[Photographs: Vicky Wasik, Elana Lepkowski]

It's still practically shorts weather where I live in California, but the folks at Serious Eats World Headquarters in New York assure me that it is, in fact, winter. Back when I lived in places that actually got cold, winter meant hot drinks—hot cocoa and mulled cider when I was a kid, hot cider and hot cocoa with booze when I got older. There is more to the world of hot drinks than pouring a shot into whatever's in your mug, though. If you put some thought into them, hot drinks can have all the class and sophistication of cold cocktails. To show you what I mean we've rounded up 22 of our favorite hot toddies, spiked ciders, cocoas, coffees, and other hot cocktails.

Hot Toddies

Spiced Averna Toddy

[Photograph: Elana Lepkowski]

Next time you're craving a hot toddy think beyond mixing whiskey or brandy with hot water—here we change it up by using caramelly, herbal Averna instead and adding a syrup made with brown sugar, cinnamon, and black pepper. Getting rid of the hard liquor keeps the alcohol content down, so you can keep refilling your mug throughout the evening.

Get the recipe for Spiced Averna Toddy »

The Hot and Cold

[Photograph: Autumn Giles]

We make this toddy with citrusy New Amsterdam gin instead of the brown liquor you more commonly find in the drink and replace the water with mint tea for extra flavor. A sweet-tart cranberry syrup gives the cocktail a festive ruby-red color.

Get the recipe for The Hot and Cold »

Remontel Toddy

[Photograph: Nick Guy]

Moving even further from a traditional hot toddy, this smoky, Mexican-inspired drink is made with mezcal, Green Chartreuse, Angostura and mole bitters, cinnamon, and mint. A splash of ginger beer complements the spicy notes in the drink and adds a pleasant fizz.

Get the recipe for Remontel Toddy »

Riesling Hot Toddy

[Photograph: Sydney Oland]

This drink may be more mulled wine than hot toddy, but it's a crowd-pleasing option no matter what you call it. To make it we mix together Riesling, brandy, and honey, then steep in bay leaves and toasted cardamom pods before straining and serving.

Get the recipe for Riesling Hot Toddy »

Spiked Cider

Hot Caramel-Popcorn Bourbon Apple Cider

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

Anyone can pour a shot of bourbon into their hot cider—for something more interesting try infusing the liquor with sweet, toasty caramel popcorn. Once you've made the infused bourbon (which just takes a few minutes on the stove), all you need is the cider and a little butter to float on top of each drink.

Get the recipe for Hot Caramel-Popcorn Bourbon Apple Cider »

Salty Maple Buttered Cider

[Photograph: María del Mar Sacasa]

Not so sure about popcorn-infused bourbon? This butter-topped cider goes with dark rum instead, getting its sweetness from maple syrup rather than caramel. To contrast the rich, deep flavors of the drink we serve it in glasses rimmed with lemon juice and Maldon salt.

Get the recipe for Salty Maple Buttered Cider »

Peppery Ginger Cider

[Photograph: María del Mar Sacasa]

We don't infuse the whiskey for this spiked cider, but we do give it an unexpected twist (or three) by stirring in sweet-and-spicy ginger liqueur, pouring it over rich Luxardo cherries, and finishing with freshly cracked black pepper.

Get the recipe for Peppery Ginger Cider »

Eve's Addiction

[Photograph: Tara Striano]

Apple cider just not apple-y enough for you? Here we triple down on the fruit by adding Granny Smiths and applejack and mix in clementines and dried cranberries for even more fruity flavor. To balance all that fruit we turn to a slew of spices: cinnamon, cloves, allspice, coriander, and black peppercorns.

Get the recipe for Eve's Addiction »

Boozy Hot Chocolate

Amaro Hot Chocolate

[Photograph: Elana Lepkowski]

The best boozy hot chocolate starts with the best hot chocolate, so ditch the store-bought mixes and make it from scratch with unsweetened cocoa powder, semisweet chocolate chips, and sugar. Once the basics are done you can doctor the drink up as you'd like—here we mix in a shot of amaro and top with homemade Angostura whipped cream.

Get the recipe for Amaro Hot Chocolate »

Better Than Baileys Hot Chocolate

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

I wouldn't say no to a cup of cocoa spiked with Baileys, but you can make a much tastier drink by separating the liqueur into its component flavors—Amaretto, espresso powder, vanilla extract, and Irish whiskey—and adding each one individually. Not only are the ingredients going to be better, but you can adjust the ratios to your liking.

Get the recipe for Better Than Baileys Hot Chocolate »

Guinness, Whiskey, and Baileys Hot Chocolate

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

I'm sure you're familiar with spiking Guinness with Jameson and Baileys, so why not use all three to make boozy hot chocolate? You can add the Bailey's and whiskey straight, but in order for the flavor of the beer to come through you need to reduce it into a concentrated syrup on the stove first.

Get the recipe for Guinness, Whiskey, and Baileys Hot Chocolate »

Salted Butterscotch Hot Chocolate

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

Forget commercial butterscotch—it's easy to make your own with sugar and cream. Despite the name butterscotch isn't made with Scotch whiskey, but we add a shot in anyways because we like the notes of smoke and vanilla it adds. We use the butterscotch two ways—most of it is mixed in with the hot chocolate, with the last bit being drizzled on top.

Get the recipe for Salted Butterscotch Hot Chocolate »

Bacon, Bourbon, and Hazelnut Hot Chocolate

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

The all bacon everything craze is well in the past, but the combination of bacon and chocolate is tasty enough to be more than a fad. To give this hazelnut hot chocolate as much bacon flavor as possible we emulsify rendered fat right in before garnishing with a strip of fried bacon.

