If this isn’t your first time stumbling across The Urban Grocer, then you’ll know we’ve got it bad for wine labels. Anything from Oz-based Mash makes us swoon, not to mention the creative team of California’s Proof Wine Collective. But this week we’re going beyond labels to highlight some of the best bottles and drinkable concepts we’ve seen hit the liquid world.

For when you’re craving a bottle that defies even the toughest language barriers, look to Smirnoff’s Brazilian Caipiroska cocktails. These crafty bottles are wrapped in a perforated, peel-able label that mimics the fruit it’s flavored with (you can put your Portuguese guidebook down now…). Crack open a passion fruit, strip a lime, or cut into a strawberry and pop goes the bottle.

Wanting something as fruity, but less boozy? Japanese industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa seduces with his line of juice boxes that imitate the fruit’s nectar within from bananas and kiwis to strawberries and silken tofu – for soymilk, of course (eat your heart out, Gwyneth Paltrow).

And then, there is the UK where two national favorites – beer and Stilton – have come together as one. Aptly titled, The Blue Brew, this chestnut-colored beer marries the famously pungent, moldy blue-veined beauty with ale into one cheesy brew. Meanwhile, up in Scotland, the infamous Brew Dog shocked-and-awed the boozy world with beer bottled in – what else? – road kill. Yup, craft brew and taxidermy at its finest.

A little much? If you need to chill, then California-based Mary Jane’s Relaxing Soda has got you covered. As the name suggests, MJ’s is a bubbly, all-natural, mood-altering beverage intended to help focus a stressful life. Sweeeeet.

What are some of the coolest bottles you’ve seen?

ABSOLUT BLANK – a global creative movement, in which ABSOLUT appears as a catalyst for contemporary leading-edge creativity.

Forget the chateaux. Forget the birds. Forget whatever nonsensical French-countryside illustrations you’ve seen on wine labels. And enter Mash. Always creative, never predictable, Mash is one of our favorite creative agencies. Hailing from Oz, their portfolio is an excess of clever, unexpected, and quirky takes on otherwise predictable products – like wine.

Case and point: Return of the Living Red. From the collaborative folks at Redheads Studio out of Australia’s infamous wine region, McLaren Vale, comes this intriguing, complex, and mysterious wine. It is only fitting then that Mash created packaging equally compelling yet ominous. A small folder-like pack of old photos and disturbing illustrations printed on old-school uncoated paper work together to imply to the otherwise unassuming drinker, that the living dead roam the ins and outs of vineyards. The menacing package hangs from the bottle’s neck with twine, sealed under a daunting drip of oozing, blood red wax.

But don’t let the packaging fool you – the goods inside are said to be well worth every last plumy drop. And if you don’t think so, you may well want to keep a light on at night. You never know who is lurking behind the vines…

For many of you readers out there, it’s almost time to mosey up to the dining room table and give thanks over an exceedingly large meal. Well while you’re at it, we hope you’ll pour yourself a glass of wine and help a needy kid on the other side of the world. Intrigued? Just check out No House, a new wine label out of South Africa. Proceeds from the sale of No House’s reds, whites, pinks, and fizzies go straight toward building homes for children who have lost their parents to AIDS. Plus, No House’s antique-chic blue and white bottles – created by the Dutch design firm Studio Boot – will be sure to add a classy touch to your table. So raise a glass, and raise a roof.

Tobacco and beer: Now there’s a classic combination. If you want to have a cigar with your favorite brew but you’re not so keen on the hazards of smoking, we’ve got just the thing for you. Straight out of the US cigar capital, Florida, comes the Humidor series of craft beers from Cigar City Brewing Company. Aged in Spanish cedar – the same wood that’s used to make cigar boxes – each of these funky beers is laced with the flavors of your favorite stogie like sandalwood and spices. Pop one open, toss it back, and relish the creative mingling flavors of two of the world’s cherished vices.

It’s getting cooler over here in the Northwestern hemisphere and so it seems our bellies are turning faithfully to those luxuriant hot cuppas to take off the chill…be it hot cocoa, café mocha, apple cider or best of all, mulled wine.

And what could be more comforting than your favourite morning brew combined with the sweet spices of mulled wine? Not much, or so we at The Urban Grocer think, which is why we will happily divulge that the latest limited edition bottle of mulled wine from Swedish-based company Blossa has dropped. And this year it’s boasting even greater appeal with the addition of Arabica bean infusions.

If the image of deeply aromatic coffee swirling into cloves, cinnamon, and orange and steaming forth from your warmed cup of glögg hasn’t won you over already, then the bottle will. The stout bottle with its bold type and seductive burgundy hue permeating through frosted glass will surely enhance your dining table, and enrich your guests. Skål to that!

Pumpkin pie soda. I saw it on the shelf, all wrapped up in its cool, bright orange packaging, and I had to have it. It’s the sort of thing we love around here: it’s a simple idea – soda – flipped on its head in a new, creative way. And it’s seasonal to boot. Score! Or so I thought…But more on this in a minute….

From the fine folks over at Maine Root – who are infamous for their handcrafted sodas in flavors like blueberry and maple lemonade – comes this Pumpkin Pie pop, which, like all of Maine Root’s products, is fair trade-certified, organic, and naturally sweetened. I was sold before I even popped the cap.

