13 of the Strangest Whiskeys on Earth

Drying and smoking jalapeño peppers over cherry and alder wood lends this whiskey its peppery flavor. The process transforms jalapeños into chipotle peppers, offering a sweet smokiness with a spicy kick. Tacos are the perfect pairing. rogue.com

Think water, then think whiskey. Located in the heart of bourbon country in Louisville, Jefferson’s Ocean capitalized on the idea of aging bourbon faster while on water. Frequent movement (from the waves) gives the bourbon more contact with their barrels. So, Aged At Sea is aged at sea, just as you may have suspected. jeffersonsbourbon.com

Can’t muster up the motivation to eat quinoa salads? There’s a whiskey for that. Corsair’s Grainiac 9 Grain Bourbon turns the typical whiskey composition on its head with the addition of quinoa, buckwheat, spelt, oats and triticale. corsairdistillery.com

The oddest thing about this New York distiller is how they let their whiskeys reach full maturation—with a little help from hip hop. The soundwaves of rap agitate the whiskey when it’s in oak barrels, thus causing speedy maturation. While they recently stopped sonic-maturating their whiskeys, we're sure you can track down a lucky friend who grabbed a hip hop-inspired bottle and ask for a glass. hudsonwhiskey.com

There are pecan, apple and cherry pie varieties of this whiskey, all evoking summer days of stuffing your piehole with a freshly-baked slice. pieholewhiskey.com

This Taiwanese sherry-aged whiskey with smooth hazelnut and almond notes stands out because of its high sticker price—upwards of $300. It also stands out for its literary namesake. The whiskey, finished in casks that used to hold dry sherry, gets its name from The Cask of Amontillado, a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. kavalanwhisky.com

There’s something rumbling down in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and it follows the rhythm of… cookies and cream? This peculiar, vaguely sweet spirit is a limited edition, so you’ll have to get it straight from the barrelhouse—it’s not available elsewhere. olesmokey.com

Surely the most controversial spirit on the list, this playful, on-trend whiskey tastes like pumpkin pie. A generous glug of Old Punk in your pumpkin spice latte might just make those cloying fall beverages palatable. acespirits.com

If you’ve ever had a hankering for the very medicinal, not-so-pleasant-and-often-wonky taste of sarsaparilla in your whiskey, you’re in luck. Jeremiah Weed’s Sarsaparilla Whiskey offers notes of vanilla, wintergreen, caramel and licorice. jeremiahweed.com

Why eat a gourmet chocolate bar when you can sip its alcoholic equivalent? In this Brooklyn-made whiskey, moonshine is combined with cacao beans from Mast Brothers Chocolate, which is located near the distillery. Glancing at the bottle, you’ll notice deep amber hues. kingscountydistillery.com

There’s ginger beer, ginger tea, ginger ale and now, ginger bourbon. Virgil Kaine takes its cues from the flavors of South Carolina Lowcountry, infusing the tastes of sorghum, orange, oats, dried apricot and sherry. virgilkaine.com

Although the flavors of Cleveland Whiskeys might not win a strangeness contest—apple, hickory, black cherry and maple wood—the whiskeys’ uniqueness lies in their crazy-fast aging process. Tom Lix ages the spirit in just twenty-four hours using vacuum pressure-pumping. This means the Honey Locust Wood Whiskey, which gets its floral aftertaste from the chips of honey locust wood, wasn’t aged for several years to get its rich flavor. clevelandwhiskey.com

You won’t find this wildcard whiskey at your local spirits store or bar. Snake whiskey is exactly what it sounds like: a dead snake, typically cobra, resting in whiskey to offer its funky taste. If you ever find yourself in Thailand or Laos, take the plunge and cross drinking snake-infused spirits off your bucket list.