Our Highest Rated Whiskeys From August

Wemyss Malts (pronounced "weems") sources casks from all over Scotland, creating blends with distinct taste profiles. The profile of this whisky matches its name, and the whisky itself comes from Islay distilleries where it was distilled and then aged for 12 years.

Bruichladdich's Octomore series preaches to peat devotees, in the quest for the best and most heavily peated Islay whiskies ever produced. The 07.3 release clocks in at 169 PPM, and has been aged for five years in ex-bourbon and Spanish Ribera del Duero wine barrels. Distilled from Islay barley, it has also been bottled at cask strength, 63% ABV. The series is named for the Octomore Farm, nestled above Port Charlotte.

Blanton's Gold Edition is made the same as the standard Blanton's Original Single Barrel--from a mash bill of corn, rye, and malted barley. Additionally, the barrels were sourced from Buffalo Trace's Warehouse H. The difference here is the proof. After chill-filtering, Blanton's Gold Edition is bottled at 51.5% ABV. The horse and jockey toppers still spell out "Blanton's," but they are both gold. Although this was originally only available in international markets and Global Travel Retail outlets, as of summer 2020 this will now be an annual release in the US.

Hillrock was conceived by businessman Jeffrey Baker, who enlisted Master Distiller Dave Pickerell to create the first “farm to glass” distillery in New York’s Hudson Valley. This whiskey is made from 100% organic barley grown in its surrounding fields and malted in-house for three days. It’s dried in kilns using peat imported from Scotland’s Speyside for a total of 20 hours (Pickerell experimented with different time intervals before settling on this one). After initial aging in American oak, the whiskey is given two more weeks in ex-Oloroso sherry casks.

O'Begley produces Irish-style whiskeys in Pittsford, New York. Their first single malt release was barreled in September 2014, packaged in 375 ml bottles, intended as a preview of a future, longer-aged release.

New World Distillery, the creators of the Starward Whisky and the Starward Shiraz Cask Whisky, have created a new line of whiskies; the New World Projects. This line delivers new tastes and sensations in what may fast be becoming an overcrowded market. The latest off the line Port Double Cask. This elegant whisky comes from the joining of 2 Australian-style tawny port barrels, one is a first-fill barrel and the other is a second-fill barrel. They are each 200 liters in size. The whisky is sold at 48.6% ABV of which 666 bottles were produced.

A ghost of a whisky, information on the Great Outback whisky is hard to come-by (putting it politely). Supposedly the whisky was distilled between 1960 and 2000 between Perth, Western Australia and Tasmania. For those unfamiliar with Australian geography, that’s an odd 3500 Kilometers, or 2200 miles. Corio Distillery popped up as a possibility of origin, but as this distillery closed in 1989 this information cannot be verified. Another name that popped up was Cawsey Menck in Sydney, however there is doubt to whether this distillery is still operating. Attempts to contact the distillery on the telephone were met with failure, and neither a website nor email address can be found. The bottle itself refers to being “Distilled in Tasmania”, yet no connection can be found there either. What we can ASSUME is that the whisky was matured in an American Oak cask, although this comes from the taste of the whisky itself. A rumour heard while inquiring said that it may have been made by the previous owner of the famed Sullivans Cove, although this cannot be verified either. Somewhere, there is an answer. Maybe one day, someone will find it.

Limeburners is producing Western Australia's first single malts at the time of writing, and they have been doing a mighty fine job of it. The port cask variant is made with Western Australian barley, is copper pot-distilled then matured in an American ex-bourbon cask. It is finished in an Australian-style port cask. Limeburners are non-chill filtered and have no added caramel-coloring, giving them an authentic taste from a sun-burnt country. Note: This is not sold in the US.

This whiskey is made by a grain-to-glass distillery in Little Rock, Arkansas, where the rye used is grown within 125 miles. It's bottled at 46% ABV, and distilled from a mash bill with 52% rye, 38% corn and 10% malted barley (this differs from an earlier recipe which used 88% rye and 12% malted barley).

Walter Catton, Mark Fellwock and Jenney Grant produce spirits at Holland, Michigan's Coppercraft Distillery on the site of an old brick supply house. This is a 100% rye.