The Brooklyn Sampler: Winter Wonderbox Edition

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UPDATE: There are 6 samplers left, available only at Vine Wine in Williamsburg. Email us at sampler@brooklynbased.com to purchase before picking up.

This week, we put the finishing touches on an awesome, limited edition gift box we began curating this fall. It’s called the Brooklyn Sampler, and though it’s meant as a gift, you will likely want to keep it for yourself. Inside our inaugural, holiday-themed “Winter Wonderbox” are five fab Brooklyn-made goods: a Tumbador chocolate bar, a skinnyskinny lip balm, a sample of Dalaga perfume, a bag of Brooklyn Roasting Company coffee, and a holiday card from PostScript Brooklyn. As longtime subscribers may remember, it’s reminiscent of a box of gifts we curated back in 2007, our first year in business. Don’t let the name fool you—all the goodies are generously sized, in some cases full-sized. And, if you fall in love with one, or all of the products inside, they can be purchased online (or in store–tomorrow is Small Business Saturday after all!). The price is $15 plus $3.50 shipping, making it an under-$20 gift that you can split into a few cool stocking stuffers, send to your friend who moved away, or keep all to yourself.

Inside each box you’ll find:

1. A sample of Dalaga’s signature scent that will brighten your mood in the dark days of winter. The Greenpoint boutique—where you are guaranteed to find the perfect party dress, pair of shoes or piece of jewelry at a price that won’t make your heart stop—commissioned local perfumer, Anne McClain of MCMC Fragrances, to create a fragrance that reflected the owners’ Filipino roots and the elegant, almost boudoir vibe of their store. The result is a classy fragrance with floral notes, particularly the Sampaguita, the national flower of the Philippines. You can buy the 9ml organic oil roll on ($55) or the 40ml antique bulb alcohol spray ($110) at Dalaga (150 Franklin Street, between Greenpoint Avenue & Kent Street, 718-389-4049), or in their online store.

2. A quarter pound of coffee from Brooklyn Roasting Company with such a classic coffee aroma, one whiff will make you want to curl your hands around a warm cup. The beans are from the Chiapas region of Mexico, and roasted in small batches to draw out the coffee’s sweet, nutty and spicy notes. It’s one of the many certified Fair Trade/Rainforest Alliance/Organic coffees that BRC roasts on a state-of-the-art, fuel-efficient roaster, and delivers to local cafes and markets like Choice and Urban Rustic by cargo bike and biodiesel van, making it perhaps the greenest coffee company in the city. You can purchase all of Brooklyn Roasting Company’s single origin roasts, espressos and blends in 12 oz. bags at their DUMBO roastery and cafe, aka “The Lab,” at 25 Jay Street, or online at brooklynroasting.com.

3. A Tumbador Chocolate bar dubbed the “PB&J” that is like that Proustian Madeleine times 10—totally reminiscent of the sandwiches of your childhood, yet completely grown up and mind blowing. Only Jean-François Bonnet, formerly the executive pastry chef at Daniel, would think to pair dark chocolate with thick layers of raspberry pate de fruit and cripsy, peanut buttery praline. Now as executive pastry chef/owner of Tumbador Chocolate in Sunset Park, he makes dozens of classic-yet-creative bars, bonbons, and goodies for Tumabdor and for others (like Zak Pelaccio’s Fatty Bars). If you can’t find their chocolates at local stores like Union Market or The Chocolate Room, navigate their site for the Tumbador Candy Bar Selection ($20), which includes two PB&J bars, two Salted Peanut Bars, and two “Scooters” (chocolate cake, caramel and marshmallow—yum!).

4. A sweet, Brooklyn Bridge-themed holiday card from PostScript Brooklyn that you can use to send good cheer to an out-of-town friend. PostScript is the online offshoot of Park Slope paperie Lion in the Sun (232 7th Avenue, at 4th Street, 718-369-4006), and uses local artists and designers to create stylish, Brooklyn-inspired invitations for any modern wedding, even those far, far away from Kings County. To celebrate PostScript’s first anniversary, they’ve unveiled a new collection of customizable holiday cards depicting New York scenes like Brooklyn’s iconic bridge and the Chrysler Building. They’re available in digital and letterpress printing, and start at $6 a set. (And if you order by December 1, you’ll receive 20% off!)

5. A skinnyskinny organic lip balm that will heal your chapped lips without leaving them too waxy or too glossy (making it perfect for men or women). The Williamsburg eco-friendly body, beauty, and housewares shop, which recently moved to 268 Grand Street, at the corner of Roebling (718-366-2201), stocks certified organic products including soaps, bath salts, candles, non-toxic nail polish and ingenious “dry shampoos” that make it easy for you to go days without washing your hair (while still looking and smelling as though you did). All bear striking scent combinations—black pepper and rose, lime and mint, grapefruit ylang-ylang—and nearly every product is entirely made in back of the store.

There are just 200140 of these Winter Wonderboxes, so order one now and get it shipped to you in time for the holidays (or before the holiday malaise sets in). To purchase, click here.

NOTES:
Shipping is First-Class, U.S. only—the box will arrive within a week from ordering.
We can’t insert a personalized note, though we can address it to anyone you like.

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