We’ve viewed enough of your posts in our dedicated Facebook community and elsewhere to officially call it like we see it: your tastes are top-notch and your skills are ever-expanding. So we thought we’d kick off the new year by inspiring a little extra customization with these three cocktails. 

For next month’s adventure, the choice is yours between three styles of whisk(e)y as a base and two different builds (either hot or cold) which, for the most expeditious imbibers, could lead to eighteen(!) potential combinations. All done with that math? Then onto the deliciousness!

But first, when it comes to following your whisk(e)y whims and picking up a bottle, it’s worth considering what your selection will bring to the featured recipes. The Irish style will impart a  stone fruit–reminiscent, faintly spiced quaff. Bourbon will bellow with dried fruit and vanilla notes and the smoky undertones of charred oak. And, finally, unpeated Scotch will sing of grain with an added taste of toasty, honeyed nuttiness.

Set out the What’ll It Be? Whisk(e)y! Box with your favorite style of whisk(e)y and ask yourself the all-important questions: Is a winter warmer what I’m after, or is a more customary and cooling sipper going to suit the night? And thanks to our three bartenders, not one but two riveting and seasonable recipes are coming your way for each cocktail. And what a tremendous whisk(e)y region- and temperature-traversing time it’ll be! Subscribe now through December 31st (while supplies last!) to get the What’ll It Be? Whisk(e)y! Box—it’s slated to ship the week of January 10th.

Inspired by a Gaelic river charmer, The Winter Water Sprite from Annie Pierce tempts with the rich, natural brown sugar–sweetness of dates and figs, with a magical finishing touch of anise-like fennel for good measure. Stir on ice and sit back with a sturdy sip of an old fashioned, or choose to warm it up and watch chamomile-infused whisk(e)y take flight on clouds of aromatic steam.

A nineteen-year veteran of the hospitality industry, Annie was the first woman to win Bombay Sapphire’s Most Imaginative Bartender Competition in 2018. The following year, she opened the Columbus, OH, cocktail haven Law Bird Bar with her husband, Luke.

If you’re wandering the trails out in the winter wild, be on the lookout and don’t miss the radiantly red Rough Diamond. For its rich color, Nicholas Hogan’s steamy toddy or frosty old fashioned relies on delicate rosehip and bold blackberries and currants for a soothing sensation of floral and fruity flavor. And the exploration of the outdoors continues with orange bitters and a hint of Douglas fir for a sipper most befitting of a snowy scene.

Nicholas Hogan is a bartender, a cofounder of Mover & Shaker Co (a bartending-apparel brand focused on life in the hospitality industry), and an Angel’s Envy Whiskey Guardian in Jacksonville, FL (his hometown), where he preaches the good word of bourbon and shoots cocktail photography.

After a night of pounding pints at all the hallowed haunts of the capital city of Ireland, you just might need a more restorative and peppy elixir to come into play. Perhaps something in the vein of the Penicillin cocktail—already a modern classic after having been first introduced only in the mid-2000s. Hitting many of those same bracing beats, Christopher Frierson’s Dublin After Dark hot toddy soothes as a warm mix of whisk(e)y, ginger-turmeric syrup, and fresh lemon, but then miraculously ramps up to enliven an evening when shaken with ice for a perky sour.

Hailing from Dallas, TX, Christopher is a long-standing barman who was raised in kitchens by his father, an executive chef. This shaped his approach behind the bar and, today, his passion has taken him from the Deep South to the West Coast and all points in between in search of the perfect cocktail.

Running hot? Keeping it cool? Well, you know the old saying: here toddy, cold tomorrow. So sign up today for the What’ll It Be? Whisk(e)y! Box and, with your preferred spirit out of our suggestions, you can valiantly veer toward any vibe of your choice!

🥃🌲🍯,
The Shaker & Spoon Team

*not vegan: ginger-turmeric syrup contains honey