12 festive gifts for the cocktail enthusiast

For those who appreciate a perfectly crafted cocktail, an interesting bottle, a beautifully written new book or nuanced nonalcoholic beverages, the gifts should be just as spirited as their recipients. The following gift ideas are hand-selected to toast the festive season in style and elevate imbibing experiences all year long.

Now available in demi bottles, Murrell's Row Eno amaro is the perfect stocking stuffer for the amaro-curious. (Courtesy of Murrell's Row Spirits)

1. Murrell’s Row Lil’ Eno

For a delicious stocking-stuffer, grab Eno Amaro in this short 350 mL size. Mimicking the classic cola recipe, Atlanta-made Eno Amaro’s composition is just as tightly guarded and wrapped in a beautiful label. Made with 19 botanicals, it swirls with earthy, woody notes. Baking spices add sweetness, and hyssop gives a touch of rounded herbaceousness. It’s prized as a depth charge by bartenders, adding earthy and spice layers to cocktails, but it’s also delicious on its own, served neat or over ice as an aperitivo or digestif.

$23. Elemental Spirits Co., 602 N. Highland Ave. NE, Atlanta. elementalspirits.co; murrellsrowspirits.com.

Customize a box of 18 cans of Tip Top Cocktails for a ready-made bar that only needs glasses and ice. (Courtesy of Tip Top Cocktails)

2. Tip Top Build Your Own Bar Box

You could hunt and gather the perfect bottles of spirits and mixers to stir up cocktails, or you could simply get a Build Your Own Bar Box from Tip Top. The 18-pack box is totally customizable. Pick from 100 mL cans of Old-Fashioned, Manhattan, Espresso Martini, Cosmopolitan, Whiskey Sour, Mai Tai, Bee’s Knees, among others. The prep is easy: open and pour over ice.

$104.99. tiptopcocktails.com.

Made from the pasilla Mixe pepper grown only in the Sierra Mixe mountains of Oaxaca, Alma Tepec liqueur has a soft, lingering heat. (Angela Hansberger for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

3. Alma Tepec Chile Pasilla Mixe

Handcrafted with slow maturation in Oaxaca, Mexico, Alma Tepec liqueur gets its beautiful flavor and heat from an ancestral chile. The crimson-red pasilla Mixe pepper grows only in the remote Sierra Mixe mountains. It’s lightly smoky with woody flavor and a lingering heat that pairs well with mezcal.

$37.99. totalwine.com; almatepec.com.

4. SirDavis American Whisky

The elegance of malted barley and the complexity of rye form a harmonious blend in SirDavis American whisky, a collaboration between Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Moet Hennessy. Created with highly acclaimed Scottish master distiller Bill Lumsden, and named for Beyoncé’s farmer and moonshiner great-grandfather, the striking bottle with an unusual mash bill is as approachable for novices as it is enjoyable for whisky enthusiasts.

$89. Widely available at local retailers. sirdavis.com.

Distillery of Modern Art's Amaro Peach is made in the style of Italian amari using peak-season Georgia peaches. (Courtesy of Georgia Crown)

5. Distillery of Modern Art Amaro Peach

Created with the highest quality distilled liquor and house-milled grains, Distillery of Modern Art’s Amaro Peach bottles the sweetest and juiciest fruit at the peak of the season. Sipped alone or in cocktails, the amaro is herbaceous and bittersweet, with fruity depth from peach and Valencia orange notes.

$34.99. 2197 Irvindale Way, Chamblee. distilleryofmodernart.com.

Made from Alpine water and Central European rye, clean, crisp and eco-friendly NEFT vodka comes in recyclable barrels that keep your spirit chilled. (Courtesy of Neft)

6. NEFT Vodka

Adorably different in its eco-friendly (ships lighter than glass), unbreakable and highly recyclable little barrel, NEFT vodka is also a fine spirit. Made from just two pure ingredients — water from the Austrian Alps and Central European ancient grains of non-GMO rye — it has a crisp, clean taste with a slightly slick mouthfeel, and the container keeps chilled vodka colder.

$34.99. Widely available at local retailers. neftvodka.com.

Chiran Tea Shochu marries green tea and sweet potato in a bottle. (Courtesy of Honkaku Spirits)

7. Chiran Tea Chu

Crafted in Japan’s renowned green tea production region, Chiran Distillery combines two of Kagoshima’s top cultivations in Green Tea Shochu. The earthy sweetness of sweet potato is a perfect match to the soft, herbal astringency of two types of handpicked green tea leaves. It is lovely sipped neat, in a simple highball or in a mixed cocktail.

$40. Elemental Spirits Co., 602 N. Highland Ave. NE, Atlanta. elementalspirits.co; honkakuspirits.com.

Noah Rothbaum's passion for all things whiskey fills this indispensable guide, complete with industry folklore, recipes and recommended bottles. (Courtesy of Workman Publishing)

8. “The Whiskey Bible” by Noah Rothbaum

Award-winning writer Noah Rothbaum has spent 25 years researching whiskey and shares his knowledge and passion on each page of “The Whiskey Bible: A Complete Guide to the World’s Greatest Spirit” (Workman Publishing). Arranged by geography, the book breaks down each region’s notable distillers and distilleries, bottles to try, key differences and customs. There is a whiskey 101 section as well as 60 cocktail recipes. It’s an entertaining read, filled with fascinating industry folklore.

$40. Virginia Highland Books. 1034 N. Highland Ave., Atlanta. vahibooks.com.

Coffee liqueur from Athens-based Creature Comforts is delicious in an espresso martini or spiking a cup of hot coffee. (Courtesy of Creature Comforts)

9. Creature Comforts Coffee Liqueur

This one is worth the drive. Made in-house using Athens’ 1000 Faces coffee, orange zest, cinnamon and whole vanilla beans, Creature Comforts Coffee liqueur makes a fine espresso martini and also tastes great in a cup of coffee. Only available in the Creature Comforts tasting room and their new cocktail bar, Cura. (Local market release coming soon.)

$29.99. 271 W. Hancock Ave., Athens. creaturecomfortsbeer.com.

Acclaimed sommelier Jordan Salcito writes an engaging guide to wine essentials in "Smart Mouth." (Ten Speed, $35) (Courtesy of Ten Speed Press)

10. “Smart Mouth” by Jordan Salcito

In “Smart Mouth: Wine Essentials for You, Me and Everyone We Know” (Ten Speed), award-winning sommelier Jordan Salcito (Eleven Madison Park, Momofuku) distills her expertise in navigating wine lists, history, grape varietals, pairing tricks and how wine gets from the vine to the bottle. This is for the curious but unfussy wine drinker. Readers can dive into topics or find useful nuggets to pepper in conversation. Gorgeous illustrations and Salcito’s sincere but humor-filled conversational tone can easily take the casual drinker to an A-level student of wine.

$35. Charis Books and More. 184 S. Candler St., Decatur. charisbooksandmore.com.

Alcohol-free and made with adaptogens, Little Saints' St. Ember adds a peppery kick to zero-proof cocktails. (Courtesy of Little Saints)

11. and 12. Little Saints’ St. Ember and St. Oak