But then I did…I poured the soda into a tall clear glass and revealed its true colors: a bright, clementine hue. A quick sniff gave way to more apricot or cream soda than pumpkin flavors as heaps of welcome carbonation rose up in the glass. Then, I went in for a taste. Hmm. Not what I was expecting. It’s good, I thought, it’s just not overwhelmingly pumpkiny. I really did want pumpkin pie in a glass but what I got was something more akin to apricot and “seasonal” spices, like nutmeg, fronting as a super sweet pumpkin. And since there is no real pumpkin in the soda, I suppose this makes sense. I gave it a few more sips but just couldn’t get down with it. Maybe mixed with some sort of alcohol in a seasonal punch, or paired with a little apple cider it could work. But purely on its own as a soda? Not so much.

Still, Maine Root is a fantastic company with a great philosophy and innovative flavors so head over to your local Whole Foods and see if you can pick some up to give it a go yourself.

[Photo via Lucius Kwok on Flickr]

Admit it. Sometimes you impulsively buy a wine bottle for the label. And that’s not always a bad thing, especially if that label speaks as much to art and creativity as it does wine. We at The Urban Grocer are certainly guilty as charged and so, we’re laying out our favorite, most seductive wine labels from around the world in this week’s Friday Five.

5. Mini Garage Winery. Who says wine has to be packaged in glass bottles? Not Mini Garage Winery, certainly with their garage-style packaging that speaks to the winery’s grease-monkey roots.

4. Siete Pecados. Pride, laziness, anger. No, we’re not describing your ex-boyfriend but the seven deadly sins and thanks to one Spanish creative agency, you can now have your shame and drink it too – in the form of some dazzling Riojas. Watch out, gluttony.

3. Killibinbin. The ever-creative Australian team, Mash, strikes again with these tongue-and -cheek series where film noir meets Shiraz and Cabernet. Between the illustrations to the uncoated stock, these labels kill it – literally.

2. Proof Wine Collective. A collective of boutique vintners from California’s Central Coast have taken visual oenology to amazing heights, with a stunning series of innovative, off-the-wall labels, like their iconic holographic coif on Dr. Jebediah Drinkwell’s Meritage blend. Is it wine o’clock yet?

1. Matsu. A long time favorite of The Urban Grocer for both its taste and design, Spanish label Matsu is a modern project that supports sustainable viticulture through gorgeous photographic labels of a three generations that have devoted their lives to the vines. From ‘El Pícaro’ through ‘El Viejo’, you won’t need too much of an excuse to snap up the trilogy.

The Urban Grocer hits up the coolest spots in Buenos Aires on the Cooking Channel throughout October. Check out a full list of air times here & be sure to set your DVR to record series! Next Malbec on us.

Beer and professional wrestling: Now there’s a winning combination. No, we’re not talking about Coors Lite and Hulk Hogan. This is a much more sophisticated and exotic kind of pairing. This is Cervecería Sagrada, and we think you’ll enjoy it.

Cervecería Sagrada combines the full flavors of Mexican craft beer with a design aesthetic inspired by Lucho Libre, a form of Mexican professional wrestling known for its elaborate masks, ‘high-flying’ moves, and general kitschy-ness. Designer José Guízar has created labels inspired by the masks of some of the most famous luchadores ever to grace the wrestling ring: Rey Negro (the Black King), Guero Gomez (Blond Gomez), and El Hijo del Vampiro (the Vampire’s Son). Sleek, bold, and kind of intimidating at the same time, the designs work beautifully. So go put on some brightly colored lycra shorts and crack open one of these bottles. Salud!

The Urban Grocer hits up the coolest spots in Buenos Aires on the Cooking Channel throughout October. Check out a full list of air times here & be sure to set your DVR to record series!

Brown Drink. Now there’s a type of alcohol that we’re guessing most of you, dear readers, haven’t tried – even the lushest among you. Are we right?

Brought to you by Master of Malt – a British booze outlet of staggering proportions – Brown Drink is a combination of 542 (yup, that’s right) different whiskeys, rums, brandies, vodkas, and gins. You see, they bottle a lot of alcohol over at Master of Malt, and they don’t like to waste all of the dregs that end up at the bottom of their barrels. So they throw ‘em all into a vat, and bottle ‘em up. The result – Brown Drink, which The Urban Grocer was lucky enough to sample recently – is powerful, and definitely unlike anything we’ve ever tossed back before. Master of Malt describes the flavor as “bizarre” and “absurdly enjoyable,” and we’re inclined to agree.

Another one-of-a-kind horse in the Master of Malt stable: Ron de Jeremy, a specialty rum brought to you by the adult film star himself. Heavy on the fruit and spice, and long on the finish, this rum is certainly worthy of its famed creator. But Master of Malt isn’t just about the funky and offbeat; they also carry scores of classic whiskeys, rums, and gins. Exhibit A: their 40-year-old Speyside Whiskey Liqueur – the oldest whiskey liqueur ever released for sale, according to Master of Malt. At nearly $350 a bottle, this stuff had better be the real deal.

Not sure where to start your boozy browsing? Go for one of the Master of Malt sampler packs, Drinks by the Dram, or check in with one of their in-house experts, who are on hand to give you tips on what you might like. Think of them as your red-faced old uncles who keep a vast collection of hard alcohol down in the cellar – and who’ll send you their booze in the mail.

The Urban Grocer hits up the coolest spots in Buenos Aires on the Cooking Channel throughout October. Check out a full list of air times here & be sure to set your DVR to record series! Next Malbec on us.