The Best Spirited Gift Guide for the Holidays 2021
The holidays are here! Whether it’s Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa or Festivus, it’s a great time to serve up the best gifts to the cocktail fans in your life. It’s also an important time to be good to yourself (we probably don’t have to remind you it’s been a helluva year). Whether you’re looking for the perfect cocktail book or the newest in creative spirits, we’ve got you covered. Please note that due to ongoing supply chain issues and price fluctuations, availability and suggested retail costs may vary.
Reads
Mixology For Beginners: Innovative Craft Cocktails for the Home Bartender by Prairie Rose
$13 (Paperback)
Writer, podcaster, award-winning blogger and NYC/LA bon vivant Prairie Rose has released this eye-catching cocktail guide specifically for beginners. Almost zen-like in its presentation, drink recipes (organized by the primary spirit) and gorgeous accompanying photography go far beyond simple margaritas and Moscow Mules. The book provides just enough craft cocktail history, techniques and factoids to lure in neophytes without overwhelming them.
Can I Mix You a Drink? 50 Cocktails from my Life and Career by T-Pain and Maxwell Britten
$20
If you’re questioning how a rapper, once known for his heavy use of Autotune, would end up collaborating with one of the top craft cocktail bartenders in NYC on a fancy cocktail book, you’re not alone. If after reading into it a few pages, you’re wondering why this didn’t happen sooner, you’re also not alone. In recent years, Pain has shared his voiceover skills in a variety of animated series, shown off his singing chops on “Masked Singer,” and now gets to share his love of quality mixed drinks. Filled with entertaining anecdotes, beautiful photography, and legit party drinks.
The Flower-Infused Cocktail: Flowers, with a Twist by Alyson Brown
$30 (Hardcover)
It’s no secret that the past decade or so has seen a massive uptick in the use of fresh fruits and juices in cocktails as both mixers and garnishes. Let Alyson Brown (founder of Oregon’s Wild Folk Flower Apothecary) take you on a fragrant and colorful journey through the world of floral (and spice and citrus) ingredients, garnishes and flairs. She’s collected over 60 cocktail and mocktail recipes, along with notes on the history, folklore, and harvesting of edible flowers and plants.
Accoutrements
Ex-Whiskey Barrels
Grand Teton Distillery
$150
Whiskey barrels get reused and refilled several times before they are “spent,” going from housing bourbon, then on to scotch, tequila, beer and more. While most whiskey producers sell their first- or second-fill barrels to other distilleries, Idaho’s Grand Teton is offering you the chance to snag one (or more). Fill it with coffee, home brew, or 250 bottles of moonshine and see what happens. Pick up free from the distillery or pay for shipping.
Old Fashioned Scented Candle
Tattersall Distilling
$18
If anyone ought to know how a booze-themed scented candle should smell, it’s a distillery. Tatersall, which hails from Minnesota and Wisconsin, offers to set the mood with fire-driven aromatics of oak, caramel, demerara, and vanilla to complement whatever is in your glass (perhaps Tattersall bottled-in-bond wheated bourbon). Gin-scented version is also available.
The Whiskey Delights Selection
The Scottish Grocer
$98
Scotch whisky isn’t simply about aged brown liquid: it’s a lifestyle. Complement a bottle of Aberlour 16-year single malt (Individual Medal winner, 2021 New York International Spirits Competition) with this gift basket filled with whisky-themed goodies direct from Scotland. The bundle includes Scotch whisky cake, whisky-flavored tea and coffee, and a Glengoyne-branded whisky fudge, among other treats.
Pappy 23 Year Hanging Ornament
Huckberry
$28
Far cheaper than the real thing, but sure to please the Bourbon Bro in your family/framily. The blown glass ornament is hand-painted with the iconic Pappy 23-Year label and glittery, so it will reflect all the holiday lights around it.
True Cubes Ice Cube Tray
$40
Create large, nearly crystal-clear ice cubes with this specially designed tray. This is not your typical silicone frozen water-holder, The compact, attractive tool takes lessons learned about directional freezing from folks like contributor Camper English, to control how water freezes, and reduce trapped oxygen that clouds your ice. You’ll wind up with the sort of nifty, clear blocks you often find in craft cocktail bars.
Octopus Double Old Fashion Glasses (4)
Wyland Foundation
$68
Because…Octopus! Simultaneously evoking 18th-century images of sea monsters and the contemporary cool vibe of the smart, emotional animals we know today, these stylishly etched Old Fashioned glasses are an instant ice-breaker (see what we did there?). Not only that, but you’re helping out California-based Wyland Foundation which aims to fund programs for clean waters and healthy oceans through events, education, and public art projects. A set of four glasses arrives in an attractive gift box.
Drinks
Scapegrace Black Gin
$47
There are a few “color-changing” gins out there incorporating the charming butterfly pea flower botanical in their infusions. But this new release from New Zealand’s Scapegrace Distillery takes things to another level. Pour it into your glass and it’s dark blue/almost black (due to natural extracts of Aronia berry and other botanicals). Add a little citrus, and the butterfly pea flower extract kicks in changing your drink—presto!—from black to a beautiful shade of purple, blue or red. Great for holiday entertaining. Also? It’s a tasty, complex gin.
