High West Distillery Brings the Worlds of Whiskey and Wine Together for First-of-Its-Kind Blend
High West Distillery first introduced The Prisoner's Share in 2022, the brand's favorite limited-release.
For its 2026 release, the distillery based 25 minutes outside of Park City in Wanship, Utah, ratcheted things up with a limited release nationwide. For this year's iteration, High West Distillery brought the worlds of whiskey and wine together, finishing straight bourbon and rye in The Prisoner's Share red wine barrels for a deeply layered, decadent pour that will appeal to both whiskey lovers and wine enthusiasts.
"This year's The Prisoner's Share marks a meaningful evolution for High West, both in composition and in how we bring together the worlds of whiskey and wine," Tara Lindley, Director of Sensory and New Product Development at High West, tells Men's Journal. "At its foundation, the blend starts with building a base that we believe will complement the sensory profile of The Prisoner Red Blend wine barrels. It's a blend of predominantly bourbon with a healthy proportion of rye."
Lindley adds, "We deliberately layer in multiple mash bills from various suppliers to create a balanced, complex interplay between bright honey and butterscotch richness, rye spice, and maturation structure before the whiskey ever sees a finishing barrel."
High West Distillery is celebrating a milestone for this year's release, too.
"It's the first time we've included both our own-made bourbon and our own-made rye whiskies in any blend," Lindley explains. "As complementary components in the blend, our pot still whiskies contribute a richer, more ester-driven character that adds weight, texture, and a deeper level of integration with the wine barrel influence."
On the nose, expect ripe raspberries, black cherry cobbler, red wine-poached pears, tiramisu, and dark chocolate. Medjool dates, smoked apples with vanilla custard, and fig ham thumbprint cookies are tasting notes you can expect, with a boysenberry preserves and star anise finish.
High West recommends drinking The Prisoner's Share neat with a splash of water.
The Prisoner's Share 2026 is made from a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% barley malt from MGP; 60% corn, 40% rye from BBC; 78% corn, 10% rye, 12% malted barley; 80% corn, 20% malted barley (Straight Bourbon Whiskey) from High West Distillery; and 95% rye, 5% barley malt from MGP, 80% Rye, 20% Malted Rye (Straight Rye Whiskey) from High West Distillery.
The 101-proof blend also has no chill filtration.
"With this release, we have utilized a range of finishing times -- from about six months to more than two years -- to build intriguing layers of complexity, spanning brighter, fruit-forward notes to more structural elements driven by the toasted oak of the wine barrels," Lindley says. "In the context of the final whiskey blend, these layers contribute added depth and dimension, with the fruit and structure from the wine barrels married seamlessly within the whiskey."
The Prisoner's Share 2026 has a suggested retail price of $174.99.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the Drink section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 3:39 PM.