The Most Innovative American Whiskeys Of 2024
With wild mash bills, rare aging woods and unique rick houses, American distillers are taking whiskey into bold new territory.
Our annual coverage of the best new American whiskeys has already showcased standout American single malts , ryes, and double-barrel expressions, with one bottle from each taking a best-in-category crown. The fourth and penultimate chapter looks at the most innovative expressions of 2024. Innovation can come in many forms—intriguing mash bills, rare aging woods and staves, new processes, unique maturation environments…the possibilities are endless. These especially creative American distilleries and blenders are masters at moving a very traditional spirit in new and unexpected directions and flavors. Here are a dozen whiskeys that embody true innovation:
Most Innovative American Whiskey Of 2024: WhistlePig Boss Hog XI – The Juggernaut Rye
We’d consider this for the best rye of 2024, but it’s so unique that we’d be anxious about misleading purists. WhistlePig traveled more than 7,000 miles from the bucolic forests of their 500-acre farm in Shoreham, Vermont to the deserts of India to unearth the secrets of thandai—an aromatic local drink born of nuts and spices. Spices which WhistlePig hoped would work their magic with the brand’s rye whiskey to craft the 11th chapter in their halo Boss Hog annual expression. And with this exploration in thandai, WhistlePig Boss Hog XI: The Juggernaut was born. But the exact wizardry of how the spicy Indian drink was married with the Vermont distillery’s oldest straight rye isn’t quite so simple.
Carefully selected thandai spices were poured into stainless steel tanks holding WhistlePig’s foundational 4-year-old rye. There, the spices infused the whiskey for no less than 14 days before filtering them from the spirit. Stainless steel tanks were used instead of barrels so only the whiskey and spices would interact, without influence from wood characteristics. This newly mulled whiskey was never meant to be consumed, however—instead WhistlePig filled 127 barrels with it to season the virgin oak. When the barrels were ready, the mulled 4-year-old rye was dumped out and replaced with WhistlePig’s rare 13 year-old rye, which aged an additional 21 days in the finishing barrels.
Bottled between 51.9 to 52.6 percent ABV, The Juggernaut Rye comes packaged in the Boss Hog collection’s sturdy display case, its beloved pewter Chief Pig Mortimer Jr. topper fully dressed in the style of the majestic elephant Raja, the tallest elephant ever recorded in India. $600 SRP
Maker’s Mark ‘Cellar Aged 2024’ Bourbon
There’s been a concerted effort throughout the bourbon kingdom to raise the agings of their bottles in order to proportionately raise the prestige (and obviously pricetags) of their offerings.
Inspired by their Scottish peers who enjoy great profits from their highly aged single malts, bourbon faces greater maturation challenges because of the extreme heat and temperature fluctuations of their homelands, which means barrels in Kentucky (never mind in Texas summers) age quicker than Scotland. The worst possible outcome is you let it sit for a couple months too long, the oak overwhelms the profile and potentially ruins a fantastic whiskey.
The effort instigated Buffalo Trace to first experiment with a small batch, and then build a full-size, temperature and humidity controlled rick house engineered via millions of data points extracted from their best natural aging areas. Likewise, it motivated Maker’s Mark to build a cooler, more balanced aging area carved out of their limestone caves. These sustainably built LEED-certified limestone cellars are designed to provide a unique—and more importantly, slower—maturation environment for their new Cellar Aged bourbons, released for the first time last year.
Now Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged 2024 bottles the beloved Loretto, Kentucky distillery’s most mature bourbon ever: a gorgeous blend of 12-year (15 percent) and 13-year (85 percent) bourbon sold untouched at 59.7 percent ABV (119.3-proof). Of course it’s not just about age (although let’s be honest, that helps in marketing), Maker’s aims to deliver unique, previously unseen flavor profiles unlocked by longer and slower maturation. The limited-edition Cellar Aged 2024 bourbon’s extended mellowing adds notes of shortbread, lemon zest and toasted almonds to Maker’s signature dark cherry, caramelized brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla foundation. $175 SRP
Uncle Nearest ‘Lost Chapter 1 – 777’ Anniversary Blend Whiskey
Uncle Nearest christens its new Lost Chapter series with a hell of a whiskey: the 777 Anniversary Blend. Aged a full seven years to celebrate the Shelbyville, Tennessee whiskey endeavor’s seventh anniversary, we’d argue this is the most robust and unique bottle the family-run Uncle Nearest has yet released. The barrels used in Lost Chapter 1 – 777 were selected and blended by Victoria Eady Butler, Uncle Nearest’s four-time Master Blender of the Year and also fifth-generation descendant of Mr. Green, the first known African-American distiller in the U.S.
