Cocktail Enthusiast Gift Basket Ideas

Does searching for Christmas gifts have you feeling more like Scrooge than Santa? There’s still time to find your way back to the nice list! Pour yourself a cocktail, sit back and toast to finding this post that’ll have you feeling merry & bright in no time. Speaking of cocktails, the holiday season always brings a bevy of bevs in conjunction with parties, open houses, and dinners with family and friends. Whether we’re casual drinkers or have a mixology obsession, most of us love a good cocktail, so a beverage-themed gift will never go to waste. These cocktail enthusiast gift basket ideas are easy to find, easy to put together, and easy to enjoy – shaken or stirred.

First things first: a good vermouth is an essential part of any bar setup and should be included in your cocktail enthusiast gift basket. Both sweet vermouths and dry vermouths are used in a variety of cocktails, adding complexity and balance to the other ingredients. Vya Sweet Vermouth is infused with exotic spices and botanicals that can’t help but conjure cozy feelings of baking in a warm kitchen on a cold winter’s day – and maybe visions of sugarplums too if it’s the night before Christmas. It makes brilliant Manhattans with rye whisky or bourbon, and is fantastic by itself on the rocks. On the other end of the spectrum, Vya Extra Dry Vermouth is infused with herbs and florals that take the palette on a trip through a blooming mountain meadow on a spring day. Its fresh, crisp flavors pair wonderfully with gin cocktails. For a lighter style vermouth that pairs perfectly with vodka, include a bottle of Vya Whisper Dry in your basket!

Another essential for your cocktail enthusiast gift basket is a good shaker set and some artsy martini or other style of glasses that fit the recipient’s vibe. Make sure the set includes the basic items needed for making most cocktails: a shaker, stir spoon, muddler and jigger for proper measurements.

Is a cocktail even complete without garnishes? The basics like maraschino cherries, Spanish olives, cocktail onions and fruit go a long way when mixing up a variety of cocktails. Don’t forget something to snack on while sipping all of those tasty concoctions, like nuts for savory beverages and candies for those on the sweeter side.

From enthusiasts to mixology pros, a good cocktail book will always be appreciated. Some of our favorites include: The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan, Drinking Distilled by Jeffrey Morgenthaler, and The Cocktail Codex by Alex Day, Nick Fauchald and David Kaplan.

We hope these cocktail enthusiast gift basket ideas help make your gift giving much easier this year. (And maybe you’ll even get a cocktail or two once the basket has been received.) What other cocktail items would you include in a gift basket? Are you gifting Vya Vermouths to the cocktail lovers in your life? Stay in touch and let us know how it went!