Bevvy

Drinking holidays are a wonderful thing. For some, they’re a great excuse to have a couple of cocktails after work, and for those of us who are well beyond that sort of pretense, they usually mean that there’ll be a whole new gaggle of friends joining us at the bar.

Tequila Ocho has always believed that terroir exists in spirits just as it does in wine. Since 2008, Ocho—the original single-field, single-estate tequila—has harvested dozens of single fields of blue Weber agave from the highlands of Jalisco. Ocho is still a single estate tequila, but now it’s taking things further by showcasing agave from more regions within Tequila’s Denomination of Origin.

Agave spirits have a way of pulling people in. Maybe it starts with a great Margarita at a friend’s house or a smoky mezcal sipped neat at the end of a long night. Before you know it, you’re standing in a liquor store staring at a wall of bottles, wondering where to even begin. Before diving into what bottles to buy, it’s crucial to understand what makes tequila and mezcal unique.

Today, Old Forester released its new Prohibition Era Still Proof Bourbon. The release date (December 5) falls on Repeal Day, the historic day in 1933 that national Prohibition ended. This limited-edition bourbon pays homage to Old Forester’s past as one of the few distilleries legally permitted to produce whiskey for medicinal purposes during Prohibition.

San Francisco is a great cocktail town, with classic and creative drinks available at bars and restaurants across the city. That’s not changing, but now drinkers can really dial into one specific cocktail: the Martini. The San Francisco Travel Association just unveiled The San Francisco Martini Trail, a curated guide that highlights 23 San Francisco bars serving standout Martinis. Its exact origin and birthdate may be disputed, but the few drinks are more celebrated than the Martini.

The Tennessee Whiskey Trail launched in 2017, an effort by the Tennessee Distillers Guild to celebrate the state and its signature spirit, and today it has more than 30 stops. Twelve of those distillers, including Jack Daniel’s, Company Distilling, Nashville Barrel Co., and Old Glory Distilling, recently banded together to create a unique 12-barrel blend featuring whiskeys from across the state. Each barrel was aged for a minimum of four years.

Angel’s Envy is preparing to launch its first ever age-stated release. Angel’s Envy 10 Cask Strength spent a cumulative decade in new American oak barrels and port wine barrels, and now it’s ready for its debut. The new bourbon will launch nationwide on October 10. Angels Envy 10 Cask Strength was developed by Master Distiller Owen Martin and bottled at 122.6 proof, making this expression one of the brand’s highest ABV releases to date.

WhistlePig is no stranger to unique whiskeys. The brand’s annual Boss Hog expressions are always coveted releases, and other bottles feature rare finishes or extra time in barrels. The BigShǝBàng is the latest extra-aged release from WhistlePig, and it’s “aged longer than any other N. American single malt,” according to the brand.

Laphroaig recently launched the 2025 edition of its annual Càirdeas release. This year’s bottle is Lore Cask Strength, an update to the classic Lore expression, which has always been a fan favorite. Now you can experience it straight out of the cask at 59.6% ABV. Lore Cask Strength is a complex blend of single malts that have aged in five distinct casks, including ex-bourbon, European oak, Oloroso sherry barrels, and quarter casks.

Old Grand-Dad is back with its annual release of 7-Year-Old Bonded Bourbon. Each year, this Kentucky Straight bourbon whiskey is produced from a single distillation season in accordance with the Bottled-In-Bond Act, which also stipulates that a spirit must be produced in the U.S., aged in a federally bonded warehouse for at least four years, and bottled at 100 proof.