Gift ideas for a bourbon lover
Contributed by on Nov 29, 2013
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Sorry, if you are looking to cross Pappy Van Winkle or George T. Stagg off of your Christmas list, I can’t help you. Many parents and significant others are going to have to fall short on that account, but there are plenty of other ideas that will get the job done. Here are a few gift ideas that will help dull the sharp sting of not having Pappy under your Christmas tree.
Some are online through Amazon or other online stores, others are Colorado specific. If you have another good idea, feel free to share.
Glassware
- If your bourbon drinker uses normal glasses for his bourbon, get him some Glencairn whiskey glasses. These glasses accentuate the nose, help aerate the whiskey with the wide base, and help minimize the amount of alcohol inhaled through the nose as you sip. Every whiskey drinker should have a set of Glencairns on hand, as they have become the premier glass used to taste whiskey.
- If your bourbon drinker already has a few Glencairn glasses, you can get him or her a set of Canadian Whisky glasses. These are a less formal version of the standard Glencairn, perfect for having a pour that you don’t plan on dissecting. You still get the tapered lip for “nosing” and a wide bottom for aeration, but you can enjoy a larger pour and the glass is sturdier and way easier to clean.
- Here are some links to sites that customize Glencairns. You can also take a set to a trophy engraving store, and they should be able to do some engraving there.
- www.glencairnwhiskyglass.com
- www.cobhthaighceltique.com - The Stranahan’s distillery has a ton of great gifts in their general store, but one of the coolest gifts in the store is the Stranahan’s logo tasting glasses. These are small, inexpensive glasses that are great for parties or group tastings.
Books
- 33 Drams is a whiskey specific tasting journal so that your bourbon lover can keep notes on the whiskies he or she has tasted. This is great for going out to a whiskey bar and having a flight of three or four whiskies so you can determine your next purchase. This book also makes a great stocking stuffer, and when combined with a gift card to your local whiskey bar (Bull & Bush, White Chocolate Grill, The Whiskey Bar), it makes a perfect gift.
- For beginners/intermediate bourbon drinkers: Clay Risen is one of the few mainstream journalists that actually has a pretty good grip on American whiskey. His new book, American Whiskey, Bourbon and Rye, a Guide to the Nation’s Favorite Spirit is a fantastic map to guide a beginner or intermediate whiskey drinker. It comes complete with a decent background on American whiskey, types of stills, mash bills, and a tasting tutorial. It also details, rates, and gives price ranges and tasting notes for over 200 bourbons and ryes.
- For the bourbon expert: Chuck Cowdery is one of the most respected authorities on all things bourbon and rye. His book, Bourbon, Straight: The Uncut and Unfiltered Story of American Whiskey is a masters class in the history of American whiskey. It details the production, business and appeal of American whiskey from the 17th century to present day, as well as some of the stories surrounding the biggest names in whiskey.
Bourbon Flavored/Barrel Aged…
- Blis Maple Syrup is good, old fashioned 100% maple syrup aged in 12 to 18 year old bourbon barrels. It is available through Amazon, but it is also available in most Williams-Sonoma stores. At $27, it is a bit of a splurge compared to a standard Log Cabin or Mrs. Buttersworth, but Amazon customers gave it a 4.8 out of 5 and the Williams-Sonama customers gave Blis a 4.9 out of 5. .
- Bourbon Barrel Foods has put together a pretty cool bourbon sauce gift pack for only $25. You can also buy the sauces individually at a pretty reasonable price compared to the Blis maple syrup. The gift pack includes a “Kentuckyaki” sauce, which is a teriyaki sauce accented with bourbon, a “Bluegrass Soy Sauce” which is soy sauce aged in bourbon barrels, and last, but not least, they have a Worcestershire sauce aged in bourbon barrels. They also sell a ton of bourbon enhanced salts and sugars, as well as a few Woodford Reserve finished bitters.
Private Barrel Selections in Colorado
Sometimes it can be tough shopping for the bourbon drinker that has dozens of open bottle, because it seems like they have everything. While standard brands like Eagle Rare and Elijah Craig 12 Year might not scream “special,” sometimes a store hand picks a barrel of whiskey that is only sold out of their store. These barrels are normally chosen because they are superior to the standard bottle, so even if your bourbon drinker has one of these brands, getting him or her a private barrel selection will be that much more fun when they can compare the two side by side.
No two barrels are the same, so a private barrel selection is the best way to get a cheap yet unique gift for your bourbon lover. Colorado doesn’t have a huge selection of stores that participate in this, but if you know where to look, you can find some great barrel selections.
