RED HOOK, N.Y. — Widow Jane Distillery is reaching deep into its stocks of long-aged whiskey for the return of Black Opal, blending 20-year-old bourbons and giving the whiskey an extended 13-month finish in rare Japanese Mizunara oak.
Widow Jane Black Opal 2026 will be limited to 3,300 bottles and carries a suggested retail price of $500 for a 750 mL bottle. The 99-proof bourbon is expected to reach select markets beginning in October.
The release marks the second iteration of Black Opal, which debuted in 2024 as an exploration of some of the oldest and rarest bourbon in Widow Jane’s inventory.
For the 2026 release, Head Distiller and Blender Sienna Jevremov tasted through more than 50 individual barrels over several months before selecting the whiskey for the final blend.
The bourbons, distilled in Kentucky and Tennessee, were aged for a minimum of 20 years. The selected barrels completed their aging at Widow Jane’s rickhouse in Red Hook, Brooklyn, before Jevremov blended the whiskey by hand.
Black Opal then spent an additional 13 months finishing in casks made from old-growth Mizunara oak, nearly a full year longer than the finishing period used for the inaugural Black Opal release.
Mizunara, or Quercus crispula, is an oak native to Japan and particularly associated with the country’s northern island of Hokkaido. The oak has become prized in the whiskey industry for the distinctive flavors it can contribute during maturation and finishing.
For Black Opal, the Mizunara oak was air-seasoned for 12 months before being fashioned into casks receiving a medium toast and light char.
“For the 2026 Black Opal, I was excited to explore how much more the Mizunara could bring to these 20-year-old whiskies with additional time in the cask,” Jevremov said.
She said the longer finishing period contributed additional sandalwood, incense and savory spice characteristics while maintaining the fruit notes and mature character of the older bourbon.
Widow Jane describes the nose as showing vanilla bean, orange-butter crepes, espresso, sea salt and lily. The palate includes canelé, rock sugar candy, Manuka honey, white miso, azuki bean paste, frankincense and chocolate-covered orange.
The finish is described as having sugar-roasted root vegetables, cinnamon gelato, cocoa powder, coffee bean, blackstrap molasses and chocolate mint.
As with other Widow Jane whiskeys, Black Opal is proofed using limestone-filtered water sourced from the Rosendale Mines in upstate New York. The distillery says the mineral-rich water contributes to the whiskey’s mouthfeel and finish.
Black Opal 2026 is bottled at 49.5% alcohol by volume, or 99 proof.
The combination of its age and finishing regimen places Black Opal at the upper end of Widow Jane’s portfolio. Twenty-year-old bourbon is increasingly scarce because of the time, evaporation and inventory costs associated with keeping whiskey in barrels for two decades. Black Opal adds another 13 months of finishing after that maturation period.
Widow Jane operates its distillery in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood, where it handles mashing, fermentation, distillation, barreling, aging, blending and bottling. The company takes its name from one of the historic Rosendale limestone mines from which it sources its proofing water.
Widow Jane Black Opal 2026 will begin arriving in select markets in October.
About Widow Jane Distillery
The facility in Red Hook includes mashing, fermentation, distillation, barreling, aging, blending, warehousing and bottling. Widow Jane Distillery is also open for tours and tastings. For more information, visit www.widowjane.com.
