Article By Nanette Wiser
Shop local, drink global is the Paradise News motto. There are so many indie wine shops, local distilleries and craft breweries to browse for holiday gifts. It can be t-shirts, coozies and drinking accessories or spirited delights.
Accessories: Any enophile or spirit lover would enjoy accessories, glassware and mixology or cocktail stirrers that match their passion (golf? animal lover?). During the holidays, many liquor stores stock up on gift boxes with fancy glasses or martini/mule elegant kits.
You can find cool barware, glasses, coasters and accessories at shops such as ZaZoo’d, Home Goods, Tuesday Morning, Lala’s, Sign of the Dolphin, Casa di Mazzaro’s, Left Bank’s home store and Corey Avenue’s Beachside Boutique and Simply Perfect. Don’t forget to check out vintage shops and pop-up markets, like Vintage Marche, for new and 2nd time around treasures perfect for home entertaining and your cocktail cart.
Mixers: The sophisticated mixers are “raising the cocktail and mocktail” game, one of the leading trends of 2020, as identified by the Specialty Food Association’s Trendspotter Panel. Such mixers may be consumed as is, chilled or over ice, for a booze-free adult-centric beverage, or shaken with an appropriate spirit for an over-21 drink.
Explore an exciting wealth of flavors found on cocktail menus to make at home including gourmet syrups, shrubs, bitters and flavored tinctures. Woody herbs, bright citrus, tangy fruits and even nuances of smoke and char can be added to any kind of beverage, meeting the flavor-adventure demands of savvy consumers. Check out the Savory Spice Shop, Kalamazoo Olive Company, Trader Joe’s, Fresh Market, Rollin’ Oats, Italy Bottega and Great American Natural Products for unique concoctions.
Look into George Clooney’s new Casamigos tequila mixers, fancy ginger beers, Fever tonics, Owens’ and Stirrings mixers and don’t be afraid to ask your bartender what they use to make the cocktails you love. Stash Tea Co. has developed tea-infused cocktail recipes that deliver the healthful halo of brewed tea to create delights such as maple apple cider hot toddy, chai spice tea with honey and rum, orange spice brandy Alexander and citrus hibiscus sangria.
Wine, Spirits & Beer: Some of our local favorite haunts for snagging spirited gifts near the beaches and downtown St. Pete are Hawthorne Bottle Shop, Norman’s Liquor & Fine Wines, The Wine Knot, Symposium Craft Beer & Wine, Belleair Market (cigars too!), Pasadena Liquors & Fine Wines, Try Wine, Book + Bottle, Lolita’s Wine Market, 4th & Vine, CellarMasters Wine Bar & Bottle Shop and Bella Vino. For spirits, Total Wine, ABC Liquors and Leukens purvey a fine selection from trendy tequilas to infused vodkas.
Holiday Sippers & Hostess Gifts:
This is the most popular time of year for liqueurs and eggnogs, and one of my favorites is Harvey’s Bristol Cream, a unique blend of Fino, Amontillado, Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso now in a bottle with a logo that turns blue when the bottle is the perfect refrigerator temperature. Evan Williams Southern eggnog packs a punch when you’re waiting up for Santa. If you like tequila, you’ll love Mezcales de Levenda from Mexico’s Sierra Madre Oriental mountains, a mix of papaya, brine and smoke notes. Chandon Rose lovers will be thrilled with Ruinart Brut Rose, and for the men, the herbaceous Ferne Branca liqueur is delicious straight up or as a cocktail splash. Italian Aperol and French Lillet look lovely on a bar cart.
Holiday Cocktails
Hot Mulled Wine
- 2 bottles red wine – one sweet, one dry red
- 4 cups apple cider
- 1/2 cup brandy
- 1/4 cup honey
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 2 oranges – sliced
- 8 whole cloves
- 12 black peppercorns
- Additional cinnamon sticks and orange slices for garnish
Instructions: Combine the cider, wine, brandy, honey, cinnamon sticks, orange slices, cloves, and peppercorns in a large pot. Simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove cloves and peppercorns. Serve in heatproof glasses or mugs. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and/or orange slice. (You can also keep it warm in a crock pot.)
Apple Cider Mojitos
- Ice, Juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 c. gold rum apple cider
- Mint/Apple slices, for garnish
- Cinnamon sticks, for garnish
Instructions: Fill 2 glasses with ice. Add the juice of half a lemon to each glass. Divide the rum between the two glasses, then fill 3/4 of the way full with apple cider. Top each with a splash of seltzer and stir to combine. Garnish with mint, thyme, and a slice of apple.