The SPIRITS Gift Guide 2024

I don't want a lot for Christmas

It is that time of year again when those of us who labour in the content mines must scrape out fresh Christmassy takes from our exhausted seams. Perhaps some words about the ancestral importance of gift-giving; perhaps some commentary on the horrors of capitalism; perhaps a meta-analysis of the Gift Guide itself or even a Gift Guide of Gift Guides.

I am going resist such temptations and cut to the chase! It’s ✨Christmas✨. There will be unconscionable waste. There will also be parties and festivities and gifts. Gifts you buy out of duty and gifts you buy out of love and also gifts that you sneakily buy for yourself. Excuse me: that was the postman with my 1970s Drambuie.

So here are some ideas for how to do all of that well. The way Gift Guides work in the old media is: journalists return favours to PRs, bossy editors get harrassed assistants to call in scented candles for them, advertisers are appeased, and it’s all a bit random and expensive. The way this one works is, I’ve asked some cool, tasteful, informed people in the Spirits Extended Universe what they’d like to give and what they’d like to receive. So, I promise, this one is bracingly useful. There’s even some wine in there. The bottles I’ve personally picked are genuinely the ones I really like. They’re all sub £50 (just about) and many of them are sub £20. Like you, I hate those guides that are all, like “these are the best headphones if you’re on a budget” and you follow the link and they’re £139. I’m sure you’d rather hear about the cognac that the head buyer of the Whiskey Exchange herself considers “stupidly cheap”.

There are some non-alcoholic ideas too, useful tools, fun things to take to parties - and the finest crisps known to man. Oh and at the end is a little list of ABSOLUTE LAST MINUTE things you can get from Tesco Express or wherever for those of you who are looking at this on December 24th.

But first, because we’re all carnival barkers now:
🎄

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CLOSE TO HOME

It would be self-defeating not to mention that I wrote a cocktail book. It’s called THE SPIRITS, it tells you most of what you need to know re: the stylish life and has been praised by many esteemed figures. “Essential” (Vogue). You can buy it in Waterstones, the LRB Bookshop, WH Smiths, Blackwells, Bookshop.org (which will order it via your local indie bookshop) and some other places too.

The SPIRITS STORE also remains an excellent place to buy the rudiments of a cabinet. (I earn some commission from this). The Umbrella gin, the Caelestiale vermouth, the Pic-Amar Campari dupe, the Orancia liqueur… I can vouch for them all! There’s free postage and packaging up until Christmas too.

And you can also give gift subscriptions of the Spirits newsletter too and that way, next year, you’ll be receiving all of the below for Christmas in return.

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THE ACTUAL GUIDE

🍒Inexpensive delights🍒

Atomiser Bottles
(c. £1.50)
This outstanding tip comes from state-of-the-nation partygoer and noted Gibson drinker, Andrew O’Hagan:

You know these little perfume atomisers that smart people secrete in their handbags? Well, if you fill one of those with Dolin’s vermouth before going out, and slip it into your pocket, it can be a lifesaver. It means that, whatever party you end up at, you can always subtly muddle up a Martini, just by spraying inside an empty glass before loading gin and ice on top. Imperfect, but better than a kick up the arse. Every time I see one of those atomisers I’m going to buy it for somebody loveable. As for receiving, I’d be happy if somebody bought me a really nice rye whisky. Like an 18 year old bottle of WhistlePig. After a busy year, I feel I could happily devote Christmas Day to making the perfect Sazerac.

Andrew’s novel Caledonian Road is a delight too. Hopefully his publisher, who I imagine is pleased with him, is taking notes re: that rye.

Brets Crisps
(<£3)
Cocktails need food and aioli flavour Brets = a God-tier Martini accompaniment. (There’s a Tartiflete flavour too. And Bleu d’Auvergne) Isn’t it depressing how seemingly every food we English might call our own always seems to exist in superior form as a relatively minor expression of French culinary arts. Shepherd’s pie? C’est hachis parmentier. Pork pie? Nothing on a paté en croute. CRISPS THEN? No. The French make better crisps too. (Oh and if you have strong opinions on this sort of thing, you might also enjoy The Crisp Sommelier by Neil Ridley who recommends Pickled Onion Monster Munch with a Gibson.)

