Top 50 innovative spirits launches of 2023: 40-31

A canned Bloody Mary and a British brandy all earned a place in the second chapter of our most innovative spirits launches list.

It was all change for the whisky industry in 2023 – Bruichladdich brought innovation to a traditional category with Islay’s first rye whisky, while Buffalo Trace experimented with peated malt.

Meanwhile, an award-winning bartender teamed up with a canned cocktail brand for a limited edition range.

Keep scrolling to see the second part of our top 50 innovative spirits launches of 2023, counting down from 40 to 31.

To view 50 to 41, click here.

40. Stranger & Sons Sherry Cask Gin

This gin from Indian brand Stranger & Sons blurs the line between spirit and cocktail. Aged in Amontillado and oloroso Sherry casks for more than a year, the gin is then infused with cascara and wild honey. Meant to mimic an Old Fashioned, it is recommended poured over ice, and comes with a grapefruit garnish spray.

39. Silver Circle Bloody Mary

Wales’s Silver Circle Distillery released a Bloody Mary packaged in a ‘tomato soup can’. Made from the producer’s Black Garlic Vodka, tomato juice, apple caramel, white shoyu, a dash of jalapeño, red pepper hot sauce, and vegan Worcestershire sauce, the drink comes with a playlist to complete the lazy-brunch feel.

38. Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged

Maker’s Mark has long skirted age statements, opting instead to bottle its whiskey based on taste rather than time. That changed with Cellar Aged, a cask strength blend of whiskeys aged 11 and 12 years. The annual limited release was an immediate hit.

37. Mr Lyan x Whitebox Cocktails

Award-winning bar owner Ryan Chetiyawardana teamed up with RTD brand Whitebox Cocktails for a limited line of 100ml cans that reflects his inventive style of drinks making. The collection includes a Beeswax Old Fashioned, Stonewashed Cosmo, and Bulletproof Espresso Martini.

36. Bruichladdich The Regeneration Project Islay Single Grain

In March Bruichladdich announced that it had created Islay’s first rye whisky. It is the third release in the brand’s Regeneration Project, and is made from 55% Islay-grown rye and 45% locally grown Islay malted barley.

35. Burnt Faith Charentais Distilled British Brandy

Burnt Faith, the first dedicated brandy distillery on the British Isles, opened in London in late March, housing the only Charentais pot still to have been imported into the UK. The inaugural release is made from four grape varieties: Trebbiano, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Muscat Blanc.

34. Midleton Very Rare Forêt de Tronçais

This whiskey from Midleton Very Rare’s line was brought about from a trip master distiller Kevin O’Gorman and his team took to the Tronçais forest in France, where they discovered the ‘rare and sought-after’ T5 oak casks. The casks were air dried for five years before being used.

33. Buffalo Trace Experimental Peated Bourbon

The 26th instalment in Buffalo Trace’s Experimental Collection saw the release of a ‘one-of-a-kind’ Bourbon made with peated malt. Peated malt is rare in American whiskey production, but the Kentucky distiller used it to add a ‘hint of smoke’ to the rye mash bill.

32. Clear Drop Rum

Clear Drop Rum was the inaugural product from UK-based distiller DropWorks, which used a world first distillation process – a cultivated three-strain symbiotic yeast – to create the rum. It has flavours of blueberries, vanilla ice cream, and banana.

31. Siempre Exclusivo-Vivo

To create this limited edition Tequila, Siempre turned to a ‘previously forgotten’ Hispanic-Peruvian open-air fermentation method. Juice extracted from the cooked and crushed piñas of the agave plant was distilled while the yeast was still alive.