The holidays are some of our favorite times of the year. It is all about the parties and the get-togethers that bring everyone in your circle to the same place for celebration, no matter what your background is. That also means you have to spend significantly more time with people. And, if you are like me, most of these parties get a little too peopley for me, causing me to need a bit of liquid social lubricant. Whether you are like me, or you know someone like me, spirits are a great way to show someone in your life you care. So, here are our favorite gifts for the man in your life with spirit.
Tequila
Volcán de Mi Tierra Blanco or Volcán de Mi Tierra X.A. – Now, this may depend on your family. I would never give MY family tequila; God knows what would happen to the party if my brothers were three shots deep in tequila. But for an intimate get-together, Volcan Tequila offers some of the best choices on the market. While the Blanco combines spices and herbs from the lowlands with fruits from the highlands, the X.A. brings the secret recipe of smoke and agave to life.
Mijenta: Gorgeous packaging and a great gift for the tequila-loving woman in your life. As a woman-owned company, this is where you should go if you are buying a tequila for that special woman in your life. Also, if that special woman in your life is a tequila girl, marry her. Just don’t break her heart, because tequila girls are built different.
Cazcánes Nuestras Raíces Edición Especial 2026 – Nuestras Raíces (“Our Roots”) is Cazcanes’ annual small batch. It’s 100% Blue Weber agave, spring water, and wild yeast, bottled at still strength (96.2 proof). It also leaves the word “tequila” off the label on purpose: because it’s made outside the tequila certification system, it’s sold as an agave distillate instead. That doesn’t hurt the flavor— it’s easily one of the most sippable, complex tequilas (sorry, “agave spirits”) of the year, and you have to respect a brand that’s willing to stand by its liquid regardless of the paperwork.
Gin
Prairie Organic Gin: For the host – Not every bottle in a gift guide needs to be a trophy; sometimes you just need a solid host gift that doesn’t break the bank. Minnesota’s Prairie Organic distills its gin from 100% USDA-certified organic corn grown on Midwestern family farms, with no artificial additives. It’s bottled at 80 proof (the legal minimum for gin), and it makes an easy martini base for people who usually find gin too aggressive. It also doesn’t overwhelm with botanicals—it just works. At about $25, it’s an organic bottle that’s easy to give and even easier to finish.
Bayab Gin – These are all fantastic, but the Orange and Marula is the perfect pour for a Negroni. Use the flagship bottle for your gin martini, and if you want to feel like you are escaping to a tropical island during the cold months of the holidays, pick up the Palm and Pineapple. If the person in your life is looking for an escape, the gin will get them there.
Boatyard Double Gin – Now, I am not a huge fan of the martini; I am all for the dark liquors. But, recently, Michael Smoley convinced me that the perfect martini is much more approachable than I have made it out to be. As one of the premier bartenders in New York City, you should trust him over me. And he is a brand ambassador for Boatyard, so there is that.
Vodka
Beluga Gold Line Vodka – Much of the world of luxury is about ritual. Sure, taste and quality are the main reasons to choose a brand or a product, but there is more to it. The Gold Line leans into the ritual by using a wax seal and inviting you to remove it with a hammer. The departure from your twist-cap norm creates the kind of once-in-a-year celebration the holidays should be known for.
Verita Vodka – Forget what the movies say, the Russians aren’t the only ones that can do vodka. This Italian brand uses 100% Italian wheat and pure Alpine mountain water to create a vodka voted in 2025 by a San Francisco alcohol contest as the best in the world. So, if you have a brother or father who wants something high-end and more of a deep cut in the vodka world, skip the Grey Goose and get him something truly special.
Mezcal
Dos Hombres Espadín – It seems like every celebrity and their housekeeper has their own spirit brand. But are there any two celebrities you would rather see come together for a business venture than the Breaking Bad duo of Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul? With tastes of apples, mango, and smoky wood, with an added bonus of a free engraving, these celebrities have found the secret ingredient.
