SOUTHERN CHARM
The trend of exciting collaborations shows no signs of slowing up in 2026. One such standout comes by way of Charleston, South Carolina, a partnership between standout distillers Penelope Bourbon and home furnishings brand Serena & Lily: the Beaufain Four Grain Bourbon, a spirit inspired by the beauty of South Carolina’s Lowcountry. The bourbon itself is the brainchild of Penelope’s master blender Danny Polise, an 84-proof custom-blended bourbon that brings together notes of toasted grain, sweet corn, and baking spices. The floral motif bottle design is pure Serena & Lily, drawing inspiration from a historic wallpaper from Charleston’s Beaufain Street. An ode to the heritage and artistry of Charleston and its people, each bottle is a celebration of home and the people that make it so. $44.99; penelopebourbon.com
AGE OF ELEGANCE
Pouring white wine into glass against blurred background with festive lights, closeup. Bokeh effect
2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the “Judgment of Paris,” a now-legendary winetasting competition widely credited as a turning point in the global acceptance of American winemaking. Credit for that belongs to winemaker Mike Grgich, whose 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay was voted best white wine in the competition by a panel of French connoisseurs. To honor the 50th anniversary of the event, Grgich Hills Estate has announced the arrival of Timeless, a single-vineyard Chardonnay from the now-hallowed soil of the Napa Valley. A crisp, complex and beautifully balanced wine, Timeless is farmed to the highest standards of regenerative organic agriculture, paying tribute to the vineyard’s past while preserving its legacy for the future. Every bottle of wine tells a story; this one’s a real legend. grgich.com ; Price TBA.
RUM, REIMAGINED
No spirit has been in greater need of a makeover in recent years than rum. As tequila, mezcal and gin have seen renewed interest, rum has been left behind, trapped in sugary clichés of pirates and palm trees. Premium Colombian rum brand Esther has a new story to tell; Created by founders Margaret Kerr-Jarrett and Emunah Winer, Esther brings a refreshingly sophisticated take on rum, honoring the spirit’s origins as a no-frills, quality, “grass to glass” spirit. Distilled in Cali, Colombia, at a long-running family distillery, Esther is a single-origin unaged rum; the spirit is bottled at Esther’s facilities in Columbus, Ohio. Each bottle is sleekly treated with a pared-back, all-black label, and topped with the brand’s signature green cap. Trends in the spirits business are unpredictable, but as the brand launches, one thing is clear: this year, rum is back on the menu. drinkesther.com ; $36.99
A COLLECTOR’S ITEM
In 2021, Selected Tobacco S.A. made headlines when it announced the Atabey Black Ritos, the first-ever NFT cigar, a cigar-turned-digital-token that was (to the chagrin of many) completely non-smokeable. In 2023, the Atabey Black Ritos got the Pinocchio treatment, finally becoming a real boy in a limited, 200-box release of parejos. These cigars are rolled at the super-premium brand’s Tabacos de Costa Rica factory before taking a transatlantic trip to Spain, where they are aged in rooms lined with French oak or cedar. The 2026 Atabey Black Ritos were aged for a minimum of five years, and as with the previous two releases in the line, is comprised of an Ecuadorian wrapper over a Dominican binder and fillers from Nicaragua and Peru. The ongoing Black Ritos project has been an interesting experiment in modern cigar culture, blurring the lines between digital and analog; collecting NFTs, after all, is not that different from collecting cigars. That said, it’s hard to beat a cigar you can actually light up. unitedcigargroup.com ; $60 per cigar
RUN FREE
For those who follow cigar releases, April is the true beginning of each year, as the PCA Convention & Trade Show kicks off the calendar. But in recent years, February has become an increasingly exciting month for releases, as more and more cigarmakers put out special Lunar New Year releases. For the third consecutive year, Rocky Patel is celebrating the holiday: enter Rocky Patel Year of the Horse. A 7 x 48 Churchill, this cigar uses a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Honduras and Nicaragua. The Rocky Patel Year of the Horse is box-pressed, a technique that gives the cigar a better draw and burn, highlighting its layered notes of spice, espresso, and caramel. As with previous releases in the series, Rocky Patel has pulled out all the stops with the packaging, designing a one-of-a-kind box with embossed art that honors the uniqueness of each year. This cigar is slated for release right after PCA in April, perfectly timed for the advent of smoking season. rockypatel.com ; $35 per cigar