What’s happening in wine and whiskey this week:

This Week’s Unicorn Review Stories

🍷 New York’s Finger Lakes wine region is one to watch. Find out more about the region and some of its best producers.

🥃 Woodford Reserve master distiller Elizabeth McCall is focused on maintaining tradition and encouraging innovation. We spoke to her to find out more about her vision for the distillery.

New Bottle Releases

Penelope Beaufain Four Grain Bourbon ($45)

MGP-owned Penelope Bourbon just released this new four-grain expression in collaboration with home furnishing brand Serena & Lily. While Penelope uses a four-grain mashbill for other expressions, this 84-proof release is said to have been custom blended by master blender and cofounder Danny Polise. It comes in a bottle with a floral motif from a home on Beaufain Street in Charleston, the hometown of Serena & Lily.

Woodford Reserve Double Double Oaked ($200)

Double Double Oaked is a version of Woodford’s classic Double Oaked that spends an additional year in a secondary set of new charred oak barrels—hence, the name. This whiskey was formerly part of the Distillery Series, but made its debut as a limited-edition core portfolio offering last year. It’s now back for 2026, but act fast because supplies are limited.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Rye A126

Last September, Heaven Hill’s Elijah Craig whiskey brand introduced its first batch of Barrel Proof Rye, building on the tradition of its Barrel Proof Bourbon. That whiskey was fantastic, a 108-proof rye aged for more than 12 years. The second batch, and the first of 2026, is also great—it’s aged for just under 12 years and bottled at just a hair over 120 proof. That means it’s packed with flavor but does not overpower your palate as you sip.

Unicorn Whiskey Pick of the Week

Russell’s Reserve Single Rickhouse 2025 – Camp Nelson E

This whiskey came out in the fall, but it’s worth covering even after we’ve entered the new year because it’s just that good. Russell’s Reserve is the smaller batch label produced at the Wild Turkey Distillery, and it’s arguably one of the best bargains in the bourbon world—it has one of the few truly high quality 10-year-old bourbons you can find for about 40 bucks in its portfolio.

The Single Rickhouse series was created to explore the concept of terroir in whiskey based on maturation location, something we recently covered in this piece about how different distilleries tackle the concept. Camp Nelson E is the fifth Single Rickhouse release, and according to the brand this whiskey was aged in an entirely different maturation environment than previous releases, all of which come from Wild Turkey’s Camp Nelson warehouse campus. Camp Nelson E was built in 1946, and it’s said to be located closer to the river than others on the site with more consistent shade throughout the year.

Master distiller Eddie Russell selected barrels from the fifth floor of this seven-story rickhouse for this release, high enough for things get hot but not as extreme as the very top level. The whiskey was bottled at 128 proof, which gives it the honor of being the highest proof Russell’s Reserve expression to date. That’s pretty strong, but the flavor and complexity still shine through despite the elevated ABV. There are rich notes of oak, vanilla, custard, maple, and cherry syrup on the palate, along with a healthy dollop of spice and some hot mulled cider on the finish.

If you have a chance to try this in a side-by-side tasting with the previous Single Rickhouse releases, do so—it will either make you a believer in the concept of warehouse terroir, or perhaps lead you to conclude that it’s all nonsense. Whatever the case, you won’t be disappointed with the quality of this fantastic bourbon.

Unicorn Wine Pick of the Week

These two wines, also part of my project devoted to cool-climate, far-west vineyard sources from California fruit, couldn’t be more different. But they share an ocean view roughly 80 miles from each other, and the Pacific definitely contributes to their character.

Sandhi Sta. Rita Hills Romance Chardonnay ($90)

Sashi Moorman makes this wine, drawn from a recent addition (2015) to the Domaine de la Côte suite of vineyards (it’s one of the westernmost Chardonnay vineyards in the south Central Coast). It’s found just outside of Lompoc, in the western Sta. Rita Hills, where those vines are exposed to relentless ocean breezes, creating conditions for fruit purity and flavor intensity, and the salt air doubtless provides its own unique mineral fingerprint, as does the extended lees contact. Crisp and toasty at once, this leads with a toasty suite of golden fruit flavors, apple, and pear. The palate is pleasingly warm with a generous middle that belies the coolness of the place where it’s grown, but ends with a finish marked by mouthwatering tension.

Saxum 2022 SLO Coast Cayucos Ridge Vineyard Syrah ($200)

Collectors of Saxum, take note—Justin Smith has a new project. This vineyard is called Cayucos Ridge, and as the crow flies it’s not terribly far from Saxum’s original estate in the Willow Creek district of Paso Robles, and only four miles from the ocean. While Paso feels several miles from the Pacific, at Cayucos Ridge the sea feels close enough to touch. It’s early days for these young vines, but the 2022 feels quite complete with a spectacular spiciness not often found in Smith’s Paso bottlings. There’s a scent of currants, wild herbs, potpourri, and a hint of woodsmoke. The flavors are dark-berried and intense with a concentration and tannic payload that speaks to the wind at this one-of-a-kind place.