Last-Minute Gifts for Whiskey Lovers
Holiday solutions for five hard-to-buy-for types.
The holiday season is roaring, and while you’re marking gifts off your list, we’re hard at work distilling. It’s a wonderful time of year because everyone needs gifts, and we love to give. Symbiosis. It’s a beautiful thing.
And when it comes to last-minute Christmas gifts, we know the type. We actually know five types. The folks that end up with blank checkboxes on your list because they’re so damn hard to buy for. Lucky for you, we’ve got you covered. Here are the Abbott & Wallace special spirits that’ll close out your shopping, and get you to a place with your feet up, by the fire, with a nice pour in your hand.
1. For the High Brow Imbibers — Abbott & Wallace Colorado Straight Rye Whiskey
We all have that family member or friend who may not like to admit it, but they have connoisseur wiring, and never quite seem 100% happy when they open your gift. Well, Abbott & Wallace Colorado Straight Rye Whiskey is the kind of gift that’ll solve all that.
Our entire team agrees that this is our best of everything we bottle. Very high quality, our rye whiskey is a pure expression of our process and the essence of Colorado. Locally sourced grains provide rich flavor and mouthfeel without overpowering the senses. Subtle oaky finish is another characteristic of Colorado Whiskey and the unique steppe climate zone. The high altitude and dry weather force the whiskey into the barrel’s wood, resulting in a more pronounced flavor that complements the spicy rye notes. The Abbott & Wallace Rye Whiskey also works exceptionally well in cocktails: the bold flavors stand up and stand out in whiskey-forward drinks. The Slightly Snobby in your life will be hard-pressed to find a better Rye on the planet.
2. For the Festive Friend — Abbott & Wallace Fire Cinnamon Ginger Whiskey
Friends and family who are always looking to celebrate are treasures: they keep us smiling and keep us together. But they’re tough to buy for because the gift has to hit just the right party note. Enter the Abbott & Wallace Cinnamon Ginger Whiskey. Fire whiskey is often savored as a celebratory shot or shared around a campfire. It has the uncanny ability to bring people together.
And no, Abbott & Wallace Fire Cinnamon Ginger Whiskey is most decidedly not Fireball. This is corn whiskey flavored with real cinnamon and ginger—nothing fake and no short cuts—resulting in an authentic, and yes, fun flavor. Think Cinnamon Toast Crunch, not red hots. All the elements come through, and taste so damn good you’ll want to bust out your best celly yourself!
3. For the Adventurous Soul — Abbott & Wallace La Chupacabra Canned Cocktail
Honestly, all our spirits are the kind of thing that will please the person who likes to find (and brag) about the latest, most unique thing. But the Abbott & Wallace La Chupacabra Canned Cocktail is truly one of a kind.
One of our bartenders invented a cocktail while experimenting with local hot sauces and bourbon. He ended up infusing the bourbon with a unique Cobanero pepper from Nicaragua.
Infused with Cobanero pepper from Nicaragua, the Abbott & Wallace La Chupacabra Canned Cocktail is truly one-of-a-kind.
The Cobanero is slightly smoky, slightly spicy and works quite well with bourbon. He then made a mule-style cocktail with ginger beer, apple cider and lime juice that resulted in one of the most multi-layered cocktails we’ve ever concocted. And it’s just perfect for colder weather. Your In The Know type will also appreciate that the whiskey takes years to mature before we infuse it with the special Cobanero Peppers. It’s a true flex on our production prowess and the flavor is worth bragging about.
4. For the Heartfelt Quaffer — Abbott & Wallace Wallace’s Malt Whiskey
Call them sentimental if you must. But the Gotta Have Hearts in our lives bring the love and lumps in our throats. They give us permission to get mushy. For them, our most heartfelt spirit has to be Abbott & Wallace’s Malt Whiskey. It’s a nod to our origins as beer brewers and our co-founder HK’s father’s love of Scotch. Wallace’s Malt contains some of our very first juice that was also blended into our two founders’ wedding whiskies. As a distillery we’re set up to process raw grains like Kentucky, not like brewers or Scottish distillers, so we collaborate with breweries to source our “distiller’s beer” (or wash).
The spirit was conceived to be brewed without hops, so the resulting whiskey did not have a vegetal bitterness. The result is extremely smooth with roasty chocolatey notes, brewers’ malt undertones and a toffee finish. It’s unique, refined and distinguished. The malted barley mouthfeel and chocolate flavor also work extremely well in a cocktail when you and your Gotta Have Heart want to toast to the glory days. Irish Coffee? Yep. Penicillin cocktail? Direct injection, please.
5. A final rare gem for the In The Know type — Abbott & Wallace Alpine Jenever
We couldn’t help sneaking one more in here, just in case there’s that person on your list who Truly Has It All: Abbott & Wallace Alpine Jenever. Building on our award-winning Abbott & Wallace Gin, we wanted to distill something in the tradition of the Dutch who infused their whiskeys with medicinal herbs.
Our Abbott & Wallace Alpine Jenever is nothing short of a unicorn loaded with flavor. It’s a barrel-aged gin, starting with our rye whiskey base spirit and re-distilled with local juniper (John foraged the juniper himself from the Indian Peaks Wilderness area). The result is a birth-child of whiskey and gin, and a nice nod to the origins of the Dutch and to gin. It makes a sophisticated cocktail to boot: Try a barrel-aged gin old-fashioned with lemon and walnut bitters. Yum!