Name: Dead Rabbit’s Twilight Zone
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: .25 oz. maple syrup; .5 oz. spiced fig honey; .25 oz. crème de cassis; .5 oz. Pasubio Vino Amaro; 1 oz. Guinness; 2 dashes Bittermens Burlesque Bitters; .75 oz. lemon juice; 2 oz. Irish whiskey; 2 oz. Twilight Batch (recipe below); Grated nutmeg, for garnish

When you think “beer cocktails,” visions of beermosas, Black Velvets and shandies likely dance in your head — a dated dance, lacking rhythm. A Michelada always slaps, and then there’s the more recent rise of the Spaghett, but the beer cocktail canon is paltry, most of it living on forgettable bar menus and in the pages of 1990s-coded craft beer books. The Spaghett is one of the only examples with some cachet, but it simultaneously demonstrates the stripped-back simplicity of beertails. They’re almost always just two ingredients, which can result in a flawless pairing that needs nothing else, but can also limit creativity and experimentation.

The Spill Awards 2026

Great drinks don’t just happen — they’re the result of obsessive craft, superior ingredients and the people who care deeply about both. At The Spill, it’s exactly the kind of thing we love to celebrate, which is why we’re back with the third-annual Spill Awards, our tribute to the bottles, places and moments that made the past year in drinks so memorable. From standout spirits and wineries to the viral moments we couldn’t stop talking about, these awards highlight the people and products shaping how we drink right now.

For the second year running, we called in expert help. Our judging panel — composed of bartenders, bar owners, distillers, publicists and fellow drinks journalists — helped us weigh in on this year’s nominees. You can meet the full lineup here.

During the course of about three months, we asked each judge to complete an in-depth questionnaire about the bottles, bars, brands and trends that stood out to them this year. From there, The Spill editors narrowed the field to a list of finalists and chose the winners. Without further ado, we present the 2026 Spill Awards categories and winners.

Meet the judges

A creative London cocktail bar inspired by the Bauhaus and perfect for those of us who can’t always remember the names of places. “You know, it’s the place with the sign — the bar with shapes for a name.”

“Throwing has been around for a long time and has become fairly common to see behind bars the past few years. But few people have the style, speed and ‘wow’ factor of Sr. Monaghan. He’s clearly given a lot of thought to his technique: proper posture, the minimum amount of liquid to use, and it shows. He has a lot of different moves, but my favorite is when he spins almost 360 degrees. I’ve seen him do this in person, and between his seemingly effortless movement and the arc of the liquid gliding through the air, it’s truly exciting to watch.” —ms. franky marshall, bartender and educator

Sexy Fish may be best known for its Japanese-inspired cuisine and innovative cocktails, but the Miami location also has one of the craziest and most opulent bathrooms in the world. Think full-length mirrors in the stalls, bathroom attendants who will take your picture, onyx sinks with mermaid tales and a lot of pink.

“Miami-meets-Cuba Montana Bar offers Daiquiri variations, Cubanos, live music and plenty of ritmo, which is yelled out by bow tie-sporting bartenders when guests enter. At the second project from Lorenzo Antinori, along with co-owner Simone Caporale, you can expect a joyful vibe and excellent drinks from the practiced and professional team, which offers the high level of care that’s a hallmark of the Hong Kong bar scene. And yes, the famous Bar Leone house-smoked olives are on the menu at Montana Bar.” — Alissa Fitzgerald, beverage journalist

I was absolutely blown away by the bottle selection at this hidden gem, situated on a verdant hilltop in Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, the capital of Portugal’s Azores archipelago. As of this writing, they have 2,227 gins in their collection, which you can sample solo or in an expertly-made Gin & Tonic. Check out the speakeasy in the back, which also serves the best sushi on the island. — Amanda Gabriele

“I don’t know why, but anytime sesame is featured on a drinks menu, I get too excited and have to order that drink,” says publicist David Semanoff. “Even though it can be overpowering when its flavor isn’t harnessed properly, it’s still a drink I’ll have and then tell people to get.” There’s a wide range of ways to use this nutty, savory, rich ingredient, be it in a syrup, oil, fat wash or even as part of a garnish. Two of our current favorites: The Ube Noir at Cat Bite Club in Singapore (Luzhao LaJiao Baijiu, Ron Zacapa Rum, black sesame, ube-coconut cream, Amontillado sherry, Aperol, rose water) and the Margot Robbie at NYC’s Aussie-inspired Isla and Co. (tequila, pamplemousse, toasted sesame, lemon, honey).

