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Still Available
Ballindalloch
Aberdeen Angus Anniversary Release & Single Cask #60. Buy Here and use Estate10 for 10% off.
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Handcrafted layered wooden map with distillery markers. 20% off with code WHISKY20 (min $150 order). Shop here.
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Bottles Worth Grabbing (via InternetWines.com)
Six bottles worth a look this week, covering everything from sherry-heavy Speyside and smoky island malts to barrel-proof bourbon and Irish pot still whiskey. A few familiar names are priced particularly well, while others offer something beyond their standard releases. InternetWines.com ships to much of the country, though some states are limited to certain ZIP codes, so check yours at checkout.
Macallan 12 Year Sherry Oak 110 Proof
Macallan at a price worth getting excited about. Released in 2025, this higher-strength version of the Sherry Oak 12 is matured exclusively in sherry-seasoned oak and bottled at 55%, a substantial jump from the standard 43% US release. Expect sticky dates, cinnamon, rich oak and stem ginger, with more intensity and texture than the regular bottling. At under $80, it costs less than most US shops charge for the standard 12.
ABV: 55% | Cask: Sherry-seasoned oak | 750ml
Price: $79.97
Typical US Market Range: $110–120
Savings: ~$30–40
Who’s this for: Anyone who wants a true Macallan experience at a realistic price
Lagavulin 16 Year
One of Islay’s most recognizable whiskies, and for good reason. Sixteen years of maturation shape Lagavulin’s heavy peat into layers of smoke, iodine and seaweed over a rich, deep sweetness, with a long, salty finish. The 43% bottling strength remains a drawback, but there’s a maturity here that younger, higher-proof peated whiskies don’t always deliver. At $70, it’s considerably easier to recommend than at the $100-plus it sometimes commands.
ABV: 43% | Age: 16 years | 750ml
Price: $69.97
Typical US Market Range: $73–104
Savings: ~$3–34
Who’s this for: Anyone who wants one of the quintessential Islay malts at a price that makes up for the 43%
Talisker Storm
A more aggressive take on Talisker’s signature coastal style. Storm carries no age statement, instead emphasizing pepper, brine, smoke and spice. It’s less about the measured complexity of Talisker 10 and more about delivering an immediate punch of maritime character. Bottled at the distillery’s familiar 45.8%, it’s a particularly attractive everyday peated malt at this price.
ABV: 45.8% | No age statement | 750ml
Price: $39.97
Typical US Market Range: $52–63
Savings: ~$12–23
Who’s this for: Peat drinkers who want a sub-$40 everyday bottle
Booker’s Bourbon, Milkshake Batch 2026-02
Booker’s continues to deliver what many bourbon drinkers want: uncut, unfiltered whiskey with a meaningful age statement and plenty of intensity. This batch spent 7 years, 6 months and 12 days in oak, drawn from four warehouses, before bottling at 124.4 proof. Beam’s notes point to vanilla, spice and oak, classic Booker’s. The name comes from Booker Noe’s fondness for bourbon-spiked chocolate milkshakes, not any flavoring in the whiskey itself.
ABV: 62.2% | Age: 7 years, 6 months | Uncut and unfiltered | 750ml
Price: $79.97
Typical US Market Range: $99.99 SRP
Savings: ~$20
Who’s this for: Barrel proof bourbon drinkers restocking a reliable staple.
Note: The retailer specifies the box is not included.
Elijah Craig 9 Year Barrel Proof Private Barrel
A nine-year-old single barrel selected for Randall’s Wines & Spirits, bottled at a substantial 127.4 proof. Only 150 bottles came from barrel #7457506. Unlike the standard Elijah Craig Barrel Proof releases, which blend multiple barrels, this offers the character of one individual cask. At $60, it’s an interesting alternative to the regular releases, which carry a $74.99 SRP, though single-barrel quality always varies.
ABV: 63.7% | Age: 9 years | Single barrel | 750ml
Price: $59.97
Typical US Market Range: $74.99 SRP (standard Barrel Proof batches)
Price gap: ~$15
Who’s this for: Store-pick hunters who want a one-of-150 bottle without paying a pick premium.
Redbreast 12 Year Cask Strength
One of the easiest recommendations in Irish whiskey, especially at this price. Triple-distilled from malted and unmalted barley, then matured in ex-bourbon barrels and Oloroso sherry butts, it delivers the exotic fruit, dried apricot and pot still spice of the standard release with considerably more weight and intensity. The retailer lists this bottling at 116.2 proof, although strength varies between batches. At under $70, it’s exceptional value.
ABV: 58.1% (listed batch) | Cask: Ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry | 750ml
Price: $69.97
Typical US Market Range: $100–116
Savings: ~$30–46
Who’s this for: Anyone who likes sherried Scotch and hasn’t explored Irish pot still yet.
Featured: Ballindalloch, One Month Later
We opened October with Ballindalloch’s two newest US releases, so it’s fitting to close the month with them too. Here’s why each one deserves a spot on your shelf.