Tajin
(<£3)
I have become addicted to this excellent Mexican powder: chilli + lime + salt + citric acid. It ennobles an avocado and makes a matchless Margarita rim if rimming is your thing. You can find it in some supermarkets but actually I’d recommend heading to the online specialist MexGrocer and topping up on blue corn tortillas, agave syrup, guava Jarritos, ancho chillies, etc, while you’re at it.

Perugina Rosana Sweets
(£3.50 plus, less in Italy)
I don’t love sweets but I make an exception for stylish Italian sweets. I discovered these at the Wes Anderson-esque Grand Hotel Tremezzo on Lake Como where there is an infinite jar of them in the lobby. The taste is unique or rather duonique(?) as there are two distinct, contrasting flavours: a fragrant sugar shell that tastes a little like orange blossom, which dissolves into a startlingly rich hazelnut fondant centre. They were invented in 1926 by Luisa Spagnoli, an ardent socialist, feminist and fashion designer, whose clothing brand is still going. You can find them via various online importers e.g. here. There’s pistachio flavour too.

Perello Cocktail Mix
(~£3)
I believe there’s some kind of “discourse” around these aspirational Spanish olives. I don’t care. They’re the best kind IMHO, the “Cocktail Mix” (i.e. with little guindilla chillies and cornichons as well) in particular. If you head to Brindisa or some other Spanish deli (I love Colmado on the Gloucester Road) you’ll find lots of other delicious things too, e.g. infinite gazpacho.

Luxardo Maraschino Cherries
(£8-10)
No other cherries are as good. Remember the poem (“Maraschino cherries, “maraschino” / the only foreign word I knew.”) I sometimes eat them with peanut butter on toast and alas my 10-year-old has picked up the habit so they’re going down fast. Available in all good bottle shops and also Lakeland.

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🫒Non-Alcoholic Treats🫒

Botivo Botanical Aperitivo
(~£26)
Let’s face it. Most non-alcoholic spirit-type things are terrible. It’s a frequent source of grousing among bartender types. But there’s one exception that usually emerges: Botivo. Alex Kammerling, a man with excellent taste says as much. “As a fan of all things apéritif / amaro, Botivo scratches the bitter itch that a lot of the other non-alcoholic offerings do not.” If you’re abstaining this Christmas - or hosting the abstemious - you could do a lot worse than this + tonic.

Fresh Artisan Crumpets
(£25 for 20)
All god-fearing people know that the crumpet is the choicest of the baked goods. They are why your toaster goes up to 8. Jones makes the best (I got this tip from crumpetophile Felicity Cloake) and they deliver to your door. Yes, 20 crumpiets is a lot of crumpets. But they freeze well. And they’re the dog’s bollocks at soaking up alcohol. (Honourable mentions in this vein: Betty’s Scones; Gower Cottage Brownies).

New Season Olive Oil
(£35+)
Here is a great tip from FT drinks sage Alice Lascelles:

“To be honest, more booze is the last thing I want at Christmas - my tasting in-tray is already far too full! What I LOVE though and what I stock up on every year at this time are the new season olive oils imported by Italian wine specialists Liberty Wines. They’re all single estate Tuscan oils from wine producers and each one has a completely different personality. Capezzana is gentle and meadowy while Fontodi (which does the River Café oil) is much more herbal, grassy, and peppery. The vividness of the flavours, the vitality in them is extraordinary. Just one of the olive oils with some salt and a nice hunk of bread would be my last meal on earth.”

Alice’s v.v. stylish book The Martini would make a great present too. Among the recipes is an OLIVE OIL MARTINI… Which I will have a go at making in the New Year.

