Tuesday, December 17, 2013

An Imbiber’s Wish List of Holiday Splurges

So, you have everyone else checked off your holiday gift list this year, but what do you want? We’ve got a few ideas! From a bartender-ready blender to a home-barista’s caffeinated dream machine, we’ve rounded up a few favorite splurges that we wouldn’t mind seeing under the tree this year (hint, hint)!

Admit it—walk by the interactive Vitamix stand at Costco and you can’t help but stop and watch as the sales rep cracks, crushes, whirls and buzzes a blender full of ingredients. We’re sold. A home bartender’s best friend, the Vitamix can crush ice, purée ingredients for cocktails and whip up egg nog in a flash.


Are you the ultimate bean fiend? Then this espresso machine is for you. Compact and practical enough for home use, but with programmable bells and whistles for the budding barista in us all, this machine is just the thing to streamline your coffee routine.


Scotchy, Scotch, Scotch, we love Scotch—especially this rare vintage offering from Glen Garioch. One of the oldest operating distilleries in the Highlands, this single malt is soft and subtly smoky with notes of honey, dried fruit and spice. Match it with a hunk of aged white cheddar for a pairing you won’t forget.
$120, binnys.com


Kick-start your New Year’s resolutions with a bottled abundance of fresh fruit and veggie juices delivered direct to your door. The five-day subscription includes a mix of non-GMO, certified organic juices in flavorful-packed combos like Fiji apple, cucumber, kale and collards and coconut, almond, honey and vanilla.
$300, sujajuice.com


Suds-savvy homebrewers will love this grain share from Massachusetts-base Valley Malts, which includes a mix of organic base and specialty malts, as well as some experimental grains like chamomile crystal and apple wood-smoked spelt.



A $3,200 bar cart? Go for it! Modeled after Finish designer Alvar Aalto original prototype, this birch and rattan trolley will cart around all your imbibeables in style.
$3,250, allmodern.com



Featured in this year’s Holiday Issue, these crystal highballs are bedecked with detailed cutouts that put drinks on glorious display.



For the gift that truly keeps on giving, this curated wine club ships six bottles of wine each month for an entire year, including a mix of somm-approved red, white and bubbly.