The Surprising Return of High-Proof Spirits

"If you just read the headlines, you'd think everyone was running scared of alcohol; that there was only one way for drink's strength to head - and that was down. But rather counter-intuitively, high-proof spirits are also on the up - not just in whisky (which has a tradition of cask-strength bottlings) but also gin, rum, and tequila. Take the new British luxury gin Aureus Vita - it's bottled at 123.6 proof/61.8 percent abv, which is several degrees higher than most Navy Strength gins."

"The Botanist gin - which is made by Islay's Bruichladdich distillery - recently launched a 100 proof/50 percent abv spin-off, The Botanist Distiller's Strength, which offers an amped-up, but still extremely elegant, platform for its 22 foraged botanicals. "I was inspired by Bruichladdich Distillery's long practiced art of bottling whisky at 50% abv," says head distiller Adam Hannett, "and at this strength, flavorful oils from distillation are enhanced, the viscosity is richer, and it's this richness that carries the flavor of the spirit.""

"Some more high-end aged sipping rums have been upping their proof as well, in a bid to position themselves more like a single malt whisky. The excellent Exception Cask Selection series from Foursquare in Barbados often features cask-strength and high-strength editions around the 120 proof (60 percent abv) mark. American whiskey has also been hitting the heights. Woodford Reserve recently released its strongest whisky to date, Woodford Reserve Distillery Series Chocolate Whisper Redux which is bottled at a whopping 139.4 proof"

High-proof spirits are gaining prominence across multiple categories, not just whisky. New luxury gins like Aureus Vita are bottled at very high ABV (61.8 percent) and positioned as premium products with distinctive design inspirations such as the Golden Ratio. Distilleries are releasing stronger variants of established gins, exemplified by The Botanist Distiller's Strength at 50 percent, where higher ABV enhances flavorful oils and viscosity. Premium rums are appearing in cask-strength editions around 120 proof, and American whiskey is seeing record-high releases such as a Woodford Reserve expression bottled at 139.4 proof.

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