12 Of The Best Things I Drank This Year And What To Treat Yourself To For The Holidays

The year is winding down and that means it is time to look back at the 12 best things I drank in 2025. Here we have the best whiskeys (and 1 tequila) that I drank this year.

The ‘Best Things I Drank This Year’ collection has become a time honored tradition here at BroBible. I have now been publishing the list for nearly a decade and I know some of you have already been asking me when the list would be out. I’d planned on waiting until after Christmas but why not share the love before?

The Best Whiskeys Of 2025

We have a full range of whiskeys below across all price points, from ultra premium to affordable. Please do take notes to add to your holiday wish lists for Santa!

Little Book ‘The Infinite II’

Coming in at #1 on my list of the best things I drank this year is a late comer to the party, it was released just last month, but the Little Book Infinite II absolutely blew me away. This is the second installment in the Little Book ‘Infinite’ series and it incorporates three generations of Beam Family master distillers with whiskey elements from Book, Fred, and Freddie Noe.

The Infinite II includes a 22-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey from Booker Noe, a 10-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey from Fred Noe, and a 7-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (Extended Fermentation) from Freddie Noe. The four liquid stream in the blend is the Little Book Infinite I which represents the shared family contribution on top of each Beam family member’s contribution to The Infinite II.

The Little Book Infinite II (120.8-proof) has a deep burnt copper color with notes of rich vanilla, caramel, and apple. There is a strong aroma of pear, apple, and caramel with a warm finish bringing waves of oak. It was released in limited quantities in November at an SRP of $199. If you can find it, treat yo self!

WhistlePig’s The Boss Hog XII

For the twelfth edition of the WhistlePig Boss Hog, they turned to Meso-American flavors, two ancient drinks of the gods, to season the barrels.

The first is the ancient Aztec drink pulque which is a fermented drink from the agave plant. These flavors come through in the first wave when sipping the Boss Hog XII: Feather & Flame. The second barrels for the twelfth Boss Hog were seasoned with xocolatl, an ancient (and spicy) drink made from cocoa beans that is related to chocolate in the sense that they both from cocoa beans but has a truly distinct flavor.

The 750ml bottles will range from 104.8 – 108.4 Proof (52.4-54.2% ABV)​ and they go on sale today. A limited release will be available at The Vault in Kentucky as well as on Whistle Pig’s website. As in years past, this ultra-premium Rye Whiskey carries an ultra-premium price tag of $599.99 for the 750ml bottle.

Read my full review on the Boss Hog XII ‘Feather and Flame’ here.

Russell’s Reserve Single Rickhouse Camp Nelson E

Every now and then a special release comes along that blows me away from the first sit and the 2025 Russell’s Reserve Single Rickhouse Camp Nelson E release as exactly that. At an SRP of $300, this ultra-premium single rickhouse release isn’t for everyone but surely everyone can treat themselves to a dram at some point, right???

This 64% ABV release is non-chill filtered from Floor 5 of Rickhouse E. It has deep notes of toffee, molasses, clove, oak, and cinnamon on the nose. Swirling it around you’ll be overcome with flavors of vanilla, oak, brown sugar, green apple, cinnamon, and clove. It has one of the smoothest finishes of any whiskey I sipped this year. Learn more about it here on the Russell’s Reserve website!

Remus Gatsby Reserve 15 Year Old

For the Remus Gatsby Reserve, I was able to speak with Remus master distiller Ian Stirsman about this incredible release on the 100th anniversary of this whiskey’s namesake, The Great Gatsby, being published. You can read that full interview here but let’s also discuss what’s in the bottle:

• A 15-year-old ultra-premium bourbon from Ross & Squibb Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana
• Cask strength, 102.8 proof
• A limited release with a suggested retail price of $199 per 750ml bottle
• Art Deco-inspired bottle and decorative clamshell box reminiscent of the 1920s

Check out the full interview at the link above!

The 2025 King of Kentucky (8th Edition) – 17-Year-Old Bourbon

Against all odds, I was able to get an advanced sample of the King of Kentucky 8th edition, the 127-proof. It has those incredible toffee, caramel, and butterscotch flavors I look for in an older bourbon that get layered on top of the vanilla from the extra time in the barrel.

At 127-proof, there’s heat to this release but not in a way that tempers the flavors at all. I was still able to close my eyes and pull out toffee, dried fruit, and oak in each sip. I did, of course, save a few sips for a special occasion but had trouble putting this sample down because it was so phenomenal I didn’t want it to end.

More on the 2025 King of Kentucky release here.