Ivy Mix and Julie Reiner’s award-winning bar was a cocktail oasis (and a great casual hang) when it opened 10 years ago on Smith Street, which sometimes feels like an infinity in bar years. “Leyenda was my dream and living that dream the last decade has been, well a dream,” wrote Mix in an IG post a few weeks before the Brooklyn bar’s March shuttering. “Latin American spirits are my passion, and to open a chapel that celebrates them has been my crowning achievement in my career.”

“Most wine lists are categorized by country. And that’s all well and good, but I love how they get creative at Bibliotheque, where they list their bottles not only by location, but they’re also paired to literary categories. You might find something funky and experimental in the ‘Adventure’ chapter or a Sauv Blanc with vegetal notes under ‘Gardening.’ With a wine list this beautifully curated, it’s impossible not to return for another taste.” — Amanda Gabriele

“A board member at Tales of the Cocktail said his secret for surviving the five-day drinks conference/bacchanalia was grabbing a Frozen Irish Coffee at the Bourbon Street-adjacent dive bar Erin Rose. I’ve done the same four times in New Orleans since that conversation, always early in a day when I know there will be a lot of walking and drinking — and walking and drinking. It’s refreshing on a hot day, fuel for the boozy afternoon ahead and simply sweet (but not too sweet), creamy and delicious. Also, they’re $4 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., aka the exact time you should be drinking these.” — Kirk Miller

“The Thirsty Whale’s content is genuinely fun and refreshing. There’s no dramatic lighting, no slow-motion pours and no overly-stylized production. It feels like he’s doing it because he enjoys it, and honestly, he’d probably be making the same content even if no one was watching.” — Chad Austin, beverage director at Bar Benjamin

Lately, though, there’s change afoot. More complex and intentional beer cocktails have been cropping up, and beer itself has even been inspiring those behind the bar at notable cocktail destinations. How did beer cocktails suddenly get cool, why now and what does the new-and-improved image look and taste like?

That’s That Me Beericano

One drink in particular has really put the wind in beer cocktails’ sails, and that’s the “Beericano,” or the Americano Perfecto. Made with crisp pilsner, Campari and sweet vermouth, it’s an Americano with beer instead of soda water, which does feel like an upgrade on a classic that’s part of the low-ABV, aperitivo hour-style spritz segment that’s been enjoying unshakeable popularity in recent years.

Damon Boelte, co-owner of Brooklyn’s Grand Army Bar, invented the Americano Perfecto around 2011 while working at the now-closed Prime Meats steakhouse. Inspiration struck when he realized his train from Milan to Florence would soon depart, so he dumped the rest of his train-station Peroni into his Americano, figuring — correctly — that carbonated beer would work where carbonated water usually did. Boelte christened his recipe the Americano Perfecto as a nod to the caffè corretto, coffee “perfected” by the addition of grappa.

“I thought it was a funny nod to the drink, as ‘Americano’ is basically a stab at Americans who, in the day, couldn’t handle the bitterness and strength of either an espresso or a Milano-Torino cocktail without adding water to it,” Boelte says. “How do you make it even more American? Add beer.”

Ever since, Boelte’s Americano Perfecto has graced the pages of books and magazines and occupied its fair share of menu space. In-the-know cocktail enthusiasts may understand the drink’s true provenance, but it’s something the masses are only starting to learn now (if they do take the time to seek such information out) as the beer-ified Americano proliferates on social media.

Justin Sajda, a.k.a. @thirstywhale_ on Instagram, posted a video making what he coined as a Beericano in early August 2025. He adds a top layer of beer foam he’s created by frothing the lager, but he does acknowledge in the post’s comments that he didn’t create the cocktail. Then Chris Leavitt made the drink on his Instagram page, @notjustabartender, also referring to it as a Beericano. A catchy name and the power of social media tapped into Boelte’s creation, already considered a modern classic by cocktail connoisseurs, and took it mainstream.

