Guest post by Elisabeth, Cocktail Hacktress in training.
Tis the season to wander around the mall hopelessly looking for last minute gifts for those who are hard to buy for. Would they love the Bad Kitty calendar? Another red sweater? I, myself, have a difficult-to-buy-for Cocktail Hacker and feel for you. But, should your gift recipient love alcohol, you are in luck. We found some great books for a cocktail lover –Throw in a bottle of something tasty and you have a great gift!
I was super excited when I saw the Never Cook Sober Cookbook by Stacy Laabs and Sherri Field. What could be better than combining a love of cooking with a love of booze? This book has 100 recipes that incorporate booze. To help guide your cooking each recipe is given a “jug rating†for how much alcohol content is in the final product. What I loved most about this book is that it has everything you could want to cook meat-wise, but also includes items from scrambled eggs to desserts. Every recipe sounds delicious and I find myself trying to figure out which recipe I can cook from the ingredients in my house. Reese and I ended up cooking the Honey I’m Home Whiskey Chicken. Very tasty! If you have a cocktail loving cook on your Christmas list, grab this book! Buy one for me too!
If you are looking for a complete, modern cocktail book, we recommend Edible Cocktails by Natalie Bovis. This book includes a little education on ingredients, recipes for specialty homemade ingredients and, finally, recipes for a good variety of cocktails. This book is not limited to cocktails, but also includes recipes for shrubs, preserves, and syrups that would be great for every day drinks also. The recipes feel very farm-to-table calling for fresh seasonal ingredients when possible. This would also be a good book for someone willing to put time into making their own bitters (see Reese’s Hell Fire and Coronal bitter posts if this is you!) in order to make a cocktail with great impact. Serve up this book with a new muddler or beautiful bottles for storing shrubs.
The American Cocktail by the editors of Imbibe Magazine is sorted by region of the U.S.A. As would be expected from experts that spend their days writing about cocktails, the editors compiled only the best of modern cocktail recipes from around the country. In each recipe, the ingredients evoke a feel of their home region of the U.S., such as the cherries, walnuts and apples found in the Midwest recipes. We recommend this book for a seasoned cocktail fan that is in search of fresh recipe inspiration. Pair with a nice bottle of artisanal Rye.
For your farmer’s market attending cocktail lover, I recommend Artisanal Cocktails by Scott Beattie. This book is uniquely laid out by seasons, with fresh ingredients highlighted in each recipe. As a fan of fall flavors, I drooled over the Autumn Apple cocktail, complete with dehydrated apple chip accents. Nothing screams fall more than spiced apple beverages. The recipes vary from classics such as Mint Juleps (Summer) , Cuba Libres (Spring), and Margaritas (Winter) to more creative recipes such as the Rhubarbarella (Spring), Gin Kimchi (Spring) and Grapes of Roth (Fall). The recipes are very thorough, including recipes for any ingredients you need to complete the cocktail. This would be a delightful cocktail book for someone who likes to pair their cocktails with farmer’s market finds—Pair with a nice reusable shopping bag for when those markets open again.
Buying someone a SodaStream or other type of seltzer maker? You may want to include The Artisan Soda Workshop by Andrea Lynn, currently around $10 on Amazon.com. This book gives a great selection of recipes for shrubs and syrups that would be great with seltzer water. Only a few of the recipes in the back contain alcohol, but with a great tasting shrub and a little creativity, great cocktails aren’t far away!
Reese and I realize there are just as many beer lovers in Colorado as there are cocktail lovers. We are spoiled by the Great American Beer Festival and many large and small breweries in the area. For those that may not have the same access to the brew process as us, we recommend Short Course in Beer by Lynn Hoffman. This introduces the reader to all things important to know about beer, including terminology, process, home brew techniques and even a few recipes to pair with your beer. Throw in a 6-pack or a New Belgium Lips of Faith bomber and your beer lover is set!
Hopefully these suggestions help ease your anxiety about what you buy those hard-to-shop-for cocktail lovers. Anyone with suggestions for the Cocktail Hacker that has everything, I welcome help!
†The product reviewed here was provided to me as a free sample. If you’re wondering what that means check out my sample policy.
Comments
One response to “Gift Ideas for the Cocktail Lover”
What is your opinion, if any, w/ 3 Vodka? I think that’s what it’s called. It’s a Soy Distilled. I always have a bottle in my arsenal. Just a thought. Love the site, by the way!