This month’s Guest Editors Hannah Sharman-Cox and Siobhán Payne pick their fave five
It can sometimes feel a bit of a bombardment with regards to new drinks products – there is a LOT being advertised on socials. So to cut through the noise, we always look at who’s behind the products before anything else as it’s a great way to determine what’s not style over substance. The trend that’s exciting us the most at the moment is a modern, solid quality approach; simple messaging, great packaging, and complex flavour.
Here are the five products that have caught our attention the most for 2026.
Two New Releases from The Heart Cut
Launched in 2023 by our favourite whisky aficionado Georgie Bell and her husband Fabrizio, this company is really ripping up the rule book in the whisky world. They’re an independent bottler, sourcing amazing whiskies from across the world and releasing them in special batches.
Coming up in 2026 they have two new releases. We’re especially excited about the first in February as it’s their first bourbon. They’re partnering with Kentucky’s New Riff distillery – fairly new on the bourbon trail but already making waves – to create a liquid fully matured in new American oak casks. Their second, coming up in April, is a Single Pot Still Whiskey from Ireland’s Boann Distillery. Fully matured in a Moscatel de Setúbal cask, we’re told to expect rich, luscious notes of juicy raspberries and electric apple pie.
One of the best things about The Heart Cut is that all their releases are available as 30ml “Pocket Pours” so you don’t have to commit to the whole bottle to give their new liquids a try.
Soba Circus: Nootropic RTD
This is a non-alc product by DJ Nic Fanciulli alongside food and drinks industry veteran David Folkman. They wanted to create something that offers a “buzz” without the crash of energy drinks or the morning after effects of alcohol, which sounds good to us. The liquid is powered by nootropics and balanced caffeine, and tastes of lemon, elderflower, hints of chilli and mint, with complex fermented notes. It promises an “alcohol free high” and we can’t wait to try it. Plus, it’s presented in an absolutely gorgeous bottle unlike anything we’ve seen in the non-alc sphere.
Kazimo Mixers
Ok full disclosure, this was launched to press at the end of last year, so we have in fact tried this one. But it would be remiss not to mention the brand new Kazimo Mixers as bartending megamind Marcis Dzelzainis is involved, and it’s actually designed for bartenders, so they are very, very good. We love the simplicity of the packaging alongside the complexity of flavour. Worth having a pack in your fridge at all times, whether you’re mixing it with spirits or not.
Sake Ono
We’ve been big fans of Sake Ono since we came across it. It’s another product presented in absolutely beautiful packaging, but what we especially love is the super modern approach they’re bringing to the sake market. Their core product, which launched in the UK early last year, is designed for either sipping or in cocktails. But the product coming this year is Sake Ono Rare – probably not designed for mixing. It is significantly more spenny than the existing brand but this a blend of two liquids, one of which uses rice grown only by a handful of farmers in the Japanese region it comes from. There are only 12,000 bottles available worldwide, and we are waiting with baited breath until we get a taste of this when it launches in March 2026.
Mikolasch Organic: Single Farm 2.0
It would be out of character if we created a list of products we were excited about without including a vodka, our usual spirit of choice. The one we’re anticipating the most is the second release from Ukrainian distillery Mikolasch, coming in February. Each of their products is tied to a specific harvest, location and grain, and this is no different. Their excellent 1.0 release was a corn-based liquid but the forthcoming 2.0 is organic and made with wheat – set to be totally different but promising the same level of “backbone” as its predecessor. We love that this brand flies the flag that vodka certainly does NOT need to be a neutral, tasteless spirit, something on which we wholeheartedly agree.
Hannah Sharman-Cox and Siobhán Payne are this month’s Guest Editors and you can see all the content they’ve curated here.
