Awesome Cocktails

Did you miss Coachella and the Aperol Aperitivo Italiano pop-up this year? Cocktail Courier’s festival-themed Aperol Spritz Kit brings the fun home without the sunburn. The box is outfitted with a full aperitif spread, including Aperol Spritz, Cinzano Prosecco, San Pellegrino, oranges, dried apricots, Italian potato chips, and festival swag.

What’ll ya have, Mack? Let Chronicle’s Cocktail Dice call the shots. Roll the three dice for your answer: one die is for liquors, one’s for mixers, and one’s for garnishes. With 216 possible combos, the fun is in the surprise. The 32-page booklet further helps customize your drink with what you have on hand.

With booze co-starring in the hit Apple TV+ show Palm Royale along with the wonderful Kristen Wiig, Cocktail Courier’s Tanqueray Martini Kit is a perfect viewing party in a box. Includes everything you’d need to mix up 8-16 Martini Royales and Damn Dirty Martinis, and even comes with a 2-month Apple TV+ subscription.

If you love showy smoke-infused cocktails but hate craft bar prices, do it yourself with a Cocktail Smoker Kit from Bark & Barware. The handsome wood gift box contains six wood chip flavors (like cherry, hickory, and maple), a torch (sans butane), four whiskey stones, a metal brush, and tongs.

There’s an art to infusing spirits with spices and fresh ingredients. This 1800 Tequila does it the right way, starting with the distiller’s signature double-distilled 1800 Blanco Tequila made from 100% Weber blue agave, then infusing it on site using ripe cucumbers an jalapeños to impart natural flavors without pulp residue.

Orgeat syrup is best known for its use in the Trader Vic’s classic Mai Tai. It’s usually made with sugar and almonds, but El Guapo’s special Creole Orgeat switches things up with organic Louisiana pecans. A delicious taste of New Orleans mixed with rum and fruit juice or with whiskey and bitters for a unique Old Fashioned. It’s also tasty in coffee drinks.

Leave it to The Kraken Rum to spawn an anti-Valentine’s Day gift for the blackest of hearts… like your ex, probably. The Beast’s Desolate Rose Bundle pairs a preserved black rose in a delicate glass dome (made by Holy Chic Los Angeles) with a bottle of The Kraken Black Spiced Rum.

It takes a special single-malt whisky to stand out from the pack. Waterford Whisky’s three distinctive Cuvée Concepts do the trick, signifying an impressive evolution in the southern Irish distiller’s mission to use terroir-driven techniques to create naturally flavorsome single malt whiskies with no artificial colors or chill-filtration.

Chocolate and mezcal are two of Mexico’s greatest gastronomic gifts, so MarieBelle chocolates and Del Maguey Vida Puebla bundled them for this limited edition. Infused with Del Maguey mezcal, the boxed bon bons are inspired by seven classic cocktails: Margarita, Carajillo, Negroni, Old Fashioned, Paloma, Mai Tai and The Last Word.

Hibear makes the most versatile insulated bottle you can buy. The stainless steel All-Day Adventure Flask holds up to 32 oz. and includes the parts needed to make pour-over and cold brew coffee, tea, cocktails, infusions, and more. The silicone sleeve at its bottom can also be removed and used as a mug.

Still hanging tough this Dry January? Seedlip Notas de Agave has your back with its zero-alcohol alternative blend of prickly pear, lime, and agave flavors to replace hankerings for tequila cocktails. It warms the palate with notes of vanilla, damiana flower, and peppercorn and is meant to mix with tonic or other NA ingredients.

Celebrating Dry January? WhistlePig has your fix with a tasty blend of non-alcoholic rye whiskey, maple syrup, and Vermont cannabis terpenes. It won’t get you buzzed or high, but it’ll tickle your tastebuds with a lightly sweet flavor and heady aroma. The Hot Box bundle adds a pig head smoker and cocktail smoking chips. All proceeds go to Turning Tables.

Fix mixed drinks wherever your adventures take you with this stainless steel cocktail shaker from Yeti. It features double-wall construction to keep contents cold, a twist-off cap, a sweat-proof exterior, and a leak-resistant lid. Fill, shake, and enjoy. Available in Camp Green, Rescue Red, Chartreuse, Cosmic Lilac, Navy Blue, and White.

Amanda Schuster’s elegant cocktail recipe book deserves a spot on your bookshelf. The book catalogs 200 signature cocktails from bars and restaurants around the world. Each drink recipe is accompanied by details of its origins and an artful photograph of the cocktail. It’s packed with both classic cocktails and lesser-known specialty drinks.

Want that special round ice you find at fancy cocktail bars? The IcyForge is a tabletop ice maker that cranks out perfect, crystal-clear spheres of ice for your drinks. It makes two bubble-free 5.5cm (~2.2″) ice balls every hour and has a capacity of a dozen in its bin. It also has built-in UV sterilization, and is compatible with home water purifiers.

This 14-piece bartending set includes all the tools you need to make great cocktails. It includes a stainless steel shaker, a double jigger, two strainers, ice tongs, three pourers, a corkscrew, a muddler, 35 recipe cards, and a mixing spoon, all set into a modern bamboo organizer. Available in five color combinations.

Want to fix a drink but don’t know what to make? Shane Carley’s book The Home Bartender offers recipes for more than 200 cocktails, all of which can be made with four ingredients or less. In addition to classics like Cosmos and Old Fashioneds, you’ll get lots of new and creative cocktail ideas.

Toast your seasonal reunions with Cocktail Courier’s limited-edition “Home for the Holidays” cocktail kit featuring St-Rémy Signature, the only French brandy that features a double aging process: first in charred new oak casks, then seasoned in brandy oak casks. The kit has everything needed for a brandy twist on a classic Old Fashioned.

This set of five dram-size bitters from Woodford Reserve adds a big punch of flavor to whiskey drinks and other cocktails. The box includes 10 ml bottles of chocolate, orange, aromatic, sassafras and sorghum, and spiced cherry bitters so you can sample each and decide which flavors to keep stocked in your bar.

Since 1865, Don Q has consistently delivered great rums. Don Q Reserva 7 is a robust Puerto Rican blend of rums aged in American white oak barrels for seven years. Rich in flavor, it’s just the ticket for seasonal hot drinks like Hot Buttered Rum and many other tasty cocktails.

Made in Scotland with infusions of rose and cucumber, Hendrick’s Gin is unusually smooth and much more than just juniper berry flavored. Hendrick’s 10 other botanicals are chamomile, elderflower, lemon peel, orange peel, caraway, coriander, cubeb berries, angelica root, yarrow root, and orris root. To make one gin, they actually make two.

Decorate your Christmas tree with booze when you pick up these clever cocktail ornaments from Brooklyn’s Love & Victory. The hand-blown glass ornaments come in martini, margarita, Mai Tai, old-fashioned, spritz, Negroni, Bloody Mary, and straight whiskey versions. They also have a web-exclusive set of ice cube ornaments to keep your bar-tree cool.

High Camp Flasks’ 3-piece shaker is perfect for mixing and transporting cocktails. Its main section is a 20oz. vacuum-insulated shaker. Combined with a tight-sealing lid and a strainer module, you can fill it with ingredients, then shake them when you get to the party. Available in copper, gunmetal, or stainless steel. Engraving also available.