7 Best New Bourbons to Warm You Up This Winter
7 Best New Bourbons to Warm You Up This Winter
Nothing beats cracking open a solid bourbon when the snow’s piling up outside and the fireplace is roaring. These seven fresh releases from 2024-2025 are the ones I’m reaching for this year – big flavors, easy sippers, and a couple that’ll knock your boots off in the best way. Grab a Glencairn, throw on some Waylon, and let’s get into it.
Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series Wheated Bottled-in-Bond
This 100-proof wheater is the cozy sweater of bourbon right now. Soft baked apple, vanilla cream, and that classic wheat sweetness come through loud and clear, but there’s enough rye spice in the mashbill to keep it from getting too fluffy. The finish hangs around forever with cinnamon and caramel – perfect for slow sipping while you’re pretending to watch the game but really just staring at the fire. New favorite for sure.
Wild Turkey Rare Breed Barrel Proof
Jimmy Russell’s crew never misses with Rare Breed, and this year’s batch is straight fire (in a good way). Uncut and unfiltered at around 116-118 proof depending on the bottle, it hits you with dark cherry, leather, old-school oak, and that signature Turkey funk. Water it down a touch and it turns into liquid toffee. If you like your bourbon with some hair on its chest, this is your guy.
Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition 2025
Every year this one sells out faster than concert tickets, and 2025 ain’t different. They blended some beautiful 12-16 year old stocks here – think orange zest, ripe berries, floral honey and a backbone of baking spice that’ll make you grunt approvingly. It’s elegant but still punches hard at 108 proof. Worth every penny if you can snag a bottle before the flippers do.
Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged 2025 Release
Maker’s decided to get fancy and age this one longer in their limestone cellar, and hot damn did it work. Deeper color, richer mouthfeel, waves of fig, date, cocoa and that wheated softness they’re known for, but turned up to eleven. At 119 proof it’s sneaky – goes down way too easy for something that strong. My wife even stole a pour and she usually sticks to red wine.
Heaven Hill Grain to Glass Kentucky Straight Bourbon
The boys at Heaven Hill finally dropped their own corn-to-cork project and it’s legit. Made with their own bloody corn, super earthy and nutty up front, then explodes into brown sugar, charred oak and black pepper on the back end. 107 proof, six-plus years old, and tastes like Kentucky in a bottle. Feels like the kind of pour your granddad would’ve stashed away for special occasions.
Old Fitzgerald 11-Year Bottled-in-Bond (Fall 2025 Decanter)
Yeah it’s pricey, but this 11-year BiB is stupid good. Toasted pecans, coconut cream, antique furniture vibes – all the old-school Heaven Hill hazelnut magic you remember from back in the day. Silky as hell and finishes for days. If you’ve got a bonus burning a hole in your pocket or just wanna treat yourself after shoveling the driveway, pull the trigger.
Jack Daniel’s 12-Year Batch 2
I know, I know – Jack gets flak for not being “real” bourbon, but this 12-year Tennessee whiskey is drinking circles around a lot of Kentucky stuff right now. Maple candy, banana bread, charcoal kiss, super smooth at 107 proof. I cracked one with the guys during deer camp opener and the bottle was gone before we even started telling lies. Don’t sleep on it just cause of the square bottle.
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