Get the recipe for Bacon, Bourbon, and Hazelnut Hot Chocolate »

Tequila Mint Hot Chocolate

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

Not all boozy hot chocolate recipes have to be quite so involved—this one just requires spiking the cocoa with tequila and peppermint schnapps. Garnish each mug with mint leaves to complement the schnapps and give the cocoa a fresh, herbal aroma.

Get the recipe for Tequila Mint Hot Chocolate »

Spicy Aztec Hot Chocolate With Chili, Cinnamon, and Mezcal

[Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt]

You could use tequila in this hot chocolate too, but if you have mezcal on hand then try that instead—its smokiness wonderfully the dried ancho chili and cinnamon that we use to give the cocoa a kick. You can also use dark rum, which will give the drink some extra richness.

Get the recipe for Spicy Aztec Hot Chocolate With Chili, Cinnamon, and Mezcal »

Spiked Coffee

Just-Do-Ya (Hazelnut-Spiked Irish Coffee With Chocolate Whipped Cream)

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

There's more to spiked coffee than the classic Irish coffee—this Nutella-inspired variation replaces the whiskey with Frangelico and is topped with chocolate whipped cream. We also add a tablespoon of simple syrup to each mug to take a little of the edge off the coffee.

Get the recipe for Just-Do-Ya (Hazelnut-Spiked Irish Coffee With Chocolate Whipped Cream) »

Everything Nice (Spiced-Rum Coffee With Butterscotch Whipped Cream)

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

We think that the sugarcane sweetness and slight kick of spiced rum make it an even better partner than whiskey for coffee, so we use it in this Irish coffee variation topped with butterscotch whipped cream and a dusting of nutmeg. We make the whipped cream with malted milk and brown sugar to simulate the slow-cooked flavor of traditional butterscotch.

Get the recipe for Everything Nice (Spiced-Rum Coffee With Butterscotch Whipped Cream) »

Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (Fernet-Spiked Irish Coffee With Lemon Cream)

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

Full disclosure: this recipe isn't going to appeal to everyone. We start with coffee, which is already bitter, then pour in Fernet-Branca and top with tangy lemon whipped cream. It's certainly more assertive than our other Irish coffee recipes, but give it a chance and you might be surprised.

Get the recipe for Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (Fernet-Spiked Irish Coffee With Lemon Cream) »

Bittersweet Amaro- and Whiskey-Spiked Coffee

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

If Fernet is a little too intense, this bittersweet spiked coffee might just be the thing for you. Adapted from a drink created by Aaron Paul of the Daniel Patterson Group in San Francisco, the cocktail gets just enough bite from caramelly Amaro Averna and herbal, citrusy Gran Classico.

Get the recipe for Bittersweet Amaro- and Whiskey-Spiked Coffee »

Architects and Kings

[Photograph: Lizz Schumer]

This recipe also goes for a more balanced, bittersweet flavor—the coffee is spiked with rye whiskey, Luxardo Amaro Abano, and Angostura bitters, and it's mellowed out with with cream, apple brandy, and demerara sugar.

Get the recipe for the Architects and Kings »

Other Hot Cocktails

Hot Ward 8 Cocktail

[Photograph: Elana Lepkowski]

An old-school Ward 8 is made with rye, lemon and orange juice, and grenadine. The fruit juices don't work in a drink that has to be diluted with hot water, so in this recipe we replace them with a more intensely-flavored oleo-saccharum and a couple of ounces of orange curaçao. We also replace the grenadine with pomegranate juice for a brighter flavor.

Get the recipe for the Hot Ward 8 Cocktail »

The Varnish's Milk Punch

[Photograph: Lizz Schumer]

Clarified milk punches haven't been in the spotlight for a couple hundred years—that just means this cocktail is super retro, right? In addition to the clarified milk, we make this version with oleo-saccharum, lemon juice, simple syrup, cognac, and rum.

Get the recipe for The Varnish's Milk Punch »

[Photographs: Vicky Wasik unless otherwise noted]

It's always fun to look back over the past year and be reminded of everything we worked on (read: pigged out on). Choosing favorites is never easy, but these are some of the ones that struck me as the most memorable, interesting, and/or delicious. Well, always delicious.

Sous Vide Duck Confit

[Photograph: Emily Dryden]

Duck confit isn't the most practical recipe for the home cook, primarily because the traditional method requires a large reserve of rendered duck fat to make it. Cooking it sous vide solves that problem brilliantly. Because the duck is sealed in a vacuum bag, even the small amount of fat that renders from each leg during cooking is enough to effectively "submerge" it. Plus, the low-temperature water bath gives you even more control over the final texture of the meat. I tested round after round until I found what I think is the ideal combination of temperature and time, producing legs that are extraordinarily tender, silky, and moist. Now you can make duck confit at home whenever you want, vats of schmaltz be damned.

Get the recipe or read about the process and testing »

A Better Greek Salad

I've long had a love-hate relationship with Greek salad. In theory, it has everything I love, like fresh summer tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, olives, feta cheese, and more. The problem is that too many versions overload the feta, mixing it into every bite. It can quickly tip the scales into an overly briny, salty assault on the mouth. Then I learned that in Greece they don't serve it like that. Instead, they put a couple beautiful slabs of feta on top of the salad, allowing the diner to choose just how much feta to get in each bite. It's such a small thing, but it makes all the difference. The salad is more harmonious, more customizable, and primed to let each ingredient shine. I'll never make it another way again.

