Awesome Drinks

The creators of the excellent The Art of Mixology focus on their favorite ways to incorporate bourbon and whiskey into cocktails. After learning the basics of shaking, stirring, layering, and muddling, you’ll find dozens of drink recipes, from timeless classics to unique modern drinks. Like gin, rum, or other spirits? Check out the complete book series.

TBH we haven’t had many RTD cocktails we’d drink again. Absolut’s tasty bottled Cosmopolitans and on-trend Espresso Martinis (made with real espresso and Kahlúa coffee liqueur) are an exception, especially because a $17 750ml RTD bottle blows $17 bar cocktails away. No mixology skills required. Simply shake or pour over ice.

One of the world’s most popular super-premium sipping rums, award-winning Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva is noted for its superlative smoothness and balance. It begins with sugar cane, locally sourced in Venezuela. A unique combo of batch kettle, pot still, and column distillations are at the heart of the refined Diplomatico style.

Whether you’re a recent whiskey convert or an aficionado, there’s plenty to learn about this beloved brown spirit. The third edition of Dave Broom’s The World Atlas of Whisky catalogs over 500 distilleries and offers tasting notes on 480 expressions. You’ll learn how to taste whiskey about the varied grains and production techniques in different regions.

James Beard Award-winning mixologist Toby Maloney and the bartenders of Chicago’s The Violet Hour created this 320-page guide to the fundamentals of cocktail making. You’ll learn about balancing ingredients, getting the right textures, aromas, and temperatures, then advance to making your own concoctions.

Fósforo Mezcal Ensamble balanced, approachable, and less-smoky than most mezcals. Formulated by fourth-generation mezcalero Aaron Alva Sanchez, it’s a double-distilled blend of Tobalá (maguey) and Espadilla agave plants, roasted in underground pits before fermentation. The lingering full-mouth feel characterizes Fosforo’s Tobalá house style.

We’d call the ultra-premium, extra splurge-worthy Ron Zacapa Centenario XO the cognac of rums, but it’s better than that. The gold medal winner is made with a blend of Guatemalan rums, each one aged 10 to 25 years old. For a smooth sip, it’s finished in French oak casks that previously held cognac.

There’s nothing (nada) breakable about De-Nada Tequila’s new bottles: they’re now made from recyclable aluminum with a natural wood cork. And there’s nothing artificial inside, just blue Weber agave, water, and the distiller’s proprietary yeast. The Blanco and Reposado versions are cooked in brick ovens for 48+ hours and double distilled in copper pots.

This unique recipe book is a great gift for science lovers and home mixologists. Dr. Logan Richardson of Flavor Lab explains the science behind beverages with step-by-step guides to making alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. You’ll learn to make cola, hard seltzer, and kombucha from scratch, along with unusual drinks like Viking Blaand and buttered popcorn soda.

Bring new depth and dimension to your whiskey with this spirit-enhancing gift set. The kit includes various types of oak, herbs, and spices to infuse your whiskey with, along with two bottles for mixing and six stainless steel whiskey stones for ice-free chilling. They also make infusion kits for gin and vodka.

Here’s a sweet treat for rum fans. Kraken Ship Wrecked is a limited-edition ice cream collab between Kraken Rum and Tipsy Scoop, with shipping through Goldbelly. Way better than rum raisin, it’s a very boozy blend of Kraken Black Spiced Rum and black cocoa ice cream with bits of amaro cherries and white chocolate. Price shown is for four pints.

There’s so much more to explore in Mexican spirits beyond the basics. Crystal-clear Contraluz Cristalino Mezcal is a mezcal in the refined Cristalino category, having matured in oak barrels and filtered through activated charcoal. And delicious Alma Finca is the only premium orange liqueur made with fresh citrus and spices from the Yucatán.

Las Californias Cítrico Gin is a tale of two countries — the US and Mexico — where hyper-local foraging across the border takes advantage of the area’s biological diversity. The colder waters of Alta California provide ingredients such as kelp, while Baja’s dry deserts yield white sage and juniper plus other leaves and fruits.

Toucan’s two-can approach to cocktails puts booze and mixers in separate cans you can mix them when you’re ready to drink. For extra fun, the cans snap together to become a cocktail shaker. They come in margarita, bourbon old-fashioned, lemon drop martini flavors, and a variety pack. Price shown is for six cans to make 12 cocktails. (Thanks, Harriet!)

Amanda Schuster’s elegant cocktail recipe book deserves a spot on your bookshelf. The book catalogs 200 signature cocktails from bars and restaurants around the world. Each drink recipe is accompanied by details of its origins and an artful photograph of the cocktail. It’s packed with both classic cocktails and lesser-known specialty drinks.

Swedish distiller Purity added an award to their trophy case when their Connoisseur 51 Organic Vodka was named Vodka of the Year in the New Orleans Spirits Competition. The organic spirit is distilled slowly at low temperatures for more than 20 hours in a custom copper still for a total of 51 distillations.