2021 Hibiki Japanese Harmony Limited Edition Whisky
$125
Combining at least 10 malt and grain whiskies, five casks types, and products from three distilleries, this Suntory label brings together myriad traditions and flavors into one harmonious Japanese blended whisky. This year Hibiki released a specially designed limited edition bottle evoking Japan’s “ever-changing 24 seasons,” and paying tribute to the Ryusui-Hyakka (one hundred flowers and flowing water. Beautiful on any counter or bar top.
Great British Gin Advent Calendar
The Spirit Co.
$124
Advent calendars are all the rage among grown-ups, so a boozy advent calendar is, you know, perfect. New this year is this gin-focused calendar from The Spirit Co. You’ll find 24 single-serve bottles inside representing the broad range of British gins available these days. Not a juniper fan? No worries: the site also sells calendars filled with tequila, bourbon and more, including this crazy-expensive “Old and Rare” edition. Currently ships to the US, UK, Europe, and India.
Paul John Indian Single Malt Christmas Edition 2021
$85
India is producing a number of elegant whiskies. The John Distilleries, located in Goa (Southern India) crafts impressive non-chill filtered single malts with a variety of barrel finishes. The fourth annual release of their Christmas Edition is a festive peated malt aged and finished in a mix of ex-bourbon, port, and Madeira casks, all wrapped in a lovely bow (err... bottle and box).
2021 Spirits Advent Calendar
Heritage Distilling Co.
$60
Billed as the only U.S.-based spirits advent calendar, this festive box of 24 whiskeys, rums, vodkas and gins will keep on giving throughout December (or, really, whenever you want to start). All produced by a craft distillery in Gig Harbor, Washington. You may know them best for their BSB Brown Sugar Bourbon label, now helmed by actor/singer Jamie Foxx.
Tequila Don Julio Ultima Reserva
$400
If you’re only familiar with Don Julio’s core tequilas, you’ve just visited the tip of this brand’s iceberg. The higher-end expressions are transformative. New to the family, in celebration of the brand’s 80th anniversary, is this extra añejo incorporating tequila from founder Don Julio Gonzalez’s final agave harvest (the field was planted in 2006). Aged 36 months in ex-bourbon, and finished in seasoned madeira wine casks.
Adventure Pack Whiskey Sampler
Boulder Spirits
$32
Whether you’re gifting to someone who’s new to Colorado-based Boulder Spirits (which also produces quality vodka, gins, and liqueurs) or a long-time fan, this set of six 50ml samples makes a great stocking stuffer. Along with the variety of aged brown spirits (think bourbon, American single malt, etc), recipients will unwrap a boozy “adventure map” and a link to an online tasting experience.
Zero Alcohol Salted Caramel Espresso Martini Set
Lyre’s
$72
The low- and no-alcohol movement has become a tidal wave in the past few years. Lyre’s has a wide range of “spirits,” “liqueurs” and ready-to-drink zero alcohol cocktails for your clear-eyed, headache-free pleasure. Hopping on the espresso martini trend, bundle their Spiced Cane Spirit and Coffee Originale (think booze-free Kahlua). Other cocktail bundles, along with a wide range of recipes, are available on the website.
Livewire Canned Cocktails
$20 / Four-Pack
Aaron Polsky, a bartender, and consultant who cut his teeth in some of the most innovative bars in NYC (and now resides in LA), introduced these bartender-driven canned cocktails in early 2020, right before the pandemic. Delicious, original recipes from actual top-tier bartenders around the country make Livewire’s offerings stand head-and-shoulders above the average canned gin-and-tonic. They’re really, really good. Even better: with a profit-sharing model inspired by the music industry, each drink’s creator gets a share of the revenue.
Kits
Death & Co Home Cocktail Kit
$155
The team behind the seminal Death & Co craft cocktail bars (and a zillion other bars across the country) present their stylish and sturdy set of bar tools. Includes weighted shaker tins, a Hawthorne strainer, bar spoon, jigger, and faceted mixing glass. Pair it with the founding team’s latest cocktail book—Welcome Home ($40—to fashion a home bar everyone will admire.
It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere Spice Kit
Skordo
$54
Elevate your home cocktail parties (or online Zoom competitions at work, which is a thing now) with this unique spice kit from Skordo. Featuring a variety of spices and naturally flavored sugars and salts. There’s even a recipe guide on site to help out. Elevate your A game to an A++ game with a gold-coated cocktail shaker ($28), also from Skordo.
Cocktail Bitters Sampler Kit
The Bitter Housewife
$18
Cocktail bitters have come a long way from the days when only Angostura and Peychaud’s occupied store shelves. The Bitter Housewife’s selections are extremely good, and enhance drinks in elegant fashion. Select from one of two variety packs, or if you’re feeling especially saucy this year, get them both. Their new, zero-proof Bitters & Soda canned drinks are also super tasty.