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  1. "Sounds delicious."
  2. "[They�re] made with sugar instead of corn syrup."
  3. "Instead of those awful cherries full of red food coloring, you use these sweet, delicious kirsch cherries in a drink."
  4. "Definitely useful."
  5. "When I make punch, I make gallons."
  6. "You could make a cocktail-based vacation out of it."
  7. "I�d also recommend [by the same author]."
  8. "You can probably assume that a guy with a bar has the basics: gin and whiskey in a couple different varieties, rum and vodka. But there are smaller things, like bottles that will probably last you half of your life because you use them in small quantities. Like a bottle of chartreuse, which is used in a couple of cocktails�a really nice old recipe."
  9. �Basically it�s a lifetime supply because you only use bitters in a couple of shakes in a drink.�

Gift guide: The cocktail connoisseur

A cocktail enthusiast helps us come up with a spirited wish list.

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SCOTT CAMERON, 42, Logan Square

“I’ve got a bottle of grappa that tastes exactly like soap, and I don’t even understand why. There’s a genever-style gin from Anchor Distilling Company that has been reviewed pretty well, but it’s foul-tasting! So it just sits at the back of the shelf, and it’s like a warning bottle.” Meet Scott Cameron, software developer and cocktail obsessive, a man who claims he is “very easy to buy a gift for,” yet who can tell you exactly which high-end jar of cocktail cherries not to buy. For the aspiring cocktail aficionado who has everything, he helps us come up with a spirited wish list.

My favorite budget-friendly stocking stuffer is…bitters. Former Violet Hour bartender Ira Koplowitz is behind the Bittercube line, with varieties like cherry bark-vanilla ($9.75 at Lush). “Basically it’s a lifetime supply because you only use bitters in a couple of shakes in a drink.”

If you have to get a gift certificate, get it from…Drinks Over Dearborn. “Pretty much anything out of that shop would make a good gift for somebody that has a bar.”

Please don’t get me any more…fancy syrups. “I’m having a hard time coming up with cocktails to put them in.”

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