Every Halloween, I become nostalgic for trick-or-treating in the ‘90s, return to my horror movie obsession, and binge a few episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark in my free time.

I love watching old horror movies again and again for little clues, goofs, and easter eggs, whether the movie in question is a masterpiece or something absurdly terrible.

It makes perfect sense that two of my favorite horror films are also the two in which whiskey features the most significantly, though I admit horror is not a medium that is overly kind to alcohol in general.

Blood (or, rather, corn syrup and red food dye) may be the most important liquid in horror, but alcohol has long been a fixture — at least as far back as the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, whose titular duo represent the sober and drunken sides of one man.

In the 1962 cult classic Carnival of Souls, the main character, Mary Henry, is offered whiskey for her morning coffee by boarding housemate John Linden. Mary — a church organist who doesn’t attend church — is a countercultural final girl, and a pint of Old Crow is meant to show the audience that she does draw a line of propriety somewhere. (I should point out that this scene and most of the movie takes place in Utah, so I guess a morning shot is the modern day equivalent of a morning line of coke?)

Modern horror, though, likes putting whiskey in the hands of its supporting characters for less judgmental reasons.

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers was one of the franchise's stalest moments, but in one interesting scene, two of the franchise’s best characters meet and talk about the nature of evil. It closes with Reverend Sayer offering Dr. Loomis a swig from a pint of Dickel (he accepts).

There’s a drinking contest in Leprechaun 2 — one of the worst horror movies ever made — and wouldn’t you know they went for the creative choice and picked irish whiskey. None of the bottles appear to be real brands.

Horror these days has some picky drinkers, too. In 28 Days Later, as outbreak survivors ransack a store for supplies, Brendan Gleeson’s character cautions, “You can’t just take any crap,” before directing him to Lagavulin 16, which I find relatable and realistic. Equally realistic is a scene in The Blair Witch where Heather Donahue remarks “I hate scotch,” as she gags on a chug of Johnnie Walker Red Label.

Significant Horror Whiskeys

Only two movies make whiskey a pillar of the story in some capacity —not necessarily essential to the film, but a powerful symbol.

Those two movies came out within two years of each other. Both featured snow, isolation, and brilliant directors who knew how to tease audiences and leave unanswered questions. (Depending on how you feel about conspiracy theories, both are kind of movies about space, too, I guess.)

They are 1982’s The Thing and 1980’s The Shining.

I’ll get to The Shining tomorrow (for real, it’s already scheduled; subscribe if you don’t already), but my final answer for the most significant whiskey in horror has to go to the J&B Scotch bottle(s) in The Thing.

The Thing is a monster movie, an alien movie, and a psychological thriller with a simple plot. A group of American researchers waits out the winter in Antarctica’s McMurdo Station when a shapeshifting alien infection spreads from a nearby Norwegian outpost. It picks off survivors one by one as helicopter pilot R. J. MacReady (Kurt Russell) and chief mechanic Childs (Keith David) try to quarantine and kill it.

MacReady is a smart guy. We’re introduced to him in isolation from the other researchers, where, drinking a glass of scotch, he’s battling a chess program on a computer. MacReady loses, and dumps the remaining half glass into the computer, destroying it.

What that tells us about his character and the film itself depends on the details you notice. A quick glance would show a man with a drinking problem, a short temper, and little regard for data security. But over the decades, the nerds have really gone to work on this scene.

After Mac makes his move and the computer counters, he smirks, questioning, “Poor baby, you’re starting to lose it, aren’t ya?” On the next moveset, however, when the computer declares checkmate, the layout of the board is completely different, suggesting that indeed the computer and not Mac is the problem (the real-world chess program that this scene uses also did have an infamous bug).

The question begged is whether you think Mac is right, because he certainly believes he is. Is he smarter than the computer, or just a guy with an ego? Doesn’t matter — only one of them can hold their liquor.

