Now celebrating its seventh year, Bar Convent Brooklyn is a boozy conference that seems to be bucking downward industry trends. The 2025 edition, held June 10-11 in Brooklyn’s Industry City, featured thousands of attendees, hundreds of spirits brands and a ridiculous number of after-parties. (Seriously, we’re still detoxing a week later — the parties started the Sunday before and were still going late on Wednesday, when one unnamed InsideHook writer was talked into getting a tattoo at the back of a cocktail bar.)
Even with a few heavy-hitters sitting out this year, BCB felt important. The upside of fewer well-known global brands is that much more space was devoted to up-and-coming whiskeys, tequilas, gins and liqueurs.
For 2025, we’d say tequila stole the show, purely based on the amount of floor space taken up (including by adjacent agave spirits). But we also found plenty to love elsewhere, including amaro, rum, Slovakian whisky and a few unforgettable cocktails. Here are the 10 best things we drank.
Scarlet Amari
The label of this gorgeous amari line was the first thing that caught my eye as I entered BCB this year. The brand was started by veteran Japanese bartender Tatsuya “Moto” Motonaga (Bar Benfiddich, WA-SHU) after visiting more than 70 distilleries around Europe; he grows most of the amari botanicals on-site at Iseya Distillery in Japan. The fernet was one of the best I’ve had. The use of gentian is restricted in Japan, so Motonaga had to use other botanicals like chicory and aloe to attain that deep bitter flavor. The touch of cinnamon was also a standout note. The Radice Amaro, which was inspired by Suze from the 1960s, was also amazing. — AG
Copalli Cacao Rum
I love Copalli Rum — their organic white bottling is my favorite to use in a Daiquiri. As I was paying my respects, I was made aware of their Cacao Rum, which is so ridiculously smooth and delicious. It tasted great solo, but I also reckon it would be excellent as a split base in a rum Manhattan. — AG
Smokehead Bloody Mary
This is by far the best Bloody Mary I’ve ever had. Smokehead brand ambassador Michael Brown was tending bar, and everyone said I had to try his Bloody Mary. You can imagine that the mix of Smokehead High Voltage (a single-malt Scotch whisky), tomato, kimchi, gochujang and soy would already be delicious and packed with umami, but it’s the way Brown made the drink — by aerating it between two shakers — that gave this Bloody Mary the lightest, silkiest texture ever. In short, this Bloody Mary ruined me for life. — AG
Frozen Chinola Pineapple Piña Colada
We named Chinola’s Mango expression the best liqueur of the year, so you already know I love the brand. They just released a new Pineapple bottling, which graced all sorts of delicious tropical cocktails at their BCB booth this year. But the best was a silky, refreshing frozen Piña Colada, made with Chinola Pineapple, Diplomático Planas Rum and coconut. It was definitely one of the best frozen drinks I’ve ever tasted. — AG
The Best Spirits Bottles of the Year
The Spill’s team of judges select the best gin, bourbon, canned cocktail, value bottle, rum and a whole lot moreAmaro Nonino Quintessentia Riserva
I love everything about Amaro Nonino — their grappa, aperitivo and classic Quintessentia amaro. But their Quintessentia Riserva takes that last expression a step further by aging it in oak for an additional 24 months (the original is already aged for a minimum of 12). It’s everything I love about Quintessentia but with a deeper, richer, more intense flavor. This is one of those bottles that’ll quickly disappear after a big celebratory dinner. — AG
Volans Tequila
What I love about this business is the respect producers have for one another. “You have to try Volans!” El Tequileño’s Steffin Oghene insisted, pointing me across BCB’s crowded hallways. And he was right! With help from Felipe Camarena of G4, Volans has produced an exceptional line of additive-free tequilas that utilize a mix of three different water sources to achieve their unique character. Bonus (which I don’t believe I got to experience, though I tried a few expressions): The design of the extra añejo bottle was inspired by the “four horsemen” of metal (Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, Megadeth). — KM
Tequila ArteNOM
An independent bottler of tequila? I was intrigued. ArteNOM releases tequilas from different distilleries (NOM stands for Norma Oficial Mexicana, a four-digit number found on a bottle indicating where the tequila was made). So if you love what’s being produced at NOM 1414, for example, ArteNOM has a bottle for you — along with the whole backstory and process behind that distillery’s tequila. — KM
Nestville Whisky
Dubbed the “oldest distillery in the world,” Nestville is a brewery/distillery that dates back to 1748 and was revived in the early aughts as a whisky distillery, the only one in Slovakia. The few samples I tried were promising, offering a mix of young grain and malt whiskies that are often aged in wine barrels or the distillery’s own craft beer, gin or brandy barrels. — KM
Bubba’s Secret Stills Burnt Sugar Whiskey
I fell in love with Bubba’s at WhiskyFest, but I had only tried their Pancakes & Bacon Whiskey, which is perfect and about as close to a breakfast whiskey as you’ll ever find (if that’s a thing). Turns out Bubba’s has more enticing flavors: Their Burnt Sugar release is deliciously sweet without tasting artificial, and it’s a nice way to end your night instead of dessert. (Also, hats off to Licor 43 Crème Brûlée, another sweet treat I tried at BCB that works best as a nightcap.) — KM
Duelers Dark Double Oaked
From Colorado’s Blackhat Distillery, Duelers Dark Double Oaked is an agave spirit with an American angle. It’s crafted from 100% Blue Weber Agave, aged first in French oak and then finished in an American oak whiskey barrel, creating something delicious that fits nicely between tequila and bourbon. — KM
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