The Most Exciting Spirits We Drank in 2018
Notable bottles include a cousin to mezcal, reverse-engineered Japanese gin, and a (surprisingly good) vodka made from milk.
The year 2018 has been an eventful one, no matter where you looked. This is no less true in the spirits world. Even as cannabis continues to boom as an intoxicant of choice and manufacturers pivot to weed beer, there have been innovations in almost every type of booze, from Japanese gin to bartender-made brandy to a Danish spirit from a team of Noma alums that defies categorization.
The spirits we selected as “best in show” represent a bunch of delicious, weird, and pioneering bottles divided into three categories: classics that are newly available from distributors; true innovators; and the purely best in class—plus an honorable mention that warrants its own space, because, well, it’s not even alcoholic. If you’re in the market for a few different bottles to welcome 2019, each of these is worth cracking open.