1. Whiskey Row Bourbon
Avalon Spirits debuts with Whiskey Row Bourbon, conceived by late distiller Steve Thompson as an ode to Louisville’s Main Street that served as a whiskey hub between 1850 and Prohibition. The inaugural trifecta of expressions, made at Kentucky Artisan Distillery in Crestwood, include: the 90-proof Triple Wood aged for a minimum of four years and finished in Cognac and Pedro Ximénez sherry casks; the 100-proof bottled in bond highlighting a mash bill of corn, rye, and malted barley; and the 111-proof complex cask strength, a full-bodied, unfinished, unfiltered blend.
SRP: $49.99 to $69.99 per 750-ml bottle
whiskeyrowbourbon.com
2. Kota Pandan Liqueur
Pandan cocktails are increasingly gracing menus, but Nico De Soto, the owner of Mace in New York City and Danico in Paris, has long been a fan of weaving the aromatic Southeast Asian plant, used in dishes throughout the region, into drinks. That passion has now culminated in Kota, the small-batch pandan liqueur he created with Maison Gabriel Boudier in Dijon, France. Expressing layers of vanilla, butter, and toasted rice, it’s packaged in a 100 percent post-consumer recycled glass bottle.
SRP: $34.99 per 700-ml bottle
kota-liqueur.com
3. Dewar’s
Dewar’s ramps up its Double Double series with its innovative 21-year-old Magma Stone Toasted expression. This time around, master blender Stephanie Macleod and her team finished the blended Scotch whisky in virgin French oak casks, embracing the radiant warmth from pre-heated Icelandic magma stones placed in metal cylinders within the barrels for a precise, even toast. The 92-proof spirit shows off notes of cinnamon, clove, caramel, and baked apple.
SRP: $139.99 per 750-ml bottle
dewars.com
4. Mezcal Guey
Reconnecting with friends on a trip to Oaxaca propelled Ervin Strnisnik to hatch the smallbatch, approachable Mezcal Güey. First up: Ensamble, a blend of seven-year-old Espadín and 12-year-old Cuishe agaves produced by third-generation maestro mezcalero Eleuterio Garcia Martinez. The earthy liquid, inflected with lemon and cinnamon, is housed in bottles graced with 100 percent recycled agave fiber labels.
SRP: $56.99 per 750-ml bottle
mezcalguey.com
5. Best Day Brewing
Non-alcoholic beer brand Best Day Brewing is once again collaborating with The Conservation Alliance to relaunch Nature’s Pilsner (less than 0.5% ABV), made with Bavarian lager yeast and Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops. Joining Hazy IPA, West Coast IPA, Kölsch, and Electro-lime Cerca de Cerveza, the crisp, woody Pils supports efforts to protect outdoor spaces and wild places throughout North America by donating a portion of the limited-edition beer’s net proceeds to the nonprofit.
SRP: $13.99 per six-pack of 12-oz. cans
bestdaybrewing.com
6. The Muff Liquor Company
Through a partnership with Lucas Bols USA, The Muff Liquor Company has landed stateside. Founded in Donegal, Ireland, by Laura Bonner as an homage to her potatofarming grandfather, the collection includes a vodka and gin distilled from potatoes, the latter infused with mandarin, juniper berries, citrus peel, elderflower, and rosemary, and spiked with Champagne extract. An 86-proof peated Irish whiskey uniting a fivepart blend of Irish malt and grain whiskeys rounds out the lineup.
SRP: $34.99 per 700-ml bottle
themuffliquorco.com
7. Loka Loka
Indian actor Rana Daggubati, composer Anirudh Ravichander, and entrepreneur Harsha Vadlamudi have joined forces on Loca Loka, a 100 percent blue Weber agave tequila brand. Currently, it’s making a splash with a fruity, subtly earthy blanco and a reposado redolent of cooked agave.
SRP: $49.99 to $57.99 per 750-ml bottle
localokalife.com
8. Hirsch
For the first time, Hirsch Selected Whiskeys, known for its bourbon, is bolstering its portfolio with an American single malt. Produced entirely at the original Hotaling &Co. distillery in San Francisco—one of the last spirits to be made at the Potrero Hill site—The Departure is a 98-proof limited release crafted from 100 percent malted Maris Otter barley. Double distilled in small copper pot stills, it’s matured for six years and nine months in both new char #3 and toasted American oak barrels.
SRP: $74.99 per 750-ml bottle
hirschwhiskey.com
9. Moët & Chandon
Multi-hyphenate Pharrell Williams has transformed Moët & Chandon bottles into coveted collector’s items. Along with the pricey Bow Capsule and numbered Jewel Masterpieces, the collection includes the Limited Editions, for which Williams spiffed up the box and bottleneck of the Nectar Impérial Rosé with white and lavished the Impérial Brut in tones of gold, midnight blue, and deep red. Each bottle showcases Williams’ monogrammed pearl seal and a bow that pulls from the archives.
SRP: $56 to $64.99 per 750-ml bottle
moet.com
10. Tequila Ocho
In collaboration with Heaven Hill Distillery’s Old Fitzgerald Bourbon, Tequila Ocho has released the limited-edition Tequila Ocho Añejo Barrel Select Old Fitzgerald. With fifth-generation maestro tequilero Carlos Camarena at the helm, the two 2023 vintages of single estate tequila—one distilled with agaves from Rancho Corralillos and the other from Rancho Potrero Grande—are finished for 12 months in casks that held Old Fitzgerald’s 10-year-old Spring 2023 Decanter Series. The wood lends the tequila notes of coffee, toffee, toasted oak, and cacao.
SRP: $110 per 750-ml bottle
ochotequila.com
11. Kavalan
Taiwanese single malt whisky producer Kavalan is celebrating its 15th anniversary with a duo of 112.6-proof, limited-edition whiskies, the brand’s oldest to date. Espresso and toasty brown sugar notes distinguish the offering matured in a hand-selected 2009 oloroso sherry cask; while vanilla and tropical fruit characterize the expression aged in a hand-selected American ex-bourbon barrel from the same year.
SRP: $1,000 per 750-ml bottle
kavalanwhisky.com
12. Jackson Morgan Southern Cream
Just in time for summer, the family-owned Tennessee producer Jackson Morgan Southern Cream has reintroduced its sunny Lemon Icebox and Peaches and Cream varieties of whiskey cream liqueurs. The former fuses flavors of lemon and vanilla, while the latter tastes of sweet peaches, making them ideal additions to both afterdinner cocktails and desserts.
SRP: $30 per 750-ml bottle
sipjacksonmorgan.com
