Perfect Portland Presents

If you are looking for perfect Portland presents – gifts that are perfect for holiday giving or any event giving be it birthday, anniversary, “thinking of you”, putting a welcome package for a visitor or to send a taste of Portland to those farther away, this is your list. Here are my top recommendations of gifts that are from local creators and are excellent representations of the Portland spirit.

Only Child Chocolate

Only Child Chocolate is a local woman owned business with tasty creative chocolate creations. Yana Yakhnes has her regular bars which are available year round, with my favorites like The Sun and the Sea is a equal parts dark chocolate and sunflower seeds and then topped with sea salt, Pita the Great is a dark chocolate with pita chips, hazelnuts and dukkah (cumin, coriander, fennel, sesame seeds, salt and pepper), or the Rosemary and Ginger Walk Into a Bar is a Milk Chocolate with rosemary and candied ginger, or if you are a white chocolate lover the Hedgehog in the Fog, a white chocolate with bergamot and black pepper. The name of this chocolate bar comes from a Russian cartoon from Yana’s childhood, and as a nod to the cartoon the flavor of bergamot references the tea the hedgehog wants to have with his bear friend. Indeed, look at how cute her packaging and the names of her chocolates are!
Only Child Chocolate is a local woman owned business with tasty creative chocolate creations. The Sun and the Sea bar is equal parts a dark chocolate and sunflower seeds topped with sea salt

She has lots of fun concepts that stand out as well. At Halloween she offered a oracle board of chocolate, and for Valentine’s a chocolate heart that came with a little hammer to smash. One fun concept currently on offer is a Dino Dig with “dinosaur bones” made out of caramelized white chocolate and crunchy cocoa nibs then buried them in rich cocoa powder blended with cinnamon, cloves, and cane sugar that you can excavate them from. A jar of Sun and Sea Confetti puts together bits of chocolate, bits of sunflower seeds, and flakes of salt are here to top on anything you desire be it ice cream, granola, toast, or whatever you can think of.

Only Child Chocolate is a local woman owned business with tasty creative chocolate creations. Dino Dig offers dinosaur bones made out of caramelized white chocolate and crunchy cocoa nibs then buried them in rich cocoa powder blended with cinnamon, cloves, and cane sugar that you can excavate them from. Only Child Chocolate is a local woman owned business with tasty creative chocolate creations. A jar of Sun and Sea Confetti puts together bits of chocolate, bits of sunflower seeds, and flakes of salt are here to top on anything you desire be it ice cream, granola, toast, or whatever you can think of.

You can find Only Child Chocolates at a variety of stores (list here) or have it shipped from her online store – she has a coupon now for free shipping on a $30 order, or $6 flat rate shipping, or free pickup locally. This really is a unique chocolate and is sure to impress whoever you gift the chocolates to – you just may want to buy two, one for them, one for you.
Only Child Chocolate is a local woman owned business with tasty creative chocolate creations. The Sun and the Sea bar is equal parts a dark chocolate and sunflower seeds topped with sea salt. A jar of Sun and Sea Confetti puts together bits of chocolate, bits of sunflower seeds, and flakes of salt are here to top on anything you desire be it ice cream, granola, toast, or whatever you can think of.

Marshall’s Haute Sauce

Marshall’s Haute Sauce is another woman owned business by Sarah Marshall who created the company creating small batch sauces out of her kitchen. You can find a variety of sauces – not all of them are hot sauce. For instance, a Smoked Habanero Bbq sauce punches in a good way. Another favorite is the Habanero Carrot Curry which you can enjoy as a béarnaise sauce with root vegetables or as a Habanero Peanut Dipping Sauce dip for salad rolls (she even provides the recipes helpfully on the website). Or you can follow this KATU video to create a blueberry cake with a spicy blueberry glaze leveraging her Bird’s Eye Basil.

You can find the sauces at several stores locally and also shipped from her online store. I’ve been purchasing her sauces for years and I always look for seasonal or special edition sauces that can vary from one with whiskey and ghost peppers to one with horseradish vodka and black currant, or bbq rubs or chimichurri or tahini and more! Pro tip- having the sauces available at a taco or nacho bar, or a bloody mary bar, is incredible.
Marshall's Haute Sauce is a local Portland woman owned business offering hot sauce, but also haute sauce - for instance Smoked Habenro BBQ, Habanero Carrot Curry, and more. I always look for seasonal or special edition sauces that can vary from one with whiskey and ghost peppers to one with horseradish vodka and black currant. Marshall's Haute Sauce is a local Portland woman owned business offering hot sauce. Pro tip- having the sauces available at a taco or nacho bar, or a bloody mary bar, is incredible.