1. Davidson’s Liquors in Highlands Ranch has the most private barrels in Colorado. One of the coolest barrels available are their two Elijah Craig 12 Year single barrels. These are special because Elijah Craig 12 Year is normally a small batch, which means they blend multiple barrels into a batch. Davidson’s recently picked out two single barrels of Elijah Craig 12 Year, which allows the bourbon drinker on your list to see what Elijah Craig 12 Year tastes like if it was not blended in with other barrels. Davidson’s also has private barrels of Eagle Rare 10 Year, Elmer T. Lee, Blanton’s, and Four Roses
2. Argonaut in downtown Denver has the only cask strength Four Roses Single Barrel in the state (that I know of). Normally, these private selections from Four Roses are cut to 100 proof, but this 8 year and 8 month old OBSV barrel from Argonaut is over 120 proof. This is a great gift for any Colorado Four Roses fan.
3. You can also take to the internet to find these private barrels, as Colorado allows online liquor sales and shipping from other states. The Wine & Cheese Place has a pair of private blends of Angel’s Envy, which have been known to be phenomenal. Binny’s Beverage Depot has each of the ten Four Roses recipes at cask strength. If money is no object, one of each of the cask strength Four Roses Single Barrels would qualify as “gift of the century” in my book, but one or two would also be pretty epic.
4. If you want to really impress the bourbon lover on your list, just head over to Stranahan's on December 7th at about 4:00 AM to wait in line for the next Stranahan's Snowflake. Each bottle is $99, and it is some of the most coveted whiskey in the state. Plenty of people trade Stranahan's Snowflake 1:1 with bottles like George T. Stagg and Limited Edition Four Roses, so if you weren't able to get your bourbon lover a special release from the fall, here is your chance!
Colorado Gift Cards
1. Bull & Bush is by far the most extensive high end whiskey bar in the state. This is a place where your bourbon lover can go to check off just about every bourbon on his bourbon bucket list.
2. The West End Tavern in Boulder is another bar with a great bourbon selection. They probably have better food than Bull & Bush, but you won’t find nearly as many rare and super-top shelf bottles.
3. The White Chocolate Grill is by far the best food/whiskey restaurant. Even though the bars listed above have a bigger selection, at the WCG you can pair parmesan artichokes, apple glazed pork chops, and buttered spaghetti squash with Pappy Van Winkle, BTAC Weller, Stagg, Sazerac 18, Jefferson’s 18 Year, and Elijah Craig 20 year and Elijah Craig Barrel Proof.
Bourbon Stores
1. Pappy & Co. is a dry goods store selling Old Rip Van Winkle shirts, barware, and memorabilia like barrel heads. If you have a Pappy lover, this is a great place to check out.
2. Bourbon Outfitters is a generic bourbon store with bourbon and Kentucky themed items that are pretty cool. If Pappy is too trendy for you, this is a great alternative to Pappy & Co.
3. Distillery specific gift shops are also great places to score some great gifts. If your bourbon lover has a favorite distillery, they likely have a gift shop with shirts, glasses, and random bourbon stuff. Four Roses, and Maker’s Mark, are the better Kentucky based gift shops, and Stranahan’s and Breckenridge are great Colorado distilleries with well stocked gift shops.
Random Bourbon Gifts
1. One of my favorite gifts on this list is the Breckenridge Distillery bourbon barrel dog collar. It is a bit pricey at $30, but if your bourbon lover has a pooch, this would certainly beat a Christmas dog sweater!
2. Feisty Spirits in Fort Collins has some of the state’s most unique and thoughtful spirits. Their whiskies are all organic and hand made, and there are nearly a dozen varieties. For the holidays Feisty set up a gift pack of four of their most popular whiskies for $80, or you can stop by their tasting room and grab individual 200ml bottles for stocking stuffers.
3. The Bourbon Review is one of the only bourbon specific publications out there. If your bourbon lover has an iPad, you can get him or her a subscription to The Bourbon Review so they can keep up with the latest news from the bourbon industry.
4. The Stranahan’s VIP tour is $50 for one of the best whiskey experiences in the nation. The VIP tour is once a month, and you get to experience every aspect of the downtown distillery. You will get to taste the whitedog, whiskey from the barrel, and get an intimate behind the scenes tour by an expert guide. You also get to go home with a few gifts, so if you have a bourbon lover that also enjoys some barley based Colorado whiskey then the Stranahan’s VIP tour is an awesome choice.
Filed under: Blog of Bourbon