Health benefits, less sugar intake and intense flavors are all reasons to to ditch the mixers and sip these spirits.
So you made it through dry January. Congratulations! You’re not an alcoholic. But seriously, do you really want to start packing on the calories now that the year is so young? It is super easy to start drinking cocktails when you’re out or if you are proficient making them at home. But those mixers pack on the calories and I don’t know about you, but I’d rather eat my calories than drink them. So, I was happy to discover several different spirits that taste great and are perfect for sipping.
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1. Tequila: Try Padre Azul Tequila for Sipping
Okay, I love margaritas. And tacos. And cheese dip. I mean give me these things and I’m a happy gal, but I read that the average margarita at a Mexican restaurant contains about 500 calories. I don’t even want to think about how many hours I would need to spend on the elliptical to work all that off.
I was happy when I tried Padre Azul Tequila. It is smooth and easy for sipping. I was gifted a bottle and before I looked up the price, I was regularly sipping on this top shelf tequila. Then I found the cost of this excellent tequila and have started to ween myself off, saving it for special times, as the price tag is nearly $100. No wonder it is so delicious and smooth, huh? The luscious vanilla and caramel notes are glorious. Plus did you know that tequila itself has many health benefits like weight loss and it is a probiotic?
2. Whiskey: Amrut Indian Whiskey
Check out my interview with Amrut Whisky representative Ashok Chokalingam
3. Gin: Ann Arbor Distilling
Is it possible to capture the essence of the seasons in a spirit? That’s exactly what they’ve done at Ann Arbor Distilling with their gin. Nevermind there perfect Bombay gin mule I sampled as soon as I walked in the door. As delicious as that cocktails was, it was the tasting room where all the action is.
So how exactly do you capture seasons in a gin or any spirit for that matter? For summer you taste honeysuckle and fresh cut grass. For spring they captured mint, cucumber and and cherry blossom. For winter, it was flavors of juniper, spruce and peppermint. This was my favorite of the bunch. And for fall – cinnamon, clove and pumpkin. They source their ingredients for use locally from Michigan farms, a definitely plus in my book!
4. Gin: Tinkerman’s Gin for sipping
Founder, Brian Prewitt spent years “tinkering” with botanicals to get the perfect gin combos for sipping. Although Tinkerman’s (they have the cutest packaging, you guys!), lists recipes right on their bottles I find this gin absolutely wonderful for sipping rather than mixing in cocktails. With flavors like Citrus Supreme, Sweet Spice and Curiously Bright & Complex, there’s bound to be one sipping spirit of gin your gravitate to. For me, I thought it would be the Sweet Spice, but funny enough it was the citrus forward gin that I would want to sip on. You can check out Tinkerman’s here.
5. Bellion Vodka
You know how you always see those movies with Russians and they are doing shots of Vodka? I always think to myself, who would drink Vodka like that. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Vodka in a cocktail but not by itself. Something about it reminds me of rubbing alcohol.
Until now.
If you are thinking Vodka is the one spirit you wouldn’t sip, we’ve got new for for you. You need to try Bellion Vodka. The Vodka is super smooth Bellion Vodka uses proprietary NTX technology to remove the negative impact of alcohol without losing any flavor. Enjoy as-is to fully experience the natural sweetness. It is lovely by itself but I have concocted a fantastic cocktail – equal parts Bellion vodka and Campari to 3 parts OJ. Perfectly pretty and potent!
6. Benriach Whisky
Founded in 1898, the Benriach Distillery has long been the home of artistry and expertise across whisky distilling and cask maturation. Benriach distills three malt whisky styles – unpeated, peated and triple distilled – and holds some of the most experiential casks in Speyside.
BenRiach 10 Year Single Malt Scotch Whiskey ($49.99) – Unpeated BenRiach spirit is three-cask matured for over 10 years in bourbon barrels, virgin oak and Oloroso sherry casks. This is quite enjoyable for sipping. I wouldn’t recommend mixing it into cocktails as this is quite a tasty and complex flavor by itself. I also love the hefty case it comes it. If you gift this spirit to someone, it seems more elegant in this lovely case.
Do you have a favorite spirit to sip on? Let me know!
