Last Minute Valentine

// Time is ticking. What will your Valentine get? //

It's common to procrastinate when shopping for your Valentine. This seems to be try for both men and women. Therefore, a lot of the articles and tips on Valentine's Day gift ideas that came out week's ago might not help. At this point you need to put a combo of good things together. This is for both sexes and just just focused on advice for the gents.

Drinks are our thing, so we'll stick to beverages here.

Beer - For your beer fanatic, get a growler that pairs excellent with the dinner you are planning. Most likely if you are reading this you are doing carry out. Yes, I'm that guy. Japanese food for the win! Some other ideas or to buy tickets to an upcoming beer dinner pairing or brewery tour for you two. A rare bomber from a brewery can be the same as buying a bottle of wine, but make sure it's a good one, and has a reference. A lot of larger breweries have a wide variety of merchandise, and you might get lucky in the gift shop with a gift that becomes a unique find.

Wine - Depending on what state you live in, and I'll get in trouble for writing this, but don't buy a wine from your state unless you live in these states - California, Washington, Oregon. New York, Texas, Virginia, Michigan and Colorado. Yes, you can comment below and tell me I'm wrong. I suggest picking up 2 or 3 $20+ bottles with different flavors profiles, even if slight variations. Creating a theme steps up your game. Maybe one bottle goes with a new vinyl you picked up for VDay, the movie you plan to watch that night (Netflix and chill, anyone?), or from a place you guys are thinking about visiting. Having a story is a plus. Lastly, a lot of good wine bars have good dessert menus. Have dinner at home, and then go out for a quick drink and sweet treat.

Coffee - So many coffee shops now offer more than just coffee. If your love is a coffee geek go to one of the best roaster-based coffee shops in town and pick up two different single origin bags. Guest roaster shops (shops carrying coffee from more than one particular roaster) typically offer a variety of coffee representing multiple roasters. Buying from these locations helps create diversity in your whole bean purchase. Just like larger breweries, often coffee shops have a range of items. American chocolate is one of my favorite non-coffee purchases. There are a lot of good chocolate makers now, and buying from a cafe this close to the biggest chocolate holiday is still a safe bet. Worse case scenario if your Valentine goes to a shop every morning on the way to work, a gift card will work as long as it comes with something else.

Spirits - This is where you can go local, head to your favorite liquor store and get a bottle from your favorite close distillery. If you are going to do that, snag ingredients for a cocktail that only requires 3 or 4 ingredients if you are newer to the home bar game. It's not difficult to follow directions and make a good cocktail, but it's very easy to mess one up. A gift card for an experience is good here, too, and possibly use it to take them back this weekend to pick out what they'd like.

Lastly, if you are a guy do some shit around the apartment or house. If you don't live together spend a little dedicated time to help her out at her place. From my experience as someone who's been happily married for 15 years, lending a hand as often as possible is always appreciated. Good luck!

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