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Don’t Miss These Bourbon Bombshells: Ezra Brooks 90 Returns, New Riff Crowned World’s Best, and Willett Shakes Up Distribution
Pull up a chair on the porch—this week brought a little bit of everything for bourbon lovers. A fan-favorite 90 proofer is back on shelves, a Kentucky upstart just nabbed one of whiskey’s highest honors, and a heritage distillery is switching gears on how it gets bottles into your hands. Let’s sip through the highlights.
New Releases
Ezra Brooks 90 Comes Back in Four Sizes — After a hiatus, Ezra Brooks 90 is officially back, and it’s rolling out in four different bottle sizes—handy for everything from a quick taste to stocking the bar cart. If you’ve been enjoying the brand’s higher-proof 99 expressions, this returning 90 proof (45% ABV) should slide right into that approachable, everyday sipper lane. Nice to see a classic label bring back a familiar proof point—it’s like welcoming an old friend back to the porch.
Big Events & Awards
New Riff Wins World’s Best Bourbon — Big cheers to Newport, Kentucky’s New Riff Distilling, whose Bottled in Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey took home the “World’s Best Bourbon” title at the World Whiskies Awards. As Local 12 notes, this competition names a single winner in each category—no participation trophies here. It’s a huge nod to New Riff’s bottled-in-bond focus and a reminder that patient, by-the-book Kentucky bourbon can still steal the show.
World Whiskies Awards: Bourbon Highlights — If you’re shopping for winners, Forbes rounded up the WWA’s standout bourbon picks for 2026, complete with tasting notes. It’s a handy cheat sheet for what to pour next—especially if you like letting the medal count guide the hunt.
Small Batch & Single Barrel Standouts — On the category front, Forbes also spotlighted the WWA America winners for Small Batch and Single Barrel Bourbon. If you’re team “small batch complexity” or “single barrel purity,” this list offers a tidy roadmap to bottles that earned serious praise this year.
Bourbon Events
New Riff’s Bonded Spirit COV Crawl — Want to toast New Riff’s big win with the hometown crowd? Covington Bourbon Heritage Week is hosting a three-day pub crawl tied to New Riff’s bonded bona fides. The Bonded Spirit COV Crawl maps out stops across Covington—perfect for turning a celebratory pour into a full-on weekend wander.
Company News
Willett Shifts Distribution to Skurnik in KY and OH — Willett Distillery is changing distribution partners in Kentucky and Ohio, moving to Skurnik Wines & Spirits. The move, also covered by Louisville Business First, signals a fresh approach to getting Willett’s bourbon and rye to more shelves while keeping the family-run operation fully independent. Translation: you might spot more Willett where you shop, and that’s never a bad thing.
That’s the pour for this week. Whether you’re chasing down Ezra Brooks 90, raising a glass to New Riff’s big win, or plotting a Willett restock as distribution shifts, here’s hoping your weekend lineup is full of good company and even better bourbon. Clink.
