Would you consider alcohol to be a rude christmas gift?

Context matters. For some it would not be an issue. If it is someone who either has struggled personally either directly or indirectly with substance abuse than yes that would be a terrible gift.

HootyTheNightOwl

Depends on the recipient...

STBX is a recovering alcoholic - so no alcohol for him.

My grandpa, however, used to enjoy several bottles over the course of the following year.

MoveAlong · 70-79, M

Hell no, wine, bourbon and scotch are great gifts. That's mostly what we give friends and family.

Hint: Macallan 18YO. PM me if you want to send me a bottle. Thanks

ThirstenHowl ·

It's not rude, but it is a bad idea, unless you know pretty much precisely what the recipient actually likes, not just broad categories. Like there is infinite variety in just "wine", so only knowing your recipient likes wine, or only knowing they like "reds" is still next to knowing nothing about their actual preferences. Even if you know they like a specific grape, but only know that, one grape can be made into very different styles of wine. So just picking one at random is a terrible idea, particularly given the expense of any quality alcohol, and potential for not being able to return alcohol.

Also, asking a third party "expert" or consultant who does know your recipient's actual specific tastes to recommend something is still just as random as you making a random choice yourself. The less info you can give to a third party, there's only so far they can reasonably speculate even with genuine knowledge of the subject.

You'd be better off just taking your recipient to the shop and letting them pick something and then offer to pay for it instead.

Or sticking to something that's less expensive and easier to return if you make a bad (random) selection.

DancingStarGoddess ·

Not unless you're giving it to someone who you know clearly has issues with alcohol or is in recovery. Otherwise it's a great gift. Especially if it's expensive.