Get the recipe or read about the process and testing »

Salmon Burgers That Won't Disappoint

A salmon burger is one of those things that always sounds good on paper, but never lives up to its promise on the plate. They're almost always dry and crumbly and low on flavor. I decided it was time to make a salmon burger that was exactly the way I've always wanted one to be, testing everything from how to chop the fish (answer: by hand) to how to incorporate bread crumbs—not in the mix itself, but instead as a coating on each patty, which creates a crispy crust while acting as a layer of insulation that protects the fish from overcooking.

Get the recipe or read about the process and testing »

Pasta Japanese-Style: Mentaiko Spaghetti

I have a weakness for mentaiko spaghetti, a Japanese pasta dish with a sauce made from spicy cured fish roe, butter, and soy sauce. The hardest part is getting the roe itself, but just about any Japanese grocer will sell it, often in the freezer case. If you grab a little extra the next time you visit a Japanese mart, you can be sure to always have the basic ingredients on hand for whenever the mood strikes...because this is very much a when-the-mood-strikes dish, the kind of thing you whip up when a craving rumbles in your gut. You don't want to have to wait, and now that I've worked out my ideal version of the recipe, I no longer do.

Get the recipe or read about the process and testing »

Creole Jambalaya Without Any Twists and Turns

In my research for this classic from Louisiana, I came across dozens of websites and videos that gave detailed explanations on how to "turn"—that is, stir—a jambalaya without ruining it in the process. That's because most recipes have you cook the jambalaya on the stovetop, which risks scorching the rice on the bottom. Stirring it prevents that, but as we all know, stirring cooked rice can break it down and make it gummy. I figured, why cook it on the stovetop at all? My recipe moves the Dutch oven to an actual oven, which delivers more gentle and even heat, cooking the rice through without any risk of it burning. That means you don't need to turn it, which in turn means you won't end up with gloppy results.

Get the recipe or read about the process and testing »

Vegan Carbonara, Solved

For several years now, Kenji has devoted the month of March to vegan recipes. It's something I've mostly watched from the sidelines, because, if I'm being honest, vegan cooking has never been of particular interest to me (that is not to say, however, that vegetarian and vegetable-heavy recipes are not of interest to me). Still, it always looked like a fun challenge, so this year I decided to give it a try, and I did it in the most spectacularly stupid way possible, assigning myself carbonara, a pasta dish that is literally defined by non-vegan ingredients: eggs, cheese, and pork. It ended up being one of the most fun and rewarding recipes I've worked on in a long time, forcing me to think more flexibly and creatively than I almost ever have (just to give you a hint, my solution involves sauerkraut). Will it fool a meat-eater into thinking it's a true carbonara? Definitely not. But it captures the flavor profile and spirit of the dish in a way that I don't think almost any other vegan rendition has, at least based on the ones I've seen. I was so happy with my results (as were many readers, based on the feedback I've received), that I can't wait to do more vegan recipes in 2018.

Get the recipe or read about the process and testing »

Salt-Rubbed Brussels Sprouts

Sometimes a basic technique reveals itself to have multiple applications. Back when I was working on my homemade sauerkraut recipe, I noticed how tasty the wilted salt-rubbed cabbage was before it had even started to ferment. That got me thinking about how to use that to my advantage in other situations, and it quickly occurred to me that many Brussels sprouts salads could be improved with a salt-wilting step. Too often, the raw shaved Brussels sprouts are tough and crunchy; softening at least a portion of them by massaging them with salt could lead to a better overall texture. This nutty salad, perfect in the wintertime, is the result.

Get the recipe or read about the process and testing »

Katsudon at Home

[Photograph: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

Katsudon has long been one of my favorite cheap and filling Japanese meals—you get everything you need, including plenty of protein from both the fried chicken cutlet and the egg, and carbohydrates from the rice below. And, um, I'm pretty sure the onions count as a vegetable, right? Until recently, though, it was strictly a restaurant thing for me. That all changed when Kenji published his recipe for it, revealing just how simple it is to make at home. Given that my home in Queens is nowhere near a good restaurant version of the dish, that's even more important than ever.

Get the recipe or read about the process and testing »

Cookie Ice Cream, Redefined

Few things excite me more than being handed a package of inflight Biscoff cookies instead of pretzels or peanuts. One of the few that gets me even more giddy? Stella's brilliant Biscoff ice cream. This stuff is totally different from classic cookie-dough ice creams, in which little balls of raw cookie dough are scattered throughout some generic ice cream base. Instead, the ice cream base itself is steeped with the crispy and spiced cookies, extracting their flavor directly into the cream itself. After straining out the wet cookie pulp, Stella then churns that Biscoff-flavored base into an ice cream with a texture that is unlike anything I've ever had before. It's denser and chewier than regualr ice cream, with a deep baked-cookie flavor in every bite.

Get the recipe or read about the process and testing »

A Gratin That Will Convince You at First Bite

I can't begin to tell you how fortunate we are to have Sohla as the newest member of Serious Eats' recipe team. She's just barely getting started and already hitting both her recipes and articles out of the park. I was completely struck by this one, a beet gratin topped with a crisp pistachio crumble. In all honesty, it's a hard sell. First, there are the beets, which are a vegetable that no everyone loves. Then there's the mysterious addition of dried Morita chilies, plus crème fraiche and cornstarch. It sounds...weird. But, having tasted it, I can tell you this gratin is utterly divine. It's both unusual and elegant, completely striking in both concept and flavor. It belongs on every table this holiday season.

Get the recipe or read about the process and testing »

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

2017 was a banner year for new expressions in all liquor (and liqueur) categories. Distillers and blenders have been experimenting with oak finishes, herbal infusions, unusual spirit bases, flavor profiles, and even with color. And each new expression changes how you approach a Manhattan, martini, or margarita. The following selections represent just the tip of this year’s stellar, boozy iceberg. They certainly make great holiday gifts and hostess presents, but they’re equally appropriate as personal purchases, perfect for making a cocktail to enjoy fireside when you’re ready for a break from the festivities.

