Step aside cocktails: here are spirits worth sipping

Amrut translates loosely to “Nectar of the Gods” and the title is perfectly fitting! Another pricey item by the bottle, you’ll want to savor this one too for sipping. Well, bottles are around $65, so not that unreasonable when you factor in the time it takes to produce whiskey vs. other kinds of spirits. But you still might want to savor this sipping spirit. Why? There’s a huge demand for Amrut Whiskey and it may be hard to come by. So, if you get your hands on it, consider yourself quite fortunate.

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.