, 2026.
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