The UrbanDaddy 2021 Food & Drink Holiday Gift Guide

Holiday gifts for kids are easy.

It's the fully formed adults in your life you struggle with.

Fortunately, there's booze for that.

And noodles and Wagyu clubs and celebrity chef-driven chile crisp and hot buttered rum milk chocolate bars and... a lot of other delicious food and drinks that make totally acceptable presents.

Things you'll find in notable abundance in UrbanDaddy's 2021 Food and Drink Holiday Gift Guide.

It's so darned delicious, you'll most assuredly get hungry reading it. And most likely order some of these things for yourself.

Now without further adieu, on Donner, on Comet, and on Blitzen... especially Blitzen.

There's luxury olive oil. Then there's Olio Piro, which comes from Tuscany, packs the highest levels of polyphenol available, and was named "Best in the World” this year by the prestigious Flos Olei guide. And, as you surely know, those olive oil judges aren't the types to mess around.

The White Wine: 1924 is a California Chardonnay that gets aged in Scotch barrels. Its rich, leathery notes of toffee, tobacco, and apple pie make it perfect for pairing with salmon and spareribs. Though we prefer pairing it with Scotch.

If you have caviar wishes, but an increasingly waning holiday budget, Markey's Sterlet Caviar starts at just $50 an ounce. And it's also sustainable. So just dare anyone to say something.

The Irish Whiskey: Teeling 30-Year Single Malt was distilled in 1991 before being casked in former bourbon barrels and later, given a 9 year sentence in Sauternes wine casks. Highly desirable, it won't be available in the U.S. until January. But look, if the whiskey can wait 30 years, your giftee can make it 30 days.

Just before you figure they have everything and give up, you discover the Luxury Haute Holiday Gift Basket from L.A.'s Haute Mess. It has two bottles of Northern California wine, Montaraz jamon cebo de campo, Modena balsamic, Fabbri Fragola strawberries in syrup, Giusto Roman-style artichokes, and many, many more luxurious nibbles and ingredients. Congratulations, you just won gift-giving.

The Private Reserve Añejo: Azunia Black Tequila has been matured an extra two years on site at Rancho Miravalle in Jalisco, Mexico, before being numbered, signed, and later sipped slowly by someone you care about, who will think of you and your generosity while saying something like, "damn, I should have gotten them a better gift."

Jing Gao's Fly By Jing now has three kinds of dumplings your giftee can keep in the freezer until showtime, including XLB soup dumplings. It's the kind of gift that upturns Earth's entire presumption that we shouldn't give out frozen foods for the holidays.

The Red Wine: Imagine their excitement when they tear off a tiny corner of wrapping paper and first spy the name "Robert Mondavi," the most legendary two words in Napa Valley wine. The 2018 Reserve To Kalon Vineyard embodies the icon's best Cabernet grapes from its most celebrated vineyard. Which you'll do your best to explain over their screams of joy.

Death & Co. has a new book called "Welcome Home," to help you make over 600 bar-level cocktail recipes at home, along with its best pro-tips to hone you into a drink-slinging machine. A fully sentient one at that.

The Tequila Blanco: Lalo is traditionally made, twice distilled, well water-diluted, superior Tequila blanco from the Jaliscan Highlands, founded by the grandson of Tequila legend Don Julio González-Frausto Estrada. Or "Don Julio" as we've always call him.

Whether they be Anglophile, turophile, or both, The Great Britain Cheeseboard gift set should get their stiff upper lip quivering in anticipation. The five regionally coveted cheeses include a black truffle cheddar, authenticated Stilton, and Devonshire red from grassfed cows, along with fig chutney and crackers from Bath. Oh, and a board, naturally.

They like chili crisp. So they'll love Momofuku's Chili Crunch, which comes in a 3-pack with flavors like extra spicy and black truffle. Life really can be that simple sometimes.

The Unexpected Gin: Created by four Californian women (including the two founders of Coolhaus), Future Gin represents the Golden State through unique botanicals such as homegrown Meyer lemon and avocado leaf, grape leaf, and honeysuckle. And contrary to the name, it very much can be enjoyed in the present.

Your giftee has been curious about mushrooms. Which is why you've stuffed their stocking with ReNude's Chagaccino Superfood Coffee Boost supplement, so they can sprinkle an insane amount of antioxidants into their morning coffee. Without the colors and dancing smurfs and breathing walls of other, less reputable mushrooms.

The Limited Edition Kentucky Bourbon: Wild Turkey's Master's Keep One is an extremely limited, 101-proof alloy of Bourbon aged between 9-10 years and Bourbon aged for 14 years, united then given an extra maturation together in charred and toasted new oak barrels, uniting the tastes and vision of distiller Eddie Russell with that of his master distiller father, Jimmy. Which means, securing a bottle for your own Dad would be profoundly prudent.

Seattle Chocolate's Classic Holiday Bar Trio contains special edition seasonal flavors like Hot Buttered Rum, Candy Cane Crunch, and Peanut Butter Crisp in wrappers by artist Frida Clements. Plus every purchase benefits National Wildlife Federation. So even if they were to, say, eat the whole box immediately, it's a decision everyone can still feel good about.

A gift box of spice blends from Japanese master chef Morimoto. Because seasoning is half the battle.

Herve is an expertly made and quite fetching line of French edibles infused with THC, including the delightful macarons you see before you. Something tells us there's a mom or two out there that will appreciate these.

The Mezcal Artesanal: Madre Mezcal just added its first espadin to its offerings of premium, full-flavored mezcal artesanal. Give it as a gift, and then just kind of hang around awhile in the hopes they'll open it. It'll be worth every awkward silence.

You can give UmamiCart's 15-piece Holiday Roast Duck Kit in two ways. In a box left under a tree. Or by preparing it yourself for everyone in your family and presenting it at the holiday table. It depends how much time you're really trying to spend with these people.

The Gin: Cucumber Watermelon Mint small batch gin from Gin Lane 1751 is a compelling and versatile gin with subtle, intriguing flavors that go great in a martini or simply over ice. Yes, we've done the research. Hic!

It's called Booze Dust, so let's face it, they're going to love it even before finding out it's a convenient powder-based mixer that turns your basic spirits into instant cocktails while also keeping you hydrated. Though that certainly won't hurt.

The Uncommon Mezcal: L.A.'s popping Oaxacan restaurant Madre stocks the largest selection of mezcal in the States, including rarities you won't ever find at BevMo... or wherever you go. What's more... they ship to all 50 states! Exclamation feels appropriate here.

Black Perigord truffle dark chocolates. Summer truffle pesto. Black truffle-infused soy sauce. White truffle-infused olive oil. These are the decadent results when caviar haven Petrossian sets its sights on upgrading your holiday meals. They've also got special vintage edition of its legendary caviar tins for big orders. Literally, everyone wins.

The Small Batch Bourbon: Aged six years, 46% ABV Bib & Tucker is the artfully crafted, vanilla-scented, butterscotch-tinged small-batch bourbon you'd relish if you were a cowboy in the 1880s. But goes just as great with a laptop and football game from the sofa.