Kerry Acker
Already dreading the post-holiday blues? Stave off the depression with a gift that keeps on coming, month after month. We've homed in on six of our current favorite food-of-the-month subscriptions, to help you find that perfect gift for those almost-impossible-to-please food and drink lovers in your life -- or, perhaps, yourself. After all, the thrill of finding a package on your doorstep never gets old, especially when it's filled with treats that will please even the pickiest palate.
CHEESE
New York City's beloved Saxelby Cheesemongers, who specialize in American artisanal cheeses -- particularly those from sustainable producers in the Northeast -- will send 1.5 pounds of farmstead cheese each month to the turophile of your choice. Each shipment includes three domestic cheese selections, and Saxelby will honor your taste preferences (no raw milk, no blue, no stinky).
$150 for 3 months of cheese; $300 for 6 months of cheese
CHOCOLATE
Founded in 2012, Brooklyn's Mouth makes small, local brands of specialty food products available to consumers across the United States. The Chocolate Every Month program brings the finest chocolate bars; chocolate-dunked pretzels or cereal; and other chocolate treats from such esteemed makers as Jacques Torres, Liddabit Sweets, and Lemonbird to the lucky recipient for 3, 6, or 12 months. (Check out Mouth's other monthly subscriptions, including pickle, jerky, snack, and cocktail hour clubs.)
$180 for 3 months; $450 for 6 months
SEE MORE: 5 Things You Should Never Regift
BACON
Midwestern powerhouse Zingerman's, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, comprises a bakehouse, a creamery, a roadhouse, and a candy manufactory, among other operations, but the company is probably best known for its top-tier selection of everyone's favorite food: bacon. (Zingerman's even hosts an annual Camp Bacon, a four-day celebration of all things bacon -- no kidding.) Its bacon club is one of the most highly regarded in the country, promising 12 to 16 ounces of artisanal cured-pork goodness each month, from producers in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
$99 for 3 months; $189 for 6 months
COFFEE
For the hardcore java drinkers in your life, Craft Coffee's 3-, 6- or 12-month subscriptions are an excellent bet, delivering consistently exceptional coffee from a diverse roster of roasters. Each month, Brooklyn-based Craft's expert panel tastes more than 50 different brews to choose the 3 coffees that will land on your doorstep. Choose from whole bean (recommended), French press, cone filter, or flat-bottom filter grinds.
$75 for 3 months; $240 for 12 months
CHARCUTERIE
Portland, Oregon's renowned salumeria Olympic Provisions crafts 12 different kinds of salami from all-natural heritage pork, which means that members of its Salami-of-the-Month club can look forward to a whole year's worth of dry-cured meat from the Pacific Northwest, with flavor profiles influenced by the salamis of Italy, Spain, France, and Greece.
$140 for 12 months
HOT SAUCE
Give some sweet relief to the chileheads in your life: Buy them a membership to the Hot Sauce of the Month club. Each month, recipients will be treated to two different bottles of hot sauce from the company's award-winning collection, including the likes of the incendiary 650,000 Scoville-unit Dave's Gourmet Ghost Pepper Naga Jolokia Sauce.
$59 for 3 months; $118 for 12 months
Do you have a favorite food-of-the-month club?