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🔧 Equipment🔧

Cocktail Glasses
(£8-£18)
The Vintage List has a stellar range of cocktail glasses - and I can vouch for the fact that they’re dishwasher proof, too. Their mixing glass is something I have my eye on. I also like Urban Bar’s slightly more affordable range, too. The obvious present is coupes - you might recognise the gold-rimmed Nick and Nora’s from my amateurish cocktail photography. Actually the Holy Grail for me is the highball glass that isn’t too massive. Like these. And I rather like the simplicity of these tumblers, too, which would appear to demand a nice cold Paloma.

Coutale Sommelier Prestige Corkscrew
(£16.99)
“I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say that this is one of my favourite personal possessions,” says my former colleague Andy Neather, who writes the crisply informative wine and food Substack A View from My Table. “The wood and steel is smooth and heavy in your palm; and the double-action spring-loaded mechanism makes it easier to use than most ‘waiter’s friend’-style corkscrews. Essentially indestructible - mine has survived at least 15 years of punishing use.” Available from Amazon.

(Noteworthy cocktail equipment: Westmark Quick peelers for citrus zesting; Microplane graters for nutmeg and parmesan); stainless steel cocktail sticks.

Rare Tea Glass Teapot (plus tea)
(£24.99)
My friend Henrietta Lovell, founder of the Rare Tea Company, gave me one of these a few years ago - and it has revolutionsed my tea-drinking. It’s a one-person glass teapot with built-in strainer which essentially means it’s no more hassle to make loose-leaf tea than it is to use a teabag. So there’s no excuse. Loose leaf tea is one of the great non-alcoholic pleasures of life and can be used for alcoholic purposes too.

“The little glass teapot is great for making cocktails!” [writes Henrietta from Mexico City where she now dwells.] “Jasmine silver tip tea makes a fine mixer for gin and wild rooibos is good with rum. And you can use it to stir and strain a Martini”.

That’s true and you can also infuse gin with tea-leaves - about two minutes should do it.

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🍷 Alcohol that ISN’T SPIRITS 🍷

Al Hambra 1925 Reserva
(£4-£6)
I don’t think a better beer exists than this one. It’s an amber lager, as refreshing as lager should be but rich and dry and nutty too. I drove past the brewery in Granada at the tail end of last year and had to restrain myself. They do large bottles (700ml) in Tesco’s for £4.25 or they come in smaller form multipacks in Majestic, Ocado, and others.

Teilani Valley: Khakhuri No.8
(£14.99)
I’ve probably bought this wine more than any other bottle this year (from Grape & Grind, Bristol friends.) It’s an amber wine from Georgia made from the rkatsisteli, mtsvane, khikhvi and kisi grapes - which are just great to type. It’s appetite-whettingly dry and apricotty and goes wonderfully with cocktail snacks, I find.

Oiseau Rebel Natural Wines
(£22+)
I asked Mary Wilson who buys all the alcohol for the eponymous Wilson’s, my favourite restaurant in Bristol, what she’s excited about drinking. “I’m obsessed with wine makers Oiseau Rebelle,” she responded, directing me to the v. cool website of these German-French natural wine producers.

“I love their story and how they do things. The 2015 BRMTH is their natural interpretation of a dry vermouth. It’s heaven neat.” [ALAS we couldn’t then find it online. But you can pick up their 2017 XRS in Cave.] “Less niche/a bit basic: it’s a Christmas tradition in our house to drink Lillet Rosé over ice with a twist whilst opening presents. It’s minimimal faff, it’s pretty and it’s probs my fave thing about Christmas.”

(I know what else I want for Christmas, actually: a Wilson’s bacon roll).

Langham Culver NV
(£33)
It seemed rude not to ask the estimable Henry Jeffreys what sparkling wine to get in. Henry’s wonderfully entertaining book Vines in a Cold Climate, about the English wine revolutions, won the Fortnum & Mason prize earlier this year.

