The Best Celebrity Alcohol Brands of 2023

Best Overall

Lagavulin 11 Year Old Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Offerman Edition

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Fans of “Parks and Rec” know that Nick Offerman’s character Ron Swanson is a scotch whisky fanatic. In a case of life imitating art (or vice versa,) Offerman’s favorite bottle of scotch happens to be the same as his character’s: Lagavulin 16. After Lagavulin was featured prominently in the show multiple times, Offerman and others involved with the show got in touch with the distillery and after filming at the Lagavulin distillery, this collaboration was born.

Lagavulin is one of the oldest and most beloved distilleries on the island of Islay off the western coast of Scotland. The island is best known for its smoky, peated scotches and Lagavulin produces some of the best whiskies in that region.

The Lagavulin Offerman Edition is a special annual release of an 11-year aged expression of their signature Islay single malt finished in charred casks. “I constantly look forward to Lagavulin special releases,” says DiMonriva. “They’re consistently spectacular.” This specific release has a nice smoky, briny nose tempered by soft notes of dark chocolate and toasty grain. This outstanding bottle is a must-have for any fan of peated whiskies or Parks and Rec.

Price at the time of publish: $92

Style: Peated single malt whisky | Region: Islay, Scotland | Proof: 92

Best Bourbon

Wild Turkey Longbranch Bourbon Whiskey

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Longbranch is the result of the collaboration between actor Matthew McConaughey and Wild Turkey’s second-generation master distiller, Eddie Russell. In the bourbon community, the Russell family and Wild Turkey distillery are renowned for their tradition and dedication to making excellent whiskey. “They know what they’re doing, It’s Wild Turkey,” says DiMonriva.

Known for its high-proof, no-holds-barred, Wild Turkey 101, Longbranch offers a slightly different profile than the distillery’s flagship offerings. After it’s distilled, this straight bourbon is then filtered with mesquite charcoal from McConaughey’s native Texas. Because of that, the bottle has a light, sweet, approachable flavor profile, with familiar notes of caramel and vanilla and just a wisp of mesquite smoke on the mid-palate.

Price at the time of publish: $40

Style: Straight Bourbon whiskey | Region: Lawrenceburg, Kentucky | Proof: 86

Best Rye Whiskey

Blackened Rye the Lightning Whiskey

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When thrash metal titans, Metallica was touring constantly during their rise to the top of the metal scene, their hard-partying ways notoriously earned them the nickname “Alcoholica.” They may have left their wild days a few decades in the past, but there’s no denying that Metallica and rye whiskey are still a perfect match. Enter Blackened whiskey.

“There’s a lot of weight behind Blackened because of the distillers involved,” says DiMonriva. When starting the brand, Metallica reached out to whiskey distilling legend Dave Pickerell to help get their Blackened brand off the ground. Pickerell tragically passed away shortly after the brand launched, but he helped set them on course. Pickerell collaborated with the band to create their proprietary method in which playlists of Metallica songs are blasted at the whiskey barrels during the aging process. This vibrates the liquid and accelerates the aging process by agitating the whiskey in the barrel.

With this year’s Rye The Lightning release, current master distiller Rob Dietrich has crafted an outstanding rye that both fans of Metallica and of fine whiskey can appreciate. It’s double-finished in both rum and Madeira casks, giving the whiskey a fruity complexity to accompany the spicy rye. The name also alludes to Metallica’s 1984 classic album “Ride The Lightning,” which was fittingly played in the rickhouse to give this whiskey an extra jolt. 

Price at the time of publish: $63-$90

Style: Rye Whiskey | Region: Mineville, New York | Proof: 90

Best Vodka

Crystal Head Onyx Blue Weber Agave Vodka

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When Crystal Head vodka first hit liquor stores, its striking skull-shaped bottle was hard to ignore. The design, by artist John Alexander, alludes to the crystal skulls—a series of skull-shaped artifacts carved from quartz that allegedly had paranormal powers, making this brand the perfect fit for spokesperson and Ghostbusters star Dan Aykroyd.

To produce a vodka with a slightly different character, the Crystal Head Onyx expression is distilled from Blue Weber agave, the same species that tequila is made from. “Up front, it’s a bit on the sweeter side,” says bartender and content creator Saeed “Hawk” House. “It’s great for cocktails.” After that initial hint of sweetness, the flavor palate is crisp and crystal clear—exactly what vodka drinkers want and expect.

Price at the time of publish: $60-$70

Style: Vodka distilled from agave | Region: Canada | Proof: 90

Best Tequila

Código 1530 Blanco Still Strength Estate Harvest

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Tequila is the fastest-growing category of spirits right now and celebrities have taken notice. It feels like every week a new celebrity-endorsed tequila brand pops up. It’s easy to look at this trend and feel cynical, so when a tequila brand like country music legend George Strait’s Codigo 1530 does things the right way, it’s a big deal.

“Codigo 1530 is an example that you can think outside of the box while respecting the culture, the country, and the soil responsible for Tequila,” says content creator and agave spirits educator Lucas Assis. Strait is a big deal in the country music world, but as co-founder of the brand, he chose to let Codigo 1530’s team of producers in Mexico take center stage while he watches from the back.

Their aged expressions are what Codigo 1530 is best known for, but the Still Strength Blanco expression is a fantastic high-proof unaged tequila that showcases agave spirits at their best. It’s fermented in cabernet wine barrels, giving it a unique agave-forward, buttery flavor profile with hints of maple and vanilla. Even at 90 proof, this bottle is an easy sipper.

Price at the time of publish: $75

Style: Blanco Tequila | Region: Jalisco, Mexico | Proof: 90

Best Mezcal

Dos Hombres Mezcal Artesanal

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When friends and Breaking Bad co-stars Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston set out to found their own mezcal brand, they knew there was only one way to make it work: finding their own Mezcalero in Mexico. They traveled to Oaxaca, tasting their way across the Southern Mexican state until they found Gregorio Velasco in the village of San Luis del Rio.

The mezcal that Velasco produces for Dos Hombres is approachable and an easy sipper for people who may be wary about smokiness. “It’s more citrus-forward and not too smoky, so it’s easily mixable, says DiMonriva. “And they actually invest back into the community, so you can feel good about drinking it.”

Price at the time of publish: $64

Style: Espadín Mezcal Artesenal | Region: San Luis del Rio, Oaxaca, Mexico  Proof: 84

Best Rum

Ten to One Caribbean White Rum

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Rum doesn’t quite have the reputation as a luxury spirit held by other categories like whiskey. Proud Trinidadian businessman, Marc-Kwesi Farrell, set out to change that with his premium rum brand Ten to One. Already a minor celebrity for his tenure as the youngest Vice President in Starbucks history, Farrell’s rum brand got an added boost when beloved R&B singer, Ciara, came on board as co-owner in 2021. The brand is also backed by Pronghorn, an organization that supports diversity in the spirits industry by investing in black-owned brands in the spirit industry.

The Ten to One Caribbean white rum is a delicious blend of Jamaican pot still rum and column-distilled rum from the Dominican Republic. It’s a delicious, crisp, full-flavored rum that has flavor notes of fresh citrus and ripe banana with a little bit of pepper that mixes beautifully in a daiquiri. “I love the influence of the funky Jamaican rum,” says DiMonriva. “I would love to see them offer a rum like this at a higher proof, too.”

Price at the time of publish: $26-$36

Style: White rum blended from Jamaican pot still and Dominican column still | Region: Trinidad and Tobago | Proof: 90