Alcohol is a powerful flavor and mouthfeel booster. But as any distiller knows, it’s not as simple as “more booze equals more flavor.” To craft a high-quality, high-proof spirit is a delicate balancing act.
There’s a long-running tradition of higher-proof expressions in certain spirit categories, such as barrel-strength whiskey, still-strength tequila, or navy-strength gin. Yet the drinking public appears to be dialing back its intake, and many distillers might feel less than confident in releasing a stronger product.
Despite those wider trends, there is growing demand from cocktail bars for higher-ABV options that can stand up to intense modifiers in drink recipes and offer more flavor, even in smaller amounts. As consumers experience these spirits and the cocktails that include them and people seek them out for their own home bars, the time may be right to master that balancing act—to create a flavorful, complex spirit that has intensity but never feels astringent or too hot.
Reasons to Reach Higher…
… in Whiskey
Dave Bob sees whiskey’s cask-strength subcategory as an opportunity to innovate.
Bob is head of distilling and blending and the national brand manager at Lexington Brewing & Distilling in Kentucky. Among Lexington’s core Town Branch bourbons is its True Cask Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, at 108.1 proof, as well as recently debuted Overproof Kentucky Straight Whiskey, at 104 proof. The latter is a blend of 90 percent bourbon—including their regular, wheated, and double-oaked bourbons—and 10 percent rye.
The Overproof is “a unique, creative bourbon blend … geared toward bartenders and bartenders at home,” Bob says. “It’s driven toward making spirit-forward cocktails.”
Head distiller Sienna Jevremov and Michele Clark, VP and art director, Widow Jane Distillery, Brooklyn, New York. Photo: Eric Thornton
At Widow Jane in Brooklyn, New York, the driving force behind the higher proof is flavor. Head distiller Sienna Jevremov says the ideal proof hinges entirely on the best backbone for each whiskey’s own flavor profile.
“The goal isn’t to see how high we can go,” she says. “It’s to land on the proof where the whiskey tastes the most complete. In whiskey, the templates are usually barrel-proof, [or] cask-strength, or bottled-in-bond. But Widow Jane’s elevated-proof expressions tend to be deliberately chosen final proofs, not ‘whatever came out of the barrel.’”
Widow Jane’s core bourbons are 91 proof, non-chill filtered, and proofed with the distillery’s mineral-rich water. Certain older, rarer blends or specially finished releases, however, “have a depth that asks for a little more proof, so the whiskey doesn’t thin out on the palate,” Jevremov says.
For example, Widow Jane bottled its 2025 release of The Vaults, 15-year blend of bourbons, at 99 proof. That “preserves structure, length, and aromatic lift in a way 91 sometimes can’t,” Jevremov says, “particularly when you’re working with very mature bourbon and an additional finishing-wood influence.”
…in Tequila
For tequila, still-strength expressions are relatively straightforward, and they’re a chance to showcase the spirit at its purest. However, it’s only more recently that consumers have been more receptive to tequila that hasn’t been proofed down, says Tony Salles, master distiller at El Tequileño in Tequila, Jalisco.
Courtesy El Tequileño, Tequila, Jalisco
“Every distillation takes place at 100 proof since Day One for us, almost 67 years ago,” Salles says. “The way everyone drank tequila, we had it at 46 percent ABV. Then as time went by, the industry and consumers asked for lower and lower proof, and it went to 44 percent ABV, 42, 38… Nowadays, still-strength is having a comeback, especially in the United States and Europe. Now we can share the still-strength we’ve always been distilling, just as it is.”
Salles says it was bartenders who led the way with still-strength demand. “At the beginning, we were making this specific expression just for them.” He describes El Tequileño’s 100-proof Still Strength as tasting “a bit more pure. The flavors are way more intense. … People are afraid it’s going to be strong or hot, but still-strength doesn’t have to be.”
Carlos Camarena and family, Tequila Ocho, Arandas, Jalisco. Courtesy Tequila Ocho
Tequila Ocho in Arandas, Jalisco, takes a slightly different approach, says cofounder and master tequilero Carlos Camarena. Their high-proof tequilas are “essentially different from others in the fact that we are just recovering the first two stages of distillation right after the first cut,” he says.
That cut is “usually around 68 to 70 percent ABV, which is then diluted to the desired proof. These particular cuts are full of fruity flavors and are highly regarded among distillers, [who] often use this type of cut for only family celebrations.”
…in Gin
Gin has its navy-strength category for stronger expressions, but the team at Round Turn Distilling in Biddeford, Maine, weren’t just trying to tick a box when they created their Bimini Overproof gin.
It was simply the result of pursuing full flavor, says cofounder Darren Case.
“When we launched our original gin at 94 proof, we were surprised that it became cloudy when we proofed it down,” Case says. Exacerbating that louching or chill haze effect—the hydrophobic compounds coming out of the alcohol solution when water is added—were Round Turn’s botanicals that include hops, which contribute their own oils and acids.
“We made a decision to do a filtration on our original gin for clarity,” Case says. “Not chill filtration, just room temperature—just enough to strip out some of that heavier oil content to keep the gin clear.”
