I first discovered Moonstruck when they used to have cafes in a few cities around the US including my grad school town of Champaign, Illinois. I fell in love with their truffles and chocolate beverages. This collection of features a double dose of Oregon; not only is Moonstruck chocolate produced here, but they paired up with several local craft breweries for these boozy treats.
2. Beaumont Blend by Ristretto Roasters, $14.00
Most people are familiar with Portland roaster Stumptown, but since we moved here I've been testing out the numerous other local roasters. So far, my favorite is Ristretto Roasters, and their Beaumont blend has tasting notes of chocolate truffle, maraschino cherry, and toasted coconut.
3. Plaid Motor Robe Blanket with Leather Carrier by Pendelton Woolen Mills, $99.50
Pendelton has been a Pacific Northwest family-owned company for more than 100 years, with quality-driven products made from 100% wool and produced in the USA. Their blankets are a classic gift item and a perfect winter accessory, but they have many other wonderful gift ideas on their website as well.
4. Recycled Skateboard Bottle Opener by MapleXO, $20
This company was started by a group of Portland skateboarders that wanted to reduce waste in skateboard manufacturing, so they began to create jewelry and accessories from the discarded material. These colorful and useful bottle openers would make a perfect stocking stuffer.
5. Jerky Crafting Kit by Fleishers, $30
Fleishers is an East Coast butcher company with locations in Connecticut and New York, but I thought this jerky kit was too cool not to include as a gift idea. It contains everything you need to make natural, preservative-free jerky at home in an oven (except the meat, obvi).
6. Roots Soap, $6.00 per bar
These natural, cold-pressed soaps are made with Oregon rain-water collected in the soapmaker's own yard—how cool is that?! They offer a variety of yummy sounding "manly" scents including Bay Clove, Bergamot Cedar, Wood & Smoke, and Northwest IPA. They are available through the online or physical shop, MadeHere PDX, which has a TON of other locally made products. It's a great resource for Oregon products.
7. Olympia Provisions Sausage and Salami, $10 each, or $40 and up for a sampler
Olympia Provisions is probably the most popular meat purveyor in Portland, with a range of sausage, salami, and pate offerings made with local, antibiotic-free and humanely-raised pork. They sell a variety of samplers such as Italian, French, or Spanish gift sets, or if your guy really likes meat, you could gift him with a yearlong subscription to the Salami of the Month Club for $145.
8. Harry's Razors set, $15 and up
This is an online business that is not based out of Oregon, but I think the idea is intriguing and makes a great gift option for the guys. Harry's believes men should be able to get quality shave without spending a ridiculous amount of money on blades. They offer a few different shaving kits that'd make great gifts, and they also have the option to sign up for a monthly subscription that delivers fresh blades to your door each month.
9. Aftershave Tonic by Menagerie, $18
Along with the razors above, you could add in this aftershave tonic by Menagerie, the Portland beauty-shop-in-an-Airstream-trailer. It contains a soothing and invigorating blend of fruit extracts and gentle astringents and smells like citrus, pine, and a touch of lavender.
10. Campfire Candle by Revolution Design House, $18
This fragrance-free candle's appeal is all in its unique shape. Hand-cast in Portland, it creates a unique flame shape as it melts down in the center, leaving the orange edges to curl upward like a fire. So fun!
11. Eliot Daypack by The Alpine Division, $90
This Portland adventure company creates a variety of attractive yet useful outdoor and travel products. This backpack would be a useful gift for anyone from trail hikers to daily commuters.
12. Geek Love by Katherine Dunn, $15.95
This is a book filled with a freakishly twisted plot line and dark characters written by Portland native, Katherine Dunn. It is the story of a carnival family that falls upon hard times and decides to start breeding their own freaks through oh-so disturbing methods. It's a love-it or hate-it kind of book, but it's considered a cult classic among many. If the person you're buying for happens to be a fan of Chuck Palahniuk (another PNW native), then they might like to give this twisted tale a try.
13. Smoked Tea Vanilla Botanical Cocktail & Soda Syrup by Raft, $14.99
To me, cocktail syrups make for great gifts for the amateur bartender or frequent host because they seem like the kind of thing you wouldn't always splurge on for yourself. Using the founders' backgrounds in Chinese medicine and herbology, Raft has created some really unique botanical-based cocktail and soda syrups, and offers up a bunch of different drink recipes on their website.
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That is it for my Portland-centric gift guides! I know not everyone will be particularly interested in Portland goods, but these guiders were a little way for me to help support local and small businesses, and I hope I was at least able to introduce you to a few cool new-to-you brands or products :)
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