November 29, 2021 — The holidays are here! Between visiting family and friends and back-to-back holiday events, it’s no wonder the holidays are both the most wonderful and overwhelming time of year. So, in the spirit of the giving season, we’ve rounded up a plethora of booze-inspired gifts for everyone including gifts perfect for an office Secret Santa or White Elephant, the relative you’re unsure of what to buy, or that last minute person on your holiday shopping list.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… 2SP Brewing Company and Wawa are continuing their tradition of launching three limited-edition beers just in time for the holiday season!
In its fourth year, the collaboration between 2SP Brewing Company’s Head Brewer, Bob Barrar, and Wawa’s Manager of Concept Development and “coffee guru,” Michael McLaughlin, brings about a brand-new brew — Winter Reserve Mocha Latte Stout (4-pack, 16 oz cans, $12.99), a 6.7% ABV full-bodied oatmeal stout with rich chocolate flavors and creamy mouthfeel. And also, back by popular demand is:
- Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout – 500 ML, ABV 8.2%: An English Style Imperial Oatmeal Stout aged in Woodford Reserve barrels for nine months. With the addition of Wawa’s Winter Reserve Coffee, this beer is silky smooth with a lot of nuance from bourbon barrels, including notes of vanilla and chocolate. $10.99 each.
- Rum Barrel Aged Imperial Stout – 500 ML, ABV 8.2%: An English Style Imperial Oatmeal Stout aged in Jamaican Rum barrels for nine months. The big beer will pick up a lot of sweet vanilla, plum and sugar cane flavors from the rum barrels. Silky smooth and with the addition of Wawa’s Winter Reserve Coffee, balance out the sweetness from the rum flavors.
120 Concord Rd #101-103, Aston, PA | 484.483.7860 | www.2spbrewing.com/
Art in the Age, Old City’s one-of-a-kind tasting room, home bar supply and bottle shop offers a bevy of luxury spirits produced by New Hampshire sister distillery Tamworth Distilling. Read on to learn more about two of the rarest and most evocative spirits to come out of New Hampshire — or, anywhere for that matter.
- Tamworth Garden V.S.O.P Apple Brandy (750 mL, 100 Proof, $85) — This double-distilled, four-year-old brandy stands as one of the distillery’s most luxurious spirits and as an experiment in purity and terroir. It begins with the apples: heirloom Cortland apples grown in Concord, NH at Carter Hill Apple Orchard, one of the oldest active orchards in the United States. It is then double distilled in a traditional alembic still, in the style of French Calvados, ensuring that the barrels are packed with New Hampshire apple flavor. The resulting spirit is barreled in new oak at no more than 125 proof, before aging for at least 4 years in the bonded barrelhouse at Tamworth Distilling in Tamworth, NH.
- House of TamworthEau de Musc (200 mL, 88 Proof, $65) — Eau de Musc is truly a one-of-a-kind, small-batch spirit made with beaver castoreum sacs. Eau de Musc proudly features an old-world flavoring technique that uses the oil extract from the castor gland of the North American beaver, which exudes a leathery, raspberry taste, and acts to fortify the whiskey flavors. The full-bodied, two-year aged bourbon whiskey has a bolstered mouthfeel with a vanillin nose and notes of spice. The addition of birch oil, raspberry and Canadian snakeroot, a woody spice akin to ginger, comingle with the natural fruitiness of the castorerum, making the finish warm, crisp, and incredibly palatable.
Both spirits, and many, many more, are available to purchase at the Art in the Age shop all season long.
116 N 3rd Street | 215.922.2600 | www.artintheage.com/
Bluebird Distilling is toasting the holiday season with two new limited-edition spirits, perfect for the whiskey lover or imbiber on every holiday list! Winter Whiskey and Double Barrel Bourbon Whiskey are now available for purchase at the Phoenixville distillery or online for shipping to Pennsylvania residents.
The Winter Whiskey ($44.99 / 750ml) is made by taking Bluebird Distilling’s Four Grain Bourbon and adding a pinch of brown sugar, and then steeping it in a meritage of winter spices. Warm notes of vanilla, baking spices, orange zest and toffee fill every sip of this 80 proof spirit. The Double Barrel Bourbon ($69.99 / 750ml), a limited edition 100-proof bourbon, extracts double the sweetness from two different barrels, providing deep notes of dark honey, pecan pie, sarsaparilla, allspice, dates, s’mores, tanned leather and pepper.
Both spirits can be purchased online here.
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At a suggested retail price of $21.99-$23.99, Coopers’ Craft Kentucky Straight Bourbon, Brown Forman’s newest bourbon in twenty years, is the perfect gift for any Secret Santa or White Elephant priced at $25 or less.
Coopers’ Craft Bourbon can be purchased at select Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores throughout Pennsylvania and can be purchased, here.
Finlandia Classic Vodka, the exceptional vodka crafted with nature’s finest ingredients such as pure glacial spring water and Suomi Barley, is the ultimate holiday gift for the vodka-lover in your life.
Finlandia Classic Vodka can be purchased for $15.99 here.
Did you know that one of the nation’s oldest whiskey brands has roots right here in Pennsylvania? This holiday season, give the booze nerd on your list the gift of history — Whiskey aficionados will be thrilled to collect the Kinsey Spirit Trio from New Liberty Distillery, the South Kensington craft distillery and home to award-winning spirit lines including the revived heritage Kinsey brand as well as New Liberty Distillery original spirits to their at-home bar cart come December.
- Kinsey Rye: a blend of three different mash bills of rye whiskey: A surprisingly rounded sweetness for a rye, with dry spice, ripe starfruit, and melon on the palate, with a finish of pepper and molasses.
- Kinsey American: Blended to replicate the flavor profile of a 1940s/50s sample of Kinsey: Opens bright and vibrant palate, leading to floral, semi-sweet vanilla notes, and finishing with hints of honeycomb and caramel corn.
- Kinsey Bourbon: a blend of two different bourbon mash bills: Warm and complex on the palate, with notes of honeysuckle, toffee, unripe orange, and grass, culminating in a sweet spice finish.
The Kinsey Spirit Trio is available statewide at PLCB locations.
1431 N Cadwallader St. | 267.928.4650 | www.newlibertydistillery.com/
Cocktail-lovers, bartenders, baristas, and mindful imbibers alike will delight in receiving the newest libation currently stirring up the beverage world this holiday season. The Pathfinder Hemp and Root, the brand-new hemp based zero-proof elixir is the first-of-its-kind – offering botanical flavor and none of the booze.
Fitting right into the back bar of your favorite cocktail destination as well as it does on an at-home bar cart, The Pathfinder can be purchased for $35 here.
-Kira Cappello