As we prepare to declare ‘last call’ to 2023, imbibers resolving to upgrade liquor cabinets and wine cellars in 2024 have a number of exciting spirit varieties to choose from. Grab your lowball, wine flute, or coupe and raise your glass to the upcoming new year and these delicious spirit brands.
For socially conscious fans of young tequilas, Inspiro Luna Blanco tequila is a new go-to brand. The quickly expanding company recently earned B-corporation certification status, meaning it meets performance governed by B-Lab, a nonprofit and global authority in environmental and social accountability and transparency 
The women-owned and operated tequila brand was conceived in Chicago by founder and CEO Mara Smith when seeking a clean, gluten-free spirit to fit her health-focused lifestyle. Inspiro Luna Blanco owes its distinct flavor profile to coveted catador Ana Maria Romero Mena, a globally recognized authority on the tequila industry who single-handedly mapped out over 600 unique scents found in tequila and how they were derived. Inspiro Luna Blanco is produced in Jalisco, Mexico using 100% Blue Weber agave and is additive-free certified by Tequila Matchmaker, a global tequila database.
Inspiro Luna Blanco gets its name from its method of production: the tequila is briefly aged in American white oak barrels for a lunar quarter — approximately one week. Its smooth finish makes it an ideal sipping tequila while those preferring cocktails will be delighted at its dominant floral, citrus, and tropical fruit notes. Try this tequila neat, or the next time you make a Margarita, Paloma, or even a Tequila Sour (I opted for the latter with egg whites).
For those who love both the regalness of the color purple and the agrodolce of the plum, look no further than UME Plum Liqueur. The sexy new spirit features a striking indigo hue that dramatically re-envisions traditional plum-derived spirits in both look and flavor.
Founded in 2020 by ex-finance professional Jenn Toyzer, UME uses all-natural plums and packs a tart flavor that will add notes of cherry and lemon to your drink. At 17% ABV and with half the residual sugar of its competitors, you can enjoy UME blended in a cocktail, like an UME Aviation (just switch out the creme de violette), neat, over ice, or with a splash of soda – Toyzer’s preferred method of consumption.
Toyzer, who moved to New York City post-college in 2010, quickly developed a self-described Goldilocks complex when she regularly struggled to find her perfect go-to beverage within the City’s iconic nightlife scene.
“I find most products too sweet, too bitter, or too boozy,” says Toyzer. So, she took matters into her own hands. “I fell straight down the rabbit hole. As I began to learn more about the spirits industry and plum liqueurs from around the world, it started to seem obvious, even essential, that a U.S.-produced plum spirit was just what the industry was missing.”
The women-owned and operated brand is poised to become a home bar staple for those who favor a vamped-up beverage absent the sugary decadence.
For the whiskey drinker in your life, a bottle from small-batch spirits producer Still Austin Whiskey Co., based in Austin, Texas, will surely excite. The distillery, which bills itself as, “the first true grain-to-glass distillery to open in Austin” since the official end of America’s Prohibition era, opened in 2015 and has been expanding ever since. The brand exclusively utilizes homegrown grains cultivated by Texan farmers, and also both distills and ages all of its products in-house. Even the brand’s label art is made in Texas: globally-recognized and Grammy-winning visual artist Marc Burckardt, a native of the Lone Star state, created each exclusively for Still Austin. 
Its flagship spirit, a bourbon whiskey called “The Musician,” delivers a bold flavor at 40% ABV that includes caramelized butter, toffee, and hints of cinnamon that provide its dynamic finish. The distillery’s straight rye whiskey, called “The Artist,” packs more heat and bite than its bourbon counterpart at 49.8% ABV, featuring notes of ginger, pepper, and chocolate. I enjoyed using this to create a spicy Old Fashioned with homemade orange-ghost pepper simple syrup.
Still Austin Whiskey Co. also produces a gin, “The Naturalist,” that uses native organic botanicals including coriander, elderflower, tarragon, grapefruit, and allspice. As one who counts the dirty martini amongst my top cocktails, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this spirit when blended with olive brine.
For socially-conscious wine aficionados, the South African brand Lubanzi Wines – another B-Corp. business on this round-up, should exist on your viticultural radar. The company, founded by friends and travelers Charlie Brain and Walker Brown in 2016 after a six-day backpacking trip across the Wild Coast, boasts a catalog of wines produced exclusively by Integrity & Sustainability Certified© farmers. 
Lubanzi’s packaging also utilizes 100% TreeFree© labels, while their wines are also Fair For Life Fair Trade Certified©.
My point, distilled: Lubanzi drinkers can rest assured that they are consuming wines produced with minimal intervention and zero additives accessing time-honored winemaking processes like wild fermentation, and with full consideration for the health of the planet. Lubanzi also invests half of its net profits back into the communities that contribute to the production of its products.
Certifications aside, Lubanzi wines also deliver exceptional flavor in addition to making the art of winemaking more environmentally sound. I personally enjoyed the subtle strawberry and brightness of the brand’s sparkling rose, produced from Cinsault grapes. The brand’s wine offerings also include a Pet-Nat wine, a Garnache-Shiraz-Mourvedre blend for bold red wine lovers, and a Viognier-Chenin Blanc skin-contact wine paying homage to South Africa’s rich jazz tradition.