Four Roses 2025 Limited Edition Small Batch

This year’s Small Batch LE’s 4 blend components is comprised of three 13-year-old bourbons and one 19-year-old bourbon. They are a 13-year-old bourbon OBSV recipe, a 13-year-old OBSK, a 13-year-old OESV, and a 19-year-old OESV recipe.

It is a 109-proof release that is bursting with flavor and just as in years past, it is extremely difficult to track down as you essentially have to win a lottery in order to be able to purchase it or find it in the wild which is a bit like snipe hunting. There are 16,854 bottles of the 2025 Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch being made available to the public at a retail price of $249. If you do find it though, this release is spectacular and one of my favorite Four Rose LE Small Batch expressions in years! Read more here.

Booker’s ‘By The Pond’ Batch

When the second Booker’s Batch Bourbon, ‘By the Pond,’ was released this past Summer I was chilling up in Maine for a month and writing most of my articles sitting by a lake. This expression couldn’t have hit a better time for me and it was love at first sip.

Named in honor of a backyard pond that Beam Master Distiller Fred Noe used to fish in with his father, this 7 year, 1 month, and 20-day Booker’s Batch Bourbon has a long smooth finish and even keeled heat I came to love until I finished the bottle in short order. Read more here.

Ardbeg Wee Beastie 5

The Ardbeg Wee Beastie joined Ardbeg’s core collection this year and at just 5-years-old it packs more flavor than most spirits in Scotland, in a great way. It was described early on as a ‘monster of a dram’ and I first came across it around Halloween when the comparison was certainly apt.

Ardbeg Wee Beastie was aged in ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks leading to notes of cracked black pepper, sappy pine resin and sharp tangs of smoke. That aroma is followed by flavors of chocolate and savory/salty cured meats. At $46.99, it is hard to imagine a better 5-year-old expression on this price range for a Scotch.

Derek Trucks’ Ass Pocket Whiskey

Guitarist, songwriter, and member of The Allman Brothers Band, Derek Trucks, sat down with BroBible’s Brandon Wenerd a few months ago to talk about Derek’s Ass Pocket Whiskey which recently released ‘No. 4: The Search.’ It is a 10-year-old, 107-proof Kentucky bourbon sold in collectible 200ml bottles and it should surprise absolutely NOBODY that Derek Trucks is a huge whiskey nerd and knows his stuff as well as anyone. Check out the interview above on YouTube or read about it here on BroBible.

Old Forester 2025 Birthday Bourbon

The 2025 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon is a 12-year-old bourbon with the liquid going into the barrels back on April 5, 2013. Somehow that doesn’t seem like all that long ago but it has all of the delicious vanilla flavoring you would expect from an older bourbon.

This year marked the first time that Old Forester has used the ‘sweet mash’ process with solely freshly-propagated yeast in lieu of the ‘setback’ fermentation process of the past. And I can tell you, this year’s Birthday Bourbon is still as phenomenal as it ever was. More on the 2025 Old Forester Birthday Bourbon here.

Frey Ranch Distillery’s ‘Harvester Series: Second Harvest’

This 122.44 proof American whiskey is a blend of wheat-forward whiskeys where everything in the bottle was grown by Frey Ranch on the distillery’s property where the master distiller is also originally a farmer by trade and selected very special winter wheat for this whiskey. Here is what you will find in the exquisite bottle:

• 52.5% of 100% Wheat Whiskey
• 14.25% of Four Grain Bourbon
• 9.5% of 100% Unmalted Barley Whiskey
• 9.5% of 100% Malted Barley Whiskey
• 9.5% of 100% Barley Whiskey (half malted & half unmalted)
• 4.25% of Quad Malt Whiskey

The Harvester Series #1 was a smash hit. It won Douple Platinum at Fred Minnick’s Awards with tasting notes of s’mores, graham cracker, oatmeal raisin, milk chocolate, marshmallow texture. So what’s this one taste like? I got tasting notes of figgy pudding, toffee, baklava, honey, mint, candied orange, and tangerine blossom.

At 122.44-proof, there’s heat to be sure but it is backed out with flavor. This is neither a ‘flavor bomb’ or a whiskey that’s strong for the sake of being strong. Everything about it was carefully chosen and blended to create a masterful finished product. Find out more about the Frey Harvester Series: Second Harvest here!

El Mexicano Tequila

El Mexicano Tequila’s 90-day aged Reposado is rich with agave on the nose and over the tongue. This 40% ABV El Mexicano Tequila carries notes of vanilla, apricot, and some wood from the 20% French Oak and 80% American Oak barrels it is aged in. I was ALL ABOUT this tequila throughout the Summer, mixing it into cocktails and drinking it neat. Head over here for some El Mexicano Tequila cocktail recipes.

And that’s all, folks. See you on the other side.