Okay, so you’ve made all twelve of your cocktails, impressed your friends/roommate/self with your newfound mixology skills, and now you have . . . a bunch of empty glass bottles. We’re all for recycling, but we often consider that a last resort if we can’t reuse the items in question first. Feel the same way, but don’t know what to do with your would-be upcyclables? Maybe we can help with a few suggestions:

(1) Upgrade your spice rack

If you keep all your spices out for easy access while cooking, consider upgrading how they’re displayed by swapping out the McCormick bottles for a more minimalist vibe. Our stickers come off pretty easily with a quick soak in hot water. This approach may also encourage you to buy in bulk in the future, which could ultimately be more cost effective in the long run.

You’re welcome.

(2) Send a message in a bottle

Handwriting is far too underrated these days, so consider creating a personalized note for someone—to accompany a gift, or just ’cause. Or, if you’re stranded on a desert island with nothing but our Rums of Origin Box and a bottle of The Real McCoy, this might aid in your rescue (but if someone came to get you, would you really want to leave?).

(3) Infuse your own olive oil

Regular oil and vinegar on your salad starting to get a little boring? Mix it up—literally—with spices, herbs, and other aromatics. Bon Appétit explains how you can get your own small batches of flavored oils started.

(4) Display your baking decorations

Maybe we’ve paid Magnolia Bakery one too many visits lately, but we think rainbow sprinkles and colorful sugars are far too pretty to hide away in your cabinets. If you want to show them off, our bottles may help you do just that.

(5) Build your own world

We appreciate any opportunity to bring the outside in, no matter how small. Enter: the tiny terrarium. All you need to create your own portable greenhouse of sorts in a now-empty bottle is a bit of moss, a few pebbles, some seeds (that won’t grow into anything big), and a liiiiittle bit of water. Bottle cap optional here, but if you top off your terrarium, remember to uncap it every so often to prevent mold growth. This simple tutorial may provide some inspiration.

(6) Create your own test kitchen

Maybe you’re feeling a little experimental? Depending on the context, we may be able to help with that. Our 1 and 2 oz bottles are perfect for testing out tincture and extract ideas.  Have some extra thyme left over from your CSA? Put in some everclear and—voila!—now you can add that flavor to any cocktail you want! Got any of our 4 oz bottles on hand? Why not make some small-batch infusions! We know you’ve been wondering exactly how many jalapeños would be perfect to spice up that tequila you have sitting around, so do some experiments and find out! Once you know what you like, you can scale up the proportions for a larger batch.

And for your other experimental desires, we’ve heard some interesting Tinder stories 😉