Boozy Gift Guide 2023: 12 Gifts Drinkers Will Love
We love sipping whiskey, mixing up cocktails, and sharing a bottle of wine with friends. We love it so much that during the holidays, we want more than that. From boozy ice cream, to tasting kits and gift packs, this is a great time of year to share (or stock up on) all the ways that the fermented grape and distilled grain can add flavor and complexity to our lives. (also check out last year’s guide for more great stuff). Happy Holidays!
RedBreast Bird Feeder
Lots of boozy holiday packaging consists simply of a shiny box, different art on the bottle, or perhaps a couple of glasses alongside the usual vodka. Redbreast Irish whiskey has a unique double-duty bottle casing for the holidays that bucks this trend. For the fourth year in a row, the holiday 12-year expression features a green metal casing which attractively highlights the whiskey. Slide it off the bottle and you’ve got a wonderfully festive bird feeder. In addition, proceeds from the sale of each bottle helps support Birdlife International.
€78 (about $84)
Tipsy Scoop Holiday Decorated Pints
Tipsy Scoop is known for its tasty cocktail-themed ice creams featuring a bit of real alcohol, so it’s only natural they’re ready for the holidays. This four-pack is available in the brand’s Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Long Beach locations, or you can order it via Goldbelly. You’ll enjoy 16 oz pints of four favors: Mozart White Chocolate Peppermint Bark Martini, Oreo Old Fashioned, Coquito Dulce de Leche, and Mrs Clausmopolitan Sorbet. Available through New Year’s Eve or while supplies last.
$99 (includes shipping)
Grand Marnier Teezo Touchdown Kit Photo Credit Cocktail Courier
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip hop, French liqueur brand Grand Marnier has partnered with rapper/singer Teezo Touchdown to create custom cocktail kits and a limited edition wrapping paper. The paper features music-themed images of headphones, iPods, turntables, and other devices reflecting how rap and hip hop have been enjoyed over the past half century. You also receive a bottle of Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge, Espolòn tequila blanco, and all the garnishes and mixers you need to make four to eight Grand Margarita.
$105
BoozeDogs Bluetick Variety Pack
What’s better than booze and grilled meats? Booze-infused grilled meats! This innovative company—dedicated to the founder’s dog (Mr. Hughs) and the founder’s gregarious immigrant grandfather (Frank Hofbauer)—markets sausages, jerky, ground beef and more, all infused with boozy goodness. This variety pack includes pork shoulder bratwursts, ground chuck burgers and pork hot dogs all infused with bourbon. You’ll also find meat sticks infused with rum, gin, bourbon, and more. Even better, the company donates to K9s for Warriors, connecting rescue dogs with veterans in need of highly trained service companionship.
$80
Harbison Sandeman
A petite, soft-ripened and bark-wrapped cheese with a creamy texture. What makes it a special edition of the Sandeman Port wash, giving it a holiday vibe full of smoke and sweetness. It’s initially offered as part of Jasper Hill’s November Cheese Club ($115 for at least three cheeses and other pairings and tools), then will be offered on its own as part of the Cheese Baller collection ($135 for five cheeses).
818 Espresso Glitter Bomb
We’ve highlighted bartender hacks of the ever-popular Espresso Martini, but here’s an easy one to do at home. From Kendall Jenner’s tequila brand (and glitter bomb experts Art of Sucre) comes this festive packet set. Each of the four bombs include puffs of cotton candy filled with edible glitter and Colombian espresso powder. Drop one into your espresso martini and be rewarded with a glittery gold sheen throughout the drink. The bombs don’t have any alcohol themselves, so you can enhance a zero-proof drink just as easily. Sells out quickly, so keep revisiting the page.
$22
Cut Above Cocktail Kit Paloma Kit
For those who want the cocktail experience minus the alcohol, Cut Above Spirits, which focuses on agave-inspired NA spirits (but also offers zero proof whiskey, gin, etc), has launched two new cocktail kits in time for the holidays. Mix up convincing and satisfying NA margaritas or palomas (each kit has enough salt, dried limes, tajin (along with 750ml bottles of the zero-proof spirit and mixer) to make several cocktails. Seeking a different drink? Cut Above also has cocktail kits to make an Old Fashioned or Bee’s Knees.
$50
Sacred Valley Pervuian Salt Bundle Simpli
A pinch of salt in cocktails can be a game changer. This collection, all sourced from ponds in the Sacred Valley of Peru (home to Machu Picchu) and harvested by the women-run Comunidad Salinera, will add unique flavor notes equally to steaks and martinis, bloody marys and more. Order before December 31, and you’ll receive new recipe guides for each salt blend.
$25
Dewars Double 37 Year Gift Set
For that tough-to-buy-for person on your list with fancy taste, the limited-edition Dewar’s Double Double 37-year blended Scotch whisky is what you’re seeking. A four-stage aging process, with the youngest component whiskeys being 37 years, the juice is finished in Oloroso sherry. It’s unlikely you’ve had a rounder, smoother blended whiskey with such a complex flavor profile: cooked plums, cinnamon, honey, heather, candied orange peel. This is the first of four planned marques honoring traditional Scotland whisky regions. The gift set is handsomely boxed and comes with two Baccarat Massena crystal tumblers.
$1,800
Woodford Williams Sonoma Bourbon Carmel Sauce
Each year, Kentucky’s Woodford Reserve partners with Williams Sonoma to provide intriguing and exclusive gift ideas from advent calendars https://www.alcoholprofessor.com/blog-posts/best-boozy-advent-calendars to foodstuff. Rich with butter and sugar, the sauce is finished off with a bit of Buffalo Trace bourbon and barrel-smoked sea salt. A perfectly decadent pour over real vanilla ice cream, buckwheat-walnut pancakes, or straight off the spoon.
$9
Hanson espresso kit
Have we mentioned that espresso martinis are still wildly popular? They’re easy to make as well. But if someone on your gift list would appreciate a kick start, pick up this kit, featuring California-based Hanson Organic Espresso Vodka, creamer and agave syrup packs, and a recipe card. Hanson offers several other cocktail kits as well to make martinis, Calmer Palmers, and an inked vodka tonic.
$65
Teaspressa cocktail cubes
Teaspressa Mixology Cubes
There are many ways to nudge extra flavors into your cocktails: bitters, spirit infusions, fancy simple syrups. These all-natural flavored and infused sugar cubes are an effective and simple way to add a bit of zhuzh to any drink. Combine your cocktail ingredients, minus the sugar and add these flavored cubes to craft an enhanced Margarita, Old Fashioned or Singapore Sling. The Classic Cocktail Kit includes a Moscow Mule cube (we’re guessing ginger), while the Instant Mimosa Kit allows you to customize whatever blend of sparkling wine and fruit juice you’re working with.
$30