It Came Upon A Midnight Cheers
Jim Meehan's gift picks for drink lovers
Every year, we ask TT Drinks Editor Jim Meehan to share his favorite gifts for beer, wine and cocktail lovers.
For 2015, his picks include a modern cocktail book that's sure to become a classic, an unaged bierschnaps (that's distilled beer to you) and the equivalent of a Harvard sweatshirt for true gin lovers. Drink them in, then cross those serious tipplers off your list.
Studio Neat Bamboo Rimming Tray ($15)
This compact, aesthetically pleasing alternative to the awkward and unwieldy tripartite plastic tray nestled underneath the countertop of many bars is the latest game-changing invention from Tom Gerhardt and Dan Provost, whose attention to functionality should be applied to every piece of equipment behind a bar.
Cocktail Kingdom Reserve Gotham Juicer ($70)
In addition to reprinting rare historic cocktail books, Cocktail Kingdom uses iconic vintage barware as inspiration for a number of its tools, including the formidable new Gotham Juicer. A hybrid of a traditional elbow juicer and a full-size press, the Gotham is ideal for larger citrus fruit and pomegranates.
Anchor Christmas Spirit ($22)
For decades, breweries like Brooklyn, Sierra Nevada and Anchor have released powerful, vintage-dated beers for enthusiasts and collectors to sip during the holidays. Always innovating, the brewers at Anchor are now setting some aside to be distilled into the aptly named Christmas Spirit, an unaged bierschnaps (German for distilled beer), which retains the malt and spice of the hearty ale. (Unfortunately, it's only available in California.)
Sizzler Beer Saver & Bottle Opener ($21)
A fellow Japanophile tipped me off to this ingenious little bottle opener, which doubles as a cap if you fail to empty the bottle's contents. Perfect to keep mixers such as tonic, ginger ale and club soda effervescent, the Sizzler is the ideal gift for your highball-loving husband or gin-and-tonic-guzzling girlfriend.
Onassis x Fords Gin Malcolm Sweatshirt ($98)
This limited-edition collaboration between The 86 Co.'s Simon Ford and Soho based design firm Onassis is the equivalent of a Harvard sweatshirt for mixology mavens. Feel free to layer it with the cheeky Dry Gin Tee underneath in the event you're asked to step behind a bar and test your skills.
The NoMad Cocktail Book ($100)
Cocktail geeks will wonder why you bought them a cookbook until they discover Leo Robitschek's gorgeous, flexibound recipe manual hidden within the back of the stately clothbound volume. The only thing more posh than sipping one of his cocktails in The NoMad's regal library is adding this book to yours.
Askov Finlayson/Marvel Bar Old Fashioned Candle ($40)
Gainful employment requires most of us to wait until the sun goes down before our first old-fashioned, which makes this old-fashioned perfumed candle the perfect way to hold you over. After you burn through the wax, you're left with the perfect glass to serve one in with Minneapolis-based Marvel Bar's proprietary recipe as your muse.
Rite in the Rain 3" x 5" Tactical Notebooks ($4 each)
Chef Wylie Dufresne introduced me to these waterproof notebooks, which he gave all his cooks to document their recipe development at WD~50. Whether behind the stove or bar, these notebooks are the ideal gift for the innovative host who's disciplined enough to chronicle creativity.