October kept whisky lovers busy sorting through the many new launches. An Irish distillery finished a whiskey in chestnut wood, Maker's Mark launched a bourbon series in airport shops, and Nikka brought a smoky blend to UK shelves. The Glenlivet reached for Caribbean rum casks, and Woodford Reserve gave its rye a double dose of oak. The new whisky releases of October 2026 include Midleton Very Rare Irish Chestnut Edition, Maker’s Mark Expedition 01, Nikka Frontier, The Glenlivet Cask Master’s Collection 12 Year Old and Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Rye. With Diwali, Christmas and New Year parties lining up across the next couple of months, put these five whisky bottles on your radar now. You can gift one, pour one for your guests or save one for yourself. Check out what each of these whiskies brings to the glass, along with its reported price.
Irish Distillers took this series in a new direction with around 800 cases of what it calls the world's first whiskey finished in casks crafted entirely from Irish sweet chestnut. This single pot still whiskey matured in first-fill and refill ex-bourbon casks. Then it spent five years in sweet chestnut casks. And yes, we even have the year in which the trees were cut down. The casks were made from six trees felled in 2017 at the Cappoquin Estate in County Waterford. Midleton Very Rare Irish-Chestnut Edition Whiskey is bottled at 56.1% ABV.
Midleton Very Rare Irish Chestnut Edition Whiskey Price: €440 (approx.)
This is the first bottling in the brand's World Wood Collection. The Maker's Mark Expedition 01 Bourbon Whiskey is finished in Japanese mizunara oak, American white oak and French oak, then blended and bottled at 47.5% ABV. It is a travel retail exclusive, debuting at airports in Bengaluru, Istanbul, London, New York and Perth, with a wider rollout planned for next year.
Maker's Mark Expedition 01 Bourbon Price: US$85 per 1-litre bottle.
Nikka has added this lightly peated blend to its UK range, and Majestic stores and its website are the only places to buy it. The Nikka Frontier Blended Whisky is bottled at 48% ABV, and malt whisky makes up 51% of the blend, with a focus on heavily peated malts from the Yoichi distillery. Majestic’s buyer describes ripe orchard fruit, vanilla, toasted oak and gentle smoke. It’s an easy bottle to open at a party.
Nikka Frontier Price: £33 (approx. US$44) per 50cl bottle.
Kevin Balmforth, the master distiller at The Glenlivet, created this Speyside malt whisky with a finish in ex-Caribbean rum casks. The Glenlivet Cask Master's Collection 12 Year Old Whisky joins the 14-, 16- and 19-year-old expressions in the travel retail range and is bottled at 40% ABV. It launched at Singapore Changi airport, and other markets follow through November. That timing may suit anyone flying out for the festive break.
The Glenlivet Cask Master’s Collection 12 Year Old Price: £56 / US$75 per 1-litre bottle.
Brown-Forman has given its rye the same extra-oak treatment as its bourbons. The Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Rye Whiskey spends up to 12 months in secondary maturation in heavily toasted, lightly charred new oak barrels and is bottled at 45.2% ABV. It joins Double Oaked Bourbon and Double Double Oaked Bourbon in the portfolio and is on sale across the US.
Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Rye Price: US$55 per 750ml bottle.
Note: Whisky prices are approximate and listed in their respective international currencies. Actual prices of these whiskies from Midleton Very Rare, Maker's Mark Expedition 01, Nikka Frontier to Glenlivet, may vary by retailer, bottle size, local taxes, shipping costs and availability across markets.