Awesome Drinks

“The flaming heart can’t get his fill / But the flaming heart will try as he will.” M. Ward’s song has inspired seven editions of Flaming Heart whisky, with the label art a nod to classic rock posters. The peaty 2022 release is a power trio of whiskies from Laphroaig, Talisker, and Caol Ila distilleries.

Ernest “Papa” Hemingway wrote about lots of adventurous things, like bullfighting, hunting, and skiing. But there’s nothing he had more experience in than drinking, with rum being his go-to. Papa’s Pilar Rum honors the adventurer’s spirit by blending premium rums from the Caribbean, Central, South, and North America.

While tasting their latest barrels, Frey Ranch’s farmer-distillers came across a firecracker with their highest proof yet. The 140.18-proof Hazmat Single Barrel yielded only 126 bottles of dark mahogany bourbon, rich with notes of orange peel and oak. Drops 10.8.22 only at Frey Ranch Tasting Room in Fallon, Nevada.

Two whisky cultures unite in each bottle of Glendalough 7-Year Single Malt Mizunara Cask. The rare whiskey expression was first triple-distilled from Irish malted barley in the Wicklow mountains. It then matures for seven years in bourbon casks before being transferred into Japanese Mizunara oak casks for another 8-12 months.

For those of us mourning the loss of the Choco Taco, the Choco Tacotini cocktail will aid the healing process. Cody Goldstein of Brooklyn-based hospitality group Muddling Memories has created a dreamy, sweet ‘n’ salty dessert cocktail featuring Tequila Cazadores, amaro, cold brew, cream, peanuts, and fudge-shell chocolate.

Soda Springs, Idaho, is home to a unique geyser that sprays carbonated water into the air. While the sparkling spring water is naturally-occurring, the water spout itself is the result of a man-made mistake. Tom Scott visited the geyser for an explanation of how it came to be and how they tweaked it to fire every hour on the hour.

Beware, vegetarians. The rascally rabbit on the label hints that Bosscal Mezcal isn’t just made with agave, per usual. It’s made with meat. Organic agave is triple distilled in Durango, Mexico. During the third distillation, a skinless rabbit is suspended in the still, allowing the liquid vapors to pass through it.

Puncher’s Chance Bourbon is a knockout, a one-two punch of 5- and 6-year-old Kentucky straight bourbons made from a mash of 75% Corn, 13% rye, and 12% barley. The 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition gold medal winner won a 95-point review from The Tasting Panel. We give it two boxing-gloved thumbs up.

William Landgren might only be 15 years old, but he’s already an accomplished digital artist. He created this 100% CGI short film about a robot desperate for a drink using Blender, After Effects, Marvelous Designer, and Davinci Resolve. We love the mood he created with the grain and lighting. (Thanks, Rob!)

Trailblazing celebrity stylist Jason Rembert is not a minimalist. He fitted Zayn Malik with a robotic arm for a Met Gala, crowned Solange in a crystal halo for SNL, dressed erratic Ezra Miller (yes, the fugitive) in a puffer gown for a film premiere, and mixed up a mean Maximalist Margarita for Grand Marnier.

We love the teasing of Ryan Reynold’s Aviation Gin empire from Ryan’s non-drinking wife, Blake Lively, proprietress of Betty Buzz non-alcoholic mixers. “Well, at least it’s not another celebrity alcohol?” she tweeted for the launch of her healthier, lower-calorie mocktails made with natural ingredients for sipping or mixing.

The mack daddy of summery European cocktails is the refreshing Aperol Spritz, making it de rigueur to stock up on Aperol aperitif, chilled prosecco, and soda. First distilled in 1919 in Northern Italy, the bittersweet orange liqueur gets its pizzazz from a century-old recipe of gentian, rhubarb, cinchona, and other botanicals.

We love a tart and boozy apple cider. This kit has all you need to turn fresh apple cider into hard cider, including dry yeast, a glass fermentation jug, racking cane, tubing, a clamp, a screw-cap stopper, an airlock, and sanitizer. Includes supplies for three 1-gallon jugs of 7% ABV cider, and you just need more yeast to make more.

Utah is better known for banning booze than for making it, so David Perkins combined his passions for biochemistry, bourbon, and the American West to open Utah’s first distillery since the 1870s. Whiskies are king at High West, including Double Rye which blends two distinct ryes: a playful 2-year-old and a sweet 16.

Jack Daniel’s is offering up its 2022 Small Batch Special Release, a potent spirit that deserves small and measured sips. Blended from 55 over-proof barrels of last year’s single-barrel Coy Hill, the whiskey offers 76.6% ABV and a 153.2 proof. Available only at the White Rabbit Bottle Shop and select stores across Tennessee.

We love summertime Bourbon Sours and Old Fashioneds, so it’s no surprise that we’re in-Spire-d by the sweet-and-sour Spire cocktail created by Woodward Reserve Bourbon Whiskey. It’s a cinch when made with William Sonoma’s Spire mixer, a blend of tart cranberry and lemon juice, sweetened with simple syrup.