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10 Gluten-Free Spirits to Stock Up On This Holiday

Looking for gluten-free gifts for your party host or hostess, a cocktail ingredient or want to treat yourself to spirits this season? Stay warm with a bottle of gin, rum, vodka or liqueur!

Although a great deal of controversy is still stirring in the gluten-free community about the safety of spirits made from wheat grains, science has proven that the distillation process leaves behind the “mash” of glutinous grains and delivers a safe and tasty product. For those who remain concerned, many types of vodka are made from potatoes, buckwheat and corn, at least one brand of whiskey is made from sorghum, and rum is made from sugar cane. So kick back, relax and check out our recommendations for distinctive, gluten-free booze.

1. Rather than potatoes, BET Vodka‘s base is sugar beets, the white-tan root vegetable— not to be confused with the deep-red garden variety. Crisp and smooth with hints of vanilla, this is a spirit meant to be savored and best when shared with friends.

It’s a smooth vodka, fantastic for sipping by itself, but BET Vodka also provides plenty of cocktail recipes on their website so you can mix up whatever you like.

2. Looking for a clean drink to clink when the clock strikes midnight this new year? Your search is over. Empower Cosmopolitan Martini is a refreshing cocktail that contains sweet potato-based vodka, triple sec, white cranberry and lime. Just pour and garnish for a party in your glass.

3. Spend part of your holiday vacation making homemade gin in just 36 hours with the Gin Kit by W&P Design.

This six-piece set contains a hand-selected blend of juniper berries, botanicals, spices and aromatics, along with all the hardware needed to produce two bottles of small-batch gin—that’s right, you could keep one of the finished bottles and gift the other.

4. Impress friends with your cocktail-making abilities using Mocktails Brand’s non-alcoholic beverages. The mixers come packaged in reusable glass shaker bottles, so add ice, shake and pour over the alcohol of choice for a perfect cocktail every time.

Flavors include Karma Sucra Cosmopolitan, Vida Loca Margarita, Sevilla Red Sangria and Scottish Lemonade Whiskey Sour. The mixers contain no high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, or artificial flavors or colors, and they taste fresh thanks to the clean and simple ingredients list.

5. Almondaire liquor is a blend of chocolate, vanilla and almond flavors that delivers a smooth and creamy experience. Made with corn grain to ensure the product is naturally gluten free and almond paste that has no dairy, it is an amazing vegan alternative to traditional cream liqueur.

Use it to create spiked sweets and mixed drinks, or serve it over ice for a dessert cocktail.

6. Deep Eddy’s line of flavored vodka is the real deal. Distilled from corn in a state-of-the-art column still, premium juices, essential oils, natural sweeteners and honey combine to create five smooth, clean-tasting vodka flavors: Ruby Red (their best seller), Sweet Tea, cranberry, lemon and peach. Real ingredients make all the difference in this small-batch vodka produced in Austin, Texas.

7. Dixie Vodka‘s citrus varietal blend is a combination of lemon, lime and tangerine distilled from corn. Produced by Grain & Barrel Spirits in Charleston, South Carolina, the 80-proof spirit’s all-natural ingredients create a well-rounded and crisp finish designed to kick up club soda a couple of notches or mix a refreshing craft cocktail.

8. Sorghum Whiskey by New Southern Revival is made by High Wire Distilling Company in South Carolina. This smooth whiskey features notes of maple syrup, cashew and vanilla with a long, clean finish. Sip it neat or over ice, or use it to make a cocktail like an Old Fashioned, a Dark & Stormy or a Manhattan.

9. Stolichnaya (known as Stoli) has been distilling vodka in Russia from gluten grains for more than 80 years, but that all changed in 2016 when it introduced Stoli Gluten Free, distilled from corn and buckwheat. Made from a combination of 88 percent corn and 12 percent buckwheat, this vodka is just as smooth as its counterpart, if not more so. Pour it over ice with a squeeze or two of fresh lime and enjoy.

