Who's your Patron?

Who’s your Patron? Yurman.

Google David Yurman jewelry and you’ll see a lot of glamorous women wearing his rings and bracelets, and sometimes not much else. Now there’s something that I’m guessing men will enjoy as much as women: A impressive bottle stopper simulating the hilt of a sword. It has gold-toned heft, is accurately described as having “meticulous craftsmanship and masculine elegance” and it is only available this holiday season. This stopper goes on a Patron Anejo bottle, which is already an impressive sight. Get yourself a bottle and “stop.” Come on, buy it now. You’ll be sorry if you don’t and should have to waste a moment hunting it down later. It’s a limited edition item by Evan Yurman, design director for David Yurman Men’s Collection.

More to drink:

Angelini Estate Sangiovese is a turkey and duck kind of wine with beautiful legs and elegant structure. It says that right on the label. It was dark, so I didn’t check out the legs for myself, although Port Arthur’s Shawn Bruno, now a Sour Lake wine maker, taught me how. I enjoyed this wine and Angelini Pergola Rosso so much that I’d say it was good for any special occasion or will make any occasion special. There’s the aroma of lavender and rose petals in the latter. Please people, read your labels!

Georges Doboeuf just released their 2013 Beaugolais Nouveau, the first wine of the harvest. He and Franck Duboeuf tell us there was wonderful weather in September and the Indian Summer produced a harvest that is mature and rich in sugar, along the lines of the 2011 vintage. Remember that one? I don’t, but hey, it’s fun reading up on your wine history. It’s like you’ve made a friend and maybe you’ll find it a little hard to drink it all up because then your friend will be gone. Don’t worry. There’s plenty more on the shelf. This is a casual wine for $10.99.

Unicum Plum is fun to say. Ever heard of plum liqueur? It’s a far cry from juice from a dried plum, which is what we used to call a prune. I tried a sample and it is as rich and fruity as I imagined. It takes me right back into a figgy pudding Christmas in London. Well, from books I’ve read on that. Here’s how you experiment:

Plum Toddy

Created by Joaquín Simó

Ingredients:

1 and one half ounces Unicum Plum Liqueur

1 dash Aromatic Bitters

Hot Water for Top

Cinnamon Stick for Garnish

Preparation:

1.         Combine Unicum Plum Liqueur and aromatic bitters into a glass mug.

2.         Top with hot water.

3.         Garnish with cinnamon stick.

Ideal Serving Glass:

Glass Mug

Yield:

1 drink, no drinks contains more than 0.6 fluid ounces of alcohol

Pumpkin trending update

Pumpkin Vanilla Crème is my latest experience in this crazy-for-pupkin season. It was a crazy cup of flavored coffee from  Crazy Cups: A Bit Obsessed With Flavors. These recyclable individual coffee pods work with Keurig machine and work with your passion for aromatic, pleasurable coffee. Mix and match for gifts with flavors like

White Christmas, Italian Chocolate Cheesecake and Peppermint Chocolate Mocha. I’m working my way through. You can also make Crazy Cups of tea and hot chocolate. Heard enough? One more thing. There’s 35 percent more coffee in every capsule. I can’t wait to get more work done because it means it’s time for more coffee. Pick your flavors at www.crazycups.com

Skedouche

Why won’t anyone invite me to a tacky Christmas sweater party? I’m ready. My closet doesn’t have a section of ‘80s clothes for no reason. Skedouche claims to have made those sweater parties hip, and they’re cranking holiday fare out. Could you believe a Chanuka sweater with light-up candles? Or a similar version in a wine sweater? Don’t stop there. They’ve got more holidays and more “fashions” for you with boots, vests and glasses. I’m sporting a Kosby hat from the collection, but I don’t find anything “tacky” about it. Gotta say, it won’t go unnoticed with a red knit design that pulls down over my ears, a tassled string to tie under the chin and a faux fur pelt lining keeping my ears warm as can be. We don’t often get too cold in Southeast Texas, but when we do, we can www.skedouche.com. Get everybody lined up  and lighted for a family photo!

Toasty

It’s important to know how to pronounce Cicciabella. It’s CHEE-CHA BELL-AH, and means pretty little one in Italian, according to this line of  charming slippers. They’re original, stylish and warm and they just might flash through your mind in the day, when you think how great it will be to be wearing them later, when you are relaxed. I tried Kwilts, which look like they’re knit by hand, with a button over the buckle, and lined with soft, fuzzy stuff. Cicciabella calls them playful.

ddoiron@panews.com