Is there a cocktail fanatic on your gift list this year, and one whose bar is already full of equipment? Then get them what they really want—a bottle bursting with an intriguing spirit or liqueur. The following six are chosen for their particular gift-ability. Heck, you can even pick one up as your gift for me.
Cyprus Pyramid SaltCapitol Hill’s modern-day apothecary, Karyn Schwartz’s SugarPill is filled top to bottom with scent-sational herbs, cocktail bitters, and smoked, herbal, infused and classic salts. Thank your holiday hostess with a beautiful jar of salt; the scented crystals add an intoxicating flavor to grilled meats or crostini. $13 per 3-ounce jar, available at SugarPill (Capitol Hill, 900 E Pine St.; 206.322.7455; sugarpillseattle.com)
MUST FREMONTAn Especially Festive Artwalk Friday (12/7) — Three fun reasons to visit Fremont this week: The annual Lenin statue lighting (in lieu of a tree); a holiday arts and crafts bazaar; and Matthew Inman, the man behind The Oatmeal, who’s hosting a special open studio sale where you can get a book signed or pick up some Oatmeal merchandise—perfect gifts for any cat or Star Wars lover.
There’s an electric feel of happiness in the air today as same-sex marriage becomes officially legal in Washington state and couples of all ages, colors and creeds line up to be among the first who receive marriage licenses.
If you've been mentally camping out in preparation for Shanik's opening (which was supposed to happen today!), well, hunker down for a few more days. We've been tracking this, the most exciting opening of the year for nearly a year. Now, we have to wait just a few more days for the place to launch.
Sweet! The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook is a huge hit! In addition to being on bestseller lists, the goodie-filled tome showed up over the weekend on The New York Times Book Review's list of great holiday gifts and it's featured in this month's Martha Stewart Living.
At cultural and charitable events around Seattle in October,Team Photogenic owner Duell Fisher bumped into a bevy of fun local revelers and chatted with some very interesting movers and shakers. Witness it all in the latest episode of "Seen," here:
Bowser BeerFor those who let their pooches guzzle the real stuff (you know who you are!), offer them healthier booze: Des Moines–based Bowser Beer dog beer is made from USDA chicken or steak, plus malt barley (B vitamins!) and glucosamine (for joint health!). $19.99/six-pack, available at Wally Pets (Wallingford, 4411 Wallingford Ave. N; 206.547.0301).
In addition to the craft-acular Urban Craft Uprising at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, there is so much incredible stuff happening the Seattle shopping scene this weekend. See if you can cram all of it in. The gauntlet has been thrown.
Local musician John Roderick of The Long Winters has teamed up with Jonathan Coulton to release an original album of Christmas songs (and one Chanukah song), titled One Christmas at a Time. Roderick explains the inspiration for the album (and the likelihood of his becoming Mayor of Seattle) in this interview with the Dallas Observer.
Pike Street PressNestled at the bottom of the Pike Place Hill Climb, Sean Brown’s Pike Street Press cranks out some of the coolest letterpress holiday cards in town from his gorgeous 1964 Heidelberg Windmill press. Our fave: his Space Needle New Year’s card (shown above), complete with fireworks. Available at Pike Street Press.
The holidays give us plenty of reasons to visit local bars: getting to see friends and family, getting over the stress of shopping for friends and family.... And while there are many great bars and cocktails to enjoy all around Seattle, we think you should check out one of these cool events when searching out a cocktail this month.
MUST TASTESeattle’s Best CupcakeBefore we reveal the best cupcake of 2012, you should know that this was no arbitrary declaration. We purchased just about as many cupcakes as would fit in the office kitchen and asked local dessert experts to taste and evaluate each one—while blindfolded. Rebekah Denn reports on the judges’ findings, some of which may surprise you...MUST SHOPHoliday Gift Ideas
There may be no better pre-holiday gift than a spot at Bruce Naftaly's (sure-to-sell-out-in-a-hot-minute!) cooking classes at Le Gourmand. In fact, several years ago I sent my parents to one of Naftaly's classes, and though I have yet to see demi-glace grace the old Austin table during a holiday dinner, George and Nancy sure enjoyed sipping wine and watching chef Naftaly's expert cooking, and then tasting the delicious meal he cooked for them. They still talk about it nearly ten years later.
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