Hijos De Villa Pistol Reposado Tequila

Imagine for a second taking your favorite shot of tequila from a shot glass. Now imagine someone actually shooting a shot of tequila into your mouth with a glass tequila pistol. That dream almost becomes a reality with Hijo De Villa Pistol Reposado Tequila. Although it’s bottle is shaped like a pistol, it doesn’t actually shoot the tequila like a pistol. You still need to pour it into a shot glass. It’s still is a nice conversation starter and collectible for any serious tequila collector.

Buy the Hijos De Villa Pistol Reposado Tequila from Napa Cabs for $28.95.

Crystal Head Vodka

Crystal Head Vodka was first introduced a little over a year ago by comedian extraordinaire, Dan Aykroyd. The human skull packaging was designed by Long Island based designer, John Alexander. The Crystal Head is an obvious tribute to the 13 Crystal Skulls that are thought to be found in various locations around the world.

“This Pure Spirit, vodka triple filtered through polished crystals known as Herkimer diamonds, free of additives, is exquisite any time of the year but perhaps ideal for October. Brought to us by Dan Aykroyd, known for his fascination with the invisible world, Crystal Head Vodka ties in with the story of the 13 Crystal Heads that have been unearthed at various times on our planet… from the Yucatan to Tibet. The Heads are believed to emit positive energy, good will and prosperity. Crystal Head Vodka is perfect as a lone shot, chilled or served in signature cocktails. Unlike most vodkas in today’s marketplace that use additives, glycol, citrus and sugar to improve smoothness and flavor, Crystal Head Vodka is a pure spirit with no additives. It is quadrupled distilled and filtered three times through charcoal followed by triple filtration over Herkimer crystals from one of the planets rarest deposits of close concentrated semi-precious stones.”

Buy Crystal Head Vodka from Napa Cabs for $44.95.

Hudson Manhattan Rye Whiskey

The unique packaging for this bottle of whiskey makes it look as if it is coming to you straight from the period of prohibition. This whiskey is pot distilled from rye grain and features 46% alcohol. Live in New York? Do me a favor and visit Tuthilltown Spirits and ship me a bottle.

“Until Prohibition New York was known for its rye whiskey. This feisty spirit was the basis for the legendary Manhattan cocktail, made famous by Jenny Churchill (Winston’s Mum). Rye had not been produced in New York for over 80 years, but Tuthilltown Spirits’ Hudson Manhattan Rye Whiskey signals the return of the quintessential New York Whiskey. Our rye is made from whole grain rye one batch at a time. It is not the blended rye whiskey your parents used to mix with soda. This is honest rye whiskey. Hudson Manhattan Rye Whiskey is bottled at 92 proof. It is fruity, floral and smooth, with a recognizable rye edge that leaves no doubt the origin of the spirit. Each bottle is hand filled, capped, waxed and numbered. Enjoy the return of this classic American spirit.”

Karlsson’s Vodka

The bottles for the Karlsson’s Vodka line is a thing of beauty and it should be since Karlsson’s collaborated with the man behind the svelte Absolut bottle.

“To ensure this new and unique concept for vodkas was presented in a relevant and appropriate way, Peter Ekelund contacted another old partner from the Absolut launch: Hans Brindfors, the key person behind the Absolut bottle. Mr Brindfors created a new unique package for the Karlsson’s vodka, based on a standard laboratory bottle. This unique design drives the focus to what is inside the bottle rather than to the bottle itself (a bold move for a designer).”

The packaging alone begs me to have a taste of of this vodka made of potatoes and cultivated at the Bjäre peninsula in Skåne, Sweden. Sexy.

Buy Karlsson’s Gold Vodka from K&L for $27.99.

Pipe Wrench

The Pipe Wrench adds a lot of kick to your IPA of choice. The cocktail was first introduced by New Jersey based Triumph Brewing Company and they suggest using a Triumph Bengal Gold IPA along with either either Bombay Sapphire or OId Raj Gin.

1 bottle Indian Pale Ale (IPA) of your choice

3 oz. Gin

Pour IPA into a pint glass. Add gin. Drink and enjoy!

Bakon Vodka

I’m used to seeing fruity flavored Vodka on the supermarket shelf, but I’ve never seen a vodka flavored with bacon. You heard me right, bacon! That savory food item that usually goes well with over easy eggs now can be found bottled in liquid form as vodka! This potato vodka from Seattle based Black Rock Spirits is sure to be a conversation starter at your next cocktail party. Bakon Vodka is available only in a limited number of states (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and New York) but you can purchase it online (see below).

“Bakon Vodka is a superior quality potato vodka with a savory bacon flavor. It’s clean, crisp, and delicious. This is the only vodka you’ll ever want to use to make a Bloody Mary, and it’s a complementary element of both sweet and savory drinks. We start with superior quality Idaho potatoes instead of the random mixed grains that make up most vodkas. Our vodka is column-distilled using a single heating process that doesn’t “bruise” the alcohol like the multiple heating cycles needed to make a typical pot-still vodka. No tinge or burn on the tongue, no obnoxious smoky or chemical flavors, just a clean refreshing potato vodka with delicious savory bacon flavor.”

Buy Bakon Vodka from DrinkUpNY for $29.99 (back in stock around November 20).

Whisky Collector Victim of Theft

Now here’s a sad story. According to Whisky Intelligence, a Dutch Whisky Collector had his 183 bottle whisky collection stolen from a storage house. The conspiracy theorist in me wants to think it’s an inside job – someone the guy knew must have been involved. An envious friend, perhaps? Of maybe a competing collector? To view a full list of his Whisky Collection, check out Whisky Intelligence. In any case, here’s a letter he wrote to the whisky community:

Dear Friends,

Unfortunately I have to tell you that a part of my collection has been stolen. 183 bottles from my box in the storage house were I stored most off the total collection were gone when I visited this place last weekend.

I spent a lot of time at the police office to report everything last Sunday and had some serious discussions with my insurence compagny this week.

Emotional I went through a mental rollar coaster for a few days, but am fine again at the moment. Because there are no signs of violence visable towards the box a rent, the insurance compagny for the moment refused to cover the financial damage.

There are some extreme rare bottles gone that will be very hard to find ever again, and of course some bottles that are easy to replace (when I want to, which I very much doubt at the moment).

Underneath the most valuable or rare bottle that are gone. The most painfull (emotionally) for me is the lost of the 4 local barley bottles as I was under the impression that I had the complete collection. Two of them (cask 509 and 496) were only released in Taiwan. It took quite some years to find them.

Please be so kind to inform me when you see one of the bottles somewere. Besides I would be very greatfull if you would be able to help me to replace the local barley bottles.

Hope my next mail will have a more positive message again.

Kind regards,

Michiel Wigman

Ocean Vodka

Ocean Vodka is not your typical vodka. It’s handcrafted on Maui in small batches at the family facility in Kahului, Maui. It’s a combination of MaHaLo Deep Sea Water and organic spirits. The water used in this vodka comes from 3,000 feet below the Pacific Ocean. Ocean Vodka is 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof) and is bottled in 750ml and 50ml sizes.

Buy Ocean Vodka from A Cork Above for $58 (750ml).