I was in college shortly after Fireball whiskey burst onto the scene— a time where you couldn’t walk into a party without someone shoving a bottle into your hand and forcing you to take a shot. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of chugging liquid cinnamon by choice, but it appears plenty of people are, as the brand has developed a devoted following and inspired some interesting culinary creations.
Fireball is simply flavored with cinnamon, but many distillers have infused flavors into their whiskey in a different way. Jameson, for example, has been aging their liquid in barrels that were once home to beer for its Caskmates series while WhistlePig produces a product made containing whiskey aged in various casks of wine.
George Dickel recently decided to get in on the flavored whiskey action, but they’re going down a slightly less traditional route. The distillery recently announced that they’ve partnered with Tabasco to create a hot sauce-infused whiskey packaged in a bottle that’s basically a giant version of the tiny ones you get when you order oysters.
The whiskey— which is officially dubbed “George Dickel TABASCO Brand Barrel Finish”— is the result of the distillery’s product being poured into the barrels where the peppers used to make the sauce were aged, where it then sits for 30 days. After a month, they infuse the whiskey with a small amount of Tabasco, giving it the spice you’d expect before bottling it at 70 proof.
It retails for around $25 unless your liquor store is ripping you off.
