What’s shakin’ cocktail fans!
Thanks for joining us for our inaugural holiday gift guide episode, where we give you a rundown of what’s cool and giftable in the spirits and cocktail space so that you can dazzle your friends with your gifting savviness, or maybe even toss a link to your significant other so that they get you exactly what you want this year.
Not only do we provide you with a whole host of gifts that you can purchase right here on ModernBarCart.com, but we also summarize some of the gifts and gift ideas that we endorse for quality or style purposes. If you’d like to check out the video of this live podcast, you can head over to our YouTube Channel (we can’t embed it because it’s age-restricted).
Best Spirits and Cocktail Gifts of 2020
Let’s face it: a good bottle of booze in the stocking or under the tree is always a winner. Normally, we recommend gifting bottles that aren’t fancy so that you’re paying more for what’s inside the bottle, rather than for the packaging. But the holiday season is a time to consider splurging on nice packaging. Engraved bottles and spirited advent calendars are two ways to do just that.
Engraved Bottles
Think about hitting up your local distiller or bottle shop to see if they offer complimentary bottle engraving services. This is often something you can find between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and the bonus during COVID-19 is that many distillers offer eCommerce stores where you can actually type your desired inscription into a text field and pick up your bottle safely to avoid unnecessary exposure or time indoors around strangers.
Boozy Advent Calendars
These aren’t the sort of gifts that make a lot of sense from a pocketbook perspective (or a healthy lifestyle perspective). They’re either too expensive or they guilt the giftee into drinking every night for a whole string of evenings. BUT, assuming you’re set on gifting an advent calendar, we’d recommend shelling out a decent chunk of change for a quality product, or going the DIY route. For more on that, check out the following gallery submitted by our listener @starstraf on Instagram featuring her fun approach to custom a custom rum advent calendar.
Cocktail Mixers and Gift Sets
Who doesn’t like a nice bottle of bitters, or maybe a cocktail syrup in their stocking? We can’t think of anyone. Lucky for you, we’ve got you covered with some excellent mixers, both in single format and in gift sets. Here are some of our favorites!
Embitterment Essentials Variety Pack
19.99
Embitterment Heritage Collection Variety Pack
24.99
Element Shrub Tropical Variety Pack
39.99
Cranberry Orange Syrup – Pratt Standard Cocktail Co.
11.99
Clear Ice Systems
It’s not easy to produce restaurant-quality ice in the home. Water quality, freezer space, and time are all problems that are tricky to solve for. Thankfully, we offer 2” x 2” x 2” silicone cube molds that will help get you part of the way to a perfect sipping experience. However, if you need to really take your ice to the next level, consider the dICE system by Glasklar. It’s a vetted, sophisticated option for true ice aficionados.
King Cube 2″ Silicone Ice Cube Mold
7.99
Cocktail Smokers
Now, let’s assume you use the afore-listed Cranberry Orange Syrup and clear ice to make yourself a festive Old Fashioned. And let’s say you were still looking for a way to kick up the flavor EVEN MORE…well, why not add smoke? We’re extremely excited to announce that we’ve onboarded Foghat Cocktail Smokers for all your in-home cocktail smoking needs. Just place the smoker on top of an already-chilled cocktail, pack the chamber with Foghat smoker fuel, safely ignite, cover, and enjoy.
Foghat Cocktail Smoker
from 59.99
Foghat Cocktail Smoker Fuel
from 6.95
Premium Glassware
We’ve been busy all year figuring out the best glassware options to offer the home bartending community. Since we started carrying glassware in April, we’ve learned a lot about what people enjoy, and we’re proud to present several gorgeous glassware options for the home bar.
Cocktail Mixing Beakers
We have a number of different options for folks who are in the market for a new mixing glass. In the $17 – $28 range, you can find four different and individually stylish examples of cocktail mixing beakers that will knock your socks off.
sold out
Barconic 20 oz Glass Mixing Beaker
16.99
Acopa 25 oz Diamond Cut Mixing Beaker
19.99
Libbey 25.25 oz Carats Mixing Beaker
24.99
Libbey 25.25 oz Flashback Footed Mixing Beaker
27.49
Stemmed Cocktail and Coupe Glasses
For anyone who enjoys a good Martini, Manhattan, or Daiquiri, a nice stemmed cocktail glass is crucial. If you have someone on your gift list that loves drinking stylishly, think about upgrading their repertoire in a way that showcases their personal style.
Barconic 7 oz Coupe Glass (Gold Rim)
from 7.99
Barconic 7 oz Coupe Glass (Silver Rim)
7.99
Barconic 7 oz Coupe Glass
from 5.99
Acopa Deco 5 oz Vintage Nick & Nora Martini Glass
from 7.49
Tasting Journals and Glassware
If you have a real booze nerd on your holiday gift list, why not support and focus their obsession by gifting them The Essential Tasting Journal for Spirits & Cocktails? This tasting journal contains over 30 pages of instructional content about how to taste in a structured manner and how to understand what’s happening in the bran when we taste a spirit or cocktail. It also has features like a custom flavor wheel to help guide you through the tasting experience.
And if there’s any one glass that should accompany a good tasting journal, it’s the Glencairn Nosing & Tasting Glass. These iconic glasses (see cover of journal) are the industry standard in focused flavors and aromatics, and you’ll be adored by any whiskey fanatic if they find this under the tree this holiday season.
The Essential Tasting Journal for Spirits & Cocktails
from 17.99
Glencairn Nosing & Tasting Glass
12.49
Small Format Aging Barrels
Finally, we’re wrapping up this 2020 cocktail holiday gift guide by presenting a brand new addition to our eCommerce store. We’re officially carrying 2L American Oak aging barrels so that home bartenders can age their own spirits and taste the process as it unfolds. Each charred oak barrel comes with a wooden cradle stand, steel bands, bung and spigot parts, and instructions.
