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Did you know when you buy your favorite spirits, more often than not you're paying for water? That's because when spirits are ready to be bottled, they're usually more alcoholic than the 80-86 proof (also known as 40-43% alcohol) popular with most drinkers today, so they need a little H20 to tone them down. Frankly, this is rather bogus. If you want your liquor in its pristine, unadulterated, straight-from-the-barrel high-proof form—where you get to decide how much water to add or not add—look no further than these ten tasty and powerful spirits, all of them more than 55% alcohol. In a few cases, a lot more. The phrase "liquor is quicker" has never seemed more apt.
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10. Jade Edouard Absinthe
Potency: 144 proof
Before the 90-year American ban on absinthe was lifted in 2007, Jade Liqueurs absinthes—made in France by New Orleanian scientist-turned-spirits geek Ted Breaux—literally had to be smuggled into the States. Of course, this only added to the thrill of drinking something that was supposed to turn you into a hallucinating psychopath, which is why it was banned in the first place. This absinthe contains only trace amounts of thujone, the chemical which was thought to induce hallucinations, but don't worry—at more than 70% alcohol, you'd pass out before you could go on a murderous rampage anyway. Absinthe needs to be diluted in water through a slow and, frankly, sexy process called louching: the water is dripped slowly through a slotted spoon with a sugarcube on top, which turns the absinthe opaque, then cloudy. It's a pungent herbal liqueur with strong notes of anise and fennel. And this brand is modeled on the stuff the French painters drank back at the turn of the 20th century. Tres sexy, indeed.
9. Angel's Envy Cask Strength Bourbon
Potency: 123 proof
Angel's Envy is the brainchild of legendary distiller Lincoln Henderson, who came out of retirement to craft this port pipe-finished beauty a few years ago. It'd be an amazing bourbon without the port finishing, but those rich, dark-fruit flavors take it to a whole 'nother level, and make it instantly distinctive from any other bourbon. The second, limited edition batch of Cask Strength is Henderson's final legacy; he died in September, just before it hit at retail. And what a legacy it is. Without any water added before bottling, it's like standard Angel's Envy, only bigger, rounder, fuller, and more intense. Only 350 cases of Cask Strength are going on the market, and you should run, skip, bike, hitch—do whatever it takes, just get a bottle before it's gone.
8. Smith & Cross Navy Strength Rum
Potency: 114 proof
Smith & Cross have been in the rum biz since 1788, so they obviously know what they're doing. And this being a 100% pot-distilled rum (pot stills are the more complicated but more flavorful method of distilling than more modern column stills), it's totally old-school in practice as well. But the proof is in the drinking. For all that high-proofiness it's beautifully balanced, with oodles of molasses as well as banana and pineapple notes, plus a fair amount of alcoholic heat. It's a put-the-hair-on-your-chest kind of rum if drunk neat (we recommend adding a bit of water). In a cocktail, its pleasures are still sublime, but its power is a little more stealthy.
7. Old Potrero 18th Century Style Rye Whiskey
Potency: 126 proof
This stuff isn't your father's rye whiskey. But it may have been your great-great-great-great grandfather's. Back in the day when ballers like George Washington distilled rye, the process was much different. Rye whiskey was made from 100% bold n' spicy rye, not the rye-corn-barley hybrid most ryes employ today. It wasn't aged as long, which meant the finished product was a little more raw and untamed. Even the barrels used for aging were treated differently, giving a different flavor profile. Old Potrero is proudly made in the colonial style, and it's sure to overwhelm a lot of amateur drinkers even without the enormous alcohol content. But if you can get past the alcohol's whomp, you'll find a hell of a whiskey. It's got a huge rye flavor, dry and grainy and spicy, with earthy, grassy notes balanced out by just a hint of sweet nougat. It's booze like this that gave the Founding Fathers the guts to tell the British to shove it.
