2025 Burlington Tasting Room Holiday Gift Guide
The holiday season can be a magical time of year, especially as we spend more time with friends and family. Since it's also the gift-giving season, it can be a little stressful as well, especially if you have someone to shop for but no idea what to get them. If the recipients on your gift list enjoy spirits or a great cocktail or mocktail, then we have a lot of ideas to help you check off your holiday shopping list. The retail section at our Burlington Tasting Room offers a ton of options to make an incredible cocktail-themed gift basket, or to simply help someone expand their home bar. Read below for our 2025 Burlington Tasting Room Gift Guide, then stop in to sip on something delicious while you stock up on what you need.
Here are our top gift recommendations for 2025:
MAD RIVER GIFT SETS
We have 3 gift sets available, each with 3 "flask" size 200 ml bottles. One gift set includes our best-selling spirits, our Straight Bourbon, Maple Cask Rum and Revolution Rye. Another gift set includes 3 ready-to-drink cocktails, including our Bourbon Old Fashioned, our Rye Old Fashioned and our Maple Fig Madhattan. Our latest gift set is a Bourbon trio, featuring our Straight Bourbon, Burnt Rock Bourbon, and Double Tapped Maple Bourbon Whiskey. These gift sets are a great way to introduce someone to our craft spirits.
MAPLE SYRUPS
Not only is Vermont maple syrup a great way to gift local, it's also a great substitute for simple syrup in cocktails! We love the holiday infusions from Runamok, including their Pumpkin Spice and Holiday Spice infusions. We also carry Wood’s Rum Barrel Aged syrup, which is aged for several months in newly emptied rum barrels that we provide, in addition to Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup from Old City Syrup Company, which aged in our newly emptied bourbon barrels.
BITTERS SETS
Our Burlington Tasting Room has probably the biggest selection of bitters in the state of Vermont. Bitters are a great way to add flavor to your favorite cocktails, and a lot of cocktails call for some popular options like Angostura, Orange or Peychaud's bitters. But there are so many other bitters flavors you can experiment with, like Lavender, Walnut, Cacao and more. We offer a variety of bitters sets, each containing several flavors from brands such as Crude, Strong Water, Bitter Queens, The Bitter Housewife, Scrappy’s & more.
MIXERS
Another way to add a lot of flavor to cocktails is through mixers. With most mixers, making a cocktail is incredibly easy. You simply combine the mixer and the spirit before serving. You'll find various mixer options at our Burlington Tasting Room, but among our favorites are the mixers from Wood Stove Kitchen. These options include their Hot Toddy (with honey, lemon and ginger), their Ski Season Sangria (with orange, cranberry and spices), their Espresso Martini and their Glitter Mimosa.
CRANBERRY SHRUB
Shrubs also fall into the mixer category, but they're in a pretty unique category as a fruit mixer made with vinegar. Shrubs can be used in mocktails or cocktails, and this one from Tait Farm is a great option for the holidays. It makes a tart, sweet & tangy addition to highballs, sangrias & more.
BARWARE
If you know someone new to cocktailing, or someone who already has a home bar but is looking to expand their supplies, we carry all the items someone would need to make an enviable home bar. Build a barware set with shakers, strainers, jiggers, barspoons and mixing glasses. You can also find rocks glasses, tiki mugs, flasks, whiskey stones, coasters and more.
MOCKTAIL KITS
Mixers aren't just great for making cocktails. Most mixers are alcohol-free and serve as a great base for making mocktails. But if you're looking for an intentionally made craft mocktail, you need to check out Blue Stern Mocktail kits. We carry two flavor options, their Thyme Rosemary Ginger Cocktail and Molly's Fire Cider Turmeric Mule.
MAD APPLE
Get our limited release European-style dry apple brandy, distilled from Vermont apples. This aromatic brandy has fresh apple notes on the nose with oak spice and vanilla on the palate, followed by a crisp apple finish. Mad Apple is great for sipping, but also in classic brandy cocktails like the Jack Rose or the Sidecar.
HOODIES
Another way to gift local and support local business is with Mad River Distillers merch. We carry hats, comfy tees and super cozy hoodies (which are ideal through the Vermont cold seasons). You can find our hoodies in sizes S-2XL.
DIY GIFT SET
The Old Fashioned is a tried-and-true classic that would make a great gift for any cocktail lover. This year for a DIY Old Fashioned gift set, we recommend a holiday version made with our Double Tapped Maple Bourbon Whiskey, Regan's Orange Bitters and Black Walnut Bitters. If you're looking to add more to your gift, you can also find rocks glasses and large ice cube molds.
MAD RIVER SPIRITS
Last, but certainly not least, we have the most spirited gift of all... Our award-winning spirits! At our Burlington Tasting Room, you can find bottles of our Straight Bourbon, Burnt Rock Bourbon, Double Tapped Maple Bourbon Whiskey, Revolution Rye, First Run Rum, Maple Cask Rum, Vanilla Rum, Rum 44 and PX Rum. Many of our spirits are available in two sizes. If you aren't sure which spirit to buy, you can order a Tasting at our bar!
These are just some spirited gift-giving ideas to get you going on your holiday shopping list this year, but there's always more to be found in the retail section of our Burlington Tasting Room. You can also find cocktail books, cocktail cherries, cocktail picks and more. If you have any questions or need any advice on a gift, we’re always happy to help with ideas so you can assemble a great DIY package for your loved ones.
Stop into our Tasting Room at 137 St. Paul Street in Burlington for all your spirits and barware needs, and show your support for local business! While you’re there, you can order a tasting or a cocktail from our bar, and even a snack if you need a break.
Wishing you safe, spirited and joyful holiday season!
Written by Brianne Lucas and published on November 22, 2025
