Rock Town Winner’s Circle 2026 Limited Release Bourbon Now in Arkansas

Last Updated on March 26, 2026 by Justin Jones

Rock Town Winner’s Circle 2026 bourbon is now hitting shelves across Arkansas, with limited availability at select retailers including Five Star Liquor, Crossroads Wine & Spirits, Legacy Wine and Spirits, and Colonial Wine & Spirits.

This is not just another shelf bottle. Rock Town has positioned Winner’s Circle 2026 as the first bottling in a new annual limited-edition series, and the distillery has said each year’s release will feature its own commissioned artwork and will be created once and never repeated. Rock Town also says that once this inaugural release is gone, it will not be reproduced.

Where to Buy Rock Town Winner’s Circle 2026 in Arkansas

If you are searching for Rock Town Winner’s Circle 2026 bourbon in Arkansas, the following stores have reported availability. Because this is a limited release, bottles may sell out quickly.

Tip: Inventory may change quickly. Call ahead or visit in person for the best chance at securing a bottle.

Bottle Details: What Is Rock Town Winner’s Circle 2026?

Based on Rock Town’s official announcement and retail coverage, Winner’s Circle 2026 is a 6-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey bottled at 101 proof, or 50.5% ABV. The whiskey was distilled from Arkansas corn, Arkansas wheat, and malted barley, making it an Arkansas-grain story even though the bottle is labeled Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

That 101-proof mark is not random. Rock Town says the proof was chosen as a tribute to the home stretch, tying the whiskey to the racing theme that defines the Winner’s Circle line. The release is part of a new annual concept built around horse racing, craftsmanship, and Arkansas artistry.

For collectors, several things stand out right away.

First, it is the inaugural release in a new yearly series. Second, Rock Town has explicitly framed it as a limited production bottle that will not be reproduced once sold through. Third, the label art is a commissioned piece tied specifically to this year’s bottling, which adds another layer of collectibility beyond the whiskey itself.

Why the “Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey” Label Matters

One of the most interesting parts of Winner’s Circle 2026 is the wording on the bottle.

Rock Town is best known for being a Little Rock distillery deeply associated with Arkansas grain and Arkansas whiskey identity. On its official site, the distillery still highlights its Arkansas whiskey lineup while also separately telling the story of its Column Still Collection, a Kentucky-produced line that uses Rock Town’s recipes and Arkansas-grown grain through Bardstown Bourbon Company’s collaborative distilling program. Rock Town says that initiative began in March 2020 as Phil Brandon looked for a way to keep up with bourbon demand.

According to Rock Town, 180,000 pounds of Arkansas-grown corn and wheat were sent to Bardstown, Kentucky, where the company could continue making bourbon with its own recipes. That official backstory matters because Winner’s Circle 2026 fits naturally into Rock Town’s larger Kentucky-connected whiskey lane.

So while Winner’s Circle 2026 is clearly being marketed as its own racing-inspired annual series, it also reflects a broader truth about Rock Town’s whiskey program in 2026. Rock Town is no longer only telling an Arkansas pot-still story. It is also telling a Kentucky collaboration story, built on Arkansas grain and Rock Town’s whiskey vision. That makes Winner’s Circle 2026 more than a pretty bottle. It feels like part of the distillery’s long-term evolution.

The Artist Behind Winner’s Circle 2026

The label artwork for Winner’s Circle 2026 comes from Michael Shaeffer, an Arkansas-based artist whose work was specifically chosen to launch the series. Rock Town says Shaeffer’s expressive watercolor style brings motion and emotion to the label, which is fitting for a bourbon built around racing imagery and Arkansas horse culture. The distillery also noted that Shaeffer is based in Little Rock, attended high school in Hot Springs, and draws from a personal connection to Arkansas horse racing, especially the legacy of Oaklawn Racing in Hot Springs.

Shaeffer’s broader background helps explain why Rock Town likely saw him as such a strong fit. M2 Gallery says he originally came from Long Island, relocated to Arkansas in the mid-1990s, later studied illustration at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, and now lives in Little Rock. The gallery describes his work as stylized portraiture exploring identity and status in American culture, and notes that he has been represented by M2 Gallery since 2018.

Rock Town’s March 26 release event at M2 Gallery was not accidental. The distillery said the gallery was chosen because it is where Shaeffer works and regularly exhibits, and because it sits directly across the street from Rock Town. Buyers at that event could also preorder limited-edition prints of the original label artwork, which reinforces how central Shaeffer’s contribution is to the identity of this bottle.

There is also an interesting creative angle in Rock Town’s own promotion of the release. On Instagram, the distillery used the phrase “Two artists. Two mediums. One release.” Public materials clearly identify Michael Shaeffer as the visual artist, while that broader promotional language appears to pair Shaeffer’s art with founder and head distiller Phil Brandon’s whiskey-making craft.

About Rock Town Distillery

For readers new to Rock Town, the distillery remains one of the most important names in Arkansas whiskey.

Rock Town says founder Phil Brandon left his corporate job in 2009 to start a distillery, and in 2010 Rock Town opened in Little Rock. The company describes itself as proud to source ingredients from farmers across Arkansas, with a goal of creating high-quality spirits from natural ingredients that can compete nationally.

Rock Town also says it is Arkansas’ first legal distillery since Prohibition, a milestone that has given it a unique place in the state’s spirits history. By 2013, the distillery says it had already received international recognition at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition for its bourbon, gin, and vodka.

In recent years, Rock Town’s whiskey program has expanded well beyond its early Arkansas-made identity. Its current spirits lineup includes Arkansas bourbon expressions, rye, single barrels, single malt, and the Kentucky-connected Column Still Collection. On the official spirits page, Winner’s Circle Bourbon 2026 is now listed alongside the rest of Rock Town’s whiskey portfolio at 101 proof.

That larger context matters because Winner’s Circle 2026 is arriving during Rock Town’s 15th anniversary era, when the distillery is leaning into both its Arkansas roots and its wider whiskey ambitions.

Why Winner’s Circle 2026 Could Be a Collector Bottle

There are plenty of limited bourbons that come and go. What separates Winner’s Circle 2026 is that it checks several collector boxes at the same time.

It is the first edition in a new annual series. It has a one-year-only commissioned art label. Rock Town says the bottle will not be reproduced once sold out. It connects Arkansas grain, Kentucky production, and Arkansas horse-racing culture into one release. And for Arkansas buyers, it is tied to an early retailer event with engraving, which gives some bottles an even more personalized edge.

That does not automatically mean it will become the hottest secondary bottle in the region, and that is not really the point. The real appeal is that this looks like a bottle people may want to remember later because it marks the start of something. For Rock Town fans, inaugural releases often matter more than later entries because they capture the moment the concept first appeared.

Winner’s Circle 2026 feels like exactly that kind of bottle.

Final Thoughts

Rock Town Winner’s Circle 2026 is one of the more interesting Arkansas-connected bourbon releases of the year so far.

The whiskey brings together Arkansas-grown grain, Kentucky straight bourbon production, 6-year age, 101 proof, original Arkansas artwork, and a one-time annual-release concept. It also arrives with enough scarcity and story to make it attractive to both drinkers and collectors.

For Arkansas shoppers, the current retail sightings at Legacy Wine and Spirits, Crossroad Wine & Spirits, Colonial Wine & Spirits, and Five Star Liquor make this a bottle worth tracking now rather than later. If Rock Town is right and this release is never reproduced, the first Winner’s Circle may end up being one of the easiest 2026 Arkansas whiskey bottles to look back on and say, “I should have grabbed one.”