While an excellent barrel-strength blend, what makes the expression innovative is the code found on the neck tag, which allows you to read an unreleased chapter (hence the Lost Chapter moniker) of Uncle Nearest Founder and CEO Fawn Weaver’s new whiskey tome, Love and Whiskey: The Remarkable True Story of Jack Daniel, His Master Distiller Nearest Green, and the Improbable Rise of Uncle Nearest.
Admittedly we only had time to scan a couple chapters of the book, but it brilliantly illuminates the role the only recently celebrated Nearest Green had on one of America’s most famous brands on the global stage. It’s heartening to see Mr. Green finally get his long overdue respect, including the erection of an upcoming statue, museum and four-acre park at their famous Lynchburg, Tennessee campus. Publishing the history of her family’s rich history in whiskey making is a momentous occasion for both Weaver and Eady Butler, and they chose one of their best whiskeys yet bottled to promote it. This expression is bottled at cask strength (between 55 percent to 60 percent ABV/110-120-proof) and is limited to 7,000 bottles. $139 SRP
Abraham Bowman ‘Oak Series: French Oak’ Whiskey
This year an entirely new Oak Series sub-category launched under the A. Smith Bowman Distillery’s Abraham Bowman vertical. Abraham Bowman’s Limited Edition Collection looks to “push the boundaries of American whiskey making methodologies,” and their new Oak Series dials down specifically on cask maturation. Meaning, the distillery is experimenting with different oak species found around the world, and how each varietal can nuance the bourbon within. For the debut bottle welcome Abraham Bowman Oak Series: French Oak.
“I like to think about our Abraham expression as a gamble: maybe if we try this it will turn out great!” A. Smith Bowman Distiller David Bock explains of his work under the Abraham Bowman label. “For more than a decade we have been aging barrels in different types of oak hoping our gamble would pay off. Knowing we have multiple oak experiments coming, we thought the concept of an Oak Series was fitting. Our first oak trial, French Oak, has hit what I believe is its peak. As the other oak varietals age, we thought this release would be a great way to kick off what is about to come.”
The juice that makes up the new expression was aged for exactly 12 years in French oak—however the barrels were treated differently, some charred and some left uncharred. Demand for the quite fairly priced $100 Abraham Bowman Oak Series: French Oak was so high the distillery only sold the bottles via an online lottery in April. Prices on the secondary market are sure to be markedly higher. Learn more
Heaven’s Door ‘Exploration Series I Calvados Finish’ Whiskey
For the debut spirit in Heaven’s Door’s new Exploration Series, Master Distiller Ken Pierce and Master Blender Alex Moore started with their highly regarded straight Tennessee bourbon whiskey, aged for at least 5 years, then finished the juice with a strong Gauloise twist. First they took casks from Normandy that soaked in delicious Calvados apple brandy for at least 2 years, emptied them out, and replaced the juice with their own 5-year-old straight bourbon. Then they toasted some French oak staves to a medium-heavy brown, and dumped those planks into the Calvados barrels. Voilà.
This secondary aging process allowed the Heaven’s Door whiskey to steep in the toasted French oak staves while also soaking in the Calvados barrels for a double French combo punch. The resulting Heaven’s Door Exploration Series I Calvados Finish whiskey earns notes of sweet cider and baked caramel apple from the brandy, and baking notes like butter croissants, oak and brown sugar from the toasted staves.