Gin Lane 1751 ‘Victoria’ Pink Gin ($24)

After almost two centuries with virtually no new gin distilleries, London is now overflowing with them—and that’s a great thing. Gin Lane 1751 is created at the Thames Distillery by distiller Charles Maxwell, along with Geoff Curley of the gin-focused Bloomsbury Club. The brand takes its name from a notorious print by artist William Hogarth. The 18th-century artwork—probably created in league with London’s brewers as a smear campaign against gin, which was wildly popular at the time—portrays the distilled spirit as the destruction of all that is good and moral. Of course, Curley and Maxwell look back on this reactionary moment and prod it with a juniper-fueled laugh.

Reaching back into history, the duo has recreated a popular sailor’s “pre-batched" drink: gin and bitters, or “pink gin." Reportedly created in the early 1800s in Angostura, Venezuela, as a curative and restorative against malaria, the drink caught on for a while and then silently vanished. It reemerged in the past couple of years, though, when a number of distillers released pink gins of their own. Gin Lane’s version is infused with natural spiced bitters that create a rosé-tinted drink. Here you’ll find the classic London Dry-style, juniper-forward gin, softened just a hair with hints of allspice. It’s perfect for pouring over ice, but you can add soda and a couple dashes of Campari for an even softer, more refreshing drink.

Find Gin Lane 1751 Victoria Pink Gin online here»

Johnnie Walker Blenders’ Batch Wine Cask Blend Blended Scotch ($30)

Producers in Scotland seem to have caught on to the growing market for innovative, approachable, and high-quality interpretations of traditional Scotch. The landscape has been changing for a few years now, and 2017 saw a number of releases (both blended and single malt) that broke the bonds of tradition.

Johnnie Walker’s Wine Cask Blend is the latest in a series of limited-edition Blenders’ Batch experimental whiskies (2016 saw the release of the popular Triple Grain American Oak). Combining malt and grain whiskies from around Scotland, and incorporating certain whiskies matured in wine casks, the blend is light and crisp, with a fruit-driven nose and palate, perfect for whisky-and-gingers and highballs. Aimée Gibson, who supervised this blend, says that it’s designed to appeal to both longtime Johnnie Walker fans, and "those who might previously have thought that whisky isn’t for them."

Find Johnnie Walker Wine Cask Blend online here »

FAIR Quinoa Vodka ($30)

At a recent seminar on cocktail trends during the World Class Bartender of the Year Finals, industry legend Dre Masso noted that “sustainable and reusable methods and ingredients are becoming increasingly important." It's a trend that's picking up pace in the spirits industry, where gravity-fed distilleries, water recycling/reclamation, and other efforts to reduce waste and energy consumption are becoming increasingly commonplace.

In the case of FAIR, a French company, the emphasis is on fair trade, responsible sourcing, and ensuring that growers and field workers are appropriately compensated for their work (booze is, after all, initially an agricultural product, and much of the raw material is grown in some of the poorest parts of the world). Founder Alexandre Koiransky is a soft-spoken, affable guy who says he is dedicated to keeping his brands on the straight-and-narrow when it comes to product sourcing and working with local farmers.

But, because you don’t want to just drink a cause, Koiransky and his team also work hard to create high quality, highly enjoyable spirits and liqueurs. FAIR Quinoa Vodka, which was released briefly in the US several years ago (we wrote about it at the time), is finally getting a proper distribution this year. FAIR sources the earthy, gluten-free cereal from a co-op of over 1,200 independent farmers in Bolivia, and then brings the grains to France, where the vodka is distilled in a single-column run to preserve the character and richness of the quinoa. The first sip might surprise you (it’s not your usual odorless and flavorless vodka), but if you’ve developed a penchant for more complex spirits like gin and mezcal, the earthy, slightly funky notes of FAIR vodka will be encouraging. Rather than serving as an inert “filler" in cocktails, it enhances the drink and stands up to bolder ingredients like ginger beer and amaro.

Find FAIR Quinoa Vodka online here »

Knob Creek 25th Anniversary Bourbon ($130)

25 years or so ago, the bourbon landscape at your local liquor store was dominated by two or three major labels, each with only one or two expressions. There were only a handful of “upstarts" (think Woodford Reserve, Bulleit, and Knob Creek, each of which are now considered mainstays) dragging the bourbon drinker somewhat reluctantly into new, upscale territory. Today, of course, there are scores of brands and hundreds of expressions greeting you when you walk into a bourbon-focused store or bar.

“My dad, Booker Noe, developed [Knob Creek] initially," says Fred Noe, the face of Jim Beam distilling (and Beam’s great-grandson). He did so with the goal of reintroducing a bolder, pre-Prohibition style of bourbon than was common in 1992. Noe says that while his dad enjoyed big, uncut, and unfiltered whiskies, he wasn’t keen on the emerging trend for single-barrel bourbons. Fred was, and he introduced the concept to Knob Creek for special releases under the Single Barrel Reserve program. The 25th anniversary Single Barrel Kentucky straight bourbon is a marriage of the whiskey-making styles of both generations of Noes.

“25 is a cask-strength, 13-year, extra aged bourbon, bottled straight from the barrel," says Fred Noe. “There’s no filtration, it’s as pure as it gets." Since each bottle is drawn from a single barrel, and individual barrel ages range between 12 and 13 years, expect slight variations if you buy more than one (and you should). Our sample is a deep, vibrant amber and remains spicy and clean, despite the extra years in wood. Big notes of vanilla, caramel, and toasted oak are balanced with nut and ripe fruit flavors. Noe recommends adding a bit of water to cut the strength and open up the aromatics. Pro-tip: It also pairs incredibly with a stuffed rolled pork loin (meat purveyor Pat LaFrieda keyed us into this one!). We’re betting BBQ would also play nicely.