Ballindalloch Aberdeen Angus 150th Anniversary Release
This bottle marks 150 years of the Aberdeen-Angus Herd Book, and it ties straight back to the estate: Ballindalloch’s herd is said to be the oldest pedigree Angus herd in the world, and it’s fed on the draff from the distillery. The whisky is roughly equal parts first-fill bourbon and first-fill sherry, married and bottled at 50%. What makes it great is balance. The bourbon casks bring fruit salad, ripe banana and tangerine, the sherry casks bring chocolate-covered raisins, and neither one takes over. It’s the most approachable Ballindalloch you can buy in the US right now, and 10% of proceeds go to the American Angus Association.
ABV: 50% | Cask: first-fill ex-bourbon and first-fill ex-sherry | Non-chill filtered, natural color | 700ml
Price: $139
Availability: 300 bottles for the US; one-off release
Ballindalloch 2014 Single Cask #60
This is the 60th cask ever filled at Ballindalloch, filled on October 23, 2014, during the distillery’s first year, which means it turned 12 last week. It spent more than 11 years in a first-fill PX hogshead before bottling at cask strength. It was distilled from Concerto barley, before the switch to Laureate, so this spirit won’t be made again. What makes it great is that PX usually buries a young spirit in syrup, and this one doesn’t. Grape and honey on the nose, fruitcake and raisin on the palate, and a thick, coating texture that’s rich without being heavy. It’s also the distillery’s first single cask released in the US.
ABV: 59.2% | Cask: first-fill Pedro Ximénez hogshead | Non-chill filtered, natural color | 700ml
Price: $149
Availability: 300 bottles, US only
My take: These are expensive whiskies, but you’re not paying for marketing. You’re paying for how they’re made. Ballindalloch produces about 50,000 liters a year, roughly a hundredth of the average Speyside distillery. The barley is grown on the estate. Each mash takes seven hours, fermentations run 140 hours in Oregon pine, the spirit condenses through worm tubs more than 70 meters long, and every valve is turned by hand. At that scale, nothing is rushed and every liter carries more of the cost. Taste either bottle and the time shows up in the glass.
Use code Estate10 for 10% off at Ballindalloch’s US store.
Full disclosure: I partner with Ballindalloch, but I was recommending them long before that relationship began.
What's the Whisky Community Drinking?
Charlie Campbell (Dramface) — Bowmore The Devil’s Casks 10 Year Old (56.6%)
Bowmore has revived its cult Devil’s Casks series, first released as a trilogy between 2013 and 2015. The new 10-year-old is matured in first-fill Oloroso sherry casks and finished in first-fill PX, bottled at 56.6% with no added color or chill filtration, unusual for an official Bowmore. Campbell found dark fruit, cherries, blackberry and treacle on the nose with a hint of salt, then a spicy, oily palate of fruitcake, dark chocolate, prunes, cinnamon and a touch of menthol. The smoke is there but restrained, and while the PX is prominent, he doesn’t call it a sherry bomb. It’s priced at £70 (about $94), exclusive to The Whisky Shop until December 1, when it also arrives at the distillery. A 22-year-old (£380) made from two casks held back from the original batches is available only by ballot, and only to buyers of the 10.
Score: 7/10
My take: Campbell calls this the best official Bowmore he’s bought, and that matters from a writer who notes Bowmore sits at #35 in Dramface’s distillery rankings. At £70 for a 10-year-old at 56.6%, natural color and non-chill filtered, the specs alone put Bowmore’s 40% core range to shame. Skip the 22-year-old ballot unless you want a collector’s bottle; the 10 is the one to drink. This one is definitely on my list to check out. The biggest drawback is availability: one retailer until December 1, then the distillery, with other markets not planned until 2027.
Thijs Klaverstijn (Words of Whisky) — Macallan 12 Years 110 Proof (55%)
A permanent addition to Macallan’s Sherry Oak Collection, essentially a higher-strength version of the familiar Sherry Oak 12, matured predominantly in European oak sherry casks. Klaverstijn found fragrant oak, sultanas, allspice, a whiff of gunpowder and hints of sandalwood on the nose, with frozen berries and growing umami over time. The palate is creamy with a moderately spicy arrival of allspice, nutmeg and ginger, then walnuts, star anise, chocolate, tangerine and treacle, finishing medium and slightly dry with mocha and nuttiness. His verdict: the European oak leaves a clear imprint and it’s not a shy whisky, though it runs a little hot at times. He also pushes back on Forbes calling it the most important Macallan in years.
Score: 8.6/10
My take: This is the same bottle in this week’s Bottles Worth Grabbing at $79.97, against $110–120 at most US retailers. An 8.6 from a reviewer who’s openly skeptical of the hype is a strong endorsement. If the heat bothers you, a few drops of water will help. At under $80, this is the easiest Macallan recommendation I’ve made.
Jordan Moskal (Breaking Bourbon) — Booker’s Batch 2026-02 “Milkshake Batch” (62.2%)
The second Booker’s batch of 2026, aged 7 years, 6 months and 12 days and bottled uncut and unfiltered at 124.4 proof, drawn from four warehouse locations. Moskal found baking spices, cinnamon stick, mixed peppercorn, charred oak and dried tobacco on the nose. The palate peaks with sweeter notes of cinnamon apple, breakfast syrup, brown sugar, melted caramel and vanilla cake alongside pink peppercorn and charred oak, finishing with gentle rye and cinnamon spice and light vanilla. His verdict: classic bourbon flavors and a consistently great high-proof bourbon for the price, but not a batch that stands out from recent Booker’s releases. SRP is $100.
