September's tastings were led by the oldest single malt Glenmorangie has ever bottled, a 50 Year Old that earned the month's top score.
But age isn’t everything. Some of the month’s highest scores went to young liquid, like the Fortaleza Reposado tequila (aged for a mere nine months), as well as plenty of young bourbons.
Take a look at this month’s highest scores, and don’t forget to check out all our reviews from September on Tasting Notes.
Glenmorangie 50 Year Old
Released this month, Glenmorangie’s 50 Year Old is the oldest single malt the Highland distillery has bottled. Bill Lumsden married portions from ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, and only 136 bottles are available at 45.7% ABV.
Our taster found “light soy, salted licorice, perfectly ripe, warm strawberries, and blood orange” on the nose, and praised the absence of the bitter oak that can ruin very old whisky.
Heaven Hill Parker’s Heritage Collection 20th Edition
Heaven Hill’s 20th Parker’s Heritage release is a 14-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon, made from 100 barrels distilled between October 2011 and January 2012. The mashbill is 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley, with rye backset added in fermentation, and it is bottled at barrel proof, 59% ABV.
It costs $200, with a portion of proceeds supporting the ALS Association. Our taster described “a supernaturally long finish, nodding at cherry cola before its final surrender.”
Fortaleza Reposado
Fortaleza Reposado is made at Destilería La Fortaleza in Tequila, Jalisco, by fifth-generation producer Guillermo Erickson Sauza. The agave is slow-roasted in brick ovens, crushed with a volcanic-stone tahona, fermented in open wooden vats, and double-distilled in copper pot stills, then rested for six to nine months in used American whiskey barrels.
It is bottled at 40% ABV. Our taster called it “a constantly evolving reposado,” with notes of cigar box arriving on the finish.
The Dalmore Madeira Collection 30 Year Old
The youngest of The Dalmore’s three-bottle Madeira set, the 30 Year Old had an eight-month finish in Terrantez casks from Blandy’s Wine Lodge.
Just 150 bottles were made, at 48.3% ABV. Our taster found “a lot of vibrancy” on the nose, with time in the glass turning the orange note into “a light marmalade,” before a tart palate of marmalade, cedarwood, and hazelnut.
Woodinville Single Barrel Straight Bourbon
Brett Carlile, co-founder and head distiller at Woodinville, tastes hundreds of barrels to find the ones worth bottling. Each is aged at least seven years in new American white oak, bottled at cask strength (this one is 57.95% ABV), and yields roughly 180 bottles.
It sells for $70. Our taster noted charred timber on the nose “evolving rapidly into herbal elegance on the tongue,” and a finish that “culminates in a spice rack symphony.”
Barrell Bourbon Batch 038
Batch 038 is a cask-strength blend of straight bourbons aged between eight and 15 years, from Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, and Maryland. It marks America’s 250th anniversary with a red, white, and blue label, and it is bottled at 58.48% ABV for $85.
Our taster found “a tropical start with pineapple and papaya,” before “freshly cracked black pepper inserts a complex savory spice” that lingers long after each sip.
Ardbeg Trudernish 15 Year Old
New to the core range, Ardbeg’s Trudernish 15 Year Old slots in above the 10 Year Old and is named for an ancient settlement on Islay. It spent time in ex-bourbon, new charred American white oak, and ex-Oloroso sherry casks, and is bottled at 48.8% ABV.
This was September’s most divisive release. One taster scored it 94, finding “something wonderfully windswept about this whisky.” Another gave it 90, praising “heather honey and caramelized stone fruit.” A third scored it 85, calling it “a well-balanced development from the 10 Year Old.”
Booker’s The Reserves 2026
The third edition of Booker’s annual tribute to Booker Noe is only the second rye to carry his name, after the 2016 Big Time Batch. Freddie Noe, the master distiller, took inspiration from his grandfather’s homemade apple wine, finishing the six-year-old rye in apple brandy barrels with cinnamon sticks.
It is bottled uncut and unfiltered at 62.55% ABV. Our taster found “a very direct rendering of baked apple and cinnamon hard candy,” softening in the glass to reveal toasted oak.
Highland Park Between You and I
The second edition of Highland Park’s collaborations with figures from food, art, and fashion pairs the Orkney distillery with New York artist Laila Gohar. Marc Watson, the master whisky maker, sampled more than 80 casks for the 17 Year Old, which spent 11 years in refill casks before a finish in new American oak.
It is bottled at 47.5% ABV and costs £122 (approx. $164). Our taster noted that “the peat is there, but plays a secondary role,” and called it “a well-constructed whisky with plenty of distillery character.”
The Dalmore Madeira Collection 45 Year Old
The oldest of The Dalmore’s three-bottle Madeira set, the 45 Year Old had a three-month finish in Malvasia pipes.
Only 150 bottles were made, at 40.7% ABV. Our taster described “a thick texture on the palate” delivering stewed fruits, mandarin, walnuts, and dark chocolate, and found it “surprisingly fresh throughout with very little hint of oak.” At this age, they added, you might expect “a bit more of a spicy kick.”
