Latest whiskey releases: Buffalo Trace Antiques, King of Kentucky, Woodford Rye
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- Buffalo Trace Antique Collection 2025 adds E.H. Taylor Bottled‑in‑Bond; limited nationwide release at $149.99.
- King of Kentucky 2025: 17‑year selection from 63 barrels, 5,000 bottles, $399 retail.
- Woodford Reserve Barrel Strength Rye bottled at 125.1 proof, priced $129.99 and sold nationwide.
If you see a line outside a liquor store in the morning this fall, it’s probably because a special release is due to arrive.
And some of the most sought-after special whiskeys and bourbons are hitting the shelves right about now. Except they probably won’t ever hit the shelves: With collectors and fans lined up and waiting, these special bottles are likely to go back out the door as fast as they came in.
Here’s what to know.
Buffalo Trace Antique Collection
One of the biggest seasonal releases: The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. The 2025 version is extra special because it will include the first new addition since 2006. This year, Colonel E.H. Taylor Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon joines the lineup that also includes Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon, George T. Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon, Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey, Sazerac 18-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey and William Larue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon.
Regarded as the “Father of Modern Bourbon” who helped define bourbon quality for the entire industry, Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor Jr. (1830-1923) introduced key innovations including copper fermentation tanks and column stills, and was instrumental in the passage of the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 that established standards for bourbon quality and authenticity.
Antique Collection bottles are sold individually, available nationwide in limited quantities, with a suggested retail price of $149.99 each. A limited supply is also available via Legacy de Forge, a global online auction platform. Every bottle comes with a letter detailing the whiskey’s production and aging journey, according to the news release.
E.H. Taylor Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon: Aged 15 years and 4 months and bottled at 100 proof to meet bottled-in-bond standards, this whiskey is made from Buffalo Trace’s sour mash recipe. On the nose, it’s warm vanilla, seasoned oak, charred undertones and maple, according to the tasting notes. On the palate, it’s sweetness and baking spices, gentle wood with a finish of oak, vanilla, soft caramel and a hint of cherry.
Eagle Rare 17-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon: Bottled at 101 proof, this year’s version was actually aged 18 years and 4 months, according to the release. On the nose, it’s dark tobacco and leather, ripe cherry and pepper. On the palate, it’s caramel, leather and cherry with a finish of oak, vanilla and sweetness. Last year’s vintage received a Double Platinum award at the 2025 ASCOT Awards.
George T. Stagg Kentucky Straight Bourbon: This year’s version was aged more than 15 years and 4 months and is one of the strongest ever, bottled at 142.8 proof. On the nose, it’s deep oak and vanilla. On the palate, it’s vanilla layered with dark tobacco and ripe cherry, with a finish of tobacco, vanilla and oak. The 2023 George T. Stagg earned top honors, including Best in Class and Double Gold medals at the 2024 Whiskies of the World Competition.
Sazerac 18-Year-old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey: Bottled at 18 years and 5 months and 90 proof. On the nose, it’s bright rye spice, oak and a subtle herbaceous lift. On the palate, it’s spice and oak, wood and leather with a finish of rye spice, leather, caraway seed and oak. The 2024 vintage earned a Gold Medal at the 2025 International Spirits Challenge.
Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey: Uncut and unfiltered, this whiskey is more than 6 years old and bottled at 129.8 proof. On the nose, it’s lively oak and spice, bright fruit and light apple. On the palate, it’s bold spice, oak and gentle fruit, with a long warming finish of oak, vanilla and spice.
William Larue Weller Kentucky Straight Bourbon: This wheat bourbon is more than 14 years old and 129 proof. On the nose, it’s vanilla, maple and tobacco. On the palate, it’s sweet vanilla and toasted oak with a finish of oak, vanilla and ripe fruit. Last year’s William Larue Weller earned a Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
King of Kentucky
Another highly sought release has arrived from Brown-Forman: King of Kentucky. Now in its eighth year after the brand was revived in 2018, the 2025 version is 17 years old and bottled from 63 barrels ranging from 124.4 to 135 proof, according to a news release.
“This is the ultimate expression of American whiskey — a bold, robust bourbon that has been aged to perfection,” said Brown-Forman master distiller emeritus Chris Morris. “These 63 barrels, personally selected and tasted from the highest-quality warehouses, are a true masterpiece.”
Morris selected the barrels (from two production dates in 2007) from the fourth floor of Warehouse J and the first floor of Warehouse G at the Brown-Forman distillery in Louisville.
Only 5,000 bottles are available through select retailers with a suggested retail price of $399. Each wax-dipped bottle is numbered by hand and comes inside a custom canister with details on proof, age, warehouse location, lot number, serial number and barrel number for authenticity.
Woodford Reserve Barrel Strength Rye
Woodford Resreve has released a new limited-edition bottle: Barrel Strength Rye. Master Distiller Elizabeth McCall used the same mash bill as Woodford Reserve Rye, using 53% rye, but bottled it at the strength of the collective batch of barrels.
“Barrel Strength Rye honors the legacy of America’s original rye whiskeys, where spice and tobacco take the lead, layered with notes of fruit, floral, and subtle sweetness,” McCall said in the news release. “But rather than presenting the standard 90.4 proof for which Woodford is known, this high-proof expression brings more pronounced spice notes.”
It’s 125.1 proof, has a suggested retail price of $129.99 for a 700mL bottle and is available nationwide, online at shop.woodfordreserve.com and at the Woodford Reserve Distillery between Versailles and Frankfort.
On the nose, it’s pepper, clove, nutmeg, oak and vanilla bean dusted with orange oils, according to the tasting notes. On the palate, it’s juicy orange, clove and nutmeg with hints of leather and tobacco and a long finish of citrus and unsweetened tea.
Ingram Distillery Flagship Bourbon
Ingram Distillery, the Columbus, Ky., distillery known for aging its whisky in barrelhouses floating on the Mississippi River has released its 2025 Flagship Bourbon.
Released just once a year, Ingram Distillery Flagship Bourbon is highly coveted. The 2025 version is the fifth Flagship Bourbon release, and this one is blended by master blender Scott Beyer from just eight barrels of high-rye bourbon.
It has a proof of 116.5, is available in eight states (Kentucky, Alaska, Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Tennessee and Wisconsin) and online via Seelbach’s with a suggested retail price of $79.99.
On the nose, it’s apple pie, brown sugar, cake frosting and clove. On the palate, it has an oily and heavy mouthfeel with notes of milk chocolate, sweet buttercream and chai spices and a long finish of toasted walnuts, warm cinnamon and nutmeg, caramel and demerara sugar.
J. Mattingly 1845 Halloween bottle
Frankfort’s J. Mattingly 1845 Distillery will let you dress up your whiskey for Halloween.
Their “Make Your Own” program lets you go online and choose between three different double-staved mashbills, including two bourbons and one rye. Then you can create your own custom label and choose your wax color.
“We really get into the Halloween spirit here at J. Mattingly 1845, and have seen some creative plays on words for labels, and wax bottle toppers that range from what you’d think of as traditional Halloween colors of orange and black, to even tri-color wax that looks like candy corn,” said Cameron Mattingly, master blender and vice president of Pproduction, in a news release.
Pricing for custom bottles starts at $99.50 for a 750mL bottle and shipping is available to 46 states. To get started, go to jmattingly1845.com.
This story was originally published October 8, 2025 at 12:12 PM.
