10 Best Whiskeys We Tasted in June 2025

As a website covering the world of drinks, we taste loads of spirits. It’s our job to separate the wheat from the chaff, and one of our favorite ways to do that is by highlighting the best whiskeys we tasted each month. In June 2025, we sampled an incredible selection, ranging from bourbons aged nearly two decades to smoky scotches and spicy ryes. Without further ado, let’s get into the list, which is ranked from great to unforgettable. For each whiskey, we’ll give you some info and our tasting notes.

10 Best Whiskeys We Tasted in June 2025

Honorable mentions:

• Oaklore Four Grain Bourbon
• Larceny Barrel Proof Batch B525
• Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon 7 Years

10. 15 STARS Triple Cask II Bourbon

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Released in June 2024, this is the second Triple Cask release from 15 STARS, a critically acclaimed up-and-coming non-distilling producer. Triple Cask II is a blend of 8- and 16-year-old Kentucky bourbons finished in cognac, rum and apple brandy casks.

Bottled at 105 proof, this bourbon sells for $179.99.

Nose: Honey, sweet blueberry pie, honeycrisp apple, browned butter, tangerine, grapefruit and vanilla extract

Taste: Bitter tannin, praline, apple pie, kiwi and lime rind

Finish: Melted butter, grapefruit peel, marshmallow and coffee bean

9. Woodford Reserve Distillery Series Tawny Port Finish

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Released in May 2025, Woodford Reserve Tawny Port Finish is a member of the brand’s Distillery Series. This is a blend of rye whiskey, bourbon and Tawny port-finished bourbon. To our knowledge, this is the first bourbon x rye blend released by Woodford. Throw in the port finish, and there was a lot to be excited about here — it didn’t disappoint. Bottled at 90.4 proof, this limited-edition whiskey has a suggested retail price of $64.99 per 375-milliliter bottle.

Nose: Vanilla, graham cracker, cinnamon, tobacco and blackberry

Taste: Tobacco, cracked pepper, coconut milk, clove, mint, cocoa powder and walnuts

Finish: Pepper, plus raisin and graham cracker, lots of port influence

8. Blackwood Toasted Rye Whiskey 105 Proof

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Blackwood Toasted Rye Whiskey 105 Proof is a 7-year-old rye whiskey distilled by an undisclosed Indiana producer (MGP, we assume) and finished using Blackwood’s signature toasting process. This involves a finish in three new toasted barrels from Kelvin Cooperage: a medium toast (no char) barrel, a char 4 barrel with toasted heads and a char 2 barrel with toasted heads. It has a suggested retail price of $95.99 per 750-milliliter bottle.

Nose: Toasted oak, dill, clove, cinnamon, mint, tea and French toast slathered with maple syrup

Taste: Fresh mint, pepper, dill, marshmallow, butterscotch

Finish: Clove, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg, lingering marshmallow fluff

7. Old Forester President’s Choice Bourbon 2025

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This is the 2025 release of Old Forester’s annual President’s Choice Bourbon, which in 2025 for the first time ever is available beyond the distillery. President’s Choice is a single barrel product, but each is aged between seven and nine years and typically proofed between 110 and 125. Old Forester says “only the finest” barrels are deemed worthy of carrying the President’s Choice name. My sample was bottled at 120.5 proof. This whiskey has a suggested retail price of $225.

Nose: Vanilla latte, soft oak, cherry, lavender, blueberry scones

Taste: Tobacco, clove, big oak, medicinal cherry, melted butter

Finish: Clove, tobacco, toasted oak, coconut shavings, almonds, cocoa powder and fresh mint

6. Sagamore Cask Strength Rye Whiskey 2025

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This is 2025’s release of the Cask Strength Rye Whiskey from Sagamore Spirit, the Maryland-based distillery founded by Kevin Plank, the founder of sports apparel brand Under Armour.

This batch of Sagamore Cask Strength is 100% Maryland-distilled rye whiskey aged at least seven years and bottled at 61.5% ABV. It launched in May 2025, has a suggested retail price of $69.99 and is sold at the Sagamore Spirit’s distillery in Baltimore or select retailers throughout the country. This is a delicious, bruising bottling from one of America’s finest rye producers.

