11-04-2025
The Most Anticipated Whiskeys of the Year Have Just Arrived. Here's How They Taste
Securing exceptionally rare spirits is, by definition, an arduous task. If everybody could get their hands on the stuff, it wouldn't exactly be rare. But ever since The Last Drop Distillers came on the scene in 2008, it's been a tad easier for connoisseurs to encounter rarity in the wilderness—or at their local bottleshop, at least.
The London-based independent bottler specializes in sourcing precious, often forgotten, troves of liquid—stuff that can never be replicated—and making it relatively accessible to the masses in one final globally-distributed hurrah before it's gone forever.
In a typical year, this constitutes maybe a handful of labels, each one scant enough in supply to fill only several hundred bottles. Indeed, up until this point there's been about 15,000 total bottles worth of liquid through a grand total of 36 releases. Now, the brand is ready to bring volumes 37, 38, and 39 to the world.
I tasted the three newcomers: a trio of ultra-aged whiskies from Kentucky, Scotland and Japan, respectively. Included in the mix are some of the best liquids I've sipped all year.
The theme this year is mastery in maturation. For Release No. 37, The Last Drop has unveiled a 27-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon from Buffalo Trace Distillery. It comes from the award-winning distillery's three oldest casks, laid down between 1995 and 1997. Under normal bourbon-making conditions, this constitutes way too much time in the barrel. But master blender Drew Mayville has a secret weapon at his disposal: an experimental, refrigerated warehouse in which barrels are kept at a steady 45 degrees specialized environment enables extended aging. It's an ambitious project, but one that resulted in a vibrant, 121.8-proof whiskey that's brimming with seasoned oak and simmering cherry. The underlying wood note never overpowers but instead forms a solid anchor upon which tobacco, cedar, and sandalwood flow into a slinking allspice finish. Uncut and unfiltered, the tongue-tingling juice will set you back $10,500 a bottle, with only 508 of them in total shipping out globally this month.
Joining it is Release No. 38, a 55-year-old single malt from Tomintoul in Scotland's Speyside region. The liquid was originally distilled in April 1969 and has a supernatural sort of viscosity and richness. These deep almond- and date-driven complexities are owed to the cooperage. It's a union of whiskies that spent all their lives maturing in sherry-seasoned casks. Sip it slowly and methodically, and you might discern tropical pineapple notes around its golden edges. You won't need to add any water to aid in the pursuit. Bottled at an easy 43.1 percent ABV, this is a calm and gentle dram. Just 430 bottles will be available worldwide at a suggested retail price of $6,950.
Rounding out the 2025 collection is Release No. 39, a 22-year-old blended malt that incorporates whisky from a now-shuttered Japanese whisky maker. Back in 2000, the Hanyu Distillery in Saitama Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, was mothballed. Four years later, most of its campus was destroyed by fire. The dwindling stock that remains in existence is rapidly becoming collector catnip. This particular offering fuses a sole barrel from the ghost distillery with another cask from an unnamed Japanese producer. Both whiskies matured exclusively in Mizunara oak. After two decades of aging, the resulting blend flaunts creamy spice and incense notes typical of the cooperage.
Bottled at an unusually high proof point for Japanese spirit, this 59.1 percent ABV belter is assertive on the palate, nodding to toasted tropical fruit. The finish resolves in an overture of cinnamon and brioche. It's the rarest release of the bunch, though not the priciest: only 319 decanters in total, set to retail at $5,500 per bottle.
As with all The Last Drop releases, they each come packaged in a 700ml decanter alongside a 50ml miniature. It affords collectors the opportunity to sample the interest without dipping into the principal.
But those banking on exclusive pours ought to consider a journey to coastal California this weekend. For those in the know, the Pebble Beach Food and Wine Festival is the Pebble Beach Rare Whisky Extravaganza. Master blender Drew Mayville and Rebecca Jago, director of brand experience for The Last Drop, will be hosting a tasting on Friday, April 11. In addition to previewing the latest releases, expect to sip Buffalo Trace whiskeys you'll likely never get anywhere else. Tickets to the exclusive event are still available at $350 per person.
