Tim McGraw has a new version of “Hey Whiskey,” out now. The song, written by Brad and Brett Warren and Joel Hutsell and Brad Hutsell, is from McGraw’s forthcoming Standing Room Only album, available on August 25.

“Hey Whiskey” has been out for a week and the response to this song has been overwhelming in the best kind of way. I hope you like the acoustic video we just dropped,” McGraw said on social media when announcing the new version.

The Louisiana native knew the first time he heard “Hey Whiskey” that he wanted to record it for his new record.

“When I first heard it, it just blew me away, ’cause it made it a character,” McGraw said on Apple Music Country’s Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen. “It’s your nemesis and your best friend, which is what that is, which is what addiction is. It’s your nemesis and your best friend at the same time. To make whiskey a character in a song, like a real-life character that you’re talking to, is something that I’d never heard before.

“I’m sure there are songs out there that have done that,” he added, “but the way it was written, and what it said, was so heartfelt and meaningful.”

McGraw has had a lengthy career in country music, but has never had a pull to a song like he did when he listened to “Hey Whiskey” for the first time.

“I had a visceral reaction to it,” McGraw recalled. “And that is the very first tracking vocal, of the very first time we ran through the song. We kept every bit of it, and it’s because it was so raw and so emotional.”

McGraw has been sober in 2008, after his wife, Faith Hill, gave him a much-needed ulitmatum.

“My emotional absence was noticed and it was not scoring any points,” McGraw said in his 2019 book, Grit & Grace: Train the Mind, Train the Body, Own Your Life. “Getting real like only she can do, Faith told me, ‘Partying or family, take your pick.’”

The 56-year-old is eager for fans to hear all of the songs on Standing Room Only, which includes not only “Hey Whiskey,” but his current single, the title track of his record.

“There are a couple of really life-affirming songs that I can’t wait for everybody to hear,” McGraw previously revealed on Audacy’s Katie & Company.. One called ‘Letter From Heaven’ that really just tears me up every time I hear it. You’re gonna have to have a Kleenex for that one. But there are some fun songs too.”

All of McGraw’s music and upcoming shows can be found at TimMcGraw.com.