Charbay Hop Flavored Whiskey— Release III 1999

Double-distilled from Pilsner beer, flavored with hops and aged for 14 years (six years in oak, eight years out of oak), this limited-edition whiskey isn't for everyone. It's powerful, big and oaky on the palate, with lots of tannins rounding out into vanilla, honey and sweet-yet-bitter orange peel. Bottled at an over-the-top 132 proof, it needs a lot of dilution, but once the alcohol is tamed, an enticing velvetiness emerges. This whiskey is different, interesting and oddly haunting. It would make a wild Manhattan. Kara Newman