Nose: Brown sugar, clove, cinnamon, cola

Taste: Pine, cinnamon, black tea, ginger, honey, tannin, apple pie and a touch of lemon peel

Finish: Spicy cinnamon and ginger are joined by pine, oak tannin, crème brûlée and a nice strawberry note

5. Oban 15 Year Old Cask Strength Oloroso & Palo Cortado Cask Finish

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Released in April 2025, Oban 15 Cask Strength Oloroso & Palo Cortado Cask Finish was aged in European oak butts and American oak hogsheads and then finished in Oloroso and Palo Cortado sherry casks. A limited release, this whisky was bottled at a cask-strength 55.3% ABV and has a suggested retail price of $150.

Nose: Sourdough bread, sherried fruit character, plus honeycomb, papaya and marzipan

Taste: Soft oak, buttered rolls, tobacco, orange blossom, figs, cinnamon, honey, hazelnut and white pepper

Finish: Sweet tobacco, plus oak, pepper, cinnamon and honey

4. Calumet Farm 18 Year Old Centennial Decanter Bourbon

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This 18-year-old bourbon was released to celebrate 100 years of Calumet Farm, which was founded in 1924 on about 1,000 acres of bluegrass in Fayette County, Kentucky. Calumet Farm is known for its horse racing prowess, with two Triple Crown winners, eight Kentucky Derby champions, two Belmont Stakes winners and 11 Hall of Fame inductees. It’s packaged in a nice box and sleek, eye-popping bottle, and is priced at $499.

Nose: Crème brûlée and vanilla bean meet cashews, cinnamon, tobacco, cola, rose petals and faint green apple note

Taste: Plenty of oak, crème brûlée, leather, tannin, luxardo cherry, caramel apple, cinnamon roll, buttercream frosting and tobacco

Finish: Cinnamon, potpourri, bacon fat, cherry, raisin, butterscotch, apple pie, brownie batter, vanilla bean, tannin and leather

3. Bruichladdich Port Charlotte SYC:01 2013

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Released in the U.K. in fall 2024 and in the U.S. in May 2025, This is a 10-year-old scotch whisky from Bruichladdich’s Port Charlotte line. Bottled at 54.4% ABV and malted to 40 PPM, this whisky was aged in first-fill (75%) and second-fill (25%) bourbon barrels for five years before being moved into first-fill French oak Syrah wine casks for four years. Then, it was refinished in bourbon casks for a final year. The seventh release in Port Charlotte’s Cask Exploration series, Port Charlotte SYC:01 has a suggested retail price of $149.99.

Nose: Powerful peat, barbecue smoke, sandalwood and mango

Taste: Gritty peat, charred meat, oak, sage, vanilla, brown sugar, cherry, plum, raspberry, cinnamon, cracked pepper

Finish: Ash and char, honey, brown sugar, iodine and papaya

2. Old Forester President’s Choice Rye Whiskey 2025

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You already saw the 2025 release of Old Forester’s President’s Choice Bourbon on this list, now meet its sibling, the first-ever Old Forester President’s Choice Rye Whiskey. Each barrel is typically bottled between 110 and 125 proof — my sample was 117.1 proof, and it was phenomenal.

Nose: Maple bark, clove, cinnamon, powdered ginger, fluffy French toast, orange sherbet, cherry, raisin and blackberry

Taste: Clove, oak, sassafras, cinnamon, peppermint, pine needles, butterscotch and cherry

Finish: Gentian root, anise, tobacco, leather, cinnamon, vanilla extract and a bit of cherry

1. Redemption Whiskey 18 Year Old Bourbon

(Photo: Redemption Whiskey)

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Redemption Whiskey 18 Year Old Bourbon is a limited release distilled at MGP in Indiana. Aged for 18 years in new charred American oak, it is bottled at 103.4 proof and sold in 750ml format with a suggested retail price of $399.99.

With a Raided Score® of 96 based on reviews from the internet’s most trusted critics, this bourbon currently ranks as the best whiskey release of 2025.

Nose: Dark chocolate, leather, toffee, chopped peanuts, gingerbread, maple syrup, cherry, espresso, powdered ginger and a touch of smoked meat

Taste: Crème brûlée, espresso, cherries, peanut brittle, vanilla ice cream topped with hot fudge, leather, cinnamon

Finish: Oak and tannin, luxardo cherry, lemon curd, cookie butter and dark chocolate, plus a bit of pepper and clove

With a bevy of phenomenal whiskeys, June was one of the best tasting months in recent memory. Any whiskey on this list is worth picking up if you can find it at a decent price. Here’s to hoping July is half as good as June. We’ll see ya next month!