Find Knob Creek 25th Anniversary Bourbon online here »

Codigo 1530 Rosa Tequila ($60)

Pink seems to be the color of 2017; whether it’s the ongoing steamroller that is Millennial Pink, or a spate of rosy spirits, it’s everywhere. Enter Codigo’s Rosa Tequila. If you haven’t stumbled across the relatively new label, it represents the efforts of Federico “Fede" Vaughan, Ron Snyder (former CEO of Crocs Footwear), and country legend George Straight to bring the sort of Mexico-only tequilas that they love to market in the US. Before you pooh-pooh it as just another rich-guy vanity label, know that these three—all longtime residents of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico—take their agave spirits very seriously.

This past year saw the launch of Rosa, a unique blanco that gets an extra month of barrel-aging in uncharred white oak barrels previously used to hold Napa Cabernet Sauvignon wine. Unlike some earlier “pink" tequilas that relied on hibiscus essence to color the liquid, the wine-soaked wood adds to, rather than masks, the tequila’s natural flavor and aromas. The wine colors and softens the tequila, but doesn’t distract from the floral and vegetal agave. The final product is remarkably smooth on its own, but it also blends perfectly into vibrant Palomas and elegant margaritas when using clarified lime juice.

Find Codigo 1530 Rosa Tequila online here »

Grey Goose Vodka Interpreted by Alain Ducasse ($100)

How to bring a refreshing new vibe to Grey Goose without resorting to wacky flavorings? For cellar master Francois Thibault, the answer was to partner with renowned French chef Alain Ducasse. Ducasse is the brains behind Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris, London, and Monaco, and boasts die-hard fans on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Goose is famously distilled from French winter wheat for a clean, slightly sweetened taste. This new limited-edition expression takes that same wheat and applies various levels of toasting. According to Thibault and Ducasse, the concept of increasing levels of toasting originated with Ducasse’s recent purchase of a cocoa roaster for his house-made chocolates, and the fact the restaurants roast their own coffees. Ducasse said he wanted the vodka to reflect the “gastronomique" character of contemporary French cooking, with an emphasis on complex, yet balanced, flavors.

Light, medium, and heavy toasting levels for the wheat each contribute subtle aromatic and flavor notes to the classic Grey Goose profile. Though it’s still vodka, you’ll get hints of toasted bread, vanilla, roasted nuts, chocolate, and coffee. Sure, it can go into a Moscow mule or martini, but consider putting it into drinks featuring more savory elements, with mixers like sherry, almond liqueur, or coffee.

Find Grey Goose Vodka Interpreted by Alain Ducasse online here »

Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Straight Rye Whiskey ($27)

Rye continues to have its moment, so it’s not surprising that brands best known for their bourbons have released rye expressions in the past few years. Now, the flagship for Tennessee Whiskey has produced its own take on the increasingly popular brown spirit.

Unlike many of the sourced ryes on the market that rely on a shared formula of 95% rye / 5% malted barley from Indiana powerhouse distillery MGP, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Straight Rye starts with a mash bill of 70% rye, 18% corn, and 12% malted barley (and a “homegrown" yeast) for a distinctive, slightly less spicy style (yes, the brand’s iconic limestone Cave Spring waters and charcoal filtering are used here as in the traditional whiskey). The company released an unaged version of its rye (essentially a white whiskey) back in 2012, then a higher-priced Single Barrel expression in 2016.

While fans of big, bold, spicy ryes might not see eye-to-eye with this expression, if you’re new to rye, or just looking for a little variation from much of what’s on the market, this is a great departure. The resulting juice is a bit mellower than other popular rye, with nutty-sweet hints from the corn. But you still finish with a nice long pepper-and-spice note. Even better? The price won’t break your wallet, so you can buy a back up.

Find Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Straight Rye Whiskey online here »

El Tesoro 80th Anniversary Extra Aged Tequila ($200)

Arguably the first premium tequila to give Americans a taste of something beyond Jose Cuervo, back in the 1990s, El Tesoro and its distiller Carlos Camarena quickly drew praise from aficionados and helped usher in what would be the first craze for ultra-premium tequilas in the late ‘90s. Though the label’s “only" been around for 27 years, the Camarena family has been crafting tequila at their La Alteña distillery in Jalisco, Mexico, for 80 years (Carlos is the grandson of founder Don Felipe Camarena).

The 80th Anniversary edition is the brand’s longest-aged tequila at eight years (most extra añejos on the market come in at around three to five years). One of the elements that make El Tesoro particularly intriguing for fans is that, rather than coming off the still at 130 proof or more, to be then watered down (a common practice for most spirits), the core blanco tequila is distilled to 80 proof and bottled at proof, retaining more of the agave character and giving the tequila a “rustic" vibe. Since the 80th anniversary edition was going to sit in barrels (where alcohol often evaporates, becoming the “angel’s share"), Camarena and his team distilled slightly higher, at 85 proof, and bottled at 83.

The result is a gloriously complex, rich, and wonderfully sippable extra añejo. Notes of agave, green olive, oak, flowers, and light fresh tobacco greet the nose on first sniff. The palate is grassy and complex with hints of licorice, oak, and banana. The light golden color and crisp freshness might be a surprise since it spends eight years in the barrel, but the age is evident in its full-bodied roundness and long finish. Yes, it’s pricey, but you’re worth it: Only eight casks were produced, and you’ll find it difficult to share this wonderfully smooth sipper.

