Stocking Stuffers from Crater Lake Spirits

When the crew at Bendistillery isn't working on base spirits for some other private label, they are usually busy keeping the shelves stocked with their own award-winning brand. Handcrafted in Bend, Oregon, Crater Lake Spirits has a broad assortment of expressions that are sure to please the craft spirit enthusiast in your life.

For those who haven't had the opportunity to sample the line, Crater Lake has assembled the perfect stocking stuffer. This sample pack comes with six 50 ml bottles, one each of their core products: Crater Lake Vodka, Pepper Vodka, Hazelnut Espresso Vodka, Sweet Ginger Vodka, Crater Lake Gin, and Crater Lake Rye Whiskey.

Check out their website for a retailer near you!

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Season Greetings

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Shop, Eat, and Drink Local with Sweetgrass Farm Distillery

Don't get us wrong, we certainly appreciate a black tie affair, but we can get just as excited about that other facet of craft spirits, promoting local production and commerce. So our hat is off to Sweetgrass Farm Winery & Distillery of Union, Maine, who is hosting the fifth incarnation of their annual Holiday Bazaar on December 13 & 14.

Those attending the bazaar will find local food and provisions paired with this year’s Sweetgrass wines and micro-distilled spirits. Samplings include award winning artisan cheese from Appleton Creamery and fresh oysters from the Pemaquid Oyster Company. WaldoStone Farm will be sampling its fine line of oyster sauces and Bloody Mary Mixers and will provide Bloody Mary cocktails by the glass with your favorite. Other food vendorsat the bazaar include Bixby Bars, Transfiguration Hermitage, and Bleuberet Artisanal Jams.

In addition to these great pairings, attendees will find local gift items from a number of guest artisans. G & L Float Rope Creations will be selling their uniquely designed float rope baskets and mats. Just in time for Christmas, Brae Maple Farm has created needle felted ornaments; sheep, donkeys, golden retrievers, and cats all made from wool raised on their farm, and Qdloon Repurposed Bird Feeders will be on hand with a wide selection of unique bird feeders that will please even the hard to shop for on your list.

Sip wine, sample spirits, and enjoy a truly one of a kind holiday shopping experience at this archetype of New England craft culture.

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Craftsmanship for Christmas

Of course, there are a million companies vying for your Christmas dollar, but few of them are offering you products with the same degree of craftsmanship as we have come to expect from our favorite craft spirits. However, there are a handful companies out there who are. Here are 5 of our favorites:

1. Steinway Pianos - If you want to know what lengths Steinway goes to in making the world's standard in pianos, listen to this great story from NPR's Morning Edition.

2. Kaweko (via Motart) - Manufacturing precision writing instruments since 1883, Kaweko focuses on the thin line between tradition and innovation, securing the favor of those who would like to impress their values and esteems on paper.

3. Shinola - Advertised on their website as "the perfect gift for those who have everything except a Detroit-made wristwatch", Shinola watches are hand assembled from 84 Swiss-made components. Attempting to single-handedly return Detroit to its manufacturing glory, Shinola itself is a company worth watching.

 4. Chippewa Boots (via Silodrome) - Chippewa products use only premium raw materials and are hand crafted in the USA. Sounds like the tag line of some craft spirits we know.

 5. Behring Made - This custom cutler strives to make the best knives in the market. The team of craftsmen build their knives and their reputation around four cornerstones: innovation, quality, craftsmanship, and functionality.

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Put Some Punch in Your Hip Pocket

If you've already hooked the craft spirit lover on your list up with a subscription to MicroShiner magazine and you're still looking for a gift idea, consider these great Batman-inspired flasks we discovered via our friends over at Silodrome. Each is sized to fit in your hip pocket, and comes ready to deliver that knockout blow. All that is missing from this ideal craft Christmas threesome is a bottle of their favorite label.

From Eyval Decal

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Latest Release From Wyoming Whiskey

Wyoming Whiskey, who's still graced the cover of the latest issue of MicroShiner magazine, has just released another batch of their Small Batch Bourbon to the Wyoming Liquor Division. Bottles should be hitting the shelves at local retailers as we speak.

This batch, and all their product moving forward, has been aged a minimum of 4 years. According to chief of operations David DeFazio, this added year of maturation has worked wonders on this already fine whiskey, which is garnering rave reviews across the country. In support of the claim, Wyoming's Small Batch Bourbon was recently awarded a bronze medal at the New York International Spirits Competition in New York City.

Try some in a festive holiday punch or the World's Greatest egg nog recipe found here. Happy holidays!

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The Holiday Punch Bowl

"Few things in life are more kind to man's eye than the sight of a gracefully conceived punch bowl on a table proudly surrounded by gleaming cohorts of cups made of crystal or white metals, in meshing every beam of light and tossing it back into a thousand shattered spectra, to remind us of the willing cheer within." - Charles H. Baker, Jr.

Christmas is the time for cheer, and what better than turning a punch or egg nog made with craft spirits into the centerpiece of your holiday festivities? That was the subject of a story this past week told by Renee Montagne of National Public Radio, in which she interviewed Julia Reed, a contributor to southern-lifestyle magazine Garden & Gun, about putting the cheer in Christmas. And while craft spirits weren't specifically mentioned in the piece, it stands to reason that they can only make your punch that much more cheery.

Do yourself a favor and give this a listen. The very entertaining story can be found in its entirety here, or at least try this recipe for the World's Greatest Egg Nog.

WORLD’S GREATEST EGGNOG
4 cups bourbon
2¼ cups sugar
12 large egg yolks
8 cups whipping cream

Pour bourbon into large mixing bowl. Stir in sugar and let sit several hours. Overnight, if you can wait. Beat egg yolks until they are an ugly yellow color. Fold them into the bourbon and sugar mixture. Let sit for two hours if you can wait. Whip the cream until very stiff, fold into the bourbon and egg mixture. Let sit for one hour if you can wait. Mixture may be cut in half if you are clever enough to know how to divide 2¼ by two! Serve in cups. Serves 20–30 people. Nutmeg not permitted! ENJOY.

For more on surviving the holidays from Julia Reed, here is a link to her handy guide on the Garden & Gun website. 

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Craft Ginvent Calendar

Although we hate to admit it, we may be a bit late in bringing this to your attention. But, hey, better late than never, especially when you are talking about an advent calendar that counts down the days to Christmas with 3cl samples of handcrafted gins from around the world.

Available for immediate dispatch, so order yours today here!

Includes these and samples of 16 other craft gins, packaged individually:

- Smooth Ambler Greenbrier Gin
- Greenhook Ginsmiths Dry Gin
- St. George Dry Rye Gin
- Cold River Gin
- Monkey 47 Dry Gin
- FEW American Gin
- Death’s Door Gin
- Breuckelen Glorious Gin

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