10. Tito’s Handmade Vodka is made with corn instead of potatoes and certified gluten free by the Gluten Intolerance Group. According to founder and owner Tito Beveridge, “some producers add a little bit of mash back into the spirit after distillation, which would add gluten content into an otherwise gluten-free distillate [if using wheat as the base], but I don’t do that regardless.” Made in batches using old-fashioned pot stills, Tito’s sold its first case in 1997 and is now one of the best-selling vodkas in the U.S.

Gluten-Free Pie Options

Don’t have time to bake a pie from scratch for your holiday gatherings?
Try one of these convenient gluten-free options.

Enjoying gluten-free pie no longer requires you to start from scratch. Grocery store shelves and online retailers offer a selection of premade pies, pie crusts and crust mixes that will make your gluten-free holiday baking easy as pie.

SLICE IT UP

For those who don’t like or don’t have the time to bake, pick up a frozen premade pie. Simply thaw according to the instructions and serve.

Katz Gluten Free produces its 6-inch and 8-inch apple, blueberry, cherry and pumpkin pies in a gluten-, dairy- and nut-free environment. Loaded with fruit in a flaky crust, these pies taste just as good as the ones you remember from childhood without being overly sweet. katzglutenfree.com

Whole Foods’ fully baked apple and cherry pies are available
year-round while pecan and pumpkin make their seasonal
appearances in the fall and winter. Thaw in the refrigerator
overnight to serve the next day. Once ready, heat them up
and top with ice cream (dairy optional) for a classic à la mode
experience.

The Maine Pie Company has the most extensive selection of gluten-free pies on the market with 10 flavors to choose from, including chocolate,
Threeberry, apple, lemon curd, peach-raspberry, pecan (seasonal),
pumpkin (seasonal), wild blueberry, apple crumb and strawberry rhubarb. A wheat-based pie baker by trade, the company developed a gluten-free crust that is just as moist, flaky and buttery as its wheat-y counterpart. Made in a dedicated gluten-free bakery, the pies are full of fresh fruit, nothing artificial, and are almost too beautiful to eat with their crisscross tops. themainepieco.com/gluten-free-desserts

Gillian’s Foods’ fruit pies in apple crisp, blueberry and pumpkin
sit atop a crust made from brown rice flour and are produced
in a gluten-, wheat-, tree nut- and peanut-free environment.
gilliansfoodsglutenfree.com

All Natural Decadence gluten-free pies are free of eggs, dairy and peanuts, and feature a homemade crust. In addition to its Humboldt Mud Pie on a double fudge cookie crust and pumpkin pie on a graham cracker crust, traditionally dairy-filled pies are reconfigured here, so anyone can enjoy the chocolate cream-less and lemon meringue-less varieties. The chocolate cream-less and mud pie fillings are crafted with coconut milk, while tofu is used to create the creamy center for the lemon meringue-less and pumpkin pies. Natural Decadence has also started making berry and apple pies that are sold fresh in the bakery section. raisedglutenfree.com

THE SHELL GAME

Premade pie shells take the hassle out of preparing a crust and allow the baker to concentrate on the most important part—the filling. If the pie shell is broken, you can put it back together. Just thaw it, dampen the crack with water, and pinch and press the dough with your fingers to seal the split. Now you’re ready to get creative with holiday-inspired fillings and bake up a semi-homemade masterpiece.

Kinnikinnick Foods’ unbaked pie crusts come in packs of two and need only be thawed before you add the filling. Made without gluten, dairy or nuts, these standard pie crusts are sturdy and bake up light and flaky. kinnikinnick.com/index.cfm

Mi-Del Cookies is one of the only companies that produces gluten-free shelf-stable crusts, available in three flavors: chocolate snap, ginger snap and graham style. Sold individually, the flavor and texture combinations deliver a distinctive pie-baking experience. They do tend to be a bit crumbly, so tread lightly. midelcookies.com/products/gluten-free

Whole Foods’ pie shells come in two-packs and make pie baking a snap. Use the second shell to add a crispy, crusty pie top. After filling the first crust, remove the other one from the tin, roll it out and place it on top of the filled pie. Want to create a beautiful centerpiece for the holiday dessert table? Use a cookie cutter to put a couple of festive designs in the second crust to adorn the top of your pie.

