Each year we taste and review hundreds of American whiskeys, which are predominantly bourbons but also include ryes, malts, finished whiskeys, and other classifications of American-made whiskeys. Our annual “Best Whiskeys of the Year” series features five categories: “Best American Single Malt, “Best American Whiskey,” “Best Rye,” “Best Finished,” and “Best Bourbon,” finally culminating with our overall #1 Whiskey of the Year.

Our Best Finished Whiskeys of 2025 start with those ongoing releases or new ones released in 2025 and rated 3.5 barrels or higher, but are not based purely on our initial tasting and individual rating. Instead, we retaste and discuss this wide range of whiskeys extensively. We ask questions, such as is the whiskey exciting, memorable, unique, and most importantly, how does it compare to the rest of the field for the year?

We look for whiskeys that move us, and dig into whiskeys that may be off the beaten path. While availability and price are factors, they are not absolute. The intent is to highlight the whiskeys of the year that stand out the most to us, even if they might be difficult to obtain - and the reason we review hundreds of whiskeys each year spanning a wide price range and availability in order to inform readers of all budgets and experience levels. Ultimately, we must agree on which whiskeys make the list, and which do not - combining the diversity of our different palates.

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In 2025, Bardstown Bourbon Company launched Distillery Reserve, a new series featuring unique blends and finishes marketed as a premium line and bottled in 375mL format. The series featured three releases in its inaugural year, each receiving high ratings from Breaking Bourbon. While any of the three could arguably have been highlighted on this list, the second release, Hokkaido Mizunara Oak Barrel Finish, stands out the most. According to the company, “After blending a thoughtful collection of 9- to 18-year-old aged whiskeys for balance and depth, the custom whiskey blend spent an extraordinary 28 months finishing in six, 66-gallon barrels made of rare Japanese Mizunara oak.”

Mizunara oak is one of the rarest woods in the world, and is typically a staggering 200-500 years old before it’s harvested, which is a result of strict Japanese laws that regulate the amount of this slow-growing tree that can be harvested each year. The resulting whiskey is an exceptional pour. It’s filled with dense, sweet flavors from start to finish, with prominent brown sugar, caramel, and honey throughout. Maple sugar candy, graham cracker, and vanilla custard mingle in. There’s even a nougat note that’s reminiscent of a Milky Way bar at the midpoint that stands out. Bardstown Bourbon Company Distillery Reserve: Hokkaido Mizunara Oak Barrel Finish is an impeccably balanced blend of various whiskey types finished for an extended period of time in rare Mizunara oak.

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FULL REVIEW‍

SRP: $100 / 375mL‍

WHERE TO BUY: FROOTBAT

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Garrison Brothers Distillery is located in Hye, Texas, about an hour's drive west of Austin. The company leans into its aging environment, producing flavorful bourbons that showcase the state’s dry heat, which tends to draw the whiskey out of the barrels much faster than usual. To create Sonora, the company took their 4 year old Garrison Brothers bourbon and aged it for additional time in used rye barrels, allowing the bourbon to experience seven hot Texas summers. Founded in 2006, the company has had almost 20 years to refine their products, and the resulting Garrison Brothers Sonora shows how far the company has come.

Sonora is an incredibly well-balanced and intriguing pour. While Texas aged whiskey, especially double-oaked whiskey, can quickly become over-oaked or develop harsh flavors, Sonora showcases none of those traits. Instead, a diversity of rich sweet notes are highlighted yet still kept in check by the bourbon's delicious chewy oak and spice notes. Leaning into its extended finishing-barrel time, Garrison Brothers Sonora is everything you want out of a Texas whiskey and then some.

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FULL REVIEW‍

SRP: $160 / 750mL‍

WHERE TO BUY: FROOTBAT

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Old Potrero California Cellar Series is a nod to the shared heritage of whiskey and wine in the state of California. Gundlach Bundschu Winery is located in Sonoma, California, and is the second-oldest winery in Sonoma County. This unique finished whiskey was made by taking Old Potrero toasted barrel rye that has been aged for just shy of 6 years and finishing it in Gundlach Bundschu Gewürztraminer barrels for 14 months. Gewürztraminer is a specific type of wine that is rare to come across in American whiskey as a finishing barrel, and for using it, the resulting Old Potrero whiskey is greatly rewarded.

The combination of Hotaling & Co.’s 100% malted rye mashbill and extended aging in a Gewürztraminer barrel is a home run. The resulting whiskey distinctly displays both its malted rye character and its Gewürztraminer barrel influence. One of the most unique wine-finished whiskeys of 2025, Old Potrero California Cellar Series #03 Gundlach Bundschu Gewürztraminer Finish delivers a full-flavored sip that showcases the rewards of experimentation.

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FULL REVIEW‍

SRP: $80 / 750mL

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This year was the year of the port-finished whiskey, as many producers offered stellar releases in the style. 15 Stars Three Port Fine-Aged Bourbon stood out the most though, because it strove to do more. Port can come in different styles: ruby (young and fruity) being the most common, with tawny (aged in wooden barrels) next, and white (made with white grapes, fermented in wood tanks) following way behind. What makes 15 Stars Three Ports Fine-Aged Bourbon unique is that it features all three port styles in the same blend.

You may expect the nuances of a particular port style to get lost in the flood of similar port flavors, but that isn’t the case with 15 Stars Three Port Fine-Aged Bourbon - and in fact, the opposite is true. This surprisingly delicate tasting bourbon features the bright fruit notes of a ruby port pop against the darker red fruit and oak notes of a tawny port, with the crispness of the white port interjecting when called upon. Many finished whiskeys are known for their overt boldness, but 15 Stars Three Port Fine-Aged Bourbon is nuanced and complex, traits that make it stand out not just over other port finished whiskeys in 2025, but other finished whiskeys this year too.

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FULL REVIEW‍

SRP: $179 / 750mL‍

WHERE TO BUY: FROOTBAT

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The “cigar blend” whiskey category is wide open to whatever whiskey makers feel like creating, as there is no specific definition of a cigar whiskey. We have seen whiskey makers bottle everything from multi-finish bourbon blends to unfinished whiskeys that combine various types of whiskeys. Part of World Whiskey Society’s Western Collection, Doc Holliday 16 Year Cigar Blend is aged for 16 years and triple finished in white port, Tokaji wine, and Armagnac casks, and was blended by the founder of Balcones, Chip Tate.

Doc Holliday 16 Year Cigar Blend dives head-first into the side of cigar blends that intend to cut through the taste of a cigar with deep, rich, dark fruit flavors delivered with a high proof point. The dark fruits are evident from start to finish, with raisin, cherry, plum, stewed dark fruits, and even a slight Luxardo cherry note at the start of the palate. They’re complemented, but never overshadowed, by a range of sweet and savory flavors, which includes just the right amount of tobacco to tie into the cigar theme and bring the two together. At over 124 proof, the whiskey uses its relatively high proof point to amplify its flavors to intensely satisfying results. Put simply, Doc Holliday 16 Year Cigar Blend is a bold cigar bourbon that brings a wealth of rich dark fruit flavors, coupled with accents of sweet and savory elements that make it a near-perfect finished bourbon to pair with a cigar.‍

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‍FULL REVIEW‍

SRP: $449 / 750mL

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