This month, we’re doing something a little different: by popular demand, we’ve revamped and are re-releasing one of our best-loved early boxes, created by the Shaker & Spoon team. Now that the summer’s heat is beginning to fully dissipate, we need something to replace it, and what better to do that than bourbon? Fire is a key element of the charred barrels in which bourbon is aged, and this month’s cocktails evoke that element with the heat of the sun’s rays (ripening our mountain berries), chili peppers (spicing up our old fashioned), and steaming tea (a vital component of our hot toddy).

So without further ado, it’s the Thank Goodness for Bourbon Box! Subscribe now through November 1st to get yours—it’ll ship the week of November 7th.

This box includes the Inca Berry Sour, a subscriber favorite. Starring South American Inca berries with bourbon, lemon juice, spiced demerara syrup, and Angostura bitters, it’s this month’s take on the whiskey sour. And the berries contain lots of vitamins A and C to help boost your immune system, which can help ward off an early winter cold!

Next is the Fire in Your Belly, made with bourbon, our house-made kukicha twig syrup, and Angostura bitters. We kick it up a notch with Bird’s Eye Chili extract for heat! This take on the old fashioned will warm you inside as the weather turns cold outside.

Once you’ve gotten cozy next to a roaring fire or curled up in your favorite chair, it’s time to try our Oolong Toddy, made with organic oolong tea. We add bourbon, our orange-ginger spice syrup, and cardamom bitters, then float a caramelized orange slice and anise star on the surface, taking the toddy to a whole new level.

And we have highly-regarded heavyweights of the whiskey world offering expert bourbon recommendations for this month. Larry Rice has been in the hospitality industry in Louisville, Kentucky, at all levels for over twenty years—bartending, consulting, and developing and executing bar programs, and also as a restaurateur, developing restaurant concepts with a heavy focus on their bar programs. He’s co-owner of one of the most talked-about whiskey bars, The Silver Dollar, which features well over 100 Kentucky whiskeys and is listed as one of the Top Ten Bourbon Bars by GQ Magazine. His recommendation for this month is Four Roses Single Barrel.

Jordan Felix is the Spirits Curator/Bar Manager of the Multnomah Whisk(e)y Library in Portland, Oregon. Its 1600+ bottle collection has been carefully assembled over the last three years; its bartenders and menus are able to speak to the production process and importance of each bottle. Jordan has led seminars at Golden State of Cocktails, been on panels for FEAST Festival, become a Kentucky Colonel, and is currently on the Board of Advisors for the award-winning website The Whiskey Wash. His recommendation for this month is Wild Turkey Russell’s Reserve 10 Year.

Alba Huerta has spent more than a third of her life behind the bar, having served classic cocktails at spots like Branch Water Tavern and Grand Prize Bar. In 2009, she joined the staff of Anvil Bar & Refuge, and less than two years later, she teamed up with Anvil’s co-owners to launch a mezcal-focused bar, the Pastry War. In August 2014, Alba opened the doors to her Southern-inspired cocktail bar, Julep, which focuses on bourbon drinks. Her recommendation for this month is Old Grand-Dad 114.

In the spirit of the season, we are also donating a portion of this month’s proceeds to charities of our bourbon experts’ choosing: the Boys & Girls Club of Portland, Kentucky Refugee Ministries, and Southern Foodways Alliance. We’re proud to support these fine organizations’ missions while making the season a bit warmer and brighter for you guys with this box!

We hope you can’t wait to try the Thank Goodness for Bourbon Box! And if you’d like to get generally acquainted with whiskey first, check out this write-up from a few months ago.

Warmest wishes,
The Shaker & Spoon Team