Find El Tesoro 80th Anniversary Extra Aged Tequila online here »

Little Book “The Easy" Blended Straight Whiskey ($80)

If you’ve ever enjoyed Fred Noe’s (see above) annual releases of Booker’s Bourbon, you’re familiar with the concept that the series changes slightly each year, with different barrel and aging techniques, different barrel strength proofs, and so on. Now Freddie Noe—Fred’s son—affectionately nicknamed “Little Book" by grandfather Booker, has launched his own annual series of whiskies, and what’s truly intriguing, for this noble Kentucky family, is that it’s not officially a bourbon.

That’s because Freddie has decided to put his name to a whiskey that blends Kentucky straight bourbon with whiskies that emphasize various grain components of a traditional bourbon mash, but are individually distilled: corn whiskey, rye whiskey, and malted barley. At the most recent WhiskyFest in New York, Freddie Noe hosted a seminar and walked attendees through the component whiskeys of the first release, “The Easy." Here, four-year-old bourbon gets blended with 13-year corn, six-year high rye, and six-year 100% malted barley whiskey. Noe says he spent a great deal of time playing with the ratios to get exactly the flavor profile he wanted.

On the nose, it leads with caramel, oak, toast, and light fruity notes. On the mouth, the interplay of the various grain bills seems to provide a symphony of highlights: caramel and toasted oak evolve into the nuttiness of corn, the pepper of rye and the richness of the malted barley. This one is best on its own, over ice; or in an Old Fashioned, where the complexity of the spirit gets highlighted.

Find Little Book “The Easy" Blended Straight Whiskey online here »

Kimo Sabe Mezcal ($30)

Officially, this mezcal hit the US last year, but it’s only now seeing broader distribution and getting attention. The packaging is playful and contemporary, and the company, founded by father/daughter team Jim Walsh and Ashely Walsh Kvamme, is trying to make the often smoky, heavy, “other agave spirit" more accessible and nightlife-friendly. At the same time, this isn’t simply a frivolous party booze. The team behind Kimo Sabe takes its mission seriously, and aims to put out a solid mezcal at a friendly price (they have the industry awards to back up their pride in the brand). They’re also serious about creating a brand that highlights environmental sustainability, working closely with the state of Zacatecas to create a program called Building Bridges With Mexico.

The Joven (young) expression, is a good "starter" mezcal: less smoky and intense than many brands, it's closer to a tequila, but with the honey and chocolate notes of espadin agave. You’ll find smoke and muskiness, yes, but also a touch of pepper and citrus. It’s best paired with cocktails that feature rich tropical fruit juices and/or intense sweeteners like dark honey and agave nectar. This year, in addition to its Joven and Reposado expressions, the company launched an Añejo ($55) that's aged 18 months in the American oak casks that previously held the Reposado. They also kicked off a luxe Colleccion de las Maravillas with a limited-edition expression called Cinco de Noviembre ($511 a bottle), which debuted at last spring’s Tales of the Cocktail.

One thing we can’t help with is the potentially cringeworthy name. Translated as “trusted friend" by the brand, the term—most commonly associated with The Lone Ranger’s trusty Native American sidekick Tonto—has a fuzzy etymological history: It may or may not have Native American roots in Ottowa, among the Apache or Yavapai of Arizona, or even among native peoples in northern Mexico. Or it may be an Americanization of Spanish words used by some tribes, or wholly made up by Americans.

Find Kimo Sabe Mezcal online here »

Highland Park Full Volume Single Malt Scotch Whisky ($100)

It’s been a busy year for Highland Park, the bold single malt Scotch whisky label from the wild and windy islands of Orkney. Earlier this year they launched Magnus, an ode to the company’s moonshining spiritual founder, Magnus Eunson. Now comes Full Volume, a limited-edition rock-and-roll tribute to classic British guitar-driven bands.

Master whisky maker Gordon Motion produced this full-bodied whisky employing 100% ex-Bourbon casks. The whisky was distilled 18 years ago, in 1999, and bottled in 2017. The result is rich and almost creamy, with a dialed-back peat and an undercurrent of toast, caramel, vanilla, pear, and spice.

The music analogy is drawn out in the packaging, with a tuner dial on the label and a box that evokes old-school guitar amps. The dials on the image are “tuned" to this particular expression’s balance of bourbon notes, smoke, vanilla, and fruit. Highland Park turned one dial to 11, and collaborated with producer/writer Saul Davies (from the rock band James) to create an original piece of music for Full Volume (Motion and Davies discuss the collaboration here).

Find Highland Park Full Volume Scotch online here »

Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz Gin ($40)

Sloe Gin is gin steeped for months in sloe berries and sugar. This unique rendition from Australia twists the narrative, steeping high-proof Four Pillars Rare Dry gin in Yarra Valley Shiraz grapes for two months, lending the expression a beautiful ruby tint and intriguing flavors. Already popular among the gin’s fans in Australia, Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz finally arrived in the US in December, just in time for the holidays.

If the other tinted products on this list are a salmon pink, this gin is as deep a ruby as port. But because each small batch is unique, the next time you buy it, it may be slightly darker or lighter, slightly sweeter or less so. And the flavors evolve as they sit in the bottle, thanks to the wine component. Here you’ll find a non-cloying sweetness on the open, but also the classic peppery notes of Shiraz and the botanical edginess of gin.

Though the spirit is sweet on its own, and great with ice and an orange slice, it also works well in cocktails. Thanks to the inherent sweetness, you can cut back on the sugar and play with blending in tart citrus, astringent amari, and bitter digestifs. The gin plays particularly well with a mix of Campari, Orange Curaçao and lemon juice. Or it mix with soda and a touch of pine bitters for a unique holiday drink.