In Philadelphia, Sacred Vice Brewing served their own version on their summer 2025 menu, calling it the Mlíko Americano. Theirs incorporates Fernet, sweet vermouth, rhubarb bitters and the brewery’s Dripstone Czech pale lager foam with an orange twist. Sacred Vice general manager Angelica Preso says she first encountered the Americano Perfecto in the mid-2010s.

“I’ve been working for the past 10 years or so at places that are more craft beer-centric, but I also appreciate spirits and cocktails,” Preso says. “Wherever I’m working, or for events, I’ll have one beer cocktail on the menu. I heard of this then started seeing it pop up again on Instagram this year and was fascinated by the slight technique change of keeping a little beer until the end to froth to create textural interest in the topping.”

This especially drew Preso’s eye because four of Sacred Vice’s 14 taps are Lukr faucets, Czech taps that allow bartenders to pour a luscious wet foam that’s jam-packed with the beer’s aromas. Instead of taking a milk frother to a lager, Sacred Vice beertenders could use their Lukrs to further celebrate the drink’s beer component, hence the “Mlíko” in the name.

Preso believes the craft lager’s resurgence is helping to fuel beer cocktails’ sudden popularity. “For a very long time, the market was dominated by big IPAs, things that needed to be left alone and had as is,” she says. “Lagers have a more neutral template — they can be played around with, and that lends itself well to creativity.”

Beer As a Powerhouse Cocktail Ingredient

Even with a lager’s clean taste, there’s already a flavor and aroma profile built in, and a mixologist can harness what might otherwise take five different ingredients in one pour. This dynamic then plays out with other styles, and that versatility appeals to bartenders.

“Beer can be malty and rich, light and floral like a saison, or bitter and earthy like an IPA,” says Meaghan Dorman, bar director at New York’s Raines Law Room. “There is a wide variety to experiment with. Because it is lower in alcohol, those notes can be brighter and fun to showcase because it’s not as challenging to taste them through the proof of a spirit.”

Dorman theorizes that cocktail drinkers’ lack of familiarity with different beer styles may have kept beer from being a popular cocktail ingredient until more recently. Today’s average imbiber is more beer-educated so more likely to know what to expect from a cocktail with a stout or wheat beer. Dorman’s own recent creation, the Back to Black, is a clever non-alcoholic take: Guinness 0 for its rich, malty body, plus vanilla-infused cold brew, maple syrup, fig syrup and saline solution with an orange twist.

“Beer can be a great ingredient in a number of ways,” says Aidan Bowie, beverage director at New York City’s Dead Rabbit. “It’s effervescent, helps give a different type of texture, has a really nice bitterness to it and guests have a good understanding of what it is when reading a menu.” The renowned bar’s own beer cocktail, the Twilight Zone, also employs Guinness, alongside whiskey, maple syrup, crème de cassis, spiced fig honey, amaro, lemon juice and Burlesque Bitters. They also added a Guinness-based “cookies and cream” cocktail to their annual Jingle Jangle holiday menu.

At Commensal Fermentation in Portland, Oregon, cofounder Michael Mathis sees beer cocktails as a fresh way to engage jaded beer fans and cocktail enthusiasts who may have thought they didn’t like beer. The taproom has two signature cocktails built around Commensal’s Moment of Heat kölsch that’s brewed with hand-zested limes and sea salt: the Spicy Moment, with mezcal, Ancho Reyes, and agave; and Island Moment, with rum and vermouth.

“If you think you’re tired of beer, try having it in a cocktail,” Mathis says. “People get really excited about it.” Beer cocktails in a brewery taproom show people there are even more options for how to drink beer, and they also appeal to the friends in the group who would rather have a cocktail, all while keeping the brewery’s beer in the mix.

Elsewhere in Oregon, McMinnville’s Day by Day Bar strikes a balance between the more traditional simplicity of beer cocktails and the novel spin of unique flavor concepts. There’s a Spaghett, but there’s also Amaretto by Morning, a Mai Tai-like combination of Miller High Life, amaretto and pineapple. Co-owners Diana Riggs and Zachary Hixson have found that these elevated but accessible versions intrigue and excite Day by Day’s guests. Plus, building cocktails on beer allows them to stay true to an important goal for their bar. “Everything we use is high-quality, but we want to be approachable,” Hixson says. “We want to feel good selling it.”

