Awesome Drinks

We’re loving Mezcal Amaras Verde’s label series by artists from Chicago, LA (our pal Chaz), Seattle, Berlin, Argentina, and Mexico. Even better is the naturally fermented mezcal, and the distiller’s initiatives to pay 20% over market for labor and materials, and to reforest Oaxaca with 10 agave plants for every one harvested.

For the ninth year, thousands of bars, restaurants, retailers and Negroni fans will celebrate the popular three-ingredient cocktail to raise funds for charities. Campari – Italy’s iconic red aperitif – kicks off Negroni Week 2021 (Sept. 13-19) with a $100,000 donation, joined by MiniBar, Shaker & Spoon , and Imbibe Magazine.

The most important ingredient in Brazil’s beloved Caipirinha cocktail is Cachaça, a rum-like spirit made from fermented sugar cane. Novo Fogo has perfected Cachaça distilling with an array of rested and barrel-aged expressions, all of which are USDA organic and carbon neutral, absorbing more CO2 than the process emits.

Run by firefighters and veterans, Fire Dept. Coffee donates 10% of its net profits to help support injured and disabled first responders. They also make these sweet and aromatic brews inspired by donut flavors like vanilla sprinkle, red velvet, blueberry cake, and double chocolate. Dip your favorite donut for bonus points.

Zignum Mezcal’s Joven, Reposado, and Añejo spirits are pleasantly smooth versions of tequila’s smoky cousin, with the latter two benefiting from 8-18 months in oak casks. The Oaxacan distillery’s eco-friendly initiatives include solar heating, water recycling, and a nursery where Espadín agave is grown from seeds.

In the 1800s, Benedictine monks created a pleasantly bitter elixir of herbs thought to possess therapeutic properties. It became known as Averna when Salvatore Averna acquired the recipe and won approval from King Umberto I, the liqueur’s first superfan. Two centuries later, the timeless Italian ritual of drinking Amaro Averna remains.

Feeling good without feeling tipsy is the aim of alcohol-free Three Spirit. Nightcap, Livener, and Social Elixir botanical drinks are designed to reduce stress, improve mood, and make imbibers feel more social. Ingredients like cacao, turmeric, ginger, black pepper, and green tea come from plants used in remedies for centuries.

Best of Show. Best of Class. Double Gold… Mezcal Amaras Cupreata keeps collecting top international medals. Proving that there’s a biodiversity of agaves yielding a wide range of flavors, Cupreata strikes gold by focusing on the distinct herbaceous notes from wild agaves harvested from the high-altitude slopes of Guerrero, Mexico.

Bottled in Michigan, American Liquor Co. Vodka is blended like whisky. Every budget bottle mixes vodkas made from four classic ingredients – wheat, rye, potato, and corn – from American distilleries: Middle West Spirits, Stumpy Spirits, Yahara Bay, Grand Traverse Distillery, Valentine Distilling, and Proof Artisan Distillers.

Four Roses’ Kentucky distillery combines two mash-bills with five proprietary yeast strains to create 10 distinct bourbon recipes. Once they’ve matured, they blend four of these for gold-medal-winning Four Roses Small Batch, a mellow 90-proof spirit to serve straight-up, on the rocks, or in a flavorful cocktail like The Sweet & Spicy.

Barr Hill Gin is getting buzz for going beehive-to-bottle with its honey-enhanced spirit. The premium American gin uses 150,000 lb. of raw honey each year, sourced in close proximity to the solar-powered Vermont distillery. They’re planting 500,000 sq. ft. of bee habitat, yielding enough honey for 50,000 Bee’s Knees cocktails.

The black bottle hints that this small-batch vodka from a “small ass facility” in Oregon is pretty badass. Confirming that are Blood x Sweat x Tears Vodka’s rescue pittie, Mr. Pickles, and heavily tatted owner/distiller, Ben Green, a self-taught renegade who sources Pacific Northwest wheat for BST’s slow-distilled, freeze-filtered vodka.

Go back to the 1990s and pucker up for Artisanal Brew Works‘ Warheads-inspired adult beverages. They come in extreme sour flavors like black cherry, watermelon, blue raspberry, and lemon. They’re available at Artisanal’s Saratoga Springs, NY taproom and from select retailers in NY, MA, NJ, southern CA, and eastern PA.

Italian icons Campari and filmmaker Federico Fellini collaborated on an ad in 1984. Thanks to artificial intelligence, the late director has contributed to another pioneering short film, Campari Red Diaries 2021: Fellini Forward. AI tools created dream-like images drawing from Fellini’s work and input from his family and crew.

For National Tequila Day, Patron released its limited-edition 2021 Patron Mexican Heritage Tin featuring colorful art by Mexican street muralist, Senkoe. It inspired the Patron x John Geiger streetwear collection: collectible socks and a long sleeve shirt depicting a jimador farmer harvesting agave for tequila.

Co-founded by Mexican-American PGA golfer Abraham Ancer, Flecha Azul Tequila is made from estate-grown Blue Weber Agave in one of Mexico’s first tequila distilleries, dating back to 1840. There are five expressions en toto: Tequila Blanco, Tequila Reposado, Tequila Añejo, Tequila Añejo Cristalino, and Tequila Extra Añejo.

Named for the Bourbon Trail waterway on which Lexington, Kentucky was founded, Town Branch Bourbon was introduced in 2012 as the first spirit from the first new distillery in downtown Lexington in 100 years. This award-winning, 90-proof spirit – 72% corn mash, 15% malted barley, 13% rye – is aged in charred white oak barrels.

Aged & Infused infusion kits give you everything you need to make delicious, naturally-flavored spirits – just BYO alcohol. They come in five flavors, each designed to pair with a selection of spirits. The Navel Gazer spiced orange and Parrot Head strawberry jalapeno grabbed our attention the most. Refill packs here.

Because mixers make or break any cocktail, Fever-Tree makes a Distillers Cola with lower sugar and higher carbonation to enhance rum and whiskey. A global search for its key ingredients yielded Caribbean kola nuts, Tahiti limes from Mexico, Jamaican pimento berries, Sicilian lemon, and Madagascan vanilla.

Tanteo Tequila is an ultra-premium 100% agave tequila. It’s distilled, infused, and bottled by hand in Juanacatlán, Mexico at the only distillery owned by a co-op of agave farmers. Tanteo distills three unique pepper tequilas with different flavor profiles and heat levels: spicy Jalapeño, smokey Chipotle, and hot Habanero.

LOKI, much like the Marvel character, has mysterious superpowers. It’s infused with a healthier cannabinoid alternative to alcohol. The euphoric effect comes from the Delta-8-THC, a natural element of cannabis that is federally legal below 0.3% THC. There’s no hangover, paranoia, sugars, or carbs, and only five calories.

Artist Tom of Finland masculinized erotica that boldly defined late-20th century gay culture. In Tom’s memory, pour a stiff one with small-batch Tom of Finland Organic Vodka made by Master Distiller Mika Mönkkönen at Lignell & Piispanen, the second-oldest family-run company in Finland.

This brewing kit gives you everything you need to brew a gallon of craft beer at home. The set includes a brewing vessel and accessories, a thermometer, hops, malt extract, yeast, and more. Choose from Hefeweizen or Oktoberfest brews and save an extra 20% with code WELOVEDAD through 6.20.2021 in The Awesomer Shop.