By Nanette Wiser
Looking for the perfect hostess gift or present this season? Sip local from local brewers and spirit makers. Create a craft beer basket with 3 Daughters, Sea Dog, Shipyard, Green Bench, Mastry’s (who has teamed with Bern’s for a signature beer), Cage, Big Storm and others.
Wrap up a bottle from St. Pete Distillery or Kozuba Distilleries for the Sunday football crowd. Assemble cocktail baskets such as Horse Soldier Bourbon Whiskey + maple syrup + aromatic bitters for an Old Fashioned, or Horse Soldier + sour mix + simple syrup with a basil garnish for a Basil Smash. Small batch coffees from Kahwa and a tipple of Rivulet Artisan Pecan Liqueur or Nielsen-Massey pure vanilla extract and bourbon complement a Christmas cookie exchange.
Sober bars are popping up from LA’s Ocean Beach Cafe to Orlando’s Bandbox. Locally, bars feature artisan non-alcoholic cocktails and low ABV canned cocktails 4.5-5.5 % are trending for backyard barbecues. Gather a cornucopia of low ABV canned cocktails such as Cutwater’s Grapefruit + vodka, Cayman Jack’s margaritas (watermelon, mango), White Claw’s Vodka + Soda (wild cherry, pineapple, watermelon) and my favorite, 3 Daughters new Orange Cream Vodka + Soda (they also make a non-alcoholic CBD seltzer).
At the recent Savor St. Pete, we sampled St. Regis’ de-alcoholized wines and bubbly; remarkably tasty. Their Shiraz Rose blended with strawberries, maple syrup, a T sugar and ice is a delightful frose and we plan to use it in a party punch.
Enophiles can sample before gifting bottles at Try Wine, Book + Bottle, Hawthorne Bottle Shop, Lolita’s, Bella Vino, Grape Wine Café, The Study, Pour Yours, Must Wine Loft, Sea Grapes, Vino Simpatico, Dracula’s Legacy, Sauvignon Wine Locker, Bacchus Wine Bistro and others. Trending now are European wines from France, Spain, Portugal, and Germany’s 13 regions, especially an Extra Brut super dry Riesling that pairs well with Asian dishes and Paso Robles’s California reds are wow gifts, especially Daou’s Pessimist and Austin Hope. Closer to home, Plant City’s Keel and Curley Winery’s fruity wines, delicious sangria and agrarian ales/ciders are a treat.