“I think the best English sparkling wine for the money and perhaps best sparkling wine full stop is Langham Culver NV. It’s from an organic vineyard in Dorset, made from black grapes and it has a rich bruised apple character with lots of yeasty croissant notes. If you like Bollinger [I do], you’ll love it.”

Henry also has a great boozy Substack and a new podcast too.

Domaine Chante Cigale Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2022
(£34.95)
I also asked Andrew Neather what special wine I should be getting in for the big 25.

“Not exactly under the radar as it's a celebrated estate, but for any lover of glorious, big, rich red wines, this is about as good as it gets, as I was reminded tasting it last week. From St Albans' excellent Cellar Door Wines and a few other independent stores. Lovely now but will last at least a decade too.

Imagine keeping a bottle unopened for a decade! I don’t know how these wine people do it.

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🍸Cocktail Ingredients🍸

Homemade Cocktails
(£0+)
There’s always something touching about a homemade present. Invest in a few empty glass bottles - or repurpose some old ones - and you can delight your friends with artisanal cocktails tied up in a nice gingham ribbon. Just make sure you avoid anything with fresh juice in it, which will spoil. The Spirits Store Negroni package is a great shortcut to, say 10 x 200ml Negroni giftlets? But you could equally use the existing contents of your shelves. Clarified Milk Punch is a particularly good present. It is specifically designed for keeping, it goes quite far and it’s a true labour of love.

Bitters in General
(~£8+)
Bitters are a great affordable present for a cocktaileur. Peychaud’s - I use that one maybe even more than Angostura. Bittermans Chocolate Mole bitters is excellent. As are all of the Fee Brothers bitters. The Black Walnut is great for Manhattans, Old Fashioneds etc, but the one I use most often is the Peach Bitters as you can probably tell from how filthy my bottle is. So fresh and fragrant. The thing to make with it is a Greenbriar. Note also the Nielsen-Massay Rose Water and Cortas Orange Blossom-Water peeping out there from my seasoning shelf.

Zünftler Pear Spirit / Cherry Schnapps
(~£14.99)
If you ever shop in Lidl (I’m a convert) you will know that there is usually an exciting weekly influx of products from different corners of the continent. When it’s Germany/Austria week, avoid the dubious sausages and instead seek the bargain eaux-de-vies sold under the Zünftler brand. I’ve not tried the plum. But the “Black Forest cherry schnapps” (aka kirsch) is delicious. And I cannot now contemplate a Pisco Sour without 15ml of the pear spirit. It’s so good. When they will next materialise, alas, I cannot say.

La Gitana Napoleon Amontillado Seco Sherry
(£15-£17)
Sherry is remarkably cheap considering how good it is and you can make a bunch of great cocktails with it too. I particularly love a dry-ish amontillado. This one tastes like iberico ham, hazelnuts and salted caramel. Available from Jeroboams and elsewhere.

Mozart Dark Chocolate Liqueur
(c£15-£18)
As a general rule? Don’t buy liqueurs as presents. Those things can linger for years. Spirits - especially aged spirits - are almost always more welcome. HOWEVER! This Austrian dark crème de cacao is such a crowd-pleaser I guarantee it won’t survive far beyond breakfast on Christmas morning. A Brandy Alexander = 25ml cacao, 25ml brandy, 25ml cream. Shake, strain, grate nutmeg and that’s all you need to know.

Chartreuse Elixir Vegetal
(£16.99)
Actual Chartreuse is extremely dear. But you know you can get this stuff, right? It’s the pure unsweetened elixir and it works a little bit like bitters. Traditionally, you’d drop some on a sugar cube and consume it that way. An excellent present for an invalid. Available from the Whiskey Exchange.

Manhattan Project Cocktails
(£32)
These are incredibly well-made canned cocktails by one of the best in the business, Felix Cohen of Daisy, Margate. There’s four flavours and they’re all weird and tasty: Green Chilli Margarita, Hay Cooler, Champagne Daiquiri, Lychee Story. Buy them here.