6. Laphroaig 10 Year Old Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Potency: 112 proof
You've tried the blends—Johnnie Walker, Dewar's, and the like. You've tried some single malts—Glenfiddich, Macallan, Glenlivet. But you have not tasted the serious Scotch shizz until you've checked out the brands made on the remote island of Islay. And for a lot of whiskyphiles, the illest of the Islay is Laphroaig. This is a monster of a whisky, carpet-bombing your taste buds with the smoke and peat flavors for which Islay malts are known. You'll also get hints of salty sea air and iodine, since Laphroaig is distilled by the seaside. This stuff isn't for everyone. But if you've got the palate to appreciate greatness in all its forms, Laphroaig is for you.
5. Redbreast 12 Year Old Cask Strength Irish Whiskey
Potency: 115 proof
Irish whiskey is generally regarded as "easier" than Scotch—which to Scotch whisky snobs means it's more boring. But this baby puts lie to the myth. A single pot still whiskey which contains both malted and unmalted barley (Scotch only has malted), Redbreast 12 has a rich, fruity nose and a big mouthful of flavor that changes from wood to dark berries to spice to cereal with each sip. It's complex, it's challenging, and it's fantastic. It's also got a lot of alcohol, but it doesn't overwhelm by any stretch. Irish whiskey is the fastest growing fastest growing spirits category in America, and this is one of the best you can buy, if not the best.
4. Michter's 20 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon
Potency: 123 proof
Each batch of Michter's is, as the name indicates, taken from a single barrel (each barrel only holds about 300 bottles), so the proof and the flavor will vary slightly from batch to batch. But based on the bottle I tried, this is a sweet and lovely bourbon, with oodles of brown sugar and toffee yielding to cinnamon and pepper notes mid-palate. The finish is dry and lingering, with a slight caramel aftertaste. Oddly enough, the 20-year-old tastes less woody than Michter's 10-year-old despite having spent twice as long aging in wood. Yeah, it's got a lot of heat, but for the faint of heart and weak of liver, it's nothing that a little water won't cure. What is necessary is a fistful of dollars; this is a genuinely great bourbon, but it'll run you about $450.
3. Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum
Potency: 125.6 proof
In Jamaica, where they know a thing or two about rum (to say nothing of ganja), Wray & Nephew Overproof is far and away the best-selling rum on the island. What's more, it was one of the rums used in the original Mai Tai made by Trader Vic himself. In fact, it's a staple in tiki drinks the world over. Why? Because it's a delicious and flavorful—one of the rare white rums worth drinking neat— that will also knock you on your ass quickly and efficiently. In a colorful, umbrella-laden cocktail its notes of tropical fruit and spice kick the whole drink to another level, while sipped neat (if you dare) you can also detect notes of wood and a slightly funky earthiness. A classic.
2. Plymouth Navy Strength Gin
Potency: 114 proof
Plymouth is one of the best gins around, a little softer than traditional London Drys but with the juniper flavor still dominant, unlike many of the ginny-come-latelies which might as well be flavored vodkas. "Navy Strength" refers to—you guessed it—the stuff British sailors got back in the day when sailors were still given daily rations of booze. 114 proof means that you can spill it on gunpowder and it'll still ignite. Navy Strength is still recognizably Plymouth, although the citrus flavors come a little more to the fore with the added alcohol. It's quite drinkable on its own, but don't use it in a martini unless you have some kind of death wish. It works best in cocktails like the Negroni or Aviation, standing out where standard 80-86 proof gins could get subsumed by the other flavors.
1. Booker's Bourbon
Potency: 130 proof
Believe it or not, the idea of small-batch bourbon—making each batch of bourbon from a limited number of select barrels—didn't exist until the 1980s. The genius who came up with it was Booker Noe, Jim Beam's master distiller and the father of current Beam distiller Fred Noe. Booker's was made only for friends of the distillery at first, but Noe soon decided it was too good to keep a secret, and the world of American whiskey has never been the same. Booker's isn't just worth trying for its historical significance. It's a simple, no-nonsense bourbon, with big notes of vanilla and brown sugar and hints of maple and cinnamon, with a pinch of leather and smoke on the finish. Booker himself recommended adding a little distilled water, but it's surprisingly drinkable straight for a whiskey that's damn near 2/3 alcohol.