Costco's Kirkland Chinese New Year Scotch Is Back To Celebrate The Year Of The Horse

Anyone with a Costco membership card tucked away in their wallet (or app on their phone) knows exactly how exciting it can be to walk into the store and spot a new Kirkland Signature product on the shelves — and it is doubly so when you find this product before it has even made it to the chain's website. Such excited reports have started to hit the internet surrounding Costco's 2026 Lunar New Year Scotch offering — a Kirkland Signature branded Year of the Horse bottle — that has quietly started appearing on warehouse shelves.

The Kirkland Signature Lunar New Year whisky comes in a stunning bottle housed inside an equally stunning gift box, both richly decorated to celebrate the upcoming Year of the Horse. Inside the bottle is an 8-year-aged Scotch bottled at 88 proof (44% ABV) that is described as rich, malty, and spicy with faint smoke and notes of ginger, fruit, and fresh oak. This bottle is not the first Lunar New Year Scotch whisky offering from Costco, but it does bear one striking difference from its predecessors: This time, it's a single malt. 

Now, single malt whisky is not inherently better than blended whisky, but there are some key differences between them. Some prefer the distinctive character that comes with whisky produced by a single distillery. In this case, we do not know which distillery that is. But we do know that the product is produced by Gravity Drinks, the same company that put together both the 2024 and the 2025 Kirkland Signature Lunar New Year whisky offerings.

Given the dynamic nature of alcohol prices — and the fact that this product hasn't yet made it to Costco's website — you can't be sure exactly what the 2026 Kirkland Signature Lunar New Year whisky will run you until you find it in store. Reports from folks who have indicate that it's likely to fall somewhere around $49 to $55, depending on the store location. While it is not the cheapest offering among all of the Kirkland Signature whiskies available at Costco, it is not a bad price for a 1-liter bottle of single malt Scotch — that is, if the whisky inside is up to snuff.

It's too early for reviews of this bottle to be available, so right now this is a bottle for adventurous buyers only. Online reviews of the previous years' Lunar New Year offerings for the Year of the Wood Snake and the Year of the Dragon were mixed. For some whisky sippers, they were solid offerings and well worth the price, while others found them a bit lacking. But if you've been disappointed in the past, it might be time to give this Kirkland Signature limited-edition whisky another try, as we know for sure that this single-malt offering is giving us something different this time around.

For less adventurous whisky buyers, the Chinese Lunar New Year doesn't kick off until February 17th this year, so there is plenty of time to wait for the verdict on this bottle. Alternatively, if you are looking for something available right now that you know is good, you can't go wrong with Costco's Johnnie Walker Scotch gift set. Whether you pick up the new Lunar New Year bottle or not, that's another item you should be on the lookout for next time you stop by your favorite warehouse chain.