We are putting together a martini gift basket for my boss. He drinks gin martinis and his favorite gin is Bombay. Soooo...

I have one 1.75 L Bombay Sapphire
one 750 ml Noilly Prat extra dry
one jar almond stuffed olives, domestic
one jar vermouth-soaked pimiento stuffed olives, imported
one jar vermouth-soaked cocktail onions, imported
one jar garlic stuffed olives, imported
One jar plain pimiento stuffed olives, domestic
one jar pickled green tomatoes, domestic

And I have an order in for various wonderful things wrapped in phyllo dough and baked, and an order in for parmesan cheese and herb puff pastry sticks.

And I am still severely under budget. I have about 35 bucks left. He does not need a shaker and he does not need a pitcher, nor does he need glasses--he has the best of all those things, and does not like "novelty" things like bendy stem martini glasses or margarita glasses perched on a cactus, etc.

Any ideas? Thanks--I suppose I could blow the rest on a bottle of Absolut or something, but he is very old fashioned about his martinis and vodka might be against his religion. Still, it would be an excuse to stop shopping. This got dumped in my lap Friday afternoon.

Thanks, Gutie

Double up-get two bottles of the gin and the second thing, whatever that is, if you have enough. What I know about gin will fit nicely on the head of a pin. But it would look balanced.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

P.S. Attention mid-Atlantic Safeway shoppers: 5 lb. bags of Gold Medal unbleached all purpose flour are a buck, no limit.

Good job with that gift. We have to do the same thing in our office and man, it can be a royal pain getting it right for the individuals.

BTW you might find an elegant stirrer if he already has the other pieces.

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3GHz - The clock is STILL ticking Steve.

Mmmmm.... Bombay Sapphire...

The only suggestions I have are:
Fancy olive picks
Fancy stir sticks
Anchovy stuffed olives
Blue Cheese stuffed olives

Here are some pick ideas to give you an idea of what I am talking about:
[www.amazon.com]

DM

Thanks, bangman. We were wracking our brains as usual over the annual gift, when I suddenly remembered that the boss and I were discussing martinis one evening years ago and he expressed a preference for Bombay. Mine's Beefeater, which he says is too rough. So we were off and running with the gift.

Thanks for the stirrer idea--that's a good one. A long time ago I was dating a scientist type who mixed his martinis in a beaker with one of those glass rods they use in labs. I used to wonder where that glass rod had been.

If he likes his drink extremely dry, get a nice mister like [www.after5catalog.com]

but goggle Martini Mister and you'll get choices.

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“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.”
-- François de La Rochefoucauld

Growing older is mandatory. Growing up is optional.

When I was a child I was so intrigued with martini paraphernalia: the pitcher, the stirrers, the picks, it all looked like such fun. What a disappointment to grow up and find out that I didn't like martinis! Years later, I found out that I do like vodka martinis. What a relief. :-D

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Nice gift. I second doubling up on the gin. That stuff goes quick.

Or... since you have cash left, instead of a girly wicker(?) basket to hold all that stuff in. Spend the extra cash you got left on a more manly duffel bag that he might actually use when all the goodies are gone.

Something like this?
[www.eBags.com]

Or... a big coffee table book on—guess what?—matinis.

The Martini: An Illustrated HIstory of an American Classic
[www.amazon.com]

$35 iTunes Gift Card!

Maybe a martini tie tack and a pair of socks? [www.martiniware.com]