Score: 3.5/5 (well above average)
My take: This is the same bottle in this week’s Bottles Worth Grabbing at $79.97, about $20 under SRP. Moskal’s review is exactly what you want to hear about a staple: no surprises, no letdowns. If you’re chasing a standout Booker’s, wait for a later batch. If you want a reliable barrel-proof bourbon at a fair price, this is it.
Worth Knowing: The Glencairn
It’s in every distillery visitor center, every festival tote bag, every tasting photo on your feed. It feels as old as the pot still. It isn’t. The Glencairn glass was launched in 2000 and made its public debut at Whisky Live London in 2001, which makes it younger than plenty of the whisky poured into it.
Before it, whisky had no universally recognized glass of its own. Drinkers used tumblers, shot glasses or wine goblets. Many professional blenders relied on a glass borrowed from sherry.
The blueprint was a sherry glass. That glass was the copita, a small, stemmed, tulip-shaped glass from the sherry trade. Its narrow bowl was ideal for nosing, but the delicate stem and small size made it less practical for everyday whisky drinking.
One prototype, nearly two decades on a shelf. Raymond Davidson had spent the 1960s and 1970s frustrated at being served whisky in the wrong glass. He founded Glencairn Crystal, a decanter and glassware business in East Kilbride near Glasgow, and a few years later made a single handmade sample of a whisky glass very close to the one we know today. Then growing the decanter business took priority, and the prototype ended up stored away among the company’s old samples.
A son cleaning out samples. In 1999, during a long-overdue showroom clear-out of hundreds of old samples, Davidson’s son Paul pulled one glass aside because it looked interesting. His father spotted it on Paul’s desk two weeks later and retold its story. Paul took it to Richard Paterson, the master blender at Whyte & Mackay, and asked him to describe the ideal glass for drinking whisky in a bar. Paterson essentially described the glass in Paul’s hand.
The blenders shaped it. Originally envisioned in a smaller format called the “Blender’s Malt Glass,” a few hand-blown samples were shown to industry experts at International Spirits Challenge judging sessions and whisky events at the end of the 1990s. Raymond said getting input from five master blenders was essential if the industry was going to accept it. At Whisky Live London in 2001, Davidson showed mouth-blown handmade samples, before the first full production run.
A glass for everyone. One company was so taken with the glass that it wanted Davidson’s entire first production run, which he admitted was a big temptation. He said no, because it would have been forever seen as their glass rather than a glass for whisky. That’s why the same shape now turns up in Kentucky tasting rooms and Scottish distilleries alike, usually with a different logo on the side.
Then it took over. Glencairn marked its millionth glass in December 2004. In 2006 the glass won the Queen’s Award for Innovation. By 2020 it was selling more than 3 million a year in 140 countries. By its 25th anniversary in 2025, annual sales had surpassed 5 million, with more than 50 million glasses sold worldwide.
The copita never left. Glencairn also makes a Copita, which it supplies to blending labs and distilleries and describes as the nosing glass favored by many master blenders. The two coexist: copitas remain common in blending labs, while the Glencairn is used everywhere from bars to professional tastings.
That’s the real achievement. Davidson didn’t invent the idea of a glass that concentrates aroma. He borrowed from the copita, made the design sturdy enough for a bar and kept it brand-neutral. The whisky world did the rest. Twenty-five years on, it’s still the default.
What’s Happening: Benromach Brings Back the 25
On October 22, Benromach launched a 25 Years Old as the oldest whisky in its signature range, joining the 12, 15 and 21. It’s matured only in bourbon and sherry casks, bottled at 46% ABV, and non-chill filtered. Price is £250 (roughly $335). Benromach’s own shop ships only within the UK for now, but UK retailers will ship it to the US with the 20% VAT removed.
This isn’t Benromach’s first 25. A 25-year-old sat in the core range in the early 2000s at 43%, matured in refill American hogsheads, before it was discontinued. That bottle was distilled before Gordon & MacPhail took ownership.
My take: The detail that matters is what’s in the bottle. Gordon & MacPhail bought Benromach in 1993 and reopened it in 1998. A 25-year-old released now is very likely spirit from the restored distillery, unlike the old 25, which carried whisky from the previous owners.
So this is more than a relaunch. The new version changes three things at once: who made the spirit, the casks (sherry joins bourbon), and the strength (46% and non-chill filtered, up from 43%). It also lands as a signature-range age statement, not a one-off limited edition, which runs against the trend of brands pushing older stock into ever-pricier special releases.
That’s why this one is worth buying from abroad. Without VAT, £250 becomes about £208, or roughly $279. Even with shipping on top, that’s a strong price for a 25-year-old single malt, and it’s the first real look at what Gordon & MacPhail’s Benromach becomes at a quarter century.
That's it for this week.
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