Find Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz Gin online here »

The Sexton Single Malt Irish Whiskey ($30)

The first thing you notice about The Sexton is the bottle. Not only does it look nothing like your average Irish whiskey, but the squat, hexagonal vessel also doesn’t like anything else out there. That’s not simply intended to frustrate bartenders or encourage Instagram moments, though.

The Sexton breaks grounds on a number of fronts: Where there were once a relatively limited number of Irish whiskey labels, all produced from the same three distilleries, now there are scores of labels coming from all over Ireland and Northern Ireland. Most Irish whiskeys include a grain-whiskey component or a blend of malt styles, but this is a 100% barley single malt (Irish single malts are usually milder and less smoke-driven than Scottish versions, since they're generally triple distilled and lacking a peat component). Rather than sitting in American oak for the minimum three years, this whiskey sits in Sherry butts for four. Finally, this particular Irish whiskey is the brainchild of master blender Alex Thomas, one of Ireland’s few female whiskey blenders.

This ideal tempest of innovation and tradition results in a smooth, rich whiskey, redolent with overtones of baked fruit, honey, nuts and chocolate. It hits the front of the palate with that familiar sweetness of Irish whiskey, but quickly moves into the savory Christmas flavors from the Sherry casks, before ending in a long, dark chocolate and spice finish. If you’re reading this and it’s still cold out, you know what to do: drop a shot into the best Irish coffee you can concoct.

Find The Sexton Single Malt Irish Whiskey online here »

[Photographs: Vicky Wasik]

This week we've got a special holiday episode of Ask Special Sauce. With Kenji and Stella serving as my co-pilots from the comforts of their own homes, we endeavored to answer some of the questions Serious Eaters and Special Sauce devotees have about holiday cooking and baking. Though we were thousands of miles apart, the exchanges crackled with energy and holiday cheer, with more than a heaping helping of incredibly helpful intel on the side.

Kenji and Stella cheerfully sparred on their respective pie crust theories. (My role as the Serious Eats overlord requires that I remain resolutely neutral on this freighted topic, at least publicly.) They also weighed in on tempering chocolate when making peppermint bark, the best way to make fudge, and whether it's possible to make caramel and toffee when it's raining (Spoiler alert: it is, and using the right kind of kosher salt is key). And if you've ever wanted to know what a gizzard is, what its function is in a turkey, and what holiday cooks can use them for, this is the episode of Special Sauce for you. So listen up! I am confident it will make your holidays a little bit merrier and a lot more delicious.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year, Serious Eaters and Special Sauce-ers! See you in 2018.

Special Sauce is available on iTunes, Google Play Music, Soundcloud, Player FM, and Stitcher. You can also find the archive of all our episodes here on Serious Eats and on this RSS feed.

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Want to chat with me and our unbelievably talented recipe developers? We're accepting questions for Special Sauce call-in episodes now. Do you have a recurring argument with your in-laws over the most reliable way to roast a turkey? Have you been struggling to get the right consistency in your Thanksgiving stuffing over the years? Does your brother always turn up with the worst pumpkin pie, and you want to help him make it better? We want to get to know you and solve all your food-related problems. Send us the whole story at [email protected].

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

Since the last time we ran a story on the best new beers, back in 2015, the number of American breweries has ballooned by more than 50 percent, from roughly 4,000 to 6,000. And the trend shows no signs of stopping: another couple thousand breweries are in planning phases and the Brewers Association estimates that more than eighty percent of the American population now lives within 10 miles of a local brewery. Lucky us!

What does all of this mean? For one, I had a deluge of beer to try this year, more than ever before. I did my best to get out there and drink it all (admittedly, an impossibility), and along the way, I found dozens of top-tier beers. (Unfortunately, I drank plenty of crappy beer, too; an inevitable side effect of a prospering industry.) Whittling the finest down to an elite 10 was tough work, but I’ve done my best here to pick an illustrative range of styles and flavors—from the lightest lagers to the burliest barleywines—to represent the very best of what the industry has to offer. Here’s a look at the 10 best beers I tasted in 2017.

Burial Beer Co. Innertube

(American Light Lager; 3.2% ABV)

Chalk it up to palate fatigue from a decade of drinking hop bombs and boozy stouts, but 2017 was a year when breweries brought “boring beers” (think plain ol’ pilsners and Mexican-style lagers) back in a big way. This crisp little number from Burial Beer in Asheville, North Carolina, was at the top of that tall stack of nostalgic brews. It calls to mind a simpler time, when drinking was integral to outdoor sports and leisure activity—it’s a beer your dad might have chugged after a softball game, say. Innertube is a light, lean, and just-a-touch-bitter lager with a trace of sweetness on the finish: an expertly constructed beer-flavored beer, plain and simple. It’s perfect sustenance for floating the river on a lazy Saturday afternoon, with the sun high above and a cooler tethered to your tube. Call it ironic or even hipster, but as the pendulum swings, this is a style to which we all eventually return, even if briefly. And within the realm of craft brewers, Burial did it better than anyone else.

Two Roads Brewing Two Juicy

(New England Double IPA; 8.2% ABV)

The sub-style called New England IPA, or NEIPA, known for producing turbid, juicy, low-bitterness beers, continued to dominate the IPA discussion in 2017. But honestly, even though they garner increasingly extreme hype and, at many breweries, require hours-long waits just to purchase a couple four-packs, most NEIPAs range from ho-hum to flat-out undrinkable. The best was this bright golden ale from Connecticut's Two Roads Brewing, a brewery marked by wide regional distribution and nearly zero ballyhoo. It ticks all the boxes of an NEIPA, but illustrates that the style can be made with mastery and, yes, even some bitterness. It’s hazy rather than muddy, juicy but not oily or flabby, and dank while not going bonkers with those gunky green-onion notes, a common foible in so many of these beers.

