The Best New Whiskeys to Drink This December 

Tennessee Whiskey | 42% ABV | No Age Statement

In recent months, several independent and up-and-coming whiskey brands have released lower-proof, budget-friendly and easier-to-find bottles. While the 84-proof Nearest Green (hailing from Tennessee’s award-winning (and boundary-breaking) distillery Uncle Nearest) probably won’t win over drinks geeks, it’s an approachable whiskey with a bit of nuttiness and hints of caramel and allspice. Ideal for cocktails where you don’t want the whiskey to overpower.

Bourbon | 59.5% ABV | Aged 8 Years

Independent bottler Rolling Fork earned its rep on aging good rums in unique and often great ex-whiskey barrels. Now, they’re producing a whiskey that ties into co-founder Turner Wathen’s family background. Turns out Bourbon de Luxe was once in Watham’s family more than a century ago and, through various company sales, was even a part of the Jim Beam portfolio until the early 2000s. For the relaunch, the now independent brand is releasing an eight-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon in fairly limited quantities — only three barrels are available, or about 500+ bottles. It’s a classic bourbon profile, with lots of caramel on the nose and a nice mix of vanilla, orange creamsicle, cloves and cinnamon on the palate. 

Bourbon | 60.1% ABV | No Age Statement

Some distillers swear by warehouse barrel location. But few take it as far as Wild Turkey Master Distillers Jimmy and Eddie Russell, who’ve created a series of expressions around barrel resting places. The third annual release in the Single Rickhouse Collection, Camp Nelson B, is the highest-proof offering ever from the brand at 120.2. Here, barrels were taken from the sun-soaked sixth floor of Camp Nelson Rickhouse B. Non-chill filtered and barrel-proof, it has a lovely mix of caramel, dark honey, heavy oak char, vanilla and cherry cola.

Blended Scotch | 52% ABV | No Age Statement

This blend highlights the fruitier notes behind some of Compass Box’s peated Scotches, which often arrive via a wine-barrel maturation or finish. The blend here includes Caol Ila finished in Palo Cortado sherry-seasoned butts, The Peat Monster finished in second-fill red wine casks and Laphroaig finished in Marsala barriques (among others). A limited-edition release featuring bottles adorned with holographic foils representing the sweet flavors of the blend, Secrets of Smoke offers up wonderful notes of toffee, green apple and cereal, along with a vibrant salinity and a nice but not overpowering smoke (consider this a sweet barbecue).

Bourbon | 50% ABV | Aged 16 Years

First bottled in 1882 and named after Basil Hayden Sr., Old Grand-Dad has always been a high-rye bourbon with a modest price point (it also made several appearances in the classic Yuletide movie Bad Santa). This limited-edition release is the first with an age expression and an aggressive one at that; it’s full of oak, tobacco and caramel but isn’t overly burly.

Bourbon | 59.4% ABV | No Age Statement

The distillery best known for its barrel finishes has another new idea — their 13th edition of the annual Cask Strength series sees its bourbon finished in Port wine barrels. Admittedly, that’s not a new idea, but introducing a Tawny Port finish blended with the traditional Ruby Port certainly is (the distillery also used a solera method of continuous aging for the first time). There’s a lot of chocolate, apple and dark fruit here intermingling with the caramel notes from the bourbon, plus a slight nuttiness. It’s delicious and possibly this fall’s best bourbon for non-whiskey drinkers.

Australian Single Malt | 57.4% ABV | No Age Statement

Pinhook, an independent bottler, introduces the third in a series of collaborations with luminaries involved in similarly-minded “sensory-rich fields.” In this case, that means a collab with Jordan Salcito, sommelier and founder of Drink Ramona. That wine background came in handy, as the team blended four distinct styles of Starward Australian Single Malt (we’re fans), all of which had been exclusively aged in red wine barrels. Crafted from 100% malted barley, this is a juicy one, full of berries, cherry, citrus, malt and butterscotch.

American Single Malt, Rye and Bourbon | 54.9%-69.6% ABV | 10 Years Old

In its latest seasonal collection, this Vermont-based independent bottler focused on aging. In particular, these are some of the oldest whiskeys released by both Lost Lantern and their partner distilleries, all coming in at or around 10 years old. Included in the collection are single casks from California (Spirit Works), New York (New York Distilling Company), Ohio (Tom’s Foolery) and Washington (Westland). As usual, each release is presented at natural cask strength, non-chill-filtered and with no color added — and there are less than 200 bottles (or in some cases, less than 100 bottles) available of each expression. The standout? While the ryes are outstandingly robust and the bourbon has nice and unexpected chocolate notes, it’s the sweet and smoky (and slightly medicinal) flavors of Westland’s peated edition that I’d return to.

American Single Malt | 62.7% ABV | Aged 3 Years

Little Rest is an American Single Malt hailing from Tenmile Distillery in Wassaic, NY. It’s one of the very few whiskeys made in the United States by a Scottish master distiller, Shane Fraser (Kentucky Owl is another). Aged for three years in ex-bourbon casks and finished for six months in a first-fill Oloroso sherry butt — and bottled at cask strength — this one is sweet, nutty and ideal for Scotch fans wanting to see what the ASM buzz is all about.

Tennessee Whiskey | 45% ABV | No Age Statement

American Metal Whiskey serves as an extension of American Metal Customs in Danbury, CT, a popular custom car and motorcycle shop led by former Orange County Choppers TV star Josh Allison. The Disciple features a high corn mash bill distilled in Tennessee and aged in Vermont. What sets it apart from prior American Metal releases is a patent-pending sonic infusion process, which incorporates the sounds of The Disciple, a vintage 1941 Harley-Davidson EL Knucklehead engine played through a waterproof speaker submerged inside the new American Oak barrels to directly interact with the liquid. If you think that’s a bit like Blackened whiskey but using motorcycle sounds instead of Metallica songs, it’s, yes, a somewhat similar form of agitating the liquid with sound. Gimmick or not, it’s a cool bottle and features a delicious mix of caramel, rye bread, roasted corn, vanilla and oak spice with a dry finish.