The Spirit Is Winning: Four Unusual Liquors To Add To Your Drinks Cabinet

Forget Vodka, Gin and Whiskey, there's a world of weird and wonderful spirits waiting to be discovered. Here are four alternatives to the familiar staples you need to add to your cocktail cabinet.

Moonshine

Once a drink of ill-repute popular during America's prohibition era, distilled from everything from corn mash to bits of wooden furniture, this high-proof spirit is a far more respectable drop today. So named as it was often distributed under the cover of night, contemporary varieties have a sweet, warm taste with a strong kick.

One to try:
Melbourne Moonshine Sour Mash Shine is high quality and Aussie-made, using corn mash from Victorian farms. Perfect as an alternative to vodka in cocktails, in punch, or for those who enjoy their spirits neat, over ice.

Absinthe

The drink of choice of Toulouse Lautrec and the Paris bohemians, Absinthe has an almost mythic reputation for its intoxicating powers. Because of its associations with the decadent excesses of artists and writers in the 19th-century, and a belief that it had powerful - although unfounded - hallucinogenic properties, it was banned in many parts of Europe and US.

One to try:
Distillery Botanica Absinthe Reverie is an award winning, all natural, Australian-made aperitif style absinthe based on a traditional 1871 French recipe. It is the first and only traditional French style absinthe distilled Down Under.

Vermouth

Best known for its bit-part role in the classic Martini, vermouth is often overlooked as a drink in its own right. But this fortified wine is a delicious, complex, botanical delight that is more than worthy of a place in any self-respecting drinks cabinet. There's a world of variety to be sampled, with dry, sweet, white, red, amber and rose vermouths, perfect in cocktails, in a spritz, or served neat.

One to try:
MAiDENii Classic is the signature bottle of Australia's premiere vermouth specialists who use 34 different botanicals to give their spirits incredible depth of flavour. The secret of their process is a melding of flowers, fruits, herbs and spices from the gardens of the both the old and new worlds.

Mezcal

Less famous than its cousin Tequila, this Mexican spirit is not widely available in Australian bars, but it's well worth searching for. Distilled from the naturally sweet agave plant, it is believed to be an invention of the Spanish conquistadors, who began to experiment with distilling local plant life.

One to try:
Agave De Cortes is one of three premium brands imported by the Bondi-based specialists Casa Mezcal. Distilled in the Mexican town of Santiago Matalan - the Mezcal capital of the world - this is a truly Authentic taste of Oaxaca made using techniques dating back two centuries.