Welcome to part two of The Rhubarb and Honey Holiday Gift Guide: The Drink Edition. Following on yesterday’s inaugural installment featuring gifts any food lover would appreciate receiving, it only seems fitting that we venture into the drink world next. Whether you have someone on your gift list that loves the buzz of caffeine … or the buzz from a great craft beer … the perfect drink-related gift for that special someone is somewhere in this list! And of course, check back tomorrow to find just the right present for the sweets lover in your life.

The Rhubarb and Honey Holiday Gift Guide: The Drink Edition

Coffee Gift Basket from Foundation Grounds Coffee House & Cafe (7298 Manchester Road, Maplewood, MO 63143)

Besides striving to serve the finest quality coffee, food, and pastries, Foundation Grounds is a conscious coffee house and cafe with a serious committment to the environment.

From sourcing local ingredients at the Maplewood Farmers’ Market to using only 100% organic coffee from (my favorite) Goshen Coffee Company, Foundation Grounds talks the green talk and walks the green walk. For the coffee-lover on your list, stop by Foundation Grounds and pick up a pound of any of the wonderful tasting Goshen coffees they carry. My picks? Try the Bona Fide Espresso blend, the Old School Tattoo Blend, or the Ethiopian Harrar. Add a Foundation Grounds travel mug and t-shirt to the mix and I promise, your coffee lover will thank you.

Coffee Gift Basket from Goshen Coffee Company (110 First Avenue, Edwardsville, IL 62025)

Want to get your coffee buzz directly from the source? Then take a short trip to the aforementioned Goshen Coffee Company in Edwardsville, and you’ll be in coffee nirvana. Can you tell how much I love Goshen coffee?

Unique to the St. Louis area, Goshen roasts only small batches of 100% organic coffee in their custom-built, high-efficiency roaster to ensure nothing is wasted and you get the freshest product possible. Rest assured that every cup of their coffee that warms your hands is certified organic and completely sustainable throughout its entire existence for both the environment and the farmers. Goshen has put together a few holiday gift ideas so head across the river and check them out … and don’t forget to grab a pastry from Goshen’s sister company, 222 Bakery, while you’re there … Happy Holidays to you!

Beer Gift Basket from the Saint Louis Brewery (The Tap Room: 2100 Locust Street, St. Louis, MO 63103 or The Bottleworks: 7260 Southwest Avenue, Maplewood, MO 63143)

I think most folks in St. Louis know Schalfly Beer, but I don’t think many of them know that Schlafly is actually the brand name of beers produced by the Saint Louis Brewery, not the name of the brewery itself. There’s a little St. Louis drink trivia for you.

The brewery was founded in 1991 and produces more than 30 styles of hand-crafted, microbrewed beers annually. They are known for their seasonal beers so this is a perfect time to get some for the beer lover on your list. Try the Winter ESB, an amber-colored, malty ale with lots of hops to balance the flavor, or the Christmas Ale, a full-bodied amber ale to made with orange peel, cloves, and spicy hops. Either style is sure to please the craft beer lover.

Wine Gift Basket from The Wine Merchant, Ltd. (20 South Hanley, Clayton, MO 63105)

The Wine Merchant, Ltd. opened in 1992 and has become one of the leading fine wine retailers in the St. Louis area. Boasting a selection of over 2,000 wines—from great tasting, inexpensive values to the rarest wines in the world—you’re certain to find just the right bottle for the wine lover on your list. Not sure whether they’d prefer Chardonnay to Pinot Noir? Check out The Wine Merchant’s Wine of the Month Club.

Members of “The Merch Club” receive two bottles of wine each month from small, quality oriented producers whose wines cannot be found in most markets. Included in each offering is useful information about the wines, such as flavor profiles, food pairing ideas, regional histories, and serving instructions. I guarantee the wine lover on your list will be raving about this gift all year long.

Tea Gift Basket from The London Tea Room (1520 Washington Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103)

Given a choice of tea, water, or soda, I’ll pick tea 99% of the time … I love tea! And I love The London Tea Room, an unstuffy tea room in downtown Saint Louis.

Serving & selling excellent tea, light lunches, and pastries in casual European surroundings, The London Tea Room is the perfect place to get your tea on. All of their loose-leaf teas are for sale by the 1/8 pound, and new teas and seasonal varieties arrive constantly so I guarantee they’ll be a huge selection to pick from while you’re there. Don’t forget to grab some tea accessories to make the ultimate gift basket for the tea lover on your list … I know I’d love to get it!

My friend Stefani (yes, she of Cupcake Project fame) recently put together a fabulous holiday gift guide for the cupcake lover. Not only do I want many of the things Stefani has on her list, it also inspired me to put together a holiday gift guide of my own.

The Rhubarb and Honey Holiday Gift Guide will be posted in three parts, each highlighting some of my favorite St. Louis places to shop for yummy eats, hot and cool drinks, or treats for your sweet tooth.

Since this is a food blog, the first installment of the Rhubarb and Honey Holiday Gift Guide is all about food, and it features six great places to get your favorite food lover just the right gift. The holidays are right around the corner (actually, Hanukkah is already here, but don’t worry, you still have six days left) … and I’m sure the perfect food-related gift for that special someone is somewhere in this list!

Oh, check back tomorrow for the second installment of the Rhubarb and Honey Holiday Gift Guide: The Drink Edition.

Happy Shopping!