“Our new medium-heavy toasted French oak staves bring forth balanced complexity and enhanced aroma, culminating in a dark color and a smoother, creamier mouthfeel,” Master Blender Alex Moore tells Maxim. “It provides a truly enriched flavor experience.”
Despite its potency (bottled at 54 percent ABV/108-proof), Heaven’s Door Exploration Series I Calvados Cask Finish Tennessee Straight Bourbon Whiskey is not only sumptuous but also surprisingly smooth, with very little heat on the throat. $80 SRP
Pinhook ‘Vertical Series 8-Year’ Rye Whiskey
Thoroughbred racing-obsessed whiskey endeavor Pinhook’s ongoing quest to gauge the inexorable effects of aging continue with the latest release in their Vertical Series: Rye 8-Year. What Pinhook’s been doing every year with both their bourbon and rye offerings is release a limited number of barrels in that Vertical Series, so you can try the Vertical Series 8 against the Vertical Series 5 against the Vertical Series 4—the very first in the collection—and taste with precision how the exact same mash bill evolves in the exact same casks over time.
What a cool, simple and yet innovative concept. Using MGP’s widely used 95 percent rye/5 percent malted barley recipe, this fifth release in the Vertical Series sees Founder and Master Blender Sean Josephs’ juice really rounding into form, if not reaching its peak. Pinhook Vertical Series 8-Year Rye definitely feels like it’s getting close.
Blending 32 barrels, bottled unfiltered at cask strength (54.2 perc ent ABV/108.4-proof), the cashmere soft Pinhook 8-Year Rye offers generous sweet and floral notes of brown sugar, ripe apricot and orange peel, with a touch of cinnamon and clove spice making things interesting. We’ll see how Pinhook’s last four Vertical Series installments improve as Josephs vows to end the experiment at 12 years, but the mind wonders how far this rye can run. $85 SRP
Wyoming Whiskey ‘Outryder’ 2024 Whiskey
The story of Wyoming Whiskey’s Outryder expression is one born of rebellion. The fourth-generation cattle ranchers behind Wyoming asked their first Master Distiller Steve Nally to make a rye. He didn’t want to, so in 2011 the Bourbon Hall of Famer instead made an “almost rye” with 49 percent rye in the mash bill. And because that whiskey was used in a blend to create the inaugural Outryder, eventually those 2011 barrels were tapped. So in order to continue making Outryder, Wyoming Whiskey’s next distiller Sam Mead poured similar barrels in 2017 and 2018—however this time tweaked the recipe just enough (51 percent rye) to qualify it as an actual rye whiskey.
Now it’s fallen on Master Blender Nancy Fraley—known for her work with J Henry and Sons, Still Austin, Joseph Magnus and more—to blend these barrels and approximate the original Outryder. Using only non-GMO corn, winter wheat, winter rye and barley, all grown by local farmer Brent Raegeth in the nearby Bighorn Basin, the 2024 Outryder combines the “almost rye” whiskey with their new rye and the younger and older high-rye bourbon.
Yes, it’s complicated—much like the juice itself. But the rebellion and peaceful compromise also makes for a unique and tasty whiskey. There are touches of peach and pear interlacing with the vanilla and caramelized brown sugars of bourbon, with sprinklings of chocolate, cinnamon and orange bitters from the rye. Wyoming Whiskey’s Outryder comes bottled at 50 percent ABV (100-proof). $85 SRP
Little Book ‘The Infinite: Edition 1’ Bourbon
Little Book was the nickname sixth-generation Jim Beam Master Distiller Booker Noe gave his grandson Freddie when he was just a kid running around their Clermont, Kentucky campus. So it’s understandable that when Freddie finally got a chance to create his own bourbon line in 2017, he would dub it Little Book—a full 5 years before becoming Jim Beam’s new eighth-generation Master Distiller.
And it appears 2024 is the year of expansion for Jim Beam bourbon under Freddie’s direction. First came Bookers The Reserves, which was the first expansion of the Bookers Small Batch Bourbon line since 2019.Now he’s also growing his own Little Book label by releasing the inaugural Little Book Infinite Edition, the first ever brand extension featuring whiskey laid down by three generations of Noe family distillers.
