By Richard Thomas
(Credit: Sazerac)
In whiskey circles, summertime is best known as when the release calendar slows down. In America, only a few of the well-loved and much-anticipated annualized limited editions comes out during the summer months. It is also not a time known for new product launches or brand extensions. Even internationally, the releases schedule slows.
Slows, but slow is not the same thing as paused. Summer 2026 is no exception. This summer brings a very interesting, all new release; a pair of crafty, annualized releases people should get to know better; plus a trio more of well-established, passionately sought annual favorites. Also, keep in mind that when I say summer, I mean summer on the calendar: June 21 to September 21. All y’all who complain about how hot it is in mid-September ought to remember that is very much late summer.
(Credit: Diageo)
June Sees A New Player Emerge In The Volunteer State
The highlight for new American whiskeys in June is when Sazerac issues the inaugural release from their latest distillery and brand: AJ Bond Tennessee Whiskey. A decade ago, Sazerac bought the failed Newport, Tennessee-based Popcorn Sutton Distillery, which already had the former lead distilling team of George Dickel on staff: Master Distiller John Lunn and his deputy Allisa Henley. That distillery was originally supposed to move to Murfreesboro, but ultimately landed in La Vergne (which is actually between Murfreesboro and Nashville) by 2019. After setting up shop and going operational, Lunn and Henley set about making whiskey and crafting a house style, with Sazerac clearly committed to having a proper stock of mature whiskey in the rickhouse before launching any foray into Tennessee Whiskey. Then John Lunn suddenly died in April 2023. Henley succeeded him, and the new brand was named for them both (AJ: Allissa and John).
So, longtime whiskey observers (like the writer of this article) have been waiting for Sazerac’s Tennessee Whiskey for a long, long time. But this is also a major landmark, as Sazerac’s La Vergne plant represents only the third venture in the Tennessee Whiskey category by a major American spirits company, and the first one of the 21st Century. Both Jack Daniel’s and George Dickel are legacy distillers, reopened or re-founded in the 1930s and 1950s respectively.
The flagship AJ Bond Tennessee Whiskey has been announced as a 95 proof bottling priced at $40.
Garrison Brothers Has A Texas One-Two In Mid-Summer
The iconic Texas distillery that was the first to fire up stills in the Lone Star State and built an identity around adapting the bourbon maturation process to the stark Texas climate has two of its staple, limited annual editions. Neither of these gets quite the buzz I think they should.
In July, Garrison Brothers releases their take on Port-finished whiskey, Guadalupe. This is a four year old Garrison Brothers bourbon, finished for an additional two years in Port caks and bottled at a pretty ballsy 107 proof. Then August brings Laguna Madre, which is an extra aged version of what I think of as the classic Garrison Brothers style. Aged in both 53-gallon white oak American Standard Barrels for four years and then finished for another four years in somewhat larger, new French Limousin oak casks, it’s extra mature and somewhat similar to the combination of barrel choices Garrison Brothers used when I first became acquainted with them. This one is bottled at 101 proof.
(Credit: Brown-Forman)
The Summer’s Established Stars
Most serious American Whiskey enthusiasts know to expect Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition and Old Forester Birthday Bourbon. No details about what is in the bottles for these two has been released as of yet, but both should ship in September, so late summer. They’ve been fixtures of the summer release schedule for the entirety of the Bourbon Boom and now beyond it, coming out as de facto previews to the red hot autumnal limited edition release schedule.
But joining them since the Pandemic has been August’s release of the middle-aged Baker’s 13 Year Old Single Barrel. The original Baker’s identity was pegged as a 7 year old, 107 proof bourbon, basically straddling the middle line between Knob Creek and Booker’s in the original, early 1990s Jim Beam Small Batch Collection. When Beam decided to start building up the long neglected Baker’s several years ago, they made it a single barrel as well. This annualized limited edition almost doubles the age, and I often say middle aged bourbons occupy the sweet spot for the category in maturation.