The Rhubarb and Honey Holiday Gift Guide: The Food Edition

Italian Food Gift Basket from DiGregorio’s Italian Foods (5200 Daggett Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110)

Since 1971, DiGregorio’s Italian Foods, located on “The Hill,” has been bringing authentic Italian and specialty foods to the St. Louis area. Their deli counter is host to a variety of fresh-made Italian meats, including salami, salsiccia, and braciole, and it also sports a wide variety of gourmet cheeses, stuffed olives, and peppers. But, my favorite thing at DiGregorio’s? Their frozen pastas. If you are looking to buy unique varieties of stuffed pasta in the St. Louis area, DiGregorio’s is the place for you! DiGregorio’s also has a plethora of Italian wines, olive oils, and balsamic vinegars, plus kitchenware and cookware for every Italian chef, from the beginner to the expert.

DiGregorio’s is the place to put together a fabulous Italian gift basket; just grab what you like, put it a gift basket (or more apropos, a cute colander), and you’ve got the perfect gift for the Italian food lover on your list.

Olive Oil Gift Basket from Extra Virgin: An Olive Ovation (143 Carondelet Plaza, Clayton, MO 63105)

I don’t know about you, but olive oil is a staple in our house … we keep a number of varieties on hand, and they’re used in almost everything we make. Extra Virgin: An Olive Ovation is a unique market located Clayton, the first to bring olive oil tasting to the area. In addition to an international selection of extra virgin olive oils, Extra Virgin also features flavored olive oils, aged balsamic vinegars, fine wine and sherry vinegars, and specialty foods and seasonings from Spain, France, Italy, Greece, and Morocco. Cookbooks, kitchen and table linens, ceramics, olive wood, olive oil soaps and lotions, and more compliment the food items.

Custom gift baskets are their specialty, but my choice for the perfect holiday gift for the olive oil lover in your family? The Olive Ovations Olive Oil Club. Members enjoy four offerings per year, which feature newly harvested olive oils, limited release products, and new products. Each offering has a theme and the items are carefully selected by the owner of Extra Virgin. Detailed information about the products and recipes are included. One or more deliveries will make a great gift for the olive oil lover on your list.

Hot Sauce Gift Basket from Figuero’s International Gourmet Foods (524 South Main Street, St. Charles, MO 63301)

In addition to olive oil being a staple in our house, so is hot sauce. It livens up any chili or gumbo, and I can’t imagine dipping fried okra in anything else. Do you have a hot sauce lover on your gift list this year? Well, look no further than Figuero’s International Gourmet Foods. With an amazing array of over 1,600 of the best hot sauces that can be found anywhere, Figuero’s has exactly what you need. As they say, “Chances are, if you’ve heard of it, we’ve got it.” Figuero’s also offers a wide variety of salsas, dips, mustards, barbecue sauces, wing sauces, jerk sauces, and rubs from around the country. Browse their shelves to find the perfect sauce for the hot sauce lover on your list.

Local Food Gift Basket from Local Harvest Grocery (3148 Morgan Ford Road, St. Louis, MO 63116)

I don’t think it’s a secret to anyone who reads this blog that supporting our local food system is of the utmost importance to me. So, it’s a no brainer that a gift basket of local foods from Local Harvest Grocery would be on this list!

Local Harvest Grocery is a unique grocery store that specializes in locally- and sustainably-produced foods, and they strive to source at least 50% of their products from within 150 miles of St. Louis. From grass-fed beef and pastured chickens and hogs, to milk, cheese, fresh produce, baked goods, and gourmet dry goods, and even coffee, wine, beer, and chocolate, Local Harvest Grocery is your source for amazing locally-produced food you can feel good about purchasing and consuming. It’s no wonder Local Harvest Grocery was nominated by the St. Louis Business Journal as a “Hero of the Planet” in 2009!

Gourmet Foods Gift Basket from The Smokehouse Market (16806 Chesterfield Airport Road, Chesterfield, MO 63005)

Originally opened in 1937 as the Chesterfield Mercantile Company, The Smokehouse Market has been a familiar west St. Louis county landmark for over 67 years. With thousands of exciting items on the shelves, the Smokehouse Market offers food lovers an array of imported and domestic cheeses, salsas, mustards, olive oils, sauces, vinegars, condiments, pastas, spices, farm fresh produce, and a full-service gourmet meat market.

Don’t want to spend time picking out items and creating a gift basket yourself? Let The SmokeHouse Market do it for you. With their wide array of pre-made gift baskets, you are sure to find just the right something for anyone on your list.

Culinary Condiments Gift Basket from Vom Fass (7314 Manchester Road, Maplewood, MO 63143)

First, a short lesson in German. “Vom Fass” translates literally as ‘from the cask.’ Second, if you haven’t been to Vom Fass yet, you’re missing out. Often described as “a candy store for grown-ups,” their selection of “gourmet culinary condiments,” fruit vinegars, oils, selected wines, liqueurs, and fine and rare spirits, all sold straight from the cask, will blow you away.

Vom Fass sells their wares straight from the cask, harkening back to a time when customers used to buy these item directly from the producer. Bring in your own bottle or purchase one from the store, then sample the delicious concoctions and choose one (or more) for the adventurous food-lover on your gift list. Not sure what to pick? I recommend the Fruit Vinegar Box Set, a compilation of some of Vom Fass’ finest pure fruit vinegars, perfect for salads, fish, meat dishes, sauces and soups … it’s a gift I know I’d love to receive!