Conceived to pay respect to more than two centuries of combined Beam and Noe family history, Little Book The Infinite Edition 1 combines four different whiskeys: a 20-year-old whiskey crafted by Freddie’s grandfather Booker, a 14-year-old crafted by his dad Fred and a 7-year-old Freddie distilled himself. The fourth being a Kentucky straight bourbon aged 8 years.
Little Book The Infinite will be a perpetual blend, meaning Edition 1 will serve as the foundation of the line. Every year a new whiskey will be poured into this blend, similar to a Solera method, so every annual edition will have a little bit of liquid from the thee generations. Bottled at cask strength (59.65 percent ABV/119.3-proof) The Infinite boasts Little Book’s known caramel, oak and creamy vanilla base, with the Edition 1 adding notes of black cherry, brownies and even smoke to the profile. $200 SRP
Sagamore Spirit ‘Manhattan Rye’ Whiskey
Back in 2020 Baltimore’s Sagamore Spirit experimented with a limited-edition twist on their famous rye that had everyone from Joe Flacco to Stavros Halkias in a B-more tizzy. So a scant four years later they’re returning to the well to offer Sagamore Manhattan Finish Rye Whiskey 2024. Launched in 2016 by Under Armour founder Kevin Plank with the goal of highlighting the legacy of his home state’s rye—which they say was a premier hub of rye whiskey decades before Kentucky began making waves—Sagamore wanted to see if they could conjure their favored spirit’s most famous cocktail, The Manhattan, strictly via barrel aging.
So they started with their highly acclaimed Sagamore 4-Year Old Straight Rye and aged it separately in barrels that held vermouth, bitters and cherry brandy for an additional 20 months, aiming to create a spirit with the herbal and bittersweet nuance of a Manhattan. The Manhattan Rye is a highly creative way to present Sagamore’s Maryland rye. $80 SRP
Frank August ‘Case Study: 04 4X Oaked’ Bourbon x Rye Whiskey
Like so many blenders, Frank August hunts whiskey barrels to sculpt a profile distinctly theirs. The distillery must’ve done something right, as since launching in only 2020, the awards have stacked up: the Small Batch earned Double Gold and Best of Class Finalist at the New York World Spirits Competition, Platinum at the Ascot Awards and a 91/100 IWSC score. Similarly its Single Barrel expression scored a San Francisco World Spirits Competition Double Gold and ‘Best of Class’ Finalist, with a 92/100 IWSC score.
And of course, sales. Sure part of it is the elegant presentation: The minimalist sleek glass that holds the whiskey, the clean sans serif gold lettering and restrained labeling. Even the black-and-white marketing photography celebrating American icons.
But of course in the end it all comes down to the juice. Beyond the two core releases (the aforementioned Small Batch and Single Barrel), Frank August developed the Case Study series as an homage to the 1945 American architecture program, which commissioned starchitects like Neutra, Eames, Koenig, Saarines and others to design sustainable, affordable and efficient housing to tackle the post-WWII housing boom.
Akin to other labels’ experimental series, Frank August’s fourth 4X Oaked Case Study is a true wonder. Co-Founder Jonathan Crocker and his team developed a 4X Oaked process, essentially blending double-oaked bourbon barrels with double-oaked rye.
“While there is a lot of double-oaked bourbon or rye whiskey, and some blends of bourbon and rye in the market, I’ve never seen a blend of double-oaked bourbon and double-oaked rye; I believe Frank August is the first and only brand to do this,” notes Crocker, who adds their unique Proofed-in-Barrel process can be credited for the whiskey’s luxurious texture. “Rather than proofing the whiskey in tanks prior to bottling, which is what every brand does 99 percent of the time, we introduced the proofing process during the second barrel fill, targeting a 47.5 percent ABV at peak maturity,” he explains. “This novel approach created an exceptionally rich and layered whiskey that showcases the best of both bourbon and rye.”