In the final act of the film, that’s more or less what happens. The “Thing” has taken over most of the site and killed or taken most of the researchers, MacReady and the other survivors make Molotov cocktails out of J&B bottles to destroy the “Things” and a spaceship(?!) that one of them has been trying to build to escape Antarctica.

The survivors fight the Things, and the final one appears to be destroyed by fire. You could argue Mac survived thanks to a substantial supply of J&B bottles.

MacReady and Childs are the lone surivors at the end, each “dealing” with challenges separately before reuniting. Their suspicion for one another has not reached its peak.

Finally resting, both men glare from across a burning fire. MacReady pulls out one final bottle of J&B. He offers it to Childs, who takes a drink. MacReady smiles. Credits roll.

What’s in the Bottle?

We come at last to the final scenes of the film, and the “molotov theory.”

J&B’s importance in The Thing also varies based on individual theories about the movie’s finale. For instance, if you believe that MacReady is human and Childs has become a “Thing,” then the theory is that Mac offers Childs a whiskey bottle full of gasoline to see if he’s human.

There are four possible explanations for where the movie ends:

• The first and most direct is that MacReady, who remains human, suspects that Childs has been transformed.

• The second suggests that neither has been transformed.

• The third suggests that by the time Childs returns, MacReady has been converted as a result of his contact with Things earlier in the film.

• The fourth (and most bleak) theory suggests that perhaps both men have been transformed, share an understanding that they’re on the same team, and await rescue in hopes of spreading to the rest of earth.

Carpenter and Russell have both gone on the record that the ending of the film was always designed to be intentionally vague and without a clear answer. The point is to leave you with unease and uncertainty, not bring in the cavalry and let our heroes ride off safely into the sunset.

The Molotov theory suggests that we’re given one extra piece of information by the director, though. The theory is that the whiskey Childs is offered and consumes is gasoline from another Molotov. The idea is that MacReady offered the gas to Childsthing to see if it reacted, and when it did not, Kurt Russell’s subtle smirk at the end of the film is a knowing one that he still has one more Thing to fight.

The only theories Carpenter and Russell have really debunked are the so-called “gotcha” theories — the ones that rely on a movie mistake or a “what if” speculation to read more into a scene than is actually there.

The End?

At the end of the film, we’re not really sure of anything. Is Childs human? Is MacReady? Is the J&B real? It’s driven some people insane for years, while others just move on with their day, and maybe that’s what’s so great about the film.

Because you can choose to care or not, but you can’t ever be sure of your interpretation. Most theories about the ending are equally valid, and therefore equally unimportant because they don’t offer any certainty.

“Probably correct” is, after all, fine when we’re discussing a movie theory. It’s not like the viewing experience is life-or-death (though I’d probably choose death before re-watching the Exorcist sequels).

But consider those stakes as if you’re hunkered down in the snow yourself. Do you trust either of them? Do you trust your own mind?

Would you like a drink?

I doubt any of us really need another thing to add to our to-do lists right now, but hear me out on this one. Doing a seasonal home bar refresh isn’t the most important bit of seasonal housekeeping, but it’s one of my favorite things to do when the weather changes to feel like I’m ready to offer hospitality.

Especially going into the holidays, I know how great it feels when you’ve got a fun new Toddy recipe to serve on a cold night. If you love offering “drinks at my place” to fill time before a late dinner reservation, you get it.

This doesn’t require big effort for big results, but whether your home has become a constant social destination or you’ve just got one friend who really likes martinis,

Clear Some Space

You might be able to skip this step, but I always find that when the weather shifts, I’m shifting bottles around. The pineapple rum is going to the bottom shelf, and the dustier Irish whiskeys and cognacs are coming back up top for the season. I’m done with spritzes for the next six months, but I’ll still use Aperol for Paper Planes year-round. The margarita syrups? Not so much.

