As promised, here are more gift ideas for the bourbon lovers on your list.
Mini bottles of bourbon make great stocking stuffers. Most are priced around $6. The selection above can be found at Party Mart.
Candleberry’s Kentucky Bourbon-scented candles will fill the house with the warm aromas associated with bourbon – vanilla, caramel, woodsy undertones – while never becoming cloyingly sweet. 10-ounce candle, around $13.99; 26-ounce, $23.99. Available at Westport Whiskey & Wine, the gift shops at Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark and elsewhere.
Kentucky Cocktail Book ($14.95): Bartender extraordinaire Joy Perrine and local writer Susan Reigler teamed up for this handy guide to cocktails, arranged by season and beautifully photographed by Pam Spaulding. Available at Carmichael’s, Whole Foods and Locust Grove in Louisville.
Consider pairing it with the new Woodford Reserve Spiced Cherry Bitters ($12.95) created by Bourbon Barrel Foods, which provided these tasting notes: “Barrel-aged with aromatic notes of black cherry, anise, vanilla and caramel, with spicy hints of cherry and bourbon oak on the tongue.” Available at most local liquor stores.
Two other books about bourbon to consider:
Beam, Straight Up: The Bold Story of the First Family of Bourbon (list price $22.95) by Fred Noe. If you’ve ever spent any time around Beam’s seventh-generation master distiller, you know that he’s a hoot, and his distinctive voice comes through on every page of this history of his family’s 217-year whiskey dynasty. He covers not only how to make a great bourbon, but how to establish a lasting brand. Available at Barnes and Noble.
But Always Fine Bourbon: Pappy Van Winkle and the Story of Old Fitzgerald (list price $50) by Sally Van Winkle Campbell. You may not be able to find a bottle of Pappy for your bourbon lover, but you can give her this beautiful coffeetable book about the man behind the iconic brand – the grandfather of the author. I found my copy at Party Mart; it’s also carried in the gift shop at Buffalo Trace.
Eat your bourbon in some sumptuous small-batch bourbon truffles from Art Eatables, a new shop at 631 S. Fourth St. “Cocktail Chocolatier” Kelly Ramsey artfully matches just the right type of chocolate to enhance the flavor of whatever bourbon she’s using – and yes, you can tell the difference. Then she hand-paints each one. 4-piece sampler, $9.50.