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🥃 Serious Spirits 🥃

Somerset Cider Brandy
(£25-£50)
OK the proper stuff now. Remember what I said about crisps earlier? Well I take it back: the aged spirits from the Somerset Cider Brandy Co. equals any calvados and would make the ideal post Xmas dinner sip. The cider brandy comes in three, five, ten and 20(!) year expressions - the 500ml bottles of the five year aren’t so steep, really. You can pick up some cider, pomona and/or brandied cherries while you’re at it too.

WV Baker 9-year-old Rare Pale Cognac (2012)
(£35.95)
OK, so this is the cognac that Dawn Davies, head buyer of the Whiskey Exchange describes as “stupidly cheap”. I’ve tried other cognacs by the same producer and I don’t doubt it. Dawn combines the rare qualities of being both prodigiously knowledgeable and extremely good fun and her tips are always worth following. So you will certainly want to know that she also considers Loch Lomond 12-Year Inchmurrin (£34.75) to be “great value deliciousness” and declares Glenglassnaugh Sandend (£53.95) “genuinely my favourite whiskey of the moment.”

Green Spot Irish Pot-Still Whiskey
(~£40)
And this is one of my favourite whiskeys. It just always hits the spot. Clean, nutty, floral, ethereal. Don’t make cocktails with it, just drink it. Available from Waitrose Cellar and all good booze outlets. Grab with both hands if you find it in Duty-Free.

Smith & Cross Jamaican Rum
(~£43)
If you like your rums funky, musty, vaguely undead - well, you will not fail to be haunted by Smith & Cross. It’s 100% pot still (old school!), overproof as standard (which helps justify the price, maybe?), culty as all hell, and I promise it will transform your rum game. From Master of Malt or Whiskey Exchange. Other aspirational rums: Doorlys, Foursquare, Hampden Estate, Trois Rivieres, and Saint Bénévolence claírín from Haiti.

Don Fulano Blanco Tequila
(~£45)
I was going to recommend a mezcal, which is maybe the sort of spendy purchase you might only justify at Christmas? But this tequila from esteemed Jalisco producer Don Fulano changed my mind, reminding me that really good tequila, sipped neat, is kind of better. It’s grassy, savoury and rich with notes of kerosene and honey and the ghost of tropical fruit. See Whiskey Exchange and Master of Malt. There’s an even more premium expression, if you’re feeling flush.

Armagnac
(£50+++)
Finally, I turned to David Coggins, author of The Contender, whose brisk style advice I enjoy immensely (“[You] may feel liberated walking along the West Side Highway in shorts in August. But remember that a man doesn’t look serious baring his thighs.”). Anyway, this is what he had to say on the matter of alcoholic gifting:

"I think a bottle of bas-Armagnac is great and if it’s from their birth year then it’s even greater. If I’m in London then I boringly go to Berry Bros. Over here [NYC] probably Astor. If anybody can get me a bottle of Havana Club 7-year Rum then please hide it from US customs officers and send it my way. But when it doubt keep it simple and give a bottle of champagne and make it Blanc de Blancs.”

I happen to agree. Armagnac is rather good value compared to cognac - and more discerning. (Note: Havana Club is basically banned in the US so makes a great present for an American… “of course forbidden rum tastes better!”). But I think the meta-advice peeping out from behind all this is that you should enjoy buying gifts. Don’t just do everything online. Make an expedition of it. Patronise a business where they really know what they’re doing and treat their customers with tact. Christmas shopping in Berry Bros. and Rudd - one of the oldest shops in London? That is a Christmas present in itself. There’s still plenty of time.

Absolute Last Minute Presents

Should you fail to heed that advice, I bet there’s a shop near you open on Christmas day selling one of the following: Jameson’s. Havana Club 7 (if you’re in the UK!). Glenlivet 12. Tanqueray. Campari. Bollinger. Bulleit. Rémy-Martin. Laphroaig. All good things.