In addition, somehow while still making her regular sauces and canning special edition sauces and collaborating with incredible makers in and outside of Portland, Sarah also found the time to write Preservation Pantry which teaches readers 100 recipes and overall concepts on how to use roots, tops, stems, and cores, basically every bit of your produce so there’s little to no waste. It’s not just all soups either or pickles – think Whiskey Apple Core Caramel or Carrot Top Hazelnut Pesto and more. So you know someone who does canning or is interested in canning or zero waste consumption, throw in this book as part of the gift along with Marshall’s Haute Sauce.

Straightaway Cocktails

If you have want to put together a fun virtual get together, booking a virtual happy hour with Straightaway Cocktails is a winning experience. Unlike other virtual cocktail parties, the drinks come already premixed in mini-bottles, so instead of having to get messy cutting ingredients and shaking, instead you can spend your time trying a flight of different cocktails varying from cosmos, old fashioned, negroni, lemon drop, paper plane, and newly added margarita (not pictured in the gift set photo below but they are in the samplers now). Or, send a whole bottle of your/their favorite in 750ml size (makes a dozen drinks) which is enough to set up a party without having to make simple syrup or buy all the components so you can spend more time catching up instead of mixing drinks.
Straightaway Cocktails - the drinks come already premixed in mini-bottles, so instead of having to get messy cutting ingredients and shaking, instead you can spend your time trying a flight of different cocktails varying from cosmos, old fashioned, negroni, lemon drop, paper plane, and newly added margarita (not pictured) Straightaway Cocktails - the drinks come already premixed in mini-bottles, so instead of having to get messy cutting ingredients and shaking, instead you can spend your time trying a flight of different cocktails varying from cosmos, old fashioned, negroni, lemon drop, paper plane, and newly added margarita (not pictured) Straightaway Cocktails - the drinks come already premixed in mini-bottles, so instead of having to get messy cutting ingredients and shaking, instead you can spend your time trying a flight of different cocktails varying from cosmos, old fashioned, negroni, lemon drop, paper plane, and newly added margarita (not pictured)

The Swizzle, a rum drink featuring passionfruit and pineapple can take you on a tropical getaway – just add your cocktail umbrella. Unfortunately the Swizzle is not part of their gift packs, but you can find other variations that include canned takes on Italian spritzes. Also available by the can are vodka/tea sodas, and palomas for more options you can keep in the fridge besides opening a can of beer or cider. And/or, if your friend is has their own home bar or is a cocktail lover, sending them a gift of the Accompani liquor gift pack is really unique to add some locally crafted liqueurs, amaros, and vermouth.

Hood River Distillers

Continuing on with those of you who love or have friends or family that want to strengthen your home bar situation, Hood River Distillers has an amazing portfolio of liquids to add to add additional sophistication and complexity to your libation situation. I cannot rave enough enough their Clear Creek Distillery fruit brandies – their pear brandy is their flagship, but you can also find apple brandy, cherry brandy, plum brandy, and more. These clear brandies are so versatile in the kind of cocktails you can create.
Hood River Distillers has an amazing portfolio of liquids to add to add additional sophistication and complexity to your libation situation. I cannot rave enough enough their Clear Creek Distillery fruit brandies - their pear brandy is their flagship, but you can also find apple brandy, cherry brandy, plum brandy, and more. Hood River Distillers has an amazing portfolio of liquids to add to add additional sophistication and complexity to your libation situation. I cannot rave enough enough their Clear Creek Distillery fruit brandies - their pear brandy is their flagship, but you can also find apple brandy, cherry brandy, plum brandy, and more

You can find a lot of other classic beverage foundations in your spirit collection as well – many which are award winner at competitions like the Batanga Blanco and Reposado tequilas, Bourbon Barreled and Peat Barreled gins from Big Gin, Sinfire Whiskey that includes Sriracha Honey, Vanilla Cinnamon, and Apple Cinnamon Whisky for the best hot toddys ever, and new to the collection the Double Gold, San Francisco World Spirits Competition, 2021 winner of Timberline Vodka that is comprised of grain, 14 varieties of Pacific Northwest apples, and glacier-fed spring water for a balance of apple sweetness to start from the apple with mineral clean finish for too easy to drink vodka tonics – you barely need any tonic really.

1927 S’mores

Impress and upgrade your experience with a roaring fire in the winter evening with fancy s’mores kit like Whiskey Salted Caramel, Peppermint, and more. 1927 S’mores even offer a safe portable smokeless small fire source in a tin using non-toxic recycled soy wax. Perfect for camping or your backyard and as a unique gift. Although they offer online shop and shipping I also take it as a great excuse to go in person so I can enjoy a freshly torched s’more sandwich – they offer multiple combos that include seasonal specials. All grahams and marshmallows are handcrafted from scratch using local ingredients.
Impress and upgrade your experience with a roaring fire in the winter evening with fancy s'mores kit like Whiskey Salted Caramel, Peppermint, and more from 1927 S'mores