Speciation Artisan Ales Tequila Barrel Aged Incipient

(Golden Sour Ale; 7.5% ABV)

A tequila barrel–aged sour with blood oranges, pink guava, limes, and salt might sound like an absolute abomination, especially coming from a freshman brewery in frigid Michigan. But trust us: this beer from Speciation Ales is anything but. For starters, it tastes nothing like a margarita. Each element is restrained, dialed-back even, coming together to synthesize an intriguing mélange of funky, fruity deliciousness. The citrus adds bright, tangy notes, the guava lends a musky tropical-fruit flavor, and the salt and tequila barrel broaden the scope with a rich savoriness. With so many components interweaving and commingling, Incipient is a demonstration of layered beer composition at its finest.

Folksbier Brewery Raspberry Glow Up

(Berliner Weisse; 4.3% ABV)

The sheer amount of fresh raspberry flavor packed into this gorgeous ruby-colored sour from Brooklyn’s sleeper-hit brewery Folksbier makes Raspberry Glow Up a next-level beer. It’s a testament to the power of well-integrated fruit to create flavors that are at once unwavering and deeply nuanced. In fact, there’s something almost avant-garde in the beer’s unrelenting dedication to a single flavor—a pure distillation of raspberry essence. There’s some real depth here, too, as all that tart fruitiness is foiled by a thin undercurrent of earthy funk.

Heavy Gem Virga

(Saison; 6.7% ABV)

Heavy Gem was an ephemeral side project of sorts from Pennsylvania’s Tired Hands and Chicago’s Half Acre. The collaboration produced just two beers—a double IPA and a saison—and then, seemingly, evanesced. (Whether more releases will come is anyone’s guess; the project’s Instagram account was recently deleted, though its enigmatic website is still up.) Virga, the saison, stood out as hands down the most cohesive, best-constructed saison we tasted this year, a textbook example of how beguiling this style can be. It gets layers of dry, white-wine character from mixed-culture oak fermentation, illustrating that barrels can be used for nuance rather than pure woodiness or bourbon-fueled aggression. One of the most balanced, complex, and enjoyable beers of recent memory.

Suarez Family Brewery Call to Mind

(Farmhouse Ale; 5.4% ABV)

Beers infused with flowers, herbs, and spices often get a bad rap, and for good reason—most taste like dish soap or liquid potpourri. But this one, from Suarez Family Brewery in New York’s Hudson Valley, is the exact opposite, a beer of great finesse whose botanical additions (chamomile, lemon balm, and lemon thyme) are seamlessly integrated with the dry, tart, pale-ale base. Aromas of lemon peel dominate the nose, with beguiling floral notes in the background and a dry, citrusy bite on the finish.

Trillium Brewing & J. Wakefield Brewing Affogato

(Imperial Lactose Stout; 13.3% ABV)

Though we’re usually tepid on confectionery stouts, Boston’s Trillium and Miami’s J. Wakefield absolutely nailed it with this espresso-over-gelato-inspired beer. Lactose and flaked oats lend a creamy, rich body, while dark-roast coffee and whole vanilla beans re-create the classic flavors of the beer’s namesake Italian dessert drink. All those bake-shop flavors are skillfully balanced with bitter chocolate malts and earthy, black-peppery hops. The best pastry stout of the year.

Revolution Brewing Sun Crusher

(Hoppy Wheat Ale; 5.3% ABV)

As breweries continue to find more creative ways to pack all those hops beer lovers crave into low-alcohol ales, session IPAs have become old hat. Styles like dry-hopped sours, “extra” pale ales, and hoppy wheat ales, like this one from Chicago’s Revolution Brewing, are far more interesting than any run-of-the-mill session IPA. Unlike those beers, which can be thin and watery, Sun Crusher uses a simple, silky wheat base to showcase a quartet of diverse hops—Apollo, Amarillo, Crystal, and Mosaic—for a bouquet of heady, earthy, citrusy aromas and fresh-as-can-be hop flavors. It was our favorite spring seasonal this year and, as the name suggests, an absolute crusher of a beer, perfectly suited for drinking in the sun.

Allagash Brett IPA

(Brett IPA; 7.1% ABV)

Most drinkers associate the yeast strain Brettanomyces with tart, funky beers. But it’s usually a duo of bacteria that brewers commonly pair with Brett—lactobacillus and pediococcus—that makes a beer super tart and barnyard-y. For its superb Brett IPA, the best example of this IPA subgenre that we found this year, Allagash uses the Brett strain not for the funk factor, but to double down on fruit-forward hop aromas. With notes of overripe peach and pineapple layered with bursting-fresh hops, like Citra and Galaxy, the beer is a tropical love-fest of crisscrossing citrus, pineapple, and passion fruit flavors, and only a whisper of Brett mustiness. It’s proof that Brett can indeed play well with hops.

Holy Mountain Brewing Hand of Glory

(Barley Wine; 13% ABV)

This Seattle brewery excels at crafting some of the country’s finest farmhouse-style ales, but in 2017 it also demonstrated a clear mastery of non-funky, “clean” beers, like pilsners, IPAs, and this cognac- and bourbon-barrel barley wine. Hand of Glory gets an honorable mention with one significant caveat: it was a limited release beer, and we couldn’t even get our hands on another bottle to photograph. It was memorable enough to make this list, though. The flavors are a full-on assault of toffee and caramel stickiness, and the glutinous mouthfeel is evocative of a Werther’s Original. The finish is sweet and bready but surprisingly snappy, with a toasted maltiness that doesn’t linger too long. A surefire stunner if you can dig one up.