Shaker & Spoon is the perfect Father’s Day gift for your cocktail-loving dad

Father’s Day is rapidly approaching – it’s Sunday, June 16, 2024, in case you weren’t aware – and time is running out to get Dad the perfect gift. Well, let me help you out… If your father loves cocktails and has some lonely liquor bottles lying around, or there’s a particular type of booze he’s been interested in exploring, then you’re going to want to order him Shaker & Spoon.

Based in Brooklyn, Shaker & Spoon is essentially like a meal box kit, but for cocktails – and important to note, the booze is separate. However, with a wide array of boxes to order, and even some subscription services, there’s something for everyone. And the best part is that like a meal kit, it takes the guesswork out of menu planning, as well as buying ingredients.

To give you an example, I was kindly sent the New Frontiers 2 box by Shaker & Spoon to test out, which aids in cocktail-making with American Single Malt. Mind you, I didn’t have a good American Single Malt in hand’s reach at the time – the site also helpfully curates some packs with the also excellent booze-ordering site Curiada – but I did have some Rye Whiskey handy, and I can attest to making several delicious cocktails for myself and my friends.

In the lovingly packed box, I received a number of ingredients perfect for making 12 high-end cocktails – three recipes, four cocktails each – without the stress. Not only are the bitters and other ingredients perfectly measured to make the number of cocktails called for, but the directions are clear and concise, removing any confusion from shaking, stirring, and everything in between.

That’s the key comparison point between this and your HelloFresh, Blue Apron, or whatever meal kit. Instead of buying a large bottle of Peach Cocktail bitters and not knowing what to do with it, or having to infuse some peach basil syrup… It’s all right there, and perfectly portioned. It not only helps guide you and expand your palette; it also reduces the waste and shelf-space of having to search down obscure and interesting ingredients.

And hey, if you do like something, their online store has a lot of the ingredients available a la carte.

Shaker & Spoon also isn’t going to break the bank, if Dad is into cocktails. A month to month subscription is $59, which evens out to about $5 per cocktail, aka at least $5 less than you would pay for the same thing in pretty much any New York bar. Plus, you get to give Dad the experience he enjoys most: impressing everyone with his awesome skills.

You can check out more at the Shaker & Spoon website. In the meantime, I’m going to be using this opportunity to increase my already dangerously large liquor collection.