June 2026 · Issue 1
What to drink when it's too hot for your good bourbon — agave, long pours, and the one whisky that survives the heat.
Cover story: The Summer Bar: What to Pour When It's 95°Welcome to the first issue of BoozeMakers Magazine. We're starting in the only season that matters right now: the one where it's too hot to think and your good bourbon tastes like a mistake. This issue is built around a single hard-won idea — heat changes what belongs in your glass. The cover story makes the case for the summer bar; the reviews point you at the blanco tequilas worth the counter space; the back bar has four long pours to make on repeat. Pour something cold and stay a while.
— The Editors
The sub-$30 bourbon tier is where you'll find the best value in American whiskey—bottles that deliver complexity, character, and quality without the premium markup. After tasting 35 bourbons in this price range, these 10 stand out as exceptional daily pours.
Kentucky has 16.1 million barrels aging and Jim Beam shut down Clermont for all of 2026. Here's why the bourbon glut is the best thing to happen to your wallet — and what to stock up on before distillers catch up.
Fifth-generation craftsmanship meets volcanic tahona stone. Fortaleza Blanco is the tequila the cognoscenti stack their shelves with—and for damn good reason.
Tapatio Blanco 110 has won more of my blind tastings than any other tequila — 7 of 9 sessions over two years. At 110 proof from Carlos Camarena's La Alteña, the agave concentration is staggering. Here's why traditional production methods produce the flavor density lower-proof blancos can't touch.
Highland Park 12 is the bottle I hand to people who say they want 'something smoky but not too smoky.' In blind tastings, drinkers who claim to dislike peated Scotch frequently rate it highly without realizing it contains peat at all. Here's the Orkney magic.
Fósforo Blanco is the $39.99 women-led launch from Los Altos that took the Tasting Panel by surprise (93pts) and the BoozeMakers panel by ambush. We blind-tasted it against LALO Blanco ($45) and G4 Blanco 108 ($55). The newcomer outscored both. Here's our 92/100 verdict.
Mexico's most popular tequila cocktail isn't the Margarita — it's the Paloma, a refreshing mix of tequila, grapefruit, and lime. Here's how to make both the fresh-squeezed version and the traditional soda-based classic.
Dale DeGroff's Whiskey Smash became a modern classic for one reason: it's the drink for people who like mojitos but prefer whiskey. Fresh mint, muddled lemon, and good bourbon create a warm-weather cocktail that's as refreshing as it is sophisticated.
T.J. Siegal's Gold Rush—born at Milk & Honey in the early 2000s—is proof that the best cocktails aren't complicated. It's a Whiskey Sour with honey syrup instead of simple syrup, and that single swap transforms the entire drink.
The Kentucky Mule is what happens when you take the Moscow Mule and give it some actual flavor. Bourbon, quality ginger beer, fresh lime—it's the summer cocktail that doesn't taste like a compromise.
