The spirits and beverage industry is being disrupted just like the payments and financial world. Craft beers have displaced Bud and Miller. Craft distilleries are doing the same with tequila, vodka, rum, and other hard spirits. And of course, boutique wineries have thrived for years as new consumers come of age.
One of the most enjoyable things about the holiday season is celebrating with family and friends. To help you enjoy the season, we’re sharing 10 new spirits borrowed from our friends at CB Insights and their list of 95 brands disrupting the beverage industry.
The list is fascinating because these beverage makers are truly exploring new beverage boundaries from craft mezcal and cannabis-infused tonic to canned wine and hard seltzer. We’ve also got a craft beer brewed from bread, a hard tea, and a non-alcoholic suggestion to lift your spirits as well. So, read along with us, enjoy our holiday spirit picks, and find something interesting as a last-minute gift or treat for Santa Claus.
Mezcal El Silencio
Mezcal El Silencio will help you enjoy the sounds of silence over the holidays. While tequila is a mezcal, mezcal is not tequila and is produced from a different Agave and also distilled and aged differently for its own unique taste. It is produced in Oaxaca, Mexico in small batches following the traditional process carried on by generations of Mezcaleros using hand-picked Agaves that are roasted, crushed and then double-distilled resulting in a subtle smoke and citrus aroma with a full-bodied fig and sweet potato flavor and a charred, stone fruit, spicy finish. Read more…
Real McCoy Rum
Real McCoy Rum is named after famed American rum-runner Bill McCoy who transported rum from the Caribbean to sell it three miles offshore of New York during Prohibition. It is unadulterated – no added sugars, flavors or perfumes – and uses only the finest blackstrap molasses and pure spring water. Its rums are small-batch single-distilled in an artisan combination of copper column and pot stills, then authentically aged in heavy char American Oak bourbon barrels for a full three, five or 12 years. With a smooth, buttery oak and dark chocolate nose and finished with a peppery spice and hint of smoke, this rum is the Real McCoy. Read more…
Broken Shed Vodka
It started with two American ex-pats sitting in a broken shed on the banks of Lake Wanaka, dreaming of making the world’s best vodka inspired by the mountains and sparkling valleys, glassy fjords, and bubbling springs of New Zealand. Broken Shed Vodka is crafted from a blend of two of New Zealand’s purest waters with natural protein whey that is distilled three times. Broken Shed Vodka wins praise from Wine Enthusiast who calls it “smooth, clean, sweet and surprisingly full-bodied for a vodka, featuring light vanilla and anise notes.” Is there anything cooler for Christmas than vodka on ice or a cranberry martini? Read more…
Golden Moon Gin
Distilled using the finest herbs, spices, and botanicals available, Golden Moon Gin includes wild-crafted mint and juniper berries, and locally grown herbs and botanicals from the Front Range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains near Golden, Colorado. Compared to other artisan gins, Golden Moon is unique and distinctive with a floral aroma and a gentle refined taste smooth enough to drink neat and bold enough to mix well with other spirits. And isn’t mixing well what the Christmas spirits are all about? Read more…
Kleos Mastiha
Mastiha is a liqueur distilled and crafted using the resin secreted from the trunk and branches of the Mastiha or Skinos tree and found only in 24 small villages on the southeastern side of the Greek island of Chios. Mastiha is produced by Greece’s only female distiller Maroussa Tsachaki and founder Effie Panagopoulos. Kleos Mastiha has a floral bouquet with eucalyptus aromas and tasting notes of cucumber, mint, and sweet tea and is most often enjoyed neat, on ice and with a twist of lemon. Talk about the craft of Christmas. Read more…
Two Robbers Hard Seltzer
Two Robbers crafts light and refreshing hard seltzers at its distillery in Philadelphia where it produces its hard seltzers with sparkling water, alcohol distilled from cane sugar, and real fruit flavors. Two Robbers hard seltzers contain no sugar, no sweeteners and no concentrates used in other seltzers. Can we suggest the Pineapple with Ginger with its tropical pineapple notes and subtle ginger kick as the perfect way to spice up your holiday dinner? Read more…
Toast Ale
Toast Ale is on a mission to save the world and reduce food waste by brewing its cheeky ales with waste bread. Did you know that 44% of the bread produced is wasted in the UK? Toast Ale has now saved more than one million slices of bread on the way to producing one of the UK’s more popular craft ales. It sends the spent grain after brewing to a nearby farm for animal food and soil nutrients, uses recycled kegs, and uses recycled glass for its bottles. Toast Ale brews a traditional bright, malty Pale Ale, a zesty American Pale Ale, a citrusy, hoppy IPA, and a crisp, refreshing Craft Lager and is available in the US so hop to it. Read more…
Flying Embers Hard Kombucha
Flying Embers Hard Kombucha is a sparkling probiotic tea, hand-crafted with an adaptogen root blend of Ashwagandha, Turmeric, Ginger, and Astragalus. The dry fermentation process gives Flying Embers’ Hard Kombucha a perfectly balanced natural sweetness with zero sugar. Adaptogen herbs are thought to provide an energy-enhancing and stress-relieving effect so how better to relieve the stress of holiday shopping than with a glass of iced Hard Kombucha? Santa is bound to enjoy this tea. Read more…
SOCIAL Sparkling Wine
SOCIAL Sparkling Wine is a certified-organic, 88-calorie, gluten-free sparkling wine blended with extracts and flower essences. SOCIAL was founded by entrepreneur Leah Caplanis who was determined to create “a truly clean beverage with both flavor and health benefits” after a cancer diagnosis. She beat her cancer and the result is a festive collection of canned sparkling wines with flavors including Elderflower Apple, Strawberry Rose, Pink Grapefruit Ginger, Hibiscus Cucumber, and Toasted Coconut Almond. This should bring new meaning to happy holidays and being social. Read more…
STRYYK Spirits
UK-based STRYYK Spirits has created spirits designed to taste just like their alcoholic counterparts so you can celebrate alcohol-free without resorting to sugary, high-calorie, unfashionable mocktails. May we suggest STRYYK Not Vodka, made from a combination of cucumber, apple, and coriander; STRYYK Not Gin made with juniper, basil, and Rosemary; or STRYYK Not Rum made from a combination of cloves, Oakwood and grapefruit? If you want to celebrate all the spirit, with none of the alcohol, STRYKK Spirits may be just perfect under the Christmas tree. Read more…
That’s a wrap for us until the New Year and we’ve got last-minute Christmas shopping to finish and payments to make. We’ve enjoyed your many story suggestions, article contributions, and insights into the global payments industry this past year. From all of us at Payments NEXT, we wish you many happy returns, happy holidays, and lively celebrations with families and friends. Cheers!
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