So, you've let your holiday shopping go, and now you're behind the proverbial 8-ball, with Solstice and Christmas parties bearing down on you, with Christmas and Boxing day themselves just around the corner. Fortunately, in most places in the US and other developed countries, the local liquor offers a selection of gifts for the adults in your life. As an added benefit, if you choose wisely, you'll appear thoughtful and erudite, as opposed to desperate.To that end, here are some ideas for good gifts, and some that aren't even too dear.
A Bottle for the Party
Looking to bring something to share for the holiday party, that's distinctive, good, and not too expensive? Here are some ideas:
Old Weller Antique Reserve - Usually under $25 a bottle, and under $20 in some places, this is a great choice for parties where you know there will be bourbon drinkers.
Redemption Rye (not yet reviewed) - Price ranges from $22 - $30 a bottle. Youngish, but mature enough to be drinkable straight. It makes a great mixer for cocktails, like Manhattans (originally made with rye, before Prohibition all but killed it off) and other bourbon-based drinks.
Auchentoshan Classic Single Malt Scotch (not yet reviewed) - $28 - $32 a bottle, generally. This is the only single malt that's triple distilled. The results is a light, sweet spirit with honey notes and none of the divisive peat or smoke flavors that often divide whisky drinker. The resulting wide appeal makes a great choice for parties.
A Bottle for Under the Tree
For starters, I've reviewed several scotches, bourbons, as well as a rye, a rum and an Irish whisky that I've labelled as good gift choices. They are mentioned in the list below, along with a couple of extra ones that I haven't had a chance to formally review yet.
For the Bourbon Lover
Angels Envy (not yet reviewed) - runs between $40 and $50 a bottle, and well worth it. Angels Envy is finished in used port casks. This has been done by scotch makers for years, but it's a rarity in the bourbon world. The resulting blend of flavors is excellent, and as gifts go, it's a real winner: rare, good, and not to expensive.
Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel - runs $25 - $30 a bottle, if you can find it. A great gift for the bourbon lover, because it is quite good and honors the man credited with starting the bourbon revival. And the reasonable price doesn't hurt at all.
Woodford Reserve Distller's Select - runs around $30 a bottle, plus or minus a couple of bucks, depending on where you live. One of my top 4 bourbons of all time, and solid choice for the bourbon aficionado. Even if they have a bottle on their bar, they're going to need another one sometime soon.
For the Scotch Lover
Auchentoshan Classic Single Malt Scotch (not yet reviewed) - see above. An excellent scotch, and one whose price has not yet gone through the roof.
Laphroaig Quarter Cask - Moving up the price range a bit, the Quarter Cask will set you back between $50 to $60 for a 750ml bottle. As gift, you wan't to be a little more careful with this - you need to select a recipient who likes peaty scotch. However, for such a person, this bottle makes an excellent gift. Not only is the whisky excellent and relatively new to the market, it gives the enthusiast a chance to see how changing the wood/whisky ratio in the aging cask affects flavor.
The Macallan Cask Strength - Prices for this are all over the map this holiday season, ranging from $60 - $100 a bottle, and stock seems to be limited. If you can score this for $90 or so, it makes a good gift for the scotch connoisseur, assuming you love or need to impress somebody $90 worth.
Ardbeg Uigeadail - Running from $55 to $75 a bottle, and worth every penny, even at $75. Peaty scotch partially aged in used sherry barrels, the resulting flavors are surprisingly rich and well blended. For the scotch drinker with any taste for peat at all, this is a heavenly dram and thus a wonderful gift. Ever folks who find the standard Ardbeg too peaty and harsh like Uigeadail. However, if the maximum amount of peat a person can tolerate is zero, another choice, alas, might be better for them.
For the Rye Lover
WIllett Family Estate Bottled Single Barrel Rye - Around $35 a bottle, and simply the best rye whiskey I've ever tasted. Now, some folks simply don't like rye, much like some folks don't like peat. But if they like rye, and you can locate a bottle of this, it's a surefire winner of a gift.
For the Irish Whiskey Lover
The Tyrconnell - Runs around $35 a bottle. A rarity in the marketplace, this is a single malt Irish whiskey (most are blends). That, plus the fact that it's plenty good whiskey, makes it an excellent gift for the person who fancies the lighter Irish take on whiskey.
For the Rum Lover
Zaya - About $25 - $35 a bottle, which makes it a little on the expensive side for rum. However, this is special stuff: quintuple distilled, aged for 12 years, and so sweet and smooth and rich you can drink it straight. And I've seen nice gift packs in the stores with excellent glasses for the same price as the bottle alone. You can mix it, but if you do, be aware of how sweet Zaya is on its own.