They’re getting used (or at least tested) so that I don’t feel twice as bad tossing them in the Spring. For the martini drinkers, this is a good time to remind you that your vermouth’s shelf life in the refrigerator is about a month (some people say two). Also, you’re out of olives.

Aside from the seasonal changes, I’ll also take this time to do one of my favorite things: eliminating nearly empty bottles.

There’s a very good reason not to leave a bottle on the shelf for six months when the contents are mostly air: oxygen. Over time, it flattens flavors in everything, and while liquor won’t necessarily “go bad” on a shelf, it can lose flavor, get cloudy, and generally decline in quality.

Stick Some Cocktails in the Freezer

You don’t have to chug this stuff, by the way. I like to eliminate a bottle by making a batch of freezer cocktails.

Martinis and Negronis are a great candidate for this kind of drink — their ingredients have a high alcohol content, and there are no syrups or juices. You generally don’t want to pre-batch drinks with perishables in the recipe because lowering the proof makes an environment for bacteria to thrive (and lowers the proof enough for the ingredients to freeze, which will shatter glass in your freezer).

But you can also batch portions of a recipe, and add the juices and syrups later. I often mix the various spirits for Singapore Slings (gin, heering, benedictine, coiintreau, bitters) once I can see that I’ll kill two or more bottles with a batch.

I’ll combine the ingredients according to the recipe, note how many servings are in the bottle, and which ingredients are included with Blue Painter’s Tape, and the next time I go to make a round, five minutes of measuring is already done for me.

You don’t have to have an encyclopedia knowledge of cocktail recipes to do this — collect the mostly-empty bottles on your bar together and type all of their names into Google with “cocktail ingredient” to see what comes up. There are apps out there that can help too, but it’s more fun to poke around in a good cocktail book.

A great place to start is Three Ingredient Cocktails ($11). Poke around in the index. (I love this book. please tell me what I should do with the half-empty apple brandy on my shelf.)

Subscribe now

Brainstorm a Menu

Speaking of recipes, the real fun of this project is the chance to make a menu for the season. You can style and print something elaborate, but I usually just pick two or three new cocktails to add to my repertoire each season. Over time, you’ll memorize a nice mental menu.

How you pick them is totally up to you. You can connect your new drinks with a theme, like your favorite garnish, or just grab adventurously the next time you’re at the liquor store and see where life takes you.

If you’re going to be hosting a lot for the holidays, it may be worth practicing some hot drinks and punches. If you’re looking for inspiration, the book Winter Cocktails ($9) is a solid place to start. It has a wide variety of cocktail flavors and styles, and the photography is gorgeous, thanks to Lizzie Munro. You might also want to look into find a copy of Gather Around Cocktails — a great volume of drinks for the holiday season.

Go Shopping.

Hit up the liquor store, the farmer’s market, and wherever else you go to get your bar stuff. It’s the time to assemble your ingredients, but this is also when I may restock non-alcoholic ingredients like white and brown sugar for syrups, or dehydrate some garnishes.

I also use this time to replace or upgrade any bar tools that need it.

I love most of my current kit, so if you’re in the market, I’d recommend:

• This Stainless Steel OXO Jigger ($12) is great for non-professionals. The numbers are easy to read; it sits flat on the counter while you pour; it’s sturdy and dishwasher safe. I’ve had them for over a decade, and typically buy another one every few years to cut down on washing between drinks (I’m up to five now).

• This Cocktail Kingdom Shaker ($27) is my current default. It’s easy to clean and stable on the counter. It makes a too-good seal that I frequently have to tap loose (user error). They’re rust-resistant, though I stick to stainless to avoid chipping finish coats (just in case).

• These 1-Liter Flip-Top Bottles are just the right size for freezer cocktails — they give you room to make bigger batches but still seem to fit comfortably in the fridge and freezer doors. I’ve tried the square-shaped bottles, and they’re a good alternative if you need to lay your freezer drinks down to get them to fit. You could also pre-batch the drinks in a larger vessel and then measure servings into smaller bottles.

