Christmas gifts for cocktail lovers, made in New Zealand
Buying for someone who likes a good drink sounds easy until you are standing in a shop holding a novelty cocktail shaker they will never use. The people who actually make drinks at home already own the equipment. What they run out of is the good stuff that goes in and on the glass.
Here is what to buy, by budget.
Under $20: Secret Santa and stocking fillers
This is the bracket where most gifts are wasted, so a small consumable that gets used beats another gadget.
- A single rim dust. The chilli citrus salt suits anyone who drinks margaritas, the raspberry sugar suits everyone else. Around 25 drinks per pouch.
- A pouch of dried citrus. Lemon, lime or orange, whichever matches their usual drink.
- A pouch of edible florets for the person who bakes as well as drinks.
$20 to $50: the proper present
- A ceramic rim dish, handmade in New Zealand. It is the thing nobody buys themselves and everybody uses once they have one.
- The dried citrus trio, with lemon, lime and orange in one box.
- A mixer and garnish pairing: one of the cocktail mixers with a rim dust that matches it.
$50 and up: the good gift
- The Classic Margarita gift set, which has the mixer, the rim salt and the garnish together, and ships free.
- A build-your-own bundle, so you can match what they actually drink.
- The mystery box, if they are the type who enjoys a surprise. It ships free too.
For the person who has everything
Buy consumables, not equipment. Someone with a full bar cart has three shakers and no rim salt. Garnishes get used up and remembered, and they do not need a cupboard.
The other safe bet is something local. Everything we make is handcrafted in the Waikato, which makes it an easy gift for someone overseas or for a colleague who has strong opinions about buying New Zealand made.
For a team or a client list
Small, consistent and easy to post beats large and fragile. A rim dust plus a dried citrus pouch makes a neat two-item gift at a sensible price point, and it survives the courier better than glass. If you need a quantity for corporate gifting, get in touch through our wholesale page and we will sort it out.
For someone who is not drinking
Garnishes work just as well on a mocktail, and for someone doing Dry January or pregnant over summer, the good glass matters more, not less. A rim dust and a pouch of dried citrus turns a soda into something that looks like a drink. Our mocktail recipes are a good thing to include with the gift.
Ordering in time for Christmas
New Zealand courier networks get busy from early December, so order by the first week of the month if it has to be under a tree. Shipping is free over $100, and everything is dispatched from the Waikato.
Start with the gifts and bundles collection, or browse the full range.