That led to some alteration of Bimini’s botanical balance because Case found that filtration removed some flavors more than others. Consequently, he says, “we love our original gin, but it wasn’t actually the same flavor profile we’d developed, as a result of that filtration step.”
That was in 2015. Four years later, when Round Turn was ready to flesh out their Bimini lineup, they wanted to embrace that original flavor profile.
“We realized we were going to have to bottle at a higher proof to keep that oil in the solution, where it doesn’t create cloudiness in the bottle,” Case says. In a painstaking approach to finding the perfect balance between a higher concentration of flavor and too much heat on the palate, the Round Turn team repeatedly taste-tested their distillate in two-proof increments, from 105 to 120. They landed at a sweet spot of 111.
“It was remarkable how dramatically the experience changed with even two degrees of proof,” Case says. The “112 was great but slightly too hot, 110 was great but almost not quite not enough. We ended up with a really random proof of 111—and because it wasn’t 114, we couldn’t call it ‘navy-strength.’”
Betting on Quality and Consumer Education
If you’re not adhering to a strict ABV guideline for a particular category—such as that 57 percent for navy-strength gin—then evaluating the spirit degree by degree may the surest way to find the ideal proof.
At Lexington, Bob credits being an independent, family-owned distillery for the time they can spend zeroing in on the right proof—and one that is, crucially, repeatable.
“When creating [Overproof], I was taking everyone’s points of view … and they wanted something higher proof, around 111 or 114,” he says. “I told them that would be incredible … but I’m worried some barrels I’m taking out of the rickhouse are not always hitting that 114. Some could be higher or lower, and I don’t want to put something out saying 114, and then with later batches down the line having it actually be 110, 111.”
By tasting through different batches at different proofs, the team agreed that 104 was the magic number that checked every flavor and aroma box.
That type of careful degree-based testing is especially vital when working with an overproof spirit that isn’t necessarily meant to be “balanced” or something to sip neat.
“Overproof vodka is inherently out of balance,” says Matthew Sweeney, owner and head distiller at New Alchemy Distillery in El Dorado Hills, California, where they produce Aether Vodka at 120 proof. “Once you get into the hundreds, it’s hard not to make things a little dry,” Sweeney says. “A little water benefits these spirits.”
Legally, he says, there’s not too much he can do to manipulate vodka, but he notes that Aether benefits from its grape base. New Alchemy uses grapes because they can get them for free, being located near wineries, and they create a softer, rounder base for Aether. That base and a careful dialing-in on proof were the keys to an overproof vodka that does its job of mixing well into cocktails.
“I remember the tasting where we backed away from 160 proof,” Sweeney says. “At around 125 proof, it became clear” that they were in the right territory. But “125 proof and over becomes a Class 3 flammable liquid, and a good reason to not do that is shipping.”
The chill haze or louche effect is another potential challenge in producing higher-ABV spirits. More alcohol means more compounds in solution just waiting to burst out when you proof it down or add ice or modifiers to a cocktail. The most common solution is chill filtration, which can remove flavor—counterproductive because flavor intensity is one of the main reasons to make higher-proof spirits.
At Widow Jane, instead of chill filtration, Jevremov says they’re careful with slow, gradual water additions, “monitoring temperature and giving healthy resting periods.” Bob also employs that approach at Lexington.
“We’re proofing down low and slow, in drips, so dilution happens so slowly without affecting the blend,” Bob says.
He also mentions a special method that he’s not aware of other distilleries using: aerating their whiskey in their proofing tanks.
“We built piping fitted from the bottom going exteriorly from bottom to top,” Bob says. “Inside the proofing tank is a fitted and fixed cascading sprinkling system, so any time we’re proofing or blending anything, it’s also getting pumped up, then it’s cascading down to be aerated and opened up.”
Bob says that helps Lexington get a finished whiskey that’s balanced and readily expresses its flavor and aroma compounds.
Some other distillers avoid the flavor loss of filtration by skipping it entirely.
“Still-strength tequilas have a bit more oils than lower-proof ones, that’s normal,” Salles says. “We decided not to chill-filtrate because it takes away flavors. … Even though you can see the oils; the tequila can be foggy. That’s part of craft tequila.”
That approach requires some consumer education, he says, communicating to drinkers that the sediment isn’t a bad thing—and that it signifies a natural, high-quality spirit. “It would be much easier and cheaper to just make our tequila the way people think they want it to look,” he says, “but once you convince people to try it, they like it more.”
“It can be a struggle,” Case says of the perception component. “People think something is wrong, and you have to assure them, ‘No, you’re actually getting more flavor.’ Some people get it because they’re familiar with the absinthe [louche] thing. For others, we compare our gin to hazy IPAs, getting all that haze from hop oils.”
Case says it’s a safe assumption that anyone seeking an overproof spirit is a more informed, experienced consumer—such as the bartenders who vocalize the most demand for strong spirits. Those consumers are unlikely to balk at a little haze, instead seeing it as a sign of quality and flavor.
When producing an overproof spirit, it’s best to embrace consumer education and have the confidence in your consumers that a little fog won’t be a deterrent. In Case’s view, that’s preferable to chill filtration, which arguably negates the whole flavor-driven point of overproof spirits.
“The idea you would take a step to strip flavors back when your goal is to make a full-flavored spirit is crazy,” he says.