We're talking unique subscriptions, local ingredients and tasty adventures. Whether your loved one likes beer, sweets or relaxing, these local businesses have delicious options sure to make someone's day merry and bright.
Canned wine makes a great stocking stuffer, and it's also part of Infinite Monkey's wine club.
Infinite Monkey Theorem
Don't knock canned wine, especially if it comes from Infinite Monkey Theorem (3200 Larimer Street), which offers a Can Wine Club for $50 per month. It includes a four-pack of cans and a bottle, plus 10-percent off online orders and a complimentary tour of the facility with a cheese-and-wine tasting every three months. The gift is available for either a three- or six-month buy-in.
Consider the La Bouche Wine Club, as well. Starting at $75 per month, the membership includes two hand-selected French and American wines, educational content, tasting notes and fun tidbits about what you're getting. All this comes from the darling wine bar located near City Park (1100 East 17th Avenue).
For a more hands-on gift, Noble Riot has Fight Club, which includes flight sessions where you can learn about different wines while tasting them, discounts on wine classes, and discounts on everyday food and beverage at the RiNo bar, 1336 27th Street. It's $414 for the year, or approximately $69 per month.
If they like booze...
There's nothing like giving a taste of exclusivity, especially when it involves whiskey. That's why the Block Distilling Co.'s 225 Club Bottle Membership is the ultimate spirit lover's present. As the name suggests, there are only 225 members in the club, which includes four special bottle releases each year, two bottles per person, and a release party at the distillery (2290 Larimer Street) with cocktails and food, all for $225.
Pick up some do-it-yourself infusion kits at Ironton Distillery. There are three types for $10 each, including gin lemonade, winter Old Fashioned and hibiscus. Add on the proper bottle of gin or whiskey from the distillery, and make it an interactive gift for that booze-loving buddy of yours. Kits and liquor can be picked up at the distillery (3636 Chestnut Place) or shipped.
If they like music...
A night of live jazz and a multi-course meal by chef Dustin Beckner at Nocturne (1330 27th Street) is the kind of token someone remembers and treasures. Order a standard dinner and a show or go all out and send a gift card to enjoy the nightly Ellington Experience, where the chef brings out five courses, each paired with a wine or cocktail during the performance. Bonus: This booking gets your loved one a two-person velvet couch on the first floor, which offers a stellar view of the musicians.
Brunch with a live show to boot is a perfect gift for that breakfast-loving friend who also dabbles in the realm of music appreciation. Thanks to Ophelia's Electric Soapbox (1215 20th Street), it's easy to book a table for brunch or send a gift card to someone who loves live tunes with their meal. Gift cards and reservations can be found online.
If they like relaxing...
Book a holi-date for your best friend or honey at the Oakwell Beer Spa (3004 North Downing Street) in RiNo. The two-person beer rooms feature a soaking tub infused with botanicals and hops from that month's featured brewery. Plus, there's a beer wall full of tasty selections, including wine and kombucha. If you're sending a touch of wellness to someone out of town, pack up some of the spa's ultra-rich beer bath products, such as the beer hair mask, beer lotion and beer body wash.
The Golden-based Spinster Sisters have been whipping up tasty bath treats since the 1990s. A lot of the items have a food-forward theme, including the holiday mulled-wine bath bomb and bar soap, coffee body scrub, creamsicle butter bath bomb and chocolate mint body butter. Order gifts online, or find the Sisters' products at local holiday markets.
If they like sweets...
It's never too cold for ice cream, and now you can gift a membership to High Point Creamery's Pint Club. There are three tiers to the club, the first being the Short and Sweet for $199, which includes four pints each month for three months. The Seasonal, $259, includes four pints every three months for a year, featuring seasonal flavors. Or go all out and choose the Fanatic for $749, which gets you four pints each month for a whole year.
Forget murder-mystery holiday parties. Instead, invite your friends over for a special blind chocolate tasting thanks to Moksha, a bean-to-bar chocolate factory located in Boulder. For $60, the Private Tasting Game of Four comes with nine chocolate samples, a mat with tasting clues and an easy-to-follow reference guide.
If they have kids...
Share the love of cooking with Sticky Fingers Cooking. Not only was it started in Colorado by Erin Fetter, whose husband, Ryan Fetter, is the owner of Barolo Grill, but there's an array of cookbooks and classes (online and in person) to gift no matter where the child lives.
There aren't many kids — or adults, for that matter — who wouldn’t want to play Willy Wonka for a day. This December, the Inventing Room (4433 West 29th Avenue) is doing just that with The Science of Christmas, a ticketed event that includes an array of whimsical sweets with a holiday theme. For just $16 per person, you can watch the magic happen and learn about chemistry at the same time. Send a gift card to your loved one, or surprise them with a holi-date.
If they like baking...
Opt for flours instead of flowers. Dry Storage, the Boulder-based mill run by Id Est hospitality group has put together the Colorado Flour Bouquet, which includes a $72 set of six 400-gram bags of White Sonora, Yecora Rojo, Winter Langin, Rouge de Bordeaux, Spelt and Rye. There's also a three-flour set for $42, or the Colorado Biscuit Breakfast, a $56 box containing freshly milled White Sonora flour, a recipe for biscuits, a jar of Colorado peach jam and locally roasted coffee by Dark Heart. Each box is available via Colorado Crafted.
Rebel Bread recently debuted Camp Bread, featuring a Sourdough at Home course. The week-long class takes place online (filmed live so you can do it at your own pace) and shows aspiring bakers the entire process. Gift this course for $125, then hope your loved one shares their creations.
If they like cooking...
Now is the time to book one of Cook Street's one-night classes. This is the perfect way to get someone the new kitchen skills they crave. Most classes run approximately $132 and include options such as ramen, Mexican street food and Pasta 101.
Denver Cooking Classes brings the instruction right to your own kitchen. Gift the experience of learning a new cuisine with your loved one, or send it to those older relatives who already have everything they want and need. The courses run about two and a half hours and cover an array of foods from Mexican to Thai to French. Gift cards are available online.