Ilegal Mezcal – Speaking of that show and those two, they aren’t the only ones who can break the law when they need to. This brand started when the founder smuggled mezcal across the Mexican border into Guatemala to supply his bar. Years later, he began his brand that still carries the phrase on the back of the bottle, “Originally produced for: Café No Sé, Mezcal Bar.”
Whisk(e)y
Rye
WhistlePig The Boss Hog XIII: The Golden Pharaoh – The Boss Hog concepts just keep getting stranger — this year’s starts with a cake recipe from an ancient Egyptian tomb, for example. It’s a straight rye aged in new American oak, then finished in barrels seasoned with Egyptian black honey and tiger nuts. Like every Boss Hog, it’s single barrel and bottled at proof, landing somewhere between 102.6 and 105.6. The honey and tiger nut come through loud and clear, and at $599.99, with a King Tut-inspired pig topper, it’s a bottle fit for a collector.
BHAKTA 1928 – I usually do an old-fashioned with bourbon. But with this, I will take something that makes me think of old-fashioned things and make one to take me back. 98 years is a long time to sit and wait for you to open with someone you love and reminisce about the old times, but when it comes to whiskey, that is a good thing.
Bourbon
Hogsworth The 18 – American rye whiskey combined with centuries-old French Armagnacs and thrown together with the tenacity and audacity of a man who named the brand after his pig obsession should be enough to make you try this spirit just out of sheer curiosity. Then you taste it, and you may decide that whomever you bought this for could have a bottle of the cheap stuff you throw in your cabinet because you’ll want to keep it.
Stetson Kentucky Straight – Grounded in more than 160 years of tradition, Stetson is a staple of Western culture. Inspired by the image of a painting depicting a cowboy kneeling to give his horse a drink from his hat ( a Stetson, actually), this bourbon represents everything that was born out of cowboys and the West: Caring for those who carry you through to the other side. This bottle is more than a gift; it is a message.
Five Springs Blood Orange – This is the other female-owned brand on the list, and it took me by complete surprise this year. Whether or not you are a fan of infused bourbons, this blood orange version perfected the subtle flavoring that makes it perfect for the old-fashioned. I can honestly say now that the best old-fashioned in New York City is in my apartment.
Ghostwood – I am all about a good story, and that is what first attracted me to Ghostwood. The tree on the bottle is a real tree the family sat under and told ghost stories. The rite of passage for all boys was to venture beyond the firelight after hearing the ghost stories for more wood. The brand represents bravery in the face of the unknown. If you have someone in your life who needs encouragement, this is the bottle for them. Help them venture beyond the firelight.
Scotch
Aberfeldy 18 Year Old Sangiovese Red Wine Cask – Wine-cask finishes are everywhere in Scotch right now, so what makes this stand out is the math: an 18-year-old single malt for about a hundred bucks. Malt master Stephanie Macleod finished Aberfeldy’s Highland whisky for a full year in first-fill Sangiovese casks from Tuscany’s Valdarno di Sopra region, and the result is a rich nose, delicate mouthfeel and sweet, dessert-like flavor. It’s bottled at 46% with natural color, and even with the pedigree, it’s a bargain: at this age, most Scotch costs a lot more.
Single Malt
Bird Creek Baronesse Cask Strength – At its best, American single malt tastes like where it’s from. Portland, Oregon’s Bird Creek takes that idea further than most: every whiskey starts with one barley variety from one Pacific Northwest farm. Its standout is the Baronesse, grown at Joseph’s Grainery in Colfax, Washington. Baronesse is a German two-row barley bred for brewing beer. Bird Creek leans into that by using a Munich-style malt to push the whiskey toward deep caramel. At cask strength (115 proof, $126), the result is spectacular and, more importantly, unlike anything else in the category. If you care about American single malt, put Bird Creek on your list.
Blended
Old Elk Folds of Honor – Patience and honor, not a bad combination for anyone. Old Elk spends weeks adding water slowly to their batches to preserve the subtle flavors most brands burn off by adding gallons of water in a day. That makes them one of the most intricate tastes on this list. This version is just in time for Veterans Day, teaming with Folds of Honor to say thank you to the men and women who signed up to risk it all.
