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Drinks Food & Drink

Indulge your fave drinkers

Pairing sleek aesthetics with supreme functionality, this double-walled insulated wine chiller is the gift no one knows they want until they can’t imagine life without it. Made of stainless steel, it keeps wine cool and condensation at bay – no ice required. Probably best to gift it with a pre-chilled bottle so you can demonstrate how well it works. $82.25 at Williams-Sonoma Eaton Centre, 222 Yonge, 416-260-1255, and others.

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For the accident-prone craft beer enthusiast with an eye for design, it doesn’t get much better than a sleek and durable stainless steel growler. Pair it with a gift card from their favourite local brewery and your recipient will love you forever. Available in classy copper or badass matte black finishes. $42.18, uncommongoods.com.

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Compact and info-packed, Drinks: A User’s Guide (TarcherPerigee ) is as perfect for the inquisitive drinks enthusiast as it is for the pal who desperately wants to expand their drinking horizons but doesn’t have a clue where to start. Established Toronto-based drinks writer Adam McDowell makes learning about everything from champagne and classic cocktails to gueuze and absinthe accessible, debonair and witty. $27, Type Books, 883 Queen West, 416-366-8973, and other.

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Play the festive whisky fairy by delivering a wee taste of Islay to the scotch nut in your life. This Wee Laddie three-pack from Bruichladdich, the Scottish whisky isle’s proudly progressive distillery, has 200 ml bottles of the classic Laddie, heavily peated Port Charlotte Scottish Barley and Islay Barley expressions. $74.95/3 x 200 ml, LCBO (465708).

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Meritage (rhymes with heritage) is the North American approximation of Bordeaux. This one helps you bypass the terror of buying wine for oenophiles. Hidden Bench Terroir Caché Meritage 2012 – a ripe and mighty blend of estate-grown merlot, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon and malbec from the Niagara winery – is built to impress, whether cracked alongside a holiday feast or stashed in the cellar for future celebrations. $38/750 ml, LCBO Vintages (505610).

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Yongehurst Harbour Rum, the boutique distillery’s flagship spirit, may be the first rum distilled in Toronto proper. Made with organic South American molasses fermented with a wild Ontario yeast strain, this unaged rum is packed with character. Fruity, herbaceous and admirably easy to sip considering it’s 44% ABV, make it the base of your holiday punch or a gift for the resident rum lover in your life. Might as well scoop a bottle of Yongehurst’s Triple Sec while you’re at it. $29.50/375 ml, Yongehurst Distillery Shop, 346 Westmoreland. 

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I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: the holidays trump every excuse not to drink creamy liqueurs. I’ll go even further to say that if you’re not drinking spiked milky beverages throughout December, you’re just not doing it right. All cream and spice and everything nice, Evan Williams Eggnog, a pre-spiked bourbon nog, makes a delicious (and hilarious) host gift. $14.95/750 ml, LCBO (185884).

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Help your generous hosts curb drinks-related damage this month with these cheeky Cheers, Bitches! gilded cocktail coasters. They’re equal parts useful and amusing: peek behind the profanity to find classic cocktail recipes printed on the flip side. $22.50/set of 15 at Room 2046 1252 Yonge, 647-348-2046.

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Slap a ribbon on Amaro (Ten Speed), a brand new book on bittersweet herbal liqueurs by Brad Thomas Parsons (author of award-winning Bitters: A Spirited History Of A Classic Cure-All) and hand it over to the bitter-loving and cocktail-inclined individuals on your gift list. Spanning the rich history and contemporary comeback of digestifs, it’s also a guide to how to make, mix and drink them. $35, BYOB, 972 Queen West, 647-727-3600.

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