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LCBO Gifting from Tasteful to Tasteless

With only three more weekends to Christmas, shoppers are donning their thinking caps trying to figure out their shopping list. Just walk into any LCBO outlet and you experience a loud refrain of “let it be me.” The stores are chock a block full of gifts items, which in some outlets can be wrapped on the spot. 

In addition, to the 96 items appearing in the LCBO’s 60-page glossy General List “Holiday Stars” Gift Catalogue; there are another 34 items appearing in the 36-page Vintages Holiday Gems catalogue. To make matters more confusing, there are yet another 31 items featured in the 20-page “Holiday Stars” Entertaining Catalogue. If you chose your timing carefully, LCBO shopping can be fast, efficient and even sometimes even fun. Trouble is, trying to figure out what’s worth buying. LCBO gifts vary from tasteful and tasty to completely tasteless. Moreover, there is no way of knowing whether your recipient is going to like what you buy.

Having actually tasted some 70% of the forthcoming items, I am more convinced than ever that there is no accounting for taste. It seems shoppers love their pets, because last year’s top seller was Moselland Dry Riesling at $9.95, which now comes in silver or gold cat-shaped bottles. It is cute but the contents, although better than in the past, is hardly worthy of a detour. It makes the notion that “it’s the thought that counts” all the more meaningful.

Let me start off with some of the General List gifts, which are more widely available. Unfortunately, it was thumb’s down on for the pretty “Stocking Stuffers” and many of the 17 Beer Gifts tasted. From the latter, I thought that the Radeberger Gift Pack of three 500ml cans plus a tall glass mug for $9.95 was a decent deal. But who gives beer at Christmas? Perhaps if one were to throw in the tasty Grolsch Magnum with two glasses at $17.50 (cspc 898007) then that might do the trick.

In terms of red wine, you cannot beat the Chilean wood gift box of Vina Tarapaca 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon (cspc 623603) at an astonishing $10.95 best buy. Its delicious, rounded, chocolaty, ripe plum flavours are bound to please the most discerning of palates.

The identically-priced companion white, also in wood gift box, Vina Tarapaca 2000 Sauvignon Blanc (cspc 623595) shows excellent, crisp but not austere, gently grassy, ripe Anjou pear flavours. Ironically, this item doesn’t appear in any of the LCBO Catalogues. Nevertheless, either the Sauvignon Blanc or Cabernet Sauvignon would go well with the holiday turkey.

If Italy is on your hit list, the duo of Mezzacora 2001 Trentino Pinot Grigio (crisp, bright, fresh red apple flavours) and Mezzacora 2000 Merlot delle Venezia (well balanced, light bodied and plumy) offers wide appeal, easy drinking at $21.95 (cspc 623264).

Perhaps the best buy duo is the Domaine Boyar 2001 Chardonnay Shumen (fine, spicy, ripe Anjou pear purée) and Domaine Boyar 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Thracian Valley  (crowd pleasing, fruit, ripe black cherry flavours) at an extremely modest - shall we say cheap - $14.95 (cspc).

Having sampled about half of the Vintages Holiday Gems, I was quite disappointed with what was presented. There must be something that is worth recommending, it’s just that I didn’t get a chance to taste it. I will be doing additional tastings and will provide you with updates.

Moving on to spirits, my first and foremost two Scotch picks don’t appear anywhere in any LCBO gift promotions. The first is the rounded, flavourful, smooth as a velvet slipper Glenfiddich Solera Reserve 15-Year-Old at $59.95 (cspc 530345). Also on the general list is a slightly less expensive, after-dinner, companion piece called Glenfiddich Malt Whisky Liqueur at $39.75 (cspc 475939), which is perfect for those frosty winery days.

Of the seven gifting vodkas presented, only one brought me to my knees. The quadruple distilled Polar Ice Vodka and accompanying martini glass at $29.95 (cspc 624056) comes in a most impressive package. I was suspicious because I am extremely orthodox when it comes to martinis - I always insist on Tanqueray Gin. Well low and behold, Polar Ice turned out to be extremely well balanced and surprisingly delicious with gentle bison grass flavours. All the hard peppery edges had been removed leaving me with a brand new take on martinis.

Beware of the $10.95 Absolut Five Vodka gift pack of five miniatures; four being rather foul, artificially flavoured endeavours. The only one, which is worthy of passing these lips, was the regular stuff. Also, save your money and pass on the more expensive, swampy, bulrush tasting Lui Vodka for her (or is it him) and the equally abysmal Ella Vodka for vice versa at $49.95 each. They come in attractive blue male and white female torso bottles respectively.

Best rum deal is a no-brainer – Appleton Estate V/X. The modestly sized 1750 ml flagon sells for $46.95 (cspc 390260). Personally, I would go for the smaller Appleton Flask Gift set, which is a real deal at only $21.95. It includes a half bottle of V/X, silver key chain and convenient hip flask (cspc 591578).

Turning to the sweeties, from South Africa comes a truly delicious liqueur called Amarula Cream, which is based on the distillate of wine made from elephant tree fruit called marula. The resulting spirit is aged for two years in small oak casks and enriched with pure marula extract. The final step sees the addition of fresh sweet cream, thereby reducing the alcohol level to 17%.

The result is a wonderful, creamy, sweet, butterscotch flavoured elixir that has slightly tangy, citrus notes. Amarula Cream is a delicious after-dinner sipper and is available on the LCBO general list at $22.95 (cspc 342246). It also comes as a gift pack with a handcrafted mask (cspc 591982) at $29.95. Do not confuse this with the attractively packaged, but awful tasting Denoix Liqueur set at $49.95, which comes in two hand-blown, mysteriously unlabelled, African face glass bottles.

Finally, in terms of bubblies, let me give you the inside scoop on a definite best buy. Appearing in next Saturday’s Vintages release is a Spanish sparkler that will take your breath away at only $11.80. Make way for Castellblanch Brut Zero Cava Reserva, which is made in the traditional Champagne method using indigenous Parellada, Macabeo and Xarello grapes. This medium bodied, very dry, crisp, effervescent effort has elegant uplifting ripe lemon flavours that will put everyone who tastes it into a seriously festive mood.

The LCBO also has some “one-of-a-kind gifts on their website www.lcbogifts.com. Unfortunately, information (even on my high speed modem) moves at a snail’s pace and, worse yet, the LCBO doesn’t tell us the designation, vintage or even the size of what is being sold.

As I am still in the process of tasting/compiling Holiday items and will report on new best buys as they pop up. As they used to say in the ex-X Files – “the truth is out there” - it is just hard to find.

Check out the
December 2002 InStore Discovery

Copyright Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada 2004
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