Just-right pairings to satisfy their highly-exact tastes.

For the most part, buying presents is enjoyable, a testament to your thoughtfulness and creativity, but there’s always a few people who leave you a little stumped. Either they seem to have everything they’d ever want, their taste means you’d have to drop a couple thousand to make them smile, or you just have absolutely no idea of what they’re into. For those people, we recommend a tried and tested, failsafe combo: a bottle of something great and a book. Ahead, five pre-made winning pairings to satisfy even the trickiest people on your shopping list.

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A nosy-neighbour novel and liquor that tastes like cake

You could do chocolates, fragrance or flowers but, meh. This year they’ve dedicated themselves to “growth”, and while the yoga classes didn’t go so great, the book club has taken off. Show you’ve paid attention with a gift of the new release novel (Linda won’t have even heard of it yet) and a drink that seems straight out of Willy Wonka: Baileys Pavlova-Flavoured Liqueur. Perhaps the most Aussie Christmas drink of all time. The Pav is a December icon! The only dessert you really want to eat when it’s 35 degrees and you’ve got your feet in the paddling pool. Baileys’ take puts a meringue and summer berries swirl into the classic Irish Cream making it a little sweeter and brighter than the original. Perfect over ice at the end of the night when you’ve given in and turned on the aircon and flicked on a Christmas movie, possibly the only time most of us actually get to chill. Now for the new release, which is also a great companion for the Baileys: The Old Place by Bobby Finger. It’s about a retired teacher, Mary Alice, restarting her life without the familiar tropes of the school year to guide her. In the small Texas town where everyone knows everyone else’s business, this book has just enough neighbourhood gossip and a lot of friendship and heart. They'll be raving about it (and the fact that you bought it for them). Good work, you.

Two products of a new organic obsession

They turned 50, went vegan, started sharing videos on Facebook with titles like ‘How Your Food Is REALLY Made,’ and always has a new fast fact on how the Swedes are combating climate change with a new recycling initiative, or how Lightyear is the most accurate representation of how we’ll all be living in the next century. Definitely not someone you could accuse of being stuck in their ways. So honour their continuing interest in the world around them with something that will benefit you too – an interest in great natural wine. The World of Natural Wine: What It Is, Who Makes It, and Why It Matters by Aaron Ayscough digs into the grape-only, organically farmed wine processes, and the obsessives who make it, across 440 detail-packed pages. Pair with one of the best pét nats around, Shady Lane Pét Nat Pinot. It’s made with a two-fold fermentation process creating a persistent fizz, and the flavour of strawberries and cream with tart raspberry is perfect for summer days.

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A fresh, young beer and a novel that travels

Young Henrys Hazy Pale Ale is getting people talking. As you’re never quite sure what to talk to your distant cousin about (are they in a band? Or do they craft ceramics?), it makes for a conversation starter. A gorgeous golden colour with a bouquet of tropical stone fruit and citrus it has a pillowy mouthfeel. Truly, it’s like drinking a cloud. Our feeds have been full of cool people drinking Young Henrys Hazy (think Aimee Massie, Flex Mami, Sindy Sinn) so why not pair it with something else that’s being recommended everywhere we look (Vulture, Bustle, Buzzfeed, etc.) – Beasts of a Little Land: A Novel by Juhea Kim. It’s an epic story set in 1917 in warring Korea where a young girl is sold into courtesan school by her parents. Her fate is intertwined with the penniless son of a hunter, and the novel tracks their lives as they find themselves in Korea’s uncertain state. It’s a dreamy read with “unput-downable” reviews – plus it has a beautiful cover and we can all appreciate art, right?

An Aussie who-done-it and a fun Austrian drop

Here's one for your office mate with the true-crime podcast obsession. You learn a lot sitting next to someone, even if you don’t work on the same projects, or for the same company – shared workspaces, babe. Still, they are a constant, and you’ve appreciated every waterbottle refill, coffee run and charger loan, so show it with a gift that honours their Serial and My Favourite Murder dedication and penchant for interesting wines. Domäne Wachau Terrassen Federspiel Grüner Veltliner is the unofficial grape of Austria, but it’s not seen much on Australian wine lists. It gets a lot of love from the wine expert community as an alt for riesling. Crunchy, floral, spicy – yep, all those things. Partner it with The Tilt by Chris Hammer, which might just open the door to a whole new obsession for your desk buddy. It’s a ripper read about a newly-minted homicide detective begrudgingly stationed back in her hometown and assigned a cold case – one that could implicate many characters from her past, and present. If you haven’t heard of him, the author is an ex-newspaper journalist who, after redundancy, turned to fictional crime set in the Australian landscape. With several books under his belt now, he’s considered a world-class detective author, and there’s always a solid twist.

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A provocative title and crowd-pleasing sip

You don’t know where you stand with your hard-to-read sibling-in-law, but your lives are intertwined now and you need to win favour. To crack the tough nuts, you’ve got to swing big. How To Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie is dark, sure, but it summons big laughs and is strangely uplifting. Grace is a bitter and beguiling anti-hero, but you never stop rooting for her. Just in case this doesn’t hit the right note, Spice Parlour Ginger Beer Dark & Stormy is your safety net. Ginger, spice and all things nice to win over the sipper. There’s premium rum at work here, with lime juice, mint, ginger, and hints of vanilla and caramel to melt things together and smooth it out. It’s delicious over ice or straight from the can, so however they choose to drink it, it will be more than okay.