The allergen-friendly pie shells from Wholly Wholesome are free of the top eight allergens (milk, eggs, wheat, shellfish, fish, peanuts, tree nuts and soy) as well as corn. These ready-to-bake vegan pie shells are made with brown rice flour and offer a sturdier, less flaky base for fillings. whollywholesome.com

MIX IT UP

Don’t want to go the premade crust route? Get out a bowl and mix up your own in minutes. Smash up graham crackers, ginger snaps and cookies, then combine with butter. You could also opt for an easy-to-use pie crust mix from manufacturers such as Bob’s Red Mill, King Arthur Flour and Pamela’s Products.

TOP IT OFF

Once it’s ready, top your pie with a rice- or soy-based whipped topping such as truwhip, CocoWhip or Soyatoo. Adding a scoop of vegan or regular ice cream can also add to the pie’s texture and flavor.

Summer’s Almost Here—Let’s Get Grilling!

America is heading into a long three-day holiday weekend, which means friends, family and plenty of food on the grill.

This weekend, crack open a cold bottle of gluten-free beer and let the fire do the cooking with these summery recipes from Gluten-Free Living contributor Isadora Lassance.

Here’s what she has to say:

Move over meat.

You can do a lot more with your grill than cook hamburgers and steak. Potatoes, fruit and vegetables come off the grill with new flavor in the following gluten-free recipes.

Potato wedges are seasoned with five simple ingredients before they earn their grill stripes. You might not immediately think of peaches when grill season begins, but this flavorful fruit, fresh off the grill, is combined with goat cheese, almonds and mint in a tasty salad perfect for backyard dining. Zucchini, yellow squash and onion add a smoky flavor to pesto pizza when they first spend a little time on the grill.

If you still can’t get the thought of grilled burgers off your mind, try veggie burgers made with black beans to push your health and taste boundaries.

Four Fabulous Gluten-Free Grill Recipes

Southwest Black Bean Veggie Burgers

Grilled Potato Wedges

Grilled Peach Salad with Goat Cheese

Pesto Pizza with Grilled Vegetables

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Semi Home Made Gluten-Free Holiday Pies

Kendall wrote about this easy short-cut for making pies two holidays ago, but we thought it might come in handy again this season.

I think short cuts in cooking are critical for survival as a working mom. True confessions are in order here, I despise baking. I’d rather have a tooth filled than whip up a batch of cookies, bake a cake or make a pie. Birthdays, and celiac disease, present a major challenge in this area for me.

My daughter asked for an apple pie for her birthday dessert. I had a few options. Making pie dough from scratch–a long process with cold unsalted butter, flour and a Cuisinart was the most unpalatable option. Mixing the dough to perfect “pea sized” consistency and letting it rest is soooo time consuming. Then, to add insult to injury, it still needs to be rolled out!

I thought about using Pillsbury ready made pie crust and just doing two baked apples for the celiacs. This was also not a great option because I really do try to be inclusive of every family member.

But, then I remembered that I had two Whole Foods Gluten Free Bakery pie crusts in the freezer and figured I could use them to make a double-crust pie. The crusts thawed at room temperature and I prepped a bunch of apples with lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar and gluten-free flour.

It worked! I piled the apples into one crust and put the other crust on top. After five minutes in the oven, I stretched the top crust and pinched the top and bottom crusts together.

It was absolutely gorgeous when it came out of the oven. The crust was a light golden brown and the aroma was tantalizing. Everyone eagerly came to the table to celebrate.

Since it was semi-home made, it was a snap. My celiac has put in his request for pumpkin and apple pie for Thanksgiving! I can do that EASILY. Frozen, ready made gluten-free pie crust is now my favorite thing in the freezer case.