Top 50 most innovative spirits of 2025: 40-31
In this tranche of our 50 most innovative spirits of 2025 list, you'll find a few ingredients not typically used in the industry.
Yesterday (5 January), we revealed the first group of spirits to land in our annual top 50 spirits launches of the year. Today, we're unveiling the products that claimed a spot in the 40-31 countdown, and its as eclectic as a hotel breakfast buffet.40. Crown Royal Chocolate
Bringing an indulgent twist to the Canadian whisky category in August was Crown Royal. The brand’s chocolate-flavoured whisky is recommended served in cocktails such as an Old Fashioned, Espresso Martini, or Coquito. The flavoured variant sits at 35% ABV.
39. Amber Lane Rue de la Chartreuse
From Australia, Amber Lane’s Rue de la Chartreuse took whisky and finished it in a 225-litre yellow Chartreuse cask for seven months. The 46% ABV whisky is a “five-year labour of love”, said Amber Lane co-owner Rod Berry, and is thought to be a first for the category.
38. For the Dolls
The significant meaning behind For the Dolls Scotch whisky could not go unnoticed in this year’s innovative compilation. Whisky writer Kristiane Westray teamed up with London’s Milroy’s of Soho to bottle For the Dolls – a 13-year-old Dailuaine single malt – with all proceeds to be donated to trans+ charity Not A Phase. It aimed to raise awareness of the challenges faced by the trans+ community in the UK. The Scotch sits at 54.2% ABV.
37. Père Magloire Martinique Rhum Cask Finish
To make this cuvée, Père Magloire Calvados XO, which spends nine years in French oak barrels in Normandy, France, is filled into 200-litre American oak barrels that previously held agricole rum from Martinique for five years. The resultant Calvados is then bottled without chill filtration at 45% ABV.
36. Diistil Gravy
The perfect accompaniment to your roast dinner? Perhaps… Created by on-demand distillery Diistil, this unique flavoured distillate has rich, savoury umami and herbaceous notes. The liquid was distilled at a low temperature to impart savoury and herbal flavours, while remaining clear in colour. It is bottled at 37.5% ABV.
35. Woven Experience N.22 Pastures New
Thought to be the inaugural 100% English blend, this bottling from Woven comprises liquid from six distilleries: Cotswolds Distillery, White Peak, Cooper King Distillery, Copper Rivet, Fielden, and Adnams. At 49.1% ABV, the all-English blend boasts tastes of hedgerow fruits, herbal notes, malty cereal, chocolate, leather and honey.
34. Apologue Carrot Liqueur
Carrot is not a common liqueur flavour, but we enjoyed seeing Chicago-based Apologue expand its portfolio with this autumnal expression. Apologue Carrot was crafted with locally grown Nichols Farm carrots, baking spices and citrus peel.
33. Fettercairn – The Vanguard Series
Highland distillery Fettercairn explored how people experience flavour through the senses, inspired by master whisky maker Gregg Glass’s synaesthetic ability to ‘taste in colour’. The three-year series kicked off with a rare 29-year-old whisky and a no-age-statement expression.
32. The Heart Cut #18 and #19
The Heart Cut launched two whiskies from New Zealand – the first time an independent bottler has bottled and distributed whiskies from the country outside of its home market. For #18 (50.8% ABV) Thomson Distillery smoked the malt with manuka wood. For #19 (51.5% ABV), a Pinot Noir cask-aged whisky from Westbrook Winery was chosen.
31. Kurokabegura New Make Spirit
Last year Takara Shuzo International gave curious drinkers an inkling of what’s to come from Kurakabegura Distillery in Miyazaki, Japan. Bottled at 63% ABV, the spirit is described as having a rich, sweet aroma, with notes of raisins, banana, honey, and malt on the palate.
