BRANDY
HENNESSY The biggest house in Cognac is the biggest for a reason. The full range of age statements for a full range of budgets. For me, you cannot go wrong with the Fine de Cognac and XO expressions. Great value for money.
LA DIABLADA Pisco is a hugely unrecognised category and one worthy of exploration. I love La Diablada, as it combines fragrant, winey top notes with a kind of oily grape-must depth.
LAIRD’S When it comes to applejack, the options can seem a bit limited. Fortunately, that doesn’t matter too much, since brands like Laird’s taste downright delicious.
VODKA
BELVEDERE Poland is the producer of some of the world’s best vodkas and Belvedere is the flagship brand. Made from a base of rye, all of the spirits in the Belvedere range have a pleasant peppery spice to the them that manages to shine through in mixed drinks.
CHASE Potato vodka doesn’t sound great on paper, but it sure as hell tastes great in your mouth. Chase was one of the first of the recent glut of craft distilleries to open in the UK and has set the benchmark ever since. Expect to find characteristics of buttery mashed potato in its vodka.
VESTAL Another Polish brand, but this time sourced from single estates and bottled in vintages. This is brand, owned by Willy Borrell, is leading the charge for vodka with character.
GIN
PORTOBELLO ROAD The classic branding of Portobello Road is reflective of what’s in the bottle. Juicy juniper, subtle spice and fresh, herbal zing.
SIPSMITH A London Dry Gin produced in London, with powerful juniper aromatics, undiluted with neutral spirits – it’s rarer than you think, but Sipsmith has nailed it.
TANQUERAY There are about a million gin brands available in the world today (OK, that’s an exaggeration but there are a lot) so it’s sometimes difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. Tanqueray is one of the dependable pillars of the gin world, with its classic juniper-driven flavour profile made from just four botanicals.
WHISKY
BULLEIT BOURBON/RYE Bulleit’s hip flask-style bottle gives it the look of a brand that’s been around for centuries. It hasn’t, but that doesn’t get away from the fact that this is delicious bourbon whisky, with a high rye content mash bill that adds spice and depth to cocktails.
CRAIGELLACHIE This Speyside malt is one of my favourite whiskies to mix with. It has tropical fruit characteristics as well as a rich meatiness that really stands up well in cocktails, while being a damn fine drink by itself.
DEWAR’S Blended whisky is born to be mixed with, and few blends have the versatility of Dewar’s, which epitomises all those wonderful honeyed cereal and soft stone-fruit qualities that Scotch is famous for.
TEQUILA & MEZCAL
DON JULIO There’s enormous diversity in agave spirits, and I think the Don Julio range manages to encapsulate that, whether it’s the pepper and salinity of the blanco, the stewed-apple fragrance of the reposado or the green tomato zing of the añejo.
OCHO A brand owned by one of the biggest names in tequila – Tomas Estes. Some great single-estate options that highlight terroir in agave.
SANTO DE PIEDRA This mescal has plenty of stone-fruit notes that complement a more subtle smoke character than you find in most mescal. Looks nice too.