Drinks | 100 best things we ate and drank in 2012

Aviation Jell-O shot at the Charleston
Annemarie Sagoi made a name for herself this year as the “Jell-O-shot girl” at the Charleston, but she’s hardly the picture of a scantily clad airhead doling out test tubes of Jäger on Division Street. Her concoctions lean classic, as in turning gin, Luxardo maraschino, crème de violette and lemon into a solid-state slurper.

Big Hugs from Half Acre Beer Company
Even stout superfans struggle with sucking down thick, creamy, inky-black Imperial stouts in summer, but come cooler weather, there are few better beers to drink. Hence, Half Acre limits this big badass to holiday availability (look for it by December 15), slapping on oddly festive labels such as a gigantic cat ravaging the North Pole. Don’t think about it: Just drink it.

Bilberry Black Hearts gin from Journeyman Distillery
Local booze is the new “put a bird on it.” But distiller Bill Welter is clearly in it out of passion—not trendiness—as evidenced by this distinctive gin, in which the subtle licorice flavor of bilberries (a wild cousin to the blueberry) tempers gin’s typical juniper profile.

Most from Prima Cider
The Long Grove–based Bertsche family makes cider the only way they know how: from fresh-pressed heirloom apples fermented into dry farmhouse cider that pairs well with pretty much anything you can eat.

Neo Negroni at Scofflaw
Danny Shapiro’s adaptation of this classic cocktail (traditionally equal parts gin, vermouth and Campari) is like a Negroni on steroids: He subs Byrrh Grand Quinquina (a wine-based aperitif) for vermouth to enhance the drink’s bitterness, ditches Campari for less cloying Luxardo Bitter and (this might be the kicker) doubles up on the usual amount of gin.

Verdita at the Whistler
Unlike your typical chaser, this fiery juice (a blend of cilantro, mint, pineapple, lime, jalapeños and habanero peppers) doesn’t so much erase the taste of tequila as enrich it. Owner Billy Helmkamp recommends 100-proof Don Fulano Silver as a pairing.