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What if you chose the ones with cork tops and covered them with melted wax/ canning wax? Then they'd be fine for transport, and the cork wouldn't really be an issue once the bottle was safely in the recipient's kitchen.

Second choice would be the mason jar.

Ehh....

ehhh...

Would you kill me if I said I'd be put off by having to bring my own empty bottle for a gift?

Is it a "gift" or are you simply sharing your homemade vinegar? If you send out an email saying you made homemade vinegar and offer to let people try it, I think that's perfectly fine. You're giving out free food...no one can complain! But if you bill it as a gift, I think you need to find jars.

I have to say that I love Kerosena's idea. I'm guessing that the wax wouldn't add too much to the production cost, and it's got a bit of the handmade about it, making the gift (if it is more of a gift than a food-share) that much more thoughtful.

I have to say that I would not want someone dispensing vinegar in my workplace. I think its a great idea but no don't bring bottles in and open that smell up to the general office population smell acrid.
Some of the people you work with will LOVE the idea of a homemade vinegar and some not so much. I also like Kerosena's idea. Often if you buy a nice bottle of oil or vinegar they are nicely corked and waxed.

What about Cost Plus World Market? That is if they didn't close the ones nearest you. All of mine closed, but I bought all my spice jars there CHEAP.

@Jerzee, I wasn't thinking of doing the dispensing on-site (ick! I agree.), I was thinking that anyone who wanted some could bring a bottle, and I'd bring them back the next week. And if they forgot, they could bring a bottle the next week. Probably give them a choice of red or white, too, if I have sufficient quantities.

@Heart, that's what I'm curious about -- I'm not offended at all.

It's not usual for me to bring treats from my kitchen, and it's not unusual for people to walk out of meetings with cookies or candies wrapped in whatever is on hand. And most of them are leaving the meeting and going home, so it's not like they're just carrying the stuff to their desks. The vinegar is kind of like that, except we won't be sampling it at lunch and you can't just wrap it in a napkin to take it home.

Another woman will sometimes bring citrus that she gets from her MIL's tree in CA. People stuff lemons and oranges in their purses and pockets to take home.

I've still got time to hunt up some containers. I do need a few for pretty presentations, so maybe I'll hit the jackpot somewhere. There's a World Market not too far from here. I bought some jars there a while back for other stuff, but don't recall what I paid. I'll give that a try next time I'm headed that way.

Sharing as opposed to gift, I think it's fine that you ask for bottles, though I'd do the actually filling of them at home. Better than fine, really. It's ecologically friendly and the vinegar only goes to those who actually want it. Also, it's really nice of you to be doing this.

So, now that I've been so helpful, if you'd just send me your address, I'll zip a bottle to you in the mail. :-)

Sorry, I'm with @Heart and @iz here. Most likely, I simply wouldn't bring my own bottle, even if I were interested in sampling your homemade vinegar. The fact that you only meet once a week makes it all the more awkward.

But I wouldn't mind at all getting that vinegar in a mason jar. Since it's not a "food gift" per se, but rather "food sharing", there is absolutely nothing wrong with giving it in whatever vessels are handy/convenient and not going all out for pretty bottles.

Try specialtybottle.com. They have tons of beautiful bottles for super cheap (like under $1), with no minimum order. I bought stuff there for wedding favors and loved their service and quality.

@AnaPowell -- thanks! Now, if shipping is reasonable, I'm set! I was googling for bottles online and this place never came up.

I was on the fence as to whether asking for bottles was tacky or not, but since so many reasonable people here thought it was, I'll have to assume that some of my co-workers will feel the same way. Of course, they wouldn't tell me, but you (all) will. Thanks!

As far as eco-friendly bottle re-use, the good thing is that we have good recycling programs here, so I'm not so worried. And if I go with prettier bottles, people might keep them. Personally, I repurpose a lot of bottles for my own use, and I was considering doling out the vinegar in some of those bottles, but that seemed just a little tacky to me, too. I don't mind spending a dollar or two per bottle, but when I was looking at eight bucks a bottle for nothing very fancy, it was insane.

If you have an Ikea near you, I got a cheap vinegar bottle there a couple years ago. I am not sure if they still carry the same one or not.
I know they carry the bottles with the stopper attached with wire that snaps closed.
I would be happy just to get some homemade vinegar, it wouldn't matter to me if it was in a mason jar etc. I could always put it in my own vinegar jar at home. But if you are making it more of a gift, you could still use a mason jar or something similar. Cover the top with a scrap of fabric and tie a piece of raffia or twine around it ito hold it on with a little tag that says "dbcurrie's kickin' vinegar" or whatever. That would make it more gift-like.

I agree with heart of glass. I think this is somewhat "tacky". How about these nice looking cheaper bottles you can buy online? http://www.specialtybottle.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=9

Hillary

Okay, this is funny. I decided to buy some bottles when I'm ready to give some vinegar away, but in the meantime, I asked a friend (not part of the co-worker group) if she wanted some homemade vinegar when it was done brewing. The first thing she said? "I'll bring you a bottle." I said no problem, I'll have plenty of bottles when the time comes. I'm still laughing.