10 Essentials For Staying Home New Year’s Eve

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Ball drops, schmall drops—unless you’re dead set on kissing a stranger at midnight, there’s hardly any reason to deal with the crowds and cold temperatures on New Year’s Eve.

Our preference? Staying indoors, with all the amenities of a well-stocked home bar, pizza fresh out of the oven, a good book to curl up on the couch with, and the comfiest clothes imaginable. That’s exactly what we’ve collected here, in our list of 10 essentials for staying home on New Year’s Eve. They’ll let you set yourself up to ring in the New Year in luxurious style.

Dom Ruinart Blanc Vintage Champagne

Dom Ruinart Blanc Vintage Champagne

It’s hardly even a New Year’s celebration without a glass of bubbly—but why not go for the best? Dom Ruinart’s Blanc Vintage Champagne is the real deal, from the oldest champagne house in France, but it’s not so expensive that you’ll want to secret it away in a wine cellar for after the apocalypse.

A pure chardonnay grape champagne, it displays all the classic flavors a connoisseur looks for: Soft, sweet chestnuts, subtle floral and citrus zests, and a deep, warm, bready finish with just a touch of minerality. Cheers to ringing in the new year.

Taylor Stitch Après Pants

Taylor Stitch Après Pants

Inspired by ski lodge chic and focused on soft, comfortable, toasty good looks, Taylor Stitch’s Après Pants are the perfect around-the-house pants for the colder months of the year. Made from medium weight organic cotton and pre-washed for a lived-in look and feel, they’re detailed with an elastic waistband (perfect for post-dinner lounging) and elastic cuffs (for a more tailored look and feel).

With the look of your favorite pair of jeans and the feel of your favorite pair of sweats, they’re destined to become a wintertime staple in your wardrobe.

Chivas Regal 18

Chivas Regal 18

Scotch whisky may be the most warming of all distilled spirits, delivering a long-lasting linger of malt flavors and a heat that can warm up even the most frigid soul coming in from the marsh. And in the world of scotch, single malts often take top billing—but for the best bang for your buck, we heartily recommend looking towards a long aged blended whisky like Chivas Regal 18 year.

It’s a marvelously complex whisky, especially given its sub-$100 price tag, with a rich and full-flavored aroma of stewed fruits, long tastes of sweet malt and baking spices on the tongue, and a smooth and spicy oak finish.

Denver & Liely Whisky Glass

Denver & Liely Whisky Glass

Half the secret to enjoying a really good whisky like the one featured above has nothing to do with what’s in the bottle—but rather, what glass you pour it into. Denver & Liely’s Whisky Glass may well be the finest vessel that you can pour your scotch into, as it’s specially designed to deliver the spirit’s concentrated aromas directly into your nose.

Hand-blown and hand-polished, it’s also a beautiful piece to hold in your hand, with a reassuring weight and flat bottom that makes it a stable companion for all-night sipping.

Taylor Stitch Fillmore Hoodie

Taylor Stitch Fillmore Hoodie

Is there a more perfect layer for staying indoors than the venerable hoodie? We think not. And amongst hooded sweatshirts, Taylor Stitch’s Fillmore Hoodie might be the best you ever wear.

Made from soft organic cotton strengthened with polyester and given just enough stretch with a judicious addition of spandex, it’s completed with a heavyweight ribbing on the bottom opening, cuffs, side panel, hood opening and pocket openings. That gives it an extremely cozy look and feel, and makes it durable enough to become a part of your wardrobe for the next decade or so.

Davidoff Aniversario Perfecto Cigar

Davidoff Aniversario Perfecto Cigar

And the perfect complement for a cozy indoor outfit and a glass of scotch? A rich and robust cigar. We’ve been smoking Davidoff’s Aniversario Perfecto shorts lately, a Dominican-filled smoke with a complex and nuanced Ecuadorian wrapper.

Its aroma is intense and delightful, filled with notes of chocolate, black pepper, and dried fruits. As it burns down, you’ll notice aromas of leather and baking spices come to the forefront. Overall, it’s a lovely cigar for celebrating a special occasion, but not so expensive that you couldn’t enjoy one during the week as well.

Zippo Sterling Silver Lighter

Zippo Sterling Silver Lighter

Of course, you may well want something to light that cigar with, as well. A classic Zippo is just the way to go, so you can both look like a distinguished man and always have a light handy. Our choice is the Zippo Sterling Silver Lighter, one of their most heritage-quality pieces with an incredible look and feel.

It’s one and a half times as thick as a standard Zippo, and polished to a mirror finish. Even after lighting your stogie, you’ll want to keep it around to fidget with and admire as you contemplate the passing of another year.

L.L. Bean Wicked Good Slippers

L.L. Bean Wicked Good Slippers

Adding a pair of house shoes to your wardrobe might just be the biggest improvement you can make to your overall comfort and enjoyment around the house. The L.L. Bean Wicked Good Slippers—true to their name—are an exceptional pair of house shoes, made in a high ankle boot moccasin style for maximum plush leisure.

Lined with moisture-wicking shearling lamb fur, they’ll keep your toes warm all winter long. And their cushioned memory foam footbeds will leave you feeling like you’re walking on clouds.

The Old Man & The Sea

The Old Man & The Sea

In many ways, Ernest Hemingway lived the sort of life that other men dream of: One of adventure, daring exploits, and deep introspection. Other parts of his life were not so glamorous, true; but the best parts of his existence were captured beautifully in his writing.

That’s especially true of The Old Man & The Sea, written in 1951 while Hemingway was drinking and fishing his way across Cuba. And because of its shorter novella length, it’s a perfect one day read for when you’re staying in for the night.

Ooni Koda 12 Pizza Oven

Ooni Koda 12 Pizza Oven

Sure, you could pop a frozen pizza in your regular old kitchen oven—but if you want real restaurant-quality pies, you’re going to need something a lot hotter than the 500 to 600 degrees that a conventional oven can supply.

Ooni’s Koda 12 Pizza Oven is specially designed to pump out up to 950 degrees of pizza-baking power, enough to cook a whole pizza in about a minute, all while giving it a picture-perfect brown and crispy crust with those wonderful bubbles of char. Once you start baking in this oven, you’ll never want an old frozen pizza again.

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