• This Glencairn Glasses Six Pack is a quick solution if you don’t own proper whiskey tasting glassware. It’s $40 and is generally all I need to put together a flight for a friend, or serve one round to a smaller group of friends. You can buy smaller sets or singles, but the six-pack is like half the price per glass.

Serve Some Drinks

Curating the space could just mean remembering to bring out that 20-pack of holiday cocktail napkins you’ve been forgetting in the pantry.

As I said at the beginning, I do this because it’s a fun reset, not because I consider it basic housekeeping.

Share

That said, I’m still looking for some inspiration for this year, so if you have a favorite drink when the weather turns cold, drop it in my comments so I can figure out how to winterize my bar.

I already know I’m out of Kahlua. And olives.

I’m here to talk to all of you about an important subject: bottle FOMO.

Bottle FOMO is a condition that can affect anyone — even me.

I’m very privileged that I get the opportunity to taste just about every whiskey that comes to market in the U.S. I’ve also been doing it for more than a decade now, long enough that I no longer worry about tasting every one of them.

It’s not a quality thing, I swear. Many of them are already great. They can’t get much better. There’s not much at stake.

But I do still experience whiskey FOMO in a lot of situations.

The Causes of Whiskey FOMO

I get FOMO when I’m late to the party on a great new whiskey. Sometimes samples get put on the shelf, and by the time I taste them, the entire stock is long since sold off. Delicious, and gone forever.

Other writers’ reviews can give me FOMO, too — when you can really tell they loved it, and didn’t just like it.

There’s a difference between a “that’s good whiskey” review and an “I really loved this bottle” review. As a critic, sometimes you find that a whiskey is good, but not very interesting. Sometimes a whiskey is exactly what you’re expecting, but nothing more.

I get FOMO when someone likes a whiskey more than I did. Am I wrong? Did I miss something? Can I still trust my senses?

Subscribe now

Mostly, though, I get FOMO about the tasting events themselves. I miss the Booker’s Bourbon Roundtable in the years when I don’t get an invite. On the Roundtable, you get to sit with multiple versions of the whiskey and compare them alongside other tasters, before one version is selected to be bottled.

Symptoms of Whiskey FOMO

In every one of these scenarios, I get the urge to hoard as many bottles as I can of the liquid in question. It’s about preventing the regret.

Symptoms of not buying the bottle include watching the price slowly increase over time, overpaying for single pours at bars and restaurants, and resentful glares directed toward the whiskeys you do own.

But importantly, there’s a shared quality among all of my FOMO-inducing scenarios — they’re all tied to a moment where there’s some opportunity for engagement.

And that’s kind of my point — the most important thing in whiskey (for a guy that can pretty much taste whatever he wants) is getting to be part of a conversation.

And maybe that’s the reframe we all need.

How to Manage Whiskey FOMO

September is Bourbon Heritage Month, and every year America’s distilleries really dial everything to 11 on new releases. It can get overwhelming, and some whiskey collectors tend to swipe their credit cards to failure under pressure.

You don’t need to chase unicorns or mortgage the house to have plenty of fun and find plenty of great whiskeys this month. You just need some focus.

Here’s the strategy guide I’d give you before turning you loose at something like the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, or the liquor store, or your buddy’s bourbon collection:

• Buy into experiments. Whiskey has never been more of a nightmare multiverse of recipes, finishes, and proof points. Have fun. Try Sazerac Rye at three different proof points, and round up a few tequila-finished bourbons to compare.

• Pay attention to the little guys. If you’re seeing a whiskey for the first time in 2026, there’s a good chance it’s just re-branded MGP, but you owe it to yourself to see if some tiny distillery just made it to your store for the first time.

• Challenge your expectations. I don’t really care which brands you think are overrated. That tells me nothing about your taste except that it is narrow. Revisit some of the things you’ve shrugged off, and see if they’ve improved. See if a brand you weren’t impressed with has added a product you do like.

