OK, I’m working on a combo Birthday/Christmas present for the boyfriend (been dating 3.5 months). Before anyone freaks out, it’s going to be more of a 2-part gift, where I’ll give him parts for B-day, then the rest for x-mas. I’m thinking bar set since, well, we both like to drink and he’ll be moving into a new place at the beginning of the year.
Mainly, I want to make sure it won’t be too girly or finicky that his friends will make fun of it when they come over. It should look cool, and improve my “cool girlfriend” status, y’know?
I also saw a set of shotglasses with booze (Stoli, etc) labels on them at Bed Bath and Beyond, and figure I’ll also throw in a set of beer mugs, a bartending book, and maybe a pint of Crown (wow, I hope I don’t have to give him this stuff with his parents around…).
What else? Does everything seem like the type of stuff a straight, only marginally house-trained 29 year old male can be seen in possession of? Do you suggest any other, or additional bar supplies?
For glasses, I’ve always admired these or these. The chillers especially. Do a search for “crystal martini chiller” you can find some cheaper (although not much) Stainless steel seems a little too clinical to drink Martinis from.
It’s a little frat-boy, it’s a little classy (but not much)http://www.quaffer.com/glass.htm I really admire them for trying to add non-drinking uses. Yeah right.
For glasses, I’ve always admired these or these. The chillers especially. Do a search for “crystal martini chiller” you can find some cheaper (although not much) Stainless steel seems a little too clinical to drink Martinis from.
It’s a little frat-boy, it’s a little classy (but not much)http://www.quaffer.com/glass.htm I really admire them for trying to add non-drinking uses. Yeah right.
I’m not digging the stainless martini glasses either. I think it would feel weird on your mouth or something.
Keep in mind the shape of a martini glass is so you can hold it by the stem and keep your warm hands away from the chilled drink. I have a set like the ones psychomonkey linked to, and though I love the look, they are not ideal for martini drinking. (I instead use them for strong margaritas that have some ice in the drink itself.) I also have a chiller glass which is somewhat worthless. If you put enough ice in the globe to reach the drink, it won’t fit right, if you put less, it doesn’t do anything. Plus you have the additional issue of the hands on the drink again, as it’s far far too cumbersome to try to lift the globe and glass together without everything slopping all over. (If you’re big vodka drinkers, I’ve seen something similar that’s a glass icebucket with several um…I guess you’d describe them as test-tubey type shotglasses that are submerged in the ice, then everyone has their own superchilled shot.)
You can get really nice “normal” but elegant martini glasses at Cost Plus, Pier 1, and if you’re willing to spend a little more Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma. (Last time I was in Pottery Barn I saw some really great deco-style etched ones.) Avoid zig-zag stem martini glasses at any cost, as they are for assholes who don’t know anything about drinking and just want to look “rad.” If a bar serves you a martini in a zig-zag glass, send it back and ask for a GROWNUP martini.
Other than that it’s an awesome gift. I personally think it a bit over-the-top for someone you’ve only been going out with for a few months. I’d say maybe a nice set of glasses for the birthday, then a nice bottle of booze for the X-mas. (Start small and you have room to work your way up later, haha.)
Target has a nice stainless bar set/ice bucket combo that I think is around $20. A good, all-purpose classy gift for a drinker.
LOL, sorry to hog up the thread, but it just occurred to me you both might get a kick out of a subscription to Modern Drunkard Magazine. www.moderndrunkardmagazine.com
It doesn’t fit right even when using chipped ice? I figured some fine chipped ice, and then getting the glass right down in there before it became a solid mass again would be the way to go.
Yeah, I even put the ice through my retro “ice-o-mat” chipper/grater and it was still crappy. It just sorta melted away from the glass. I think I spent $25 on the one glass (monogrammed) so I dang near tried everything! It might be a neat way to serve something else that needs to be kept chilled though. Olives? Maybe something like a Hollandaise sauce? It might depend on the maker of the glass as well. For some reason the drinking portion of mine seemed wider and shallower than in the ad, so I’m thinking maybe a longer, more pointy-bottomed glass would work better? I think I just have a crappy glass now that I think about it. The monogram is seriously pathetic. (It looks like somebody scratched it on with an old nail!)
Thanks for the input. My birthday was just a couple weeks ago, and I know he spent a bit (more than I would have expected), so not that I’m counting beans or anything, but I definitely feel comfortable with spending $60-75 or so for each occasion, plus the added bonus is that I’ll be getting use out of these things, too.
I think you’re right about the stainless martini glasses. I might just leave the glasses out for now… I don’t want to give him something he’ll have to worry about breaking, then feeling guilty…
I’ll read this all and refine my list more when I get home from work, thanks!
That’s cool, if he’s already spent a lot on you you know where the relationship stands “giftwise.” It seems like something that would really catch a guy off-guard if he wasn’t expecting it though, you know? Like you bought him this cool stuff and he bought you a cheap candle or something, lol. (I guess maybe I watch too many lame sitcoms!) Sounds like you’re in the clear. Great gift idea – I know I’d love it!
Just for the record, I’m more of a fan of this type of corkscrew than the one you picked. The waiter style makes me feel a bit more professional and classy when uncorking a bottle of wine for my girl.
The wing style corkscrew just reminds me of surrendering. I watch the arms rise up over its head, and feel bad for the little guy.
So slightly off-topic, but I got one of the waiter-style corkscrews from good old IKEA in hopes that I’d look professional and classy when uncorking wine. I’ve had a couple of bad experiences where the prongs that hook the lip of the bottle actually sheared off small chips of glass before the cork started moving.
Randomly weird tight corks?
Badly designed waiter-style corkscrew?
Un-professional and classless uncorking technique on my part?
Could be a bit of each… Some corks are tighter than others, some corkscrews are poorly designed.
For techinque, I first try to make sure the screw is all the way in the cork before pulling. Then I set the prongs as deeply as possible on the bottle lip, even if it overlaps the cork a bit. Pull up firmly and there you go.
and he’ll be moving into a new place at the beginning of the year.
