It is that time of the year for holiday gift giving. The Bourbon enthusiast on your gift list will want to receive some Bourbon related gifts. I thought I would make some suggestions for those who need ideas.
To start with, there are books that should appeal to the Bourbon lover. I will start by suggesting that my books, Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey: An American Heritage and The Bourbon Tasting Notebook are an excellent gift for Bourbon lovers.
There are several other books I would like to recommend. The Social History of Bourbon (review here) and Kentucky Bourbon: The Early Years Of Whiskeymaking (review here) are classic books well worth reading and excellent gifts. There are several newer books that are well worth giving as well. The Spirit Of Rye (review here) is not a Bourbon book, but will appeal to the rye whiskey drinker and is an excellent book on the subject. Chet Zoeller has a new edition of Bourbon In Kentucky (review here) out and is an excellent reference book on Kentucky Distilleries. For those interested in Whiskey as a whole, Whiskey Distilled (review here) is a great introduction to whiskey. For cocktail lovers, there is the classic book Handcrafted Cocktails by Molly Wellmann and Steve the Bartender’s Cocktail Guide (review here).
What every Bourbon enthusiast really wants is a bottle of Bourbon. I would recommend that you get a bottle of excellent whiskey from a smaller, local distillery. In Kentucky, I would recommend a bottle from the following Distilleries.
- Kentucky Artisan Distillery: Whiskey Row Bottled-in-Bond.
- Wilderness Trail Distillery: The 6 Year Old wheat recipe Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon.
- Dueling Grounds Distillery: Linkumpinch Bourbon.
- For people living in other states, I would recommend these distilleries for their excellent whiskey.
- Leiper’s Fork Distillery (Tennessee): Leiper’s Fork Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon.
- Spirits of French Lick Distillery (Indiana): Anything they make is an excellent choice, but I would recommend The Mattie Gladden Bourbon.
- Southern Distilling Company (North Carolina): Southern Star Paragon Bourbon.
- Big Escambia Distillery (Alabama): Dettling 1867 Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon.
- Frey Ranch Distillery (Nevada): Frey Ranch Bourbon.
The list of local distilleries can go on and on. There are many new, local distilleries making great whiskey across America. Any bottle of whiskey from these distilleries would make an excellent gift.
I should not leave out the larger distilleries. For those who want to get a bottle to take to a party, or just want to give good bottle of Bourbon, I would recommend the following products:
- Michter’s 10 Year Old Bourbon, or anything from Michter’s Distillery.
- Old Grand Dad Bottled-in-Bond or Old Grand Dad 114.
- Henry McKenna Bottled-in- Bond 10 Year Old Bourbon.
- Old Forester 1897 Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon.
- Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon.
- Wild Turkey Rare Breed Bourbon.
There are many great Bourbons and Bourbon books that make excellent gifts. These are my suggestions for gift for 2022. Happy Holidays! Cheers!
Photos Courtesy of Rosemary Miller