Purchase quality drinks. If you're giving purchased drinks, they should be of the sort that the person would either not usually buy for reasons of expense or difficulty in obtaining or because the drink is something the recipient loves. The drink might also be inexpensive on its own but you can increase its gift factor by giving a half dozen or more of the same drink. Give a sampler of drinks. Another idea is to give a sample of a type of drink, such as a selection of fine wine from a particular wine-growing region or a set of different types of ales. This could be a good gift for expanding the recipient's experience of different drink styles or brands. Give a gift of homemade drinks. Another way to approach giving drinks as gifts is to make them yourself from the finest ingredients. This is an opportunity to show off you skills in the kitchen as well as making the gift very personal. Some ideas of drinks you might like to make yourself include cordials, beer, liqueurs, infused vodka, and wine, depending on your skills and interests. Don't just see drinks as liquid forms. You could also put together a tea basket filled with tea leaves and tea drinking items such as spoons, teacups

and a tea strainer. Or do a coffee basket, filled with coffee beans, recipes for making new coffee styles and chocolate coated spoons for stirring. Present the gift well. An important part of giving drinks as gifts is the presentation––this can increase the value and enjoyment of the gift. If making your own drinks, always use attractive bottles, jars and other containers. Label with a unique and interesting label that includes date of production and details about using the drink and any tips. Don't simply stick a bottle of wine into a wine bottle bag. Instead, consider a beautiful box lined with a soft, silky fabric and finished off with a ribbon. Or place several bottles into a wine bottle basket or perhaps bottles and matching food into a picnic basket. Such additions turn a simple bottle into a complete gift. Look for unusually shaped bottles when buying the drinks. On their own, these can be an exciting gift and the recipient can decide to keep the bottle once the drink has been consumed. Make beer. Beer gifts can go beyond the liquid drink if you're good at baking and cooking as well. Try making beer cake, beer bread and deep fried beer. And think of beer made from plants

other than hops, such as nettle beer. For the non-drinkers, try making ginger beer. Make cordials. Cordials are a lovely gift that will be enjoyed for several weeks after giving. Include a guide for using, as some people won't be certain how to use it, and be sure to include tips for using the cordial when cooking and baking, not just as a drink. Some nice cordials to start with include lemon cordial, rose cordial and raspberry cordial. Another cordial enjoying a revival recently is elderflower cordial. Make wine. If you have the patience, interest and space to make wine, this can be a nice way to share the fruits of your labor with others. Wines can be made from the fruits of summer, such as strawberry wine, plum wine, rhubarb wine and blackberry wine. And if you have a garden, try making dandelion wine. Make flavored spirits. From gin to vodka, you can improve on the basic spirits and turn them into something rather special by infusing delicious tastes through them. Think of raspberry gin, chocolate vodka and sloe gin. Rum is great to improve, for example, spiced rum and vanilla rum. And brandy can be turned into delicious flavors such as plum brandy, cherry brandy, apricot

brandy and apple brandy. Infuse fruit in alcohol. Gifts that involve alcohol in food are a great gift and a way to eat your drink! For example, try ginned blueberries, muscat poached quinces and Make limoncello or lemonade. There are lots of different possible lemonade flavors, such as cherry lemonade and strawberry hibiscus lemonade. Most lemonade drinks will need to be refrigerated, transported in the same way and placed in the refrigerator again at your recipient's house. Make cider. When you have lots of apples or pears, make cider or perry. Bottle in pretty bottles, label and share the joy of the harvest with your friends. Apples and pears can also be turned into wine or juice.