2014 Gift Guide: For the Boozehound
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
If you can't tie one on during the merriest of seasons, when can you?
Maria Pouchnikova
1. | Homemade Gin Kit: Bathtubs were the go-to vessels for mixing up batches of Prohibition-era homemade hooch, but the folks behind the Homemade Gin Kit are leaving your tub for soaking. This infuse-your-own kit comes with two cork-topped bottles waiting to be filled with your own blend of botanically scented spirits. Simply add the woodsy juniper berries and other aromatics like coriander, rose hips, fennel seed, cardamom and bay leaves to any old vodka, let steep for 36 hours, strain and voila — a gin ready to be matched with a splash of tonic and a twist. $50, Green Aisle Grocery, 1618 E. Passyunk Ave., 215-465-1411, greenaislegrocery.com.
2. | Dad’s Hat Whiskey Tasting Box: The guys behind Conshohocken’s Tradestone Confections have figured out a totally genius pairing just in time for the holiday season — rye and chocolate. Dad’s Hat Whiskey Tasting Box includes three trios of chocolate (caramel apple, Vietnamese cinnamon and double mint), all meant to play off the tasting notes in locally distilled Dad’s Hat Pennsylvania rye. Each sampler comes with a $3 mail-in rebate for a bottle of Dad’s Hat whiskey. $18.50, Tradestone Confections, 117 Fayette St., Conshohocken, 484-368-3096, tradestoneconfections.com.
3. | Oggi Penguin cocktail shaker: Unlike a cornucopia of exotic bitters, a fridge full of olives stuffed with everything from blue cheese to pickled onions, or a mustache-and-suspenders combo, a cocktail shaker is a must-have for any serious home bartender. And if you’re going to invest in a shaker, might as well make it one that’s shaped like an adorably dapper penguin barkeep who just so happens to pour icy martinis from his beak. $29.99, Kitchen Kapers, 213 S. 17th St., 215-546-8059, kitchenkapers.com.
4. | Tovolo King Cube ice cube tray: There’s a big difference between ordering a tumbler of your favorite 15-year Scotch at a classy, wood-paneled bar and swigging a few ounces in the comfort of your own home. It might be the same bottle of Macallan, but whether you realize it or not, the difference is in the ice cube. Bartenders in the know have been using oversized cubes for years, with the logic that the bigger the cube, the slower the melt, and the slower the melt, the less dilution. Plus, a big cube is always pretty damned impressive. $8.99, Kitchen Kapers, 213 S. 17th St., 215-546-8059, kitchenkapers.com.
5.| Different Drum Pennsylvania rum: The founders of premier Philadelphia roaster La Colombe could have put out a limited-edition coffee for their 20th anniversary, but that would have been a gimme, right? Instead, Todd Carmichael and Jean Philippe Iberti went with something a little more fun. They’ve recently opened a Fishtown flagship that’s not only a cafè and roastery but also a distillery where they’re turning out bottles of smooth-sipping Different Drum rum. Billed as rum for the bourbon drinker, Different Drum is Geisha coffee beans sourced from Panama blended with white rum that is rum-barrel-aged on Frankford Avenue. The result is a warm, caramel-y pour that starts dry and finishes with some very serious coffee notes. While you could mix Different Drum into, say, a Boulevardier with Campari and sweet vermouth, it’s perfect when served solo, or with perhaps a single (oversized) ice cube. $29.99, La Colombe, 1335 Frankford Ave., 215-800-0759, lacolombe.com.
