There is always a least one person in a family or friend group who is an absolute nerd for all things cocktails, booze, or alcohol-related. This is a person who fancies themselves a mixologist, the first person in the group to jump at the chance to craft drinks for the people around them. We all need that person in our life, they provide so much, so now is your chance to give back a little by buying them a truly next-level spirits gift.
If you want to get them something they truly like, you need to know a little bit about alcohol culture, which is where we come in. We cover the finest in whiskey, tequila, and beer just about every week here at Uproxx, so we know our stuff. With our 2024 Spirits Gift Guide, we’re going to point you in the direction of the gifts that’ll inspire joy in your giftee.
We’ve broken up this guide in two sections, Part 1 will cover all the best drink-making accessories, while Part 2 will point you in the direction of some of the best bottles in the various spirits category we have expertise. Let’s dive in!
Part 1: The Accesories
Barillio Travel Bartender Kit
Price: $97.99
If the cocktail enthusiast in your life likes to flex their skills at any parties they’re invited to, this travel-friendly bartender kit is an ideal gift for them. It has pretty much everything a person would need to craft most cocktails including a shaker, muddler, pourers, a jigger, three different strainers, a zester, a citrus squeezer, a peeler, corkscrew, tongs, and tweezers. There isn’t a bar task this kit can’t satisfy save for smoking!
All the giftee has to do is load it up in their car and they are ready to mix anywhere.
Buy it here.
Middleton Mixology Smoketop
Price: $39.99
Smoked cocktails are more of a gimmick than an actual way to impart flavor to a cocktail. Having said that, it’s a pretty cool gimmick, one that really goes that extra step to impress people, so if the bartender in your life likes to put on a bit of a show when they are mixing, the Middleton Mixology Smoketop is one of the best, simplest, and most affordable cocktail smokers on the market.
Rather than a huge glass dome or apparatus, the Smoketop features a clever chimney design that you load atop a glass, fill up with food-grade wood chips, and blast with a torch, infusing the glass with some scented smoke.
Buy it here.
Imbibe! Cocktail Recipe Book By David Wondrich
Price: $22.82
What makes Imbibe! such a special book is not just the 100+ recipes of essential and fascinating cocktails but the history that cocktail writer David Wondrich stuffs into the book, giving you the context and history of where each drink came from and how it has evolved. It’s fascinating for any fan of mixology, but don’t just take our word for it.
The first edition of the book is so beloved that it won a James Beard Award. A book winning a famous culinary award? That’s some good reading!
Buy it here.
Riedel Drink Specific Glassware
Price: Varies
Great glassware is an essential building block of any home bar and this drink-specific series by Riedel is made in collaboration with spirits specialists for spirits specialists. To really explore the world of craft cocktails, you’re going to need the seven classic cocktail glasses, and Riedel has them all, from highballs to rocks glasses, to Nick & Nora.
Buy a single glass, or go all out and buy the eight-piece rocks and highball set and have your favorite mixologist well-equipped to make any drink in their recipe book.
Buy it here.
W&P Peak Silicone Everyday Ice Tray
Price: $16
Yes, buying an ice tray as a gift seems as bad as getting a pair of socks from your aunt, but if someone in your life always plays the role of bartender at every party (and loves doing it) then they’re going to be serious about their ice game. As someone who often plays that role myself let me tell you, nothing beats a good silicon ice tray.
This is the one I have in my fridge personally, and what I love about it is the internal steel frame which helps to keep the tray’s shape as you’re filling it with water. That means no spills or frustration filling it up again for a new batch of ice — you’d be surprised how many cheap silicone ice trays are structurally unsound. See, this is the real expert nerd sh*t you trust us with!
The silicon is thin, allowing the water to melt to ice as quickly as possible, but durable enough to handle the abuse of unloading the tray over and over again.
Buy it here.
James F. Acacia Wooden Cutting Board
Price: $19.96
The bartender in your life needs a dedicated cutting board for cocktails. Specifically one that is too small for general cooking tasks, this way it stays dedicated. This Acacia Wood cutting board from James F is 9.8 x 8 inches, giving you just the right amount of space to cut up garnishes and aromatics. It’s small enough to fit in a draw, burnished to prevent splinters, and has an attractive finish that doesn’t just look great, but will also keep your knives from dulling.
Buy it here.
Geiserailie Wood Margarita Salt Rimmer
Price: $12.99
Nobody needs a salt rimmer, you can just spread some salt on a plate anytime you need to rim a cocktail, but doing so always results in wasting a lot of salt. A dedicated salt rimmer will cut down on waste because the circular shape keeps the salt where it’s needed most, and this one by Geiserailie has a removable lid — which doubles as a small cutting board — allowing anyone to store the salt for later use.
It also just looks great, which goes a long way with amateur bartenders who are all about aesthetics.
Buy it here.
Part 2: The Bottles
Tequila — Fortaleza Reposado
Price: $66.99
It doesn’t come in a fancy bottle like Clase Azul, doesn’t have that wide-spread name-brand recognition like Don Julio or Patrón, but tequila drinkers know and love this bottle. It’s considered the holy grail of tequila, the very brand and expression that everything is inevitably compared to.
Fortaleza’s Reposado is simply tequila at its finest, so if you want the drinks enthusiast in your life to weep tears of joy, this is the bottle that’s going to do it.
Buy it here.
Vodka — Chopin Potato Vodka
Price: $20.99
Potato vodka is smoother, tastier, and cleaner than typical grain-based vodkas, so if the drinker in your life is all about vodka, they’ll appreciate this affordable bottle by Chopin.
The flavors here are toasty, floral, fruity, and silky smooth. I’ve yet to meet a person who hasn’t been blown away by this brand.
Buy it here.
Gin — Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin
Price: $55.99
It’s easy to find a good, high-quality gin for cheap, but nothing quite compares to this German dry gin. It has complex herbal and botanical tones, a sweet and fruity flavor, and a nice peppery bite that serves as a great base for complex cocktails.
It’s truly next-level dry gin. But be warned, once you get your giftee on this brand, they’re going to expect a bottle every year.
Buy it here.
Rum — Appleton Estate Rum 21 Yr
Price: $142.99
For years I wasn’t the biggest fan of rum, and that’s because most of what I had was the cheap stuff, which is so sweet and sugared that you can’t taste any nuance or complexity. Appleton Estate’s 21 year rum is the opposite of that.
It’s wonderfully complex with a mix of rich cocoa, coffee, chocolate, and vanilla flavors with a long and lingering finish. This is one of the finest and most luxurious sipping rums on the market.
Buy it here.
Whiskey — Whistle Pig The Boss Hog XXI The Juggernaut
Price: $649.99
This is the sort of gift you reserve for a best friend, grandparent, or in-law. It’s the type of whiskey that isn’t designed just to impress, it’s a statement. It says “I know you have refined tastes, well I’m here to elevate them even further.”
I’d very much like to tell you that expensive whiskey isn’t worth it, but I’ve tried Whistle Pig and I can’t deny that this is truly next-level stuff. This rye whiskey hails from the state of Vermont and is aged for 11 years in new American oak barrels and finished in Thandai barrels. It is single barrel-aged and bottled at Proof, coming in at 52.47% ABV.
The flavors here are a deep bouquet of honeycomb, ginger, flowers, black pepper, cardamom, allspice, clove, and saffron, with a baking spice-heavy finish and just a touch of grilled pineapple.
Buy it here.