13 amazing holiday gifts made in Chicago

Bring home a taste of one of Chicago's best cocktail bars with Violet Hour's subscription boxes, packed with bottled drinks that are assembled by the bar's expert mixologists. The "There and Back Again" series explores a different era of boozy drinking each month—December's box is centered around Dickensian punches from the 1840s, with three 12oz bottles (enough for two drinks in each bottle) and a couple of two-ounce sippers. It's the perfect gift for someone who wants to have some fancy drinks on the couch on New Year's Eve.

If the coffee aficionado in your life has already worked their way through all of Chicago’s specialty roasters, order them a bag of single-origin robusta beans from local Vietnamese coffee company Fat Miilk. This caffeine-charged blend offers a nutty, chocolatey flavor profile showcasing robusta beans—a variety that’s long been ignored by coffee snobs in favor of the more commonly consumed arabica—so there’s a fair chance your coffee-loving recipient won’t have tried anything quite like it before. Throw in a phin ($10), the perforated metal filter used in traditional Vietnamese coffee brewing, for good measure. 

You've seen the hand-painted creations of Southwest Signs in the windows of grocery stores and hot dog stands throughout Chicago, bearing bright blue and red letterings. Local art shop Buddy (inside the Chicago Cultural Center) has commissioned a variety of posters from the company, celebrating delicacies like Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef as well as produce like apples and tomatoes. If you're trying to bring a bit of local flavor into your recipients home, skip the tired "neighborhood map" posters and get one of these instead.

Bartender Julia Momosé—whose elegant, Japanese-inspired cocktails have helped make Kumiko one of the best bars in the world—delves into the seasonality and craftsmanship of Japanese cocktails in this tip-laden book, complete with recipes based around 24 micro-seasons that punctuate life in Japan. Learn how to make everything from whisky highballs and Manhattans to more unusual mixes like Autumn’s Jacket, a woodsy cocktail that channels the smoke from Japan’s rice field burns in the fall. The aspiring mixologist on your list will get lost in this tome.

A preacher on Chicago's South Side, Pastor T. L. Barrett began recording gospel albums with his Youth for Christ Choir in the ’70s. Thanks to sampling by artists like Kanye West and DJ Khaled, Barrett's musical output has reached new ears over the past decade, spurring local reissue label the Numero Group to collect four of Barrett's soulful albums (and a disc of his sermons) in a special box set. Treat the record nerd in your life to the vinyl edition, or save some dough by opting for CDs or a digital download.

Forget the sliced white stuff languishing in grocery store produce aisles: Delight your home chef and amateur mycologist friends with an order of fungi from Four Star Mushrooms, a Logan Square-based supplier that grows blue oyster, king trumpet and other hard-to-find varieties for restaurants around Chicago. You’ll find Four Star’s direct-to-consumer options for sale at the specialty shop Local Foods—we’re especially fond of lion’s mane, a hearty shroom that’s often used as a substitute for fish.

If you're looking for a simple (and useful) stocking stuffer, a candle fits the bill. There holiday-themed soy wax candles from Bright Endeavours come in scents like juniper berry and fir or whitebark pine—and they support new mothers in under-served communities throughout Chicago. Young moms help make candles through a 16-week paid job-training program, setting them up for career success and creating quality candles that support a great cause.

Pay homage to the Prairie State with a naturally-dyed tea towel from Current Location Letterpress & Curiosities, a roving letterpress business that draws inspiration from the native flora of Illinois state parks (among other naturalistic settings). This little cotton towel, available in an assortment of pastel colors and featuring a cross section of native prairie plants, would look nice adorning any Midwestern kitchen.

Local artist Evan Miller (a.k.a. EvanArt) has a distinctive vision of Chicago's distant future, imagining a time when some of the city's music venues, movie theaters and other famous landmarks are mostly intact and overgrown with otherworldly vegetation. You can hang one of his surreal images on your (or a loved one's) wall by snagging a framed or unframed print from Lincoln Square shop Sacred Art.

Gift a taste of the honey harvested from the bee hives atop the Chicago Cultural Center, where bees gather nectar from flowers in nearby Millennium Park (and throughout the city). The extremely local delicacy is tended and prepared by the folks at the Chicago Honey Co-Op—you can snag a jar from the Buddy art shop inside the Chicago Cultural Center.

Self-taught jewelry designer Stephany Colunga created a series of anti-patriarchy pieces called “Mans Ego,” each featuring a mask-like visage, so you can adorn yourself with images of crying men. You’ll find simple post earrings and rings among the collection but perhaps most beautiful are these gold-plated drop earrings, which come affixed with sky blue, teardrop-shaped quartz stones for a delicate feminist statement.

You don't need an excuse to drink Malört during the holidays, but this new card game from the folks at Transit Tees should provide you with plenty of oppotunities to knock back the infamous local liqueur. Two to twelve players can grab a drink and put their Chicago knowledge to the test, answering trivia questions and completing Windy City-themed challenges. The loser of the game has to drink a Chicago Handshake—the classic combo of a can of Old Style and a shot of Malört. For some, it's a punishment, for others, a delicious reward!

Can't wait for the California Clipper to finally reopen? We still don't have a firm date for the revival of the classic bar, but you can wear your anticipation on your sleeve... er, chest. This official shirt designed by Kevin Leary (Great Lake Tattoo) depicts the bar's iconic neon sign promoting the building's air conditioning and should help tide you over until it's illuminated once more.