Gift Week Continues: Local Thursday

Today on Gift Week we go local- most of the gifts here are useful for San Francisco gift givers or receivers.

A gift certificate to Omnivore Books, or a trip there to pick out some books yourself. I haven't even been to Omnivore Books on Food yet and I already love it. They carry vintage and new books on food and drink. It looks like they have vintage copies of A Cordiall Water by M.F.K. Fisher, Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks by William Terrington.

A gift certificate to Bourbon & Branch, the Beverage Academy, or Cask Spirits. That's right, the same gift certificate can be spent on drinks at the bar or a class at the Beverage Academy or on liquor and liquor accessories at the new store. That's drinks at a bar, drinks at home, or the knowledge to transfer from one to the other.

An aging barrel kit or single bottle of spirit with barrel stick from Monterey Rye Spirits. In either case, you get some "white dog" unaged rye spirit that you age yourself in the barrel or bottle. I see they have the bottles at BevMo but you may have to call around for the barrel kits. 

Tres Agaves Cocktail-Ready Agave Nectar. Even lazy people need margaritas. With this agave nectar, which is already watered down to the proper sweetness level (others you usually need to dilute with water to make them easily mixable for drinks) you add an ounce from the bottle, and ounce of lime juice, and two ounces of tequila. Done. They may carry the nectar in a few liquor stores but definitely sell it in 750ml and larger bottles from the restaurant. You can also pick up a gift certificate good for food (and more importantly, drinks) a the venue.

Or just buy some locally-made booze. You can get gin from Anchor Distilling or 209 Gin or D.H. Krahn, or vodka and other spirits from Hangar One or Charbay.