Here’s the thing, though: if over-collecting and panic buying are whiskey sins, then surely the worst whiskey sin has to be collecting so many bottles and never actually opening them.

I think the worst FOMO I could have is realizing that I’ve missed out on the chance to share whiskeys I have with people I like. Leaving a walk-in closet full of dusty, unopened bottles to anyone feels like a waste — I’d rather know someone’s going to have to wheel in a recycling bin to toss all the empties I kept for the memories.

This isn’t just about whiskey, by the way. Maybe it’s wine, or beer, or cigars or quarter ounces of rare cannabis strains. Maybe it’s expired camera film. If you’re saving it for something special, you’re doing it wrong. It’s up to you to make the special, not to wait for it to come to you.

Hoarding isn’t collecting, gathering dust isn’t gaining value, and waiting isn’t enjoying.

The point of this stuff is to enjoy it.

If you’re not, you’re missing out.

Subscribe now

Everything on this list is reasonably priced and meets the standards of …

Read more

Read more

The recent “Hazmat” trend has pushed “proof” — a scale from zero to 200 that determines alcohol content by volume — way beyond …

Read more

The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection is a group of five whiskeys that regularly top the charts for most anticipated, in-demand, hyped and sought-after bourbon and rye whiskeys each year.

Which ones are worth it? Are any…

Read more

October is over, and I’m officially not allowed to watch horror movies at odd hours of the day anymore, but before I stick a carving knife in the pumpkin, so to speak, I’ve got a few last Halloween notes to share.

But fi…

Read more

The final days of October always bring with them a sort of comfort chaos. Things don’t appear as they are, and yes I’m talking about both Halloween and the news leading up to elections.

Things kicked off when…

Read more

With Sober October at its midpoint, I wanted to turn my focus briefly to the dirty martini of the non-alcoholic world: dirty soda.

The dirty martini is a classic martini spiked with olive juice to give it a briny kick, …

Read more

It’s already somehow holiday pitch season, according to my inbox, and while the Mariah Carey Christmas memes are hilariously on point, I’d rather enjoy a bit of spooky season first.

All of that said, there are some time…

Read more

James Earl Jones died yesterday, taking along with him another bit of my childhood. He was 93.

If you don’t know him as Darth Vader, Mufasa, or for his roles in Sandlot and Coming to America, you’re either too young to be reading a newsletter that covers alco…

Read more

Hey Folks,

I decided to make film photography my whole personality in August. Earlier this month I bought a film camera from the ‘60s, and after wasting a dozen rolls of film, I’m starting to produce mediocre photos instead …

Read more

It’s hard not to report on the biggest news in a big news week, so let me get to the clickbait name drops right away.

This past week, Bourbon Women held the Women of Whiskey awards, and it was nice to see two names that don’t get enough recognition for their work.

Read more

I was not expecting the New York Times and Wall Street Journal to spotlight a bizarre Vice-Presidential soda skirmish this week, which started a couple of weeks ago in Ohio, over a bottle of Diet Mountain Dew.

Read more

It’s been another hot week of criticizing professional athletes from my couch, but I’ve noticed a surprising lack of drink advertisements on Peacock. It’s especially bad when the Target ad (you know, w…

Read more

2024 has been a “new year, new you” for whiskey bottles. Whether it’s a changing age statement that prompts a redesign (which happened with Glenmorangie and Jim Beam Black Label) or just a wardrobe refresh like Larceny Small Batch just debuted, I generally don’t think it’s newsworthy.

Then the new Glenrothes 18 bottle caught my eye. 

I l…

Read more

For the first Friday Drinks & Stuff digest I really wanted to get back to basics, and nothing is as basic — or important as water.

Here’s what’s been in my head all week. Poke around. If you enjoy, subscribe and share.

Subscribe now

A Dehydrate Looks at 40

Read more