The Best New Whiskeys to Drink This June

Bourbon | 47.5% ABV | Aged 3+ Years

The whiskey brand co-founded by actors and friends Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley has long stated a commitment to 100% regenerative practices. And this is a nice step toward that goal: a bourbon crafted with regenerative grains grown within 20 miles of their North Carolina distillery. It’s a blend of a three-year bourbon and a six-year wheated bourbon (the final mash bill is 70.5% corn, 14.7% rye, 9% wheat and 5.8% malted barley, if you want to be specific). I’m not always a fan of four-grain mash bills, but here the flavors nicely balance out, as the kick from the rye is softened with notes of caramel popcorn, hints of citrus, marshmallow and toasted oak.

Scotch | 49.2% ABV | Aged 17 Years

This northern Scottish distillery just launched two new limited-edition whiskies in its Dalmore Luminary Series, in partnership with V&A Dundee, Scotland’s design museum. We did not get to try The Rare, a single malt aged 52 years and housed in a cool bronze sculpture; that release will be auctioned off by Sotheby’s this summer. The Collectible, meanwhile, is still rare — only 20,000 bottles — aged 17 years, matured in ex-bourbon barrels and finished in seven different casks (Calvados, Matusalem sherry, red wine and American white oak). There’s a lot of citrus here, along with notes of white chocolate, cherry, sandalwood and blackberry.

Bourbon, Scotch, Japanese Whisky | 59.1%-60.9%  ABV | Aged 22-55 Years

The Last Drop is known for releasing rare whiskies from well-known distilleries that often feature unique maturation methods. Their latest, uh, drop includes the 27-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon from Buffalo Trace Distillery (Release No. 37), 55-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch from the Tomintoul Distillery (Release No. 38) and 22-Year-Old Japanese Blended Malt Whisky (Release No. 39). The first two have their charms, particularly if you like burly, barrel-forward bourbons or a dried fruit/raisin note, respectively. It’s the Japanese whisky, however, that won me over; a marriage of 100% Japanese whiskies derived from two casks, both made from Mizunara oak, this one is both sweet and balanced with hints of lemongrass, citrus, incense and red berries.

Scotch | 48.9% ABV | No Age Statement

This is a limited-edition remastering of one of Compass Box’s most famous blended malt Scotch whiskies, which debuted in 2006. For its eighth iteration, the whisky makers utilized only select peated whiskies and some matured in custom French oak barrels (previous editions also featured some unpeated whiskies). It features a lovely, oily mouthfeel, plenty of red fruit, cloves, nutmeg and citrus. It’s delicious. Bonus: As the release is named after an M. Ward song, Compass Box went ahead and made a playlist.

Bourbon | 50% ABV | No Age Statement

Lasso Motel is known for its wide-range of aged expressions matured in various cask finishes, but this one is kind of different. Set to evoke a cigarettes-and-whiskey dive bar combo, Darts is a blend of straight bourbon and bourbons finished in ex-Armagnac, sherry and Cognac casks (it was distilled at the Green River distillery, a favorite of ours in the “inexpensive yet really tasty” bourbon category). There are burlier notes of tobacco, cloves and leather but also a lovely dark fruit element and plenty of classic bourbon flavors (vanilla, caramel, toffee, etc.) with an additional earthy rye kick.

Rye | 61.5% ABV | Aged 7 Years

Sagamore just released the latest batch of its 100% Maryland-made, cask-strength rye whiskey, which (as usual) is a blend of a high-rye and a lower-rye mash bill. Triple-distilled and aged in high-char barrels, this release is full of cherry, black pepper and caramel with plenty of oak spice. It’s got a lot more kick than the usual Sagamore Spirit release and seems suited for a Manhattan or a cocktail where the whiskey can be front and center.

Malt Whisky | 46% ABV | No Age Statement

First, this is technically not a Japanese whisky. The latest release from Hatozaki is a whisky from Scotland, aged in ex-bourbon and sherry casks then finished for an additional six months in umeshu plum liqueur barrels in Japan (which might be a first? I’ve certainly never experienced this!). A permanent expression in Hatozaki’s lineup, Triple Cask offers a very floral and fruity character with subtle notes of cocoa, honey, apple and black tea.

Bourbon | 50% ABV | Aged 6+ Years

Only 2,000 bottles of this intriguing limited-edition bourbon are available from this Washington state distillery, which took their six-year whiskey and gave it additional (and non-disclosed) time to mature in barrels that formerly held extra añejo tequila. The agave notes shine here, and the tequila barrels also amplify the whiskey’s notes of orange zest, caramel and vanilla, all brought together by a spicy, peppery finish.  

Bourbon | 55.5% ABV | Aged 12 Years

The third edition of Bhakta’s annual single vintage bourbon series is a Tennessee-distilled bourbon aged for about an extra year in a range of single vintage (mainly from the 1970s and 80s), ex-Armagnac casks, for a total maturation of just less than 13 years. Featuring a mash bill of 84% corn, 8% rye and 8% malted barley, this one is a bit nutty, full of caramel, cherry, oak spice, cloves and a hint of lemon.

Blended Whiskey | 59-60.3% ABV | No Age Statements

Star Trek Spirits (that’s a thing) collaborated with Stellum Spirits (from the team behind Barrell Craft Spirits) for two limited-edition expressions — a blended rye and a cask-strength blended whiskey. Why the collab? Stellum means “a gathering of stars” in Latin. Housed in Romulan Ale bottles, the rye is nice and spicy with notes of orange, apricot, cinnamon and brown sugar. The cask-strength is full of caramel, apple, cherry, cloves and toasted oak. Genre fan or not, these are excellent whiskeys to enjoy anywhere in the universe.