Photo: Digital Vision
Maybe you’re not known for your prowess in gift giving. Maybe you’re looking for something different to impress your friends, family or coworkers. Or, maybe your husband or friend is tired of the usual tie or ugly sweater. From leather shoes, to bourbon, to rye, to Christmas ale, to a home bar kit, here are a few gifts guaranteed to get enthusiastic cheers instead of groans or fake excitement smiles.
2015 Booze Gift Guide
CraveOnline Holiday Booze Gift Guide
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Jefferson’s The Manhattan: Barrel Finished Cocktail
Founded in 1997 by father and son Trey and Chet Zoeller, Jefferson’s bourbon strives to find new as well as matured bourbon casks from well-known distilleries to blend with. The Manhattan: Barrel Finished Cocktail is a collaboration with Esquire Magazine. The bottled cocktail is a mixture of Jefferson’s Bourbon, sweet vermouth, dry vermouth and cask-aged spiced cherry bitters. It’s available nationwide for $39.99.
Photo: Jefferson's Bourbon
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Mister Katz’s Rock & Rye
The New York Distilling Company’s Rock & Rye is the perfect combination of booze and holiday treats. First released last year, the concoction consists of young rye that is mixed with rock candy sugar, cinnamon, orange peel and dried cherries to create a unique tonic that can trace its origin back to the late 19th century. Rye whiskey is one of the most popular styles in 2015. What better way to get started enjoying rye than with this candy-fueled delight. It’s available at select retailers for $32.
Photo: New York Distilling Company
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Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge Gift Pack
Grand Marnier is known throughout the world for its combination of cognac and oranges. It's been behind bars since 1880 when it was created by Louis-Alexandre Marnier Lapostolle. The Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge Gift Pack is the perfect way to enjoy the famed liquid. One gift pack features a full-sized (750ml) bottle of Grand Marnier as well as a 50ml bottle of Grand Marnier Raspberry Peach. This is a blend of raspberries, French red peaches and Grand Marnier. The other gift pack features a full-sized bottle of Grand Marnier as well as two shot glasses so you can show your holiday spirit by sharing with a friend or loved one. These gift packs are available nationwide for $39.99.
Photo: Grand Marnier
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2015 Anchor Christmas Ale Magnum Bottle
Every year, San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing releases its Christmas Ale. They have been brewing this holiday favorite every year since 1975. The best part about Anchor Christmas Ale is the fact that every single year, they think up a brand new recipe for the beer. Every single beer in the last 41 years has been unique and special to that specific year. The same goes for the label. Every year, to signify a new Christmas Ale, the label is adorned with a different tree. From pine trees to palm trees, they’ve had them all. This year’s Christmas Ale is dark, malty and delicious with just the right amount of seasonal spices. Its availability is limited to November to the middle of January and is available in retailers nationwide in six-packs, on draft at your local bar and in gold-foiled magnum bottles. The Magnum bottle (great for a gift instead of the usual wine) retails for $15.99.
Photo: Anchor Brewing
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Cocktail Kingdom Shaken Set and Stirred Set
James Bond started the debate of shaken or stirred when he asked for his martini, “shaken, not stirred”. Cocktail Kingdom doesn’t intent to end the debate. They just want to give you two different cocktailing options. Perfect for the cocktail enthusiast, the two sets were designed by the leaders in barware. The Shaken Set comes with large and small Koriko shaker tins; a Koriki Hawthorne Strainer, Mexican Beehive Juicer, a 1.25-inch ice cube tray, and 1oz./2oz. Japanese-style Jigger, while the Stirred Set consists of a premium Julep Strainer, a Yarai Mixing Glass, a 1.25-inch ice cube tray, a Hoffman Barspoon and a 1oz./2oz. Japanese-style Jigger. The Shaken Set retails for $64.70 and the Stirred Set retails for $86.75.
Photo: Cocktail Kingdom
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The Basil Hayden’s and Quoddy Shoes Gift Set
The partnership between Maine shoe company Quoddy and Basil Hayden’s Bourbon is perfect for a Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukah or any other holiday gift giving experience. The two brands joined together to make a limited edition gift set featuring a pair of Quoddy leather shoes, four leather-covered rocks glasses and a leather gift box. The set is available for purchase on Huckberry.com for $399.
Photo: Huckberry
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Samuel Adams Utopias
Released every year since 2002 by the Boston Beer Company, Samuel Adams Utopias is truly a unique, special beer. That is, if you event still want to call it a beer. At 28% ABV, this year’s release more closely resembles aged bourbon than a beer. Utopias was released in November and was beers brewed in extremely small batches before being blended with previous Utopias’ from as long ago as 1992. They were then aged in the Boston Beer Company’s barrel room.
This offering is the perfect gift for the beer aficionado in your life. This is definitely not for the novice beer drinker as it is not carbonated and is supposed to be enjoyed slowly the way an expensive Scotch would be. It’s best enjoyed in a large leather chair in front of a roaring fireplace on a snowy winter ever. “Sam Adams Utopias is the lunatic fringe of extreme beer,” says Boston Beer Company Founder & Brewer Jim Koch. “While barrel aging is now a mainstay of a thriving craft beer community, we have been experimenting with barrel aging for nearly 25 years and this year’s batch is made from a library of barrels, some of which go as far back as 1992.” If you can still manage to find it, Utopias is available at specialty liquor and beer stores nationwide for a suggested retail price of $199 per bottle.
Photo: mensjournal.com
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‘The Lowball’ Whisky Tumbler from Discommon Goods
The brand founder Neil, is an avid whisky aficionado being he was born and raised in Scotland, but it is his love of intricate design and unique materials that led to the birth of the brand Discommon Goods and the release of their second product ‘The Lowball’ whisky tumbler. 'The Lowball’ is machine milled from aerospace-grade aluminum, anodized to ensure lifelong quality and durability, and though a radical departure from the crystal glass norm, it emulates traditional snifters by achieving a complex hourglass internal shape. It truly takes the house bar to the next level. It is available for purchase on discommon.com for $280.
Photo: Discommon Goods
