That’s where the Weekend Sip 12 bottles of Christmas guide can come in handy. This annual MarketWatch feature is designed to take some of the guesswork out of finding the right sip for the right person. We’ve included bottles of all types, from wine to whiskey, at a variety of price points. There’s even a bottle for the Nick Offerman fan .
The green bottle By “green,” we mean eco-minded. And that is certainly the case with the wines from Neal Family Vineyards, a Napa Valley producer that adheres to both biodynamic and organic standards. Indeed, founder Mark Neal is often credited as a pioneer in the industry — he went organic in 1984, long before other California winemakers started embracing this approach. The Neal Family’s wines run the gamut — both in terms of price and varietals.
The “Who cares about price?” bottle If money is truly no object when it comes to your gift giving, here’s a limited-edition bottle to consider — a 32-year-old Irish single-malt whiskey, courtesy of Teeling Whiskey. It was distilled in 1990, matured in bourbon barrels for 28 years and then finished in a Portuguese Purple Muscat French Oak cask for another four years. The brand extols the whiskey’s flavors of dried cherries, plums, sultanas and figs.
The trio of bottles Savage & Cooke, a California distiller, is known not only for its distinctive whiskies, but also for its unique packaging, with striking artwork on each bottle. A good introduction to the label — and a good gift in general — is its holiday sampler , with three half-sized bottles, including its four-year-old Burning Chair Bourbon, three-year-old Lip Service rye and five-year-old Second Glance American whiskey.