The 2026 Rolling Stone Spirit Awards — Rolling Stone

RESOLVING THE LEDGER

The 2026 Rolling Stone Spirit Awards — Rolling Stone | AIPROPX

From smoky whiskies aged across the pond to beers brewed with rock 'n' roll DNA, these are the coolest spirits we sampled this year.

Bardstown Distillery Reserve: Normandie Calvados Brandy Barrel Finish

Bardstown Bourbon Company is back this year with another fantastic entry in its Distillery Reserve collection, the Normandie Calvados Brandy Barrel Finish. The new release features a blend of 12- to 13-year-old bourbons that are finished for 28 months in Calvados brandy barrels and then moved to toasted oak barrels for another four months. The result is a rich and intense yet velvety sip that carries notes of ripe apple, vanilla, caramel, and spice.

Four Roses' Single Barrel Collection got three new releases this year: OESF, OESQ, and OBSK. All of them are as good as bourbon gets, so picking a favorite is highly subjective, but we had a slight preference for the OESQ. This one features a lower-rye mashbill and a floral-forward yeast strain that results in a nose of light vanilla, sugar, and spices, and flavors of honey, oak, cinnamon, and berries. It's an excellent pour, and at less than $50 (in most markets), it's also an absolute steal.

Michter's 10 Year Single Barrel Rye is consistently one of the best bottles of aged rye on the market, and their 2026 release maintains that tradition of excellence. It uses less rye than most, meaning it lands somewhere between a traditional rye and a bourbon. The palate is intense but balanced with notes of spices, green apple, and pepper that are contrasted with molasses and other sweetness. Overall, it's the kind of rich, complex rye that will likely convert any skeptics or bourbon die-hards.

Highland single malt Scotch distillery Fettercairn has more than 200 years of expertise behind its name, but it just recently made the jump to the U.S. market last year. Arguably the best Fettercairn expression that made the journey across the Atlantic was the beloved 28-Year-Old, which has garnered numerous awards and extremely high ratings from some of the whisky world's most trusted tasters. In our opinion, the Fettercairn 28-Year-Old is worthy all of its acclaim. Aged in American white oak ex-bourbon barrels, the liquid delivers Fettercairn's signature notes of tropical fruit, including pineapple, banana, and melon, alongside syrup, bright citrus, and some subtle coffee.

While other Johnnie Walker Black expressions leaned into the smoky side of whisky, its new Black Cask goes the opposite direction toward bourbon sweetness. The whiskies used in Black Cask are aged in American white oak ex-bourbon barrels, imparting those vanilla, caramel, and gentle spice notes. However, there's still a small amount of smoke that acts as a kind of seasoning for the rest of the other flavors. All of this means it's a whisky that everyone, from bourbon lovers to Scotch enthusiasts, can share and enjoy.

Midleton Very Rare is back for its 43rd iteration and sixth vintage under Master Distiller Kevin O'Gorman. The new release includes three single pot still styles and two single-grain whiskey styles that are aged between 14 and 36 years. For the 2026 vintage, O'Gorman upped the amount of pot still whiskey. All of this yields one of the most layered drams of the year. You'll pick up everything from spice and stone fruit to zesty citrus to light floral and herbal notes.

Late last year, lauded Japanese distillery Nikka released one of the best blended whiskies in years: The Nikka From the Barrel Extra Marriage. Just like the standard From the Barrel, Extra Marriage incorporates more than 100 whiskies, but this one gets a marriage period that's three months longer than the original (hence the name). That means more time to develop a rich smoothness and sweet flavors like honey, beeswax, and chocolate alongside notes of lemongrass, citrus, and toffee.

Launched last spring, Star Hill Farm Whisky is the first new mash bill from parent company Maker's Mark since 1953. The new brand swaps out Maker's usual recipe for soft red winter wheat, hard white wheat, and heirloom hard red varieties. This produces a light, bright liquid that's a genuine departure from anything else out of Maker's Mark Distillery. For its 2026 expression, Star Hill blended seven- and eight-year-old barrels and bottled at cask strength, offering something that's sure to turn anyone's nose toward the previously niche wheat whiskey category.

on which of his characters he'd most like to have a drink with

"I suppose I would say John Book, the character in Witness. I think he might like a nice dram. I did my research [for that character] with the head of the homicide department in Philadelphia, and we did drink Scotch, occasionally in cop bars. So I know he might like it."

Hendrick's just launched its first permanent expression in nine years, and it reminded us why the Scottish house rules supreme. Another Hendrick's, as the new expression is called, pairs orange blossom and cacao bean with the ginmaker's signature rose and cucumber flavors. Another also comes in a white bottle, positioning it as a counterpart to the iconic dark brown apothecary-style bottle that Hendrick's uses for its flagship expression.

A stellar release from a storied gin brand, Beefeater Black proves that the ginaissance is upon us, with a spirit that is at once crisp and commanding. The new bottle adds lemon verbena and thyme to Beefeater's nine core botanicals, elevating the beloved London Dry gin with citrus and herbal saltiness. It's a sophisticated twist on our go-to gin that doesn't lose the classic charm of the original.

Created as a tribute to the Dosojin Fire Festival in Nagano, Japan, this Doso Gin from Nozawa Onsen Distillery does things very differently — and it works. The gin uses toasted local buna (beech) wood chips, which are the wood used in the Fire Festival's ceremonial shrine, imparting a smoky, earthy depth to the gin. This is balanced out with warm notes of hojicha tea, cinnamon, and ginger for a unique, delicio...