“[That means] $10 cocktails and ‘cheap beer,’ plus wines from small producer partners,” Riggs adds. “With the beer cocktails, it’s a High Life that we charge $3 for, plus we add $3 to make it into a cocktail.”

Creating the Illusion of Beer

Perhaps the ultimate nod of approval for beer is that it’s begun to inspire mad genius mixologists. Instead of building a recipe around beer, these drinks build a recipe to replicate beer without actually using actual beer. Suddenly, it’s possible you’ll stumble upon a “stout” or “IPA” on an influential cocktail bar menu and see it’s not actually a beer but rather an assortment of ingredients artfully composed to capture the characteristics of a stout or IPA.

At Maxwell Alley in Jersey City, New Jersey, the menu features the India Pale cocktail. Originally dreamed up by the bar’s former beverage director Matt Colvin, the drink revolves around a London dry gin infused with Citra hops. Current head bartender Ricki Serapiglia says the hops play perfectly off the gin’s juniper, citrus, coriander and pink peppercorn botanicals. A house-made grapefruit oleo, tropical juice blend and citrusy, hop-infused foam complete the recipe. The gin’s silky mouthfeel, plus the cloudy froth of the foam, create a facsimile of a hazy IPA’s satisfyingly velvety texture, while the entire drink sings with hop-esque citrus, botanical and spice notes. It’s served in a chilled mug.

“It looks like a beer Homer Simpson would drink,” Serapiglia says. “When people order it, they look like they’re in awe. They can’t believe it’s a cocktail but tastes so much like a beer. I think it’s like anything else with craft cocktails, seeing something that got dismissed for a while become something to experiment with and highlight. It’s a valuable asset to be able to incorporate hops or other beer elements — there’s an endless pool of flavors and profiles to play around with.”

The Grog List, a section of the menu at Portland, Maine’s Blyth & Burrows, supports this sentiment. It’s full of drinks that masterfully push the flavor envelope with ingredients like tom yum soup, smoked salmon, MSG and Sichuan peppercorn. The Belgian White is made with vodka, coriander, orange peel, almond, citrus and club soda; the West Coast IPA has rum, St. George Terroir Gin, clarified pineapple and hop bitters; and the Hefeweizen is made with bourbon, bubblegum, banana peel, clove, citrus and green banana foam.

“I like to draw inspiration from unexpected pursuits,” says Blyth & Burrows creative director Jack O’Brien. “I’ve fallen a bit out of my own beer phase but still love the scene and how excited people get about different varietals. Maine has such a huge craft beer scene, so it’s fun to be a little tongue-in-cheek.”

O’Brien really zeroed in on recreating beer elements, like with these cocktails’ different foam components. For the Belgian White, for example, he blends naval oranges into an almond milk-based horchata, which “foams like crazy” when it interacts with the drink’s soda water. As at Maxwell Alley, Blyth & Burrows guests seem excited by the uncanny way these cocktails capture beer styles.

It’s exciting for beer lovers to try these flavors in a new format, as well as for those who may not be sold on beer but can now experience the notes in a drink that’s more appealing to them. Therein lies the beauty of beer cocktails: comfortingly familiar and thrillingly fresh at once. With the limitless possibilities currently intriguing bartenders, we can expect to see more riffs to come, from brewery taprooms to cocktail bars.

Dead Rabbit’s Twilight Zone

Prep Time: 5 mins

Total Time: 5 mins

Servings: 1

Ingredients

.25 oz. maple syrup
.5 oz. spiced fig honey
.25 oz. crème de cassis
.5 oz. Pasubio Vino Amaro
1 oz. Guinness
2 dashes Bittermens Burlesque Bitters
.75 oz. lemon juice
2 oz. Irish whiskey
2 oz. Twilight Batch (recipe below)
Grated nutmeg, for garnish

Directions

For the Twilight Batch
1. Mix together maple syrup, fig honey, crème de cassis, Pasubio and Guinness.
For the cocktail:
1. Add bitters, lemon juice, Irish whiskey and Twilight Batch to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a sour glass. Garnish with nutmeg.