16 Boozy Gift Boxes

Walk into almost any liquor shop after Halloween, and you'll see an army of old bottles dressed up in holiday clothing. Sometimes the booze has been rendered festive with tinsel or bells. Or there's a sexy cocktail shaker -- or frosted glasses -- sitting next to the vodka bottle in a shiny Christmas-themed box.

Nobody buys these gift-box bottles for themselves; they are quintessential gifts (and re-gifts). But that doesn't mean you can't appreciate the alluring tchotchke inside.

This year's crop elicits many of those "I-want-that!" responses whether you're a fan of vodka, gin, tequila, whiskey, rum or Champagne. Though most are fairly priced between $20 and $60, the gift sets range from $15 to $425. Just remember: Prices and availability may vary.
Vodka

Grey Goose Vodka Gift Set
One 750-milliliter bottle of France's classic snob vodka (available in all four flavors: Original, La Poire, Le Citron and L'Orange) comes with a stainless steel cocktail shaker. $30.

Finlandia Vodka Gift Set
The package includes one 750-milliliter bottle of Finland's vodka, made from glacial spring water, two lowball glasses and five cocktail recipes (on the box). A serious bargain at under 20 bucks. $19.

Sake

TY KU Sake Gift Set
The Sake "Bomb" Kit includes a bottle of TY KU Junmai Ginjo Sake, two black sake cups and chopsticks (to make a sake bomb, you place a shot of sake on parallel chopsticks over a pint of beer and slam your fists on the table to drop the shot into the glass). Note: There's faux, black-dragon skin on the gift box. $28.

Tequila

Corazon Tequila Gift Set
Tequila is the new vodka, in case you didn't know. And tequila cocktails are big business. This 750-milliliter bottle of Corazon 100-percent Agave Blanco tequila comes with two stainless steel shot glasses and matching shaker. $30.

Patrón Tequila 3-Pack Gift Set
Inside the neat clear package are three 750-milliliter bottles (Silver, Reposado and Añejo) of the leading super-premium tequila and a mini cocktail shaker you could stealthily fit in a pocket. $150.

Tequila Herradura Gift Set
One 750-milliliter bottle of the 100-percent blue agave tequila comes with two stemmed glasses and cocktail recipes. Your choice of blanco (unaged) or reposado (aged a minimum of two months, but less than a year in oak barrels). $40.

Whiskey

Dewar's Discovery Gift Set
The set contains three 200-milliliter bottles of Dewar's Scotch: Dewar's 18 Founder's Reserve, Dewar's 12 and Dewar's Signature. All three fit in a custom leather case, which also looks like it could function as a cigar holder or Dopp kit. $100.

Evan Williams Single Barrel Gift Set
No glasses, no shaker. This 750-milliliter bottle of the single-barrel bourbon comes with a nifty barrel-shaped flask. $28.

Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Gift Set
Behind the 750-milliliter bottle of Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is a special-edition collectible tin sign. $15 for Jim Beam white and $21 for Jim Beam Black.

Champagne

Laurent-Perrier Champagne Gift Set
Watch the bubbles rise to the top of the glass in these elegant flutes, which you'll be filling with Laurent-Perrier's non-vintage brut Champagne. $45.

Moët Celebration Case
This luxurious, limited-edition case features a bottle of Moët Impérial, eight Champagne flutes, a gold chiller bucket and eight gilded Moët "bubbles"-which hold Swarovski crystal-covered charms engraved with the mantra of the season: "Celebrate." $425.

Absinthe

Lucid Absinthe Gift Set
This 750-milliliter bottle of absinthe -- now legal in the United States after decades of controversy -- comes with two glasses and a slotted spoon so you can pour the spirit over a sugar cube, add water and watch the cloudy "louche" fill the glass just like Van Gogh and Oscar Wilde did more than a century ago. $60.

Le Tourment Vert Absinthe Gift Set
Absinthe, to the surprise of many, makes for a great cocktail ingredient. This gift set combines a fancy 750-milliliter bottle with a matching shaker and slotted spoon. Ideal for mixing up old-fashioned drinks like an Absinthe Sazerac or Death in the Afternoon. $47.

Gin

Bombay Sapphire Gift Set
Can you say gin martini? One 750-milliliter bottle of this London dry gin comes with a "nibbles tray," four olive picks and a long spoon. $20.

Rum

Ron Abuelo 7 Años Gift Set
Not all rums should be mixed with Coke or 7-Up. Try this aged rum straight up, or with a single cube of ice, in one of the two rounded sipping glasses. $23.

James Oliver Cury is the former executive editor of Epicurious.com.