We need to bring back Stock the Bar parties, where everyone brings the host, or guests of honor, a bottle of something fun—besides wine or Champagne.

I remember those in the ‘90s being a thing. Now that I’m old enough to drink (by, oh, 20-something years), I don’t see them much anymore. I certainly have not been the recipient of one, but my bar is fairly stocked. So, perhaps that’s why? Questions abound.

This year, I’m gifting bottles, because I love the moment of giving someone future conversations over dinner. I love a reason to pop a cork for no reason at all. I adore gifting a future toast.

Furthermore, you can buy things as you see them, leave them sitting on a shelf and grab one when needed.

There’s always a holiday on the horizon.

In my search for great bottles to gift this year, I’ve found two new spirits—both based in rosé—and I’ve grabbed an old favorite, that not only adds balanced flavor to cocktails, but also adds a favorite color—bright-as-hell pink.

Bring back the Stock the Bar party theme this year!

And, in the meantime, check these offerings out for your own home bar, too.

Mirabeau Riviera Dry Gin

Winner of 10 spirit awards in 2020, this pale, striking, rosé gin was devised on a wine estate in Saint Tropez, using Mirabeau’s rosé wine. The resulting gin is perfumed with lemon and coriander. A few autumnal cooking herbs like thyme, bay leaf and rosemary are used in distillation, to balance that floral and citrus. Housed in one of the most beautiful bottle designs, it’s a gorgeous gift or addition to your home bar. I love to splash in a quality tonic, a dash of grapefruit or orange and garnish with a sprig of rosemary or a lemon slice.

Cocktail inspo: Try a Grapefruit Gin & Tonic and it’s also fantastic for mixing up Negronis and any of the Spritzes.

 

 

Código 1530 George Strait Limited Edition Rosa Reposado Tequila

Last year, we introduced y’all to Código 1530 Rosa—a rosé-wine-based tequila that we adore for its pink hue and incredible, bright, vegetal, ,lightly sweet flavor in a range of cocktals or sipped neat. This year, the company has brought a limited-edition bottle. If you’re not a tequila nerd yet, reposado is the middle aging category of the spirit. You begin with a silver, unaged, clear tequila or “blanco.” Reposados are ones that have spent between two to 12 months aging in barrels. Normally a caramel hue, this one, thanks to its cabernet and sherry barrel aging, takes on a deep, mauve-pink appearance. There are incredible notes of cherry and cooked agave, mingling with bright citrus and minerality. Find or order it online quickly. This rare selection by brand co-owner country artist George Strait will not last long.

Cocktail inspo: Not for mixing. Sip this pink lady straight.

Combier Rose Liqueur

In any well-stocked home bar, you need a few liqueurs to create great craft cocktails. Combier has crafted award-winning liqueurs since 1834. The French company has a Rose liqueur, made by steeping hand-picked rose petals in a sugar-beet base alcohol. Sweetened with sugar beets and imbued with the fragrance and light notes of the roses from France’s Loire Valley, there’s both a fun, shocking shade of pink in the visual, as well as a delightful, subtle flavor. It’s a good option for glamming it up, while still making tipples that taste perfect.

Cocktail inspo: Add 1/4 ounce to a Paloma for a hint of rose or make a French Jack Rose.

“A true friend reaches for your hand…and puts a glass of gin in it.” – Anonymous