The 5 Best Whiskeys We Tasted in August 2022

Each month, a whole lot of whiskey bottles come across our desks. Of all of the whiskeys we tasted in August, here are our five favorites — some new releases, some not.

Best Limited Edition: Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition 2022

Four Roses’ annual limited-edition release is always a big deal, and this year was no exception. This year’s blend is bottled at 54.5% ABV and was released in extremely limited quantities.

This is perhaps the most balanced of the recent Limited Editions from Four Roses, showing an impressive control over the nose, palate and finish from the first sniff to the final sip. Four Roses needs no fluffing to entice consumers with the demand of these releases, but of the last several years, this vintage is without a doubt the best.

Read our review here.

Best New Release: Hardin’s Creek: Jacob’s Well

Hardin’s Creek is a brand-new whiskey brand from the famed James B. Beam Distilling Company. Hardin’s Creek, Beam says, will “chart the ongoing story of the Beam family legacy, one that is more than 227 years in the making” with limited and rare whiskey releases.

Hardin’s Creek made its debut in July with Jacob’s Well, a blend of 15- and 16-year whiskeys. This bourbon encapsulates a historical snapshot from Beam’s earliest days.

Overall, this is a masterpiece. It represents the best parts of the previous glory of those Knob Creek 15- and 16-year picks everyone loved. Packed with fruit, candy, spice and oak, this unites it all.

Read our review here.

Best Barrel Proof: Larceny Barrel Proof B522

Distilled by Heaven Hill, Larceny Barrel Proof B522 is a barrel-proof bottling of the brand’s flagship wheated bourbon mashbill product. This is the second Larceny Barrel Proof release of 2022 and the second of three bottlings under the Larceny Barrel Proof line releasing to stores across the country this year. The third and final release joined the party in late August.

Overall, B522 is easily the best Larceny Barrel Proof in some time, perhaps ever. It brings a great blend of sweetness, baking spice, oak and a pleasant dash of cinnamon that adds depth but never goes too far.

Read our review here.

Top American Single Malt: Westward American Northwest Elements Series

A rare and exclusive bottling for Portland, Oregon-based Westward’s Single Malt Membership program, this release features a blend of elements from the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. with full maturation in native Garryana oak.

This is a single malt for the books and one of the most enticing, delicious, complex and unique bottlings to cross the Whiskey Raiders desk in a long time.

Read our review here.

Best Scotch: Craigellachie 13 Year Bas-Armagnac Cask Finish

Distilled by Speyside distillery Craigellachie and aged for 13 years, this release sees further finishing in Armagnac casks that hail from the Bas region of Armagnac. It’s bottled at 46% ABV. Craigellachie has always stood out a bit for incorporating age statements not often shared by competitors, and the Armagnac finish is just as atypical, as well.

Overall, this is a hit. It’s unique, not bludgeoned by the finishing cask and genuinely introduces an unusual finish on a strong footing.

Read our review here.

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