After the initial proofing in the barrel, the double-oaked bourye blend is then aged again for an additional 12-14 months in its secondary barrel to develop “a beautifully balanced complexity,” adds the co-founder. “The result is a whiskey with depth, character, and a flavor profile that reflects Frank August’s uncompromising dedication to quality.” SRP $140
Hogsworth ‘Batch 1 Blend #9’ Whiskey
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that serial entrepreneur Raj Bhakta would frame his latest venture around the pig. The spirit company that put him on the map, WhistlePig, includes the plump mammal friends in the name. After selling WhistlePig in 2019 and buying a French chateau’s cellar worth of ancient Armagnac, Raj then went on to form Bhakta Spirits.
While their recent Hogsworth expression is in the Bhakta Spirits’ universe, the team are quick to point out that this new adventure aims to be a more playful expression of whiskey than Bhakta’s house of vintage Armagnac collection, such as their 1928—one of our favorite ryes of this year.
The first release from the new vertical, Hogsworth Batch 1 Blend #9, blends 53 percent bourbon from 2019 (from Tennessee and Minnesota) with 47 percent Armagnac from 1982, 2010 and 2012 vintages. In total the blend’s average age is 9.4 years for every drop. The result is like many of Bhakta’s better spirits: the caramel and vanilla punch of American bourbon softened with the dulcet orange peel and ripe red apple sweetness of the Armagnac. Hogsworth ‘Batch 1 Blend #9’ Whiskey is on this list for its value, making a nice introduction into the pricier world of Bhakta’s vintage spirits. $45 SRP
Old Elk ‘Master’s Blend Series Infinity Blend 2024’ Whiskey
Founded in 2013 in Fort Collins, Old Elk quickly joined its Colorado brethren in increasing the prestige of the Centennial State’s whiskey-making prowess. It helps that they enlisted Master Distiller Greg Metze and his four-plus decades of experience into the fold, rewarding him with a Master’s Blend Series of limited edition releases a couple years back.
In 2021 they launched an Infinity Blend that is part of the Metze-helmed Master’s Blend, and it continues into 2024. The idea is to emulate infinity blends bourbon fans make at home, pouring in the last drams of various bottles into a dedicated decanter and keeping that mix going indefinitely. With their official Infinity Blend, Old Elk aims to use this expression as “a sort of autobiography of a long and distinguished career” for Metze, which includes almost 38 years at Lawrenceburg, Indiana’s famed MGP megaship.
The high-proof (55.5 percent ABV/111.5-proof) limited edition perpetual blend begins with last year’s Infinity Blend 2023 as the base (15 percent), then adds in handpicked barrels of Old Elk’s newest expressions—including their 9-Year Old Wheated Bourbon (61 percent), 7-Year Old Straight Rye (12 percent), and 10-Year Old Wheated Bourbon (12 percent)—to fill out the order. This year’s Old Elk ‘Master’s Blend Series Infinity Blend 2024’ boasts notes of honey, roasted nuts, baking spices and dark chocolate over the expected oak and vanilla. $150 SRP
World Whiskey Society ’12-Year-Old Rye Finished in Awamori Casks’
As we said earlier this week when we shared Wyatt Earp American Single Malt, the relatively young World Whiskey Society—only founded in 2020—has a clear and simple mission statement: collect exceptional whiskey from anywhere on the planet, regardless of borders, age them in special casks (if need be), and then share them with whiskey aficionados wherever they may dwell.
One that recently stood out is their 12-Year-Old Rye Finished in Awamori Casks that WWS released late summer. Starting with Indiana sourced rye with MGP’s famous 95 percent rye / 5 percent malted barley mash bill, the WWS crew took the rye and finished it in rare casks that previously aged awamori.
Awamori is a fermented spirit unique to Okinawa, Japan using long grain rice which is normally simply stored in clay pots. However in a tradition half a millennia old, a small amount is separated and aged in Japanese oak. These unique Japanese influenced casks add brine, toasted coconut and even mango to the traditional MGD rye notes of cinnamon, black pepper and spice, adding a touch of umami to the brown sugar sweetness. $170 SRP
Follow Deputy Editor Nicolas Stecher on Instagram at @nickstecher and @boozeoftheday.
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