A Sonoma County Gift Guide for Craft Spirit Lovers

Is there someone in your life who is a craft spirit lover or aspiring spirit connoisseur? 

Look no further than Sonoma County for a creative gift to please even the most persnickety. From spirit club memberships and cocktail kits to high-end and gift-worthy bottles, this list is sure to serve up some gift-giving inspiration. Of course, the Sonoma County distillery pass is also a great gift, with 1-day, 2-day and 90-day options!

Please note that some craft spirit businesses can only ship within California, while others may only offer a pick-up option for club memberships.

Spirit Club Memberships

If your gift recipient is the kind of person who would enjoy receiving regular allocations of craft spirits or cocktail kits to support their home mixology efforts, a spirit club membership or cocktail kit membership could be perfect.

Barber Lee Spirits (Petaluma)

Barber Lee’s spirit club includes two or four bottles of spirits (customers will choose what type of spirit before its shipped) three times a year (at a 15 to 20% discount). Member benefits also include 10% off all other spirit purchases; free tastings or 50% off cocktails for up to four people; guaranteed allocations of rare and club-only spirits; and invitations to special club-only events and pick-up parties.

Griffo Distillery (Petaluma) 

Griffo Distillery in Petaluma offers a different kind of spirits subscription membership – you get a choice of either quarterly shipments (or pick-ups if you are local) of cocktail kits or bottles of spirits (at higher-end and more-affordable levels). Members get to choose from a number of options each quarter to select the spirit or cocktail kit they would like.

Previously featured cocktail kits at Griffo have included ingredients for a Smoked Honey Whiskey Sour, Pumpkin Bourbon Smash, Sugar Plum Cocktail, and Figgy Army and Navy to name a few. 

Hanson of Sonoma (Sonoma)

Hanson of Sonoma offers four different membership options, including a two-bottle Cocktail Club, four-bottle Cocktail Club, three-bottle Mixologist Club, and six-bottle Mixologist Club. Club allotments include two, three, four, or six bottles of spirits four or six times a year. Additional membership benefits include two complimentary tastings; 15% off all purchases; first access to VIP tastings; Distillers Dinners; caviar and chocolate pairings; cocktail, distillation and infusion courses; exclusive “behind the scenes” tours and tastings; and first access to allocations of reserve or library spirits.

Prohibition Spirits (Sonoma)

Prohibition Spirits offers two clubs – the Speakeasy Club and the Bootleggers Club. Club shipments (or pick-ups) include two or four bottles of 375 or 750ml bottles three times a year. Membership benefits include first access to club-only or seasonal products, invitations to “club only events and mischief” (wink wink), free tastings for the member and up to three guests, and 10% off all other spirit purchases.

Sonoma Brothers Distilling (Windsor)

Sonoma Brothers Distilling’s spirit club includes two to three bottles four times per year. Additional member benefits include a 15% discount on purchases of spirits and merchandise, and an additional 10% birthday discount. Pick-up only.

Young and Yonder Spirits (Healdsburg)

Young and Yonder’s Double Y Society and Forever Young Club includes one to two bottle allocations every three months. Members also include a 20% discount off spirits, cocktails, and merchandise; free tastings for members and a guest; and tickets to Young and Yonder’s annual club party.

Unique or High-End Gift-Worthy Bottles

If the spirit lover in your life is a top-shelf drinking kind of guy or gal, selecting a special, premium bottle to gift them is something that will undoubtedly earn you an excited gasp.

Whether they are a brandy lover, whiskey lover, gin lover, or a lover of sweet- or exotic-flavored liqueurs, there’s something here that will catch their attention. 

For Whiskey Lovers

Barber Lee Single Malt Rye

Barber Lee offers a 100% rye whiskey made in 1,000-bottle small-batch blends of 3-year, 2-year, and 1.5-year-old heavy char American oak barrels.

Alley 6 Single Malt Whiskey

Alley 6’s Single Malt Whiskey is twice distilled in direct-fire, traditional-copper alembic-pot stills from 100% malted barley from Heidelberg Germany. Each batch is aged for a minimum of 18 months in heavy charred American White Oak barrels.

For Brandy Lovers

Barber Lee Apple Brandy

Barber Lee’s Apple Brandy also comes in a bottle with a really unique label, this time made of wood. This brandy is fermented and distilled juice of freshly crushed Sonoma County Gravenstein apples and aged in charred barrels. It is the perfect base for a variety of brandy cocktails or a fun substitute in whiskey cocktails (such as an apple brandy hot toddy).

Chauvet XO Brandy

Prohibition Spirit’s Chauvet XO Brandy is elegant, smooth, and a worthwhile splurge when it comes to choosing a gift bottle for a true brandy lover. 

For Gin Lovers 

Prohibition Spirits Re-Imagine Pink Gin

Prohibition Spirits’ Pink Gin is smooth, elegant and delicious, and comes in a pretty bottle that allows the spirit to show off its pink hue.

For Flavored Liqueur Lovers

Limoncello di Sonoma

Prohibition Spirits’ Limoncello is one of the distillery’s most popular products. Sweet, bright, and strong (yet smooth), it makes the perfect aperitivo or after-dinner drink.

Chauvet Nocino

Prohibition Spirit’s Chauvet Nocino is a walnut-flavored liqueur that is perfect to enhance classic cocktails such as a Manhattan, Negroni, or an Old Fashioned. 

Cocktail, Spirit-Sampler and Spirit-Pairing Kits

Cocktail kits are so much fun to receive as gifts. They make it easy to whip up a batch of craft cocktails without having to visit multiple stores to purchase specialty ingredients, and they can turn anyone into a quasi-professional mixologist.

Below are a few cocktail kits from local craft distilleries, but be sure to check out these brands’ websites to see their entire selection. 

• The Ultimate Old Fashioned Cocktail Kit (Griffo Distillery)
• Amaretto Sour(ish) Cocktail Kit (Griffo Distillery) 
• Espresso Martini Kit (Hanson of Sonoma)
• Bloody Mary Kit (Young and Yonder, Hanson of Sonoma)
• Smoked Honey Whiskey Sour Cocktail Kit (Griffo Distillery) 
• Vodka Mule Kit (Young and Yonder)

You can also gift a spirit-pairing kit, like these: 

• Hanson of Sonoma Vodka and Caviar Pairing Kit  
• Barber Lee Spirits Sampler Gift Box

Private Group Tours and Tastings

All of the Sonoma County distilleries listed above offer the option to book a private group tour and tasting, or you can work with them to plan a private group event. If you’re looking for a gift with a Wow! factor, why not go big and gift that special someone a private spirit-tasting experience that they can invite friends to? 

You’ll need to call a distillery directly to provide details and work out a rate for your specific event, but the extra energy is worth it when you consider the happy jig your special someone will surely do when they find out what you got them!

---

Written by Brooke Herron