Homemade Booze Hoilday Gifts

[isadorasmama]

Anyone bottling anything cool to give to family/friends this holiday season?
Also, where do you get your bottles/jars and labels?
Let's share ideas here.

[JMF]

I've been handing out bottles of our bitters to everyone lately. But they aren't technically homemade anymore.Folks love them, and the recommendation on pg 100 in Dec. Food & Wine and on Serious Eats didn't hurt.

[LisaPA]

I made pomegranate liqueur, green apple liqueur and cranberry liqueur. I mostly take them to holiday parties, but I'm planning to get a few swing top flask bottles from Fante's (around the corner from me, but they are also online) for a few select friends back home.

Thinking of making coquito for New Year's, as it doesn't have to age.

[isadorasmama]

Thanks for the tip about Fante's. I've been wondering where I could locally source swing top bottles!
Off to google coquito...

[estilker]

I made a batch of liquore de camomilla. High quality dried camomille flowers infused in grappa for a couple of months, added simple syrup and brought the ABV down to 20%. Then filtered.
It's great straight up but it would probably work well in cocktails too.
Like in the riffs on mojito's I made this summer with ouzo, elderflower syrup, lime, mint and cucumber. But I also found ouzo, spruce beer, lime and mint to work well too. Or simply a couple of drops in a glass of prosecco.

[EvergreenDan]

Spruce Beer?

[estilker]

It's a canadian thing ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spruce_beer

[EvergreenDan]

Cool. Do you drink the alcoholic version or the soft drink? Have you had Clear Creek Eau de vie of Douglas Fir? Similar flavor? I sure do love eau de Doug, but it's frightfully expensive. The Shiver is one of my all-time favorite cocktails (with Campari and grapefruit).

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[LisaPA]

There's a brewer in Philadelphia that makes a spruce beer too. Yards Brewery's Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce Ale. Not a huge fan, because it does taste like a Christmas tree, but it was worth trying once. Never thought of mixing it with anything.

[Nocturnalbill]

Lost my mind and made about 3 gallons of Limoncello for family and friends this year. Found several 8.5 oz square glass bottles at the Containor Store for a very reasonable.