Good drinking isn’t simply about whatever liquid’s in your glass. It’s about the stories, and rituals, and beautiful things that accompany it, too.
And that’s why my wish list this holiday season is actually quite short on bottles of booze (if you’re in need of more wine and spirits recommendations please do check back on my previous columns or Elite Traveler's gift guide!).
Something to read while sipping, a lovely glass, an outrageous potato chip – these are the sort of things that transform a simple round of drinks into a five-star cocktail moment.
-
Private tasting at Berry Bros & Rudd’s new DC store
After 327 years, Britain’s oldest wine and spirits merchant, Berry Bros & Rudd, has now finally opened its first store in the US – and what better way to acquaint yourself with the British Royal Family’s favored supplier than by way of a private tasting? Located in the heart of Washington DC’s Golden Triangle, the shop is an Aladdin’s cave of good things to drink, including wines and spirits never before available in the States – just tell a private client advisor what you like and they’ll design a flight to your taste.
Price
$500 for two
-
Carl Auböck, Anchor Brass Corkscrew
Corkscrew, paperweight, or just beautiful object – Auböck’s brass anchor design, which first debuted in 1936, would be a smart and very tactile addition to any dinner table.
Price
$1,065
-
The Story of Whisky – Charles Maclean & Gavin D Smith
The world is full of thumping great tomes about whisky – does it really need another one? I wondered this, but it turns out this book from two of whisky’s greatest authorities is actually great fun. Through a series of colourful, bite-sized essays it tells the story of whisky from 1,200BC to the present day, taking everything from distilling innovations and the dawn of the ice trade to James Bond and the rise of whisky counterfeiting. Lavishly illustrated, it’s one for dipping into, rather than downing in one go.
Price
$60
-
Luxardo Maraschino cherries
I stockpile these sticky-sweet flavour bombs for Manhattans and old fashioneds. Also great spooned over ice cream, in yoghurt, or, when no-one’s looking, eaten straight from the jar. The perfect stocking filler.
Price
$21.99
-
Vintage List Crystal Champagne Saucer with Lens Design
I love this darling coupe from British maker Vintage List – it’s just the right size for martinis and Manhattans, but capacious enough to take sours as well (I’d also rather enjoy using it for champagne, but don’t tell sommeliers I said that). All Vintage List’s designs are hand-engraved, but they’re also dishwasher safe. As seen in five-star drinking spots including Claridge’s Fumoir. $24, sterlingplace.com
Price
$24
-
Champagne Bollinger PN TX20
Champagne Bollinger’s cerebral PN series expresses Pinot Noir – its signature grape – through the lens of a different cru and base vintage each year. The sixth edition, Bollinger PN TX20, focuses on the cru Tauxières in the Montagne de Reims which brings ‘freshness, elegance, precision, richness, and complexity’ to the blend. The base vintage, 2020, was excellent – ripe but fresh. The result marries Bollinger’s oak-forward structure with expressive stone fruit, quince jelly, frangipane, and red berry notes, and a long, complex finish. A really sophisticated and, I think, sharp-looking cuvée for Bollinger fans who want something a little different. Give it some time out of the fridge to allow it to really open up.
Price
$137.99
-
Second Sip
There comes a time in every barfly’s life when ordering a second martini isn’t always wise – and that’s why a bunch of top bartenders created Second Sip. This botanical spirit is half the strength of gin but has a very gin-like flavor profile – and, unlike most other half-strength spirits, it has all the concentration and texture you need for a martini. Shaking with ice will over-dilute it: just chill it down in the freezer and pour straight into a vermouth-rinsed martini glass. Also great with a non-alc aperitivo like Lessi below, in a low-impact Negroni.
Price
$39.99
-
Lessi L’Aperitivo
A super-stylish non-alcoholic red bitter that’s as good as the real thing – imagine a slightly mellower, more fruity version of Campari. It’s made by an Italian (now living in Paris) at a distillery in Trieste, and draws inspiration from an amaro recipe passed down through his family. Available neat or in single serve bottles as an Il Frizzante spritz, it’s already cropping up in cool bars all over Paris. Coming to the rest of the world soon.
Price
€40 (approx. $47) for one bottle L’Aperitivo and four Il Frizzante
-
Kettl x Yuminakamura Silver Plated Copper Tea Pot #1
Kettl’s serene boutique-cum-galleries in New York and LA sell some of the finest Japanese tea in the States. Now they’ve teamed up with renowned craftswoman Yumi Nakamura to sell a selection of her graceful, hand-hammered tea pots. Crafted from silver-plated copper, and designed with a built-in filter, they’re suited to all kinds of loose-leaf tea. The sort of beautiful piece that turns a morning brew into a proper ritual.
Price
$2,100
-
Torres, Black truffle potato chips
I have conducted extensive research into martini and snack pairing and these hedonistic potato chips are hard to beat – even if you get your hands on a sought-after 500g bag you’ll need to guard them jealously.
Price
$26
-
Atheras Spirits Sykophilos (fig leaf) Liqueur
A really superb fig leaf liqueur from a new artisan maker in New York that’s wonderful dashed into Negronis, old fashioneds or sours. Made from fig leaves foraged in Greece and Spain, it’s one of six liqueurs and amari created at the Atheras micro-distillery in Brooklyn. Other flavours include a fragrant Hierba Luisa (lemongrass), a zesty bergamot and cardoon or wild artichoke, which has notes of lavender, chamomile, cinnamon, and the earthy/vegetal sweetness of artichoke heart.
Price
$54.99
-
Nikka Whisky, From the Barrel Extra Marriage – 40th Anniversary Limited Trio Gift Set
A unique chance to get under the skin of this iconic Japanese blend, created specially to mark Nikka From the Barrel’s 40th Anniversary. The trio includes a special ‘Extra Marriage’ edition of Nikka From the Barrel, which sees grain and malt whiskies from Yoichi and Miyagikyo married in cask for double the normal amount of time, resulting in a 51.4 percent ABV blend that’s generous and aromatic, with sweet and chewy dried fruit, warming spices and a waft of vetiver smoke. Alongside this there’s also Malt Pieces of the Barrel, a whisky which explores the malt side of the blend, and Grain Pieces of the Barrel which highlights the softer, more rounded grain component. A really original present for any Japanese whisky fan.
Price
$306
