The Festive Season is once again upon us and there is always one Christmas gift that never goes out of style: alcohol! Here are some ideas for boozy gifts for your friends or loved ones.
At our previous blog post on this topic, suggestions on unique ways to make your liquor gift more interesting included alcoholic advent calendars; alcohol baubles; drinks hampers; gift subscriptions and the drinks gift set. Here are some new ideas to consider…
- Christmas Alcoholic Crackers
The traditional Christmas crackers have been given an alcohol makeover with Gin Christmas Crackers such as the Fever-Tree Gin and Tonic set of 4 available at John Lewis for £32 (pictured above), the Luxury G&T Christmas Crackers at £39.99 from the Craft Gin Club or directly from brands such as The Silent Pool Distillers box of 6 Christmas crackers for £50.
But these are not restricted only to gin and plenty of other options are available – such as the Wine and Prosecco crackers from Virgin Wines priced from £29.99 to £34.99, the Vodka Party Crackers from Drinks in Tube at £40 (pictured above), Drinks by the Dram Whisky crackers from Master of Malt at £32.95, and the single Moet & Chandon Champagne crackers at £17.90 from The Bottle Club .
2. Enhance the Drink Occasion at Home
Making cocktails at home is a sure way to enhance the drinking occasion and the choice is far and wide, from buying the required utensils individually to a 14-piece cocktail making set at £24.99 from Amazon or even a personalised cocktail set from ‘Getting Personal‘ website at £29.99.
Want to go for something different? You can always look at the Rabbit Electric cocktail mixer pictured above available for £42 from Direct Nine website (or Amazon in the US) or stretch the budget further with a Tipplesworth Ginger Mule Cocktail case at £155 from the Whisky Exchange.
RIEDEL Decanter Mamba Fatto a Mano, is a beautiful hand made and elegant piece to enhance your wine drinking occasion and available directly from the producer at £395.
Alternatively, for £650 you may want to stretch further and gift an Ice Ball Maker from The Macallan.
3. Alcohol Flavoured Foods
Firebox has a few different gift options that could be given, even as stocking fillers, such as their boozy-infused preserves. This includes the Spreadable Whisky at £9.99 (pictured below) but also available are Gin, Rum, Beer, Cocktails and gift sets.
John Lewis has available at £15 the Charbonnel et Walker Sipsmith Gin Truffles.
Another giftable product idea combining food and alcohol comes from Portugal, courtesy of Cacao di Vine and their ‘wine chocolate’ at 16.95 euros – the product is packed in a solid tube made with 100% original Portuguese cork, taking advantage of the cork’s thermal qualities.
For reference – Inside the Cask blog ‘Best Examples of Alcohol Flavoured Foods’
4. Books, Books and more Books
“I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.” W.C. Fields
Wine Folly: A Visual Guide to the World of Wine by Justin Hammack and Madeline Puckette at £13.29 (hardback)
Difford’s Guide to Cocktails #12 by Simon Difford at £29.00 (hardback)
Gin: The Manual by Dave Broom at £14.99 (hardback)
BrewDog: Craft Beer for the People by Richard Taylor with James Watt and Martin Dickie at £20.00 (hardback)
The Great Drams of Scotland: A Conversational Meander Through the Rich History of Scotch Whisky and the Brands That Have Brought it to Life by Greg Dillon at £19.99 (hardback)
Finally, the Gin Guide book may be an interesting purchase as part of the Yard of Gin from Tipplebox for £49.95 and including 12x bottles of gin miniatures to try….
5. Experiential Gifts
Most locations around the world nearby to a distillery, brewery or winery will provide potential gift options linked to an experience, from simple visits and tours to the production facility to more interactive educational (and more importantly fun!) activities.
The Blendworks Gin School by Eden Mill is currently available in Glasgow and St. Andrews in Scotland costing between £65 to £95. The concept behind the experience is to lift the curtain on the gin making process, giving you the chance to choose your ingredients, determine flavour profiles and make your very own gin – all under the watchful eye of the Eden Mill expert Blendworks Tutors. Needless to say, a few tastings are very much part of the process and a gift voucher would be a welcome gift to anyone on the receiving end.
For the true whisky enthusiast, at £225 you can gift to a lucky someone the gift of the Scotch Whisky Training School at the Scotch Whisky Experience Shop in Edinburgh.
Virgin Experience Days offer a variety of experiences that can be given as a gift from a Tropical Cocktail Masterclass for Two (pictured below) to Vineyard Tour and Tastings, Expression Rum Making Experience, Blend Your Own Gin and Tasting, to Craft Beer Tastings and Tour amongst others – with prices ranging from £35 to £110.
Wanting some a little bit different? Then look no further than Drams in the Dark – this is a fully immersive multi-sensory whisky tasting experience like no other conceptualised by whisky consultant and author Blair Bowman (pictured below). Your Mac & Wild host will lead you through a tasting of several drams with your senses heightened by complete darkness. Cost is £40 per person.
For reference – Inside the Cask blog post ‘5 Christmas present ideas for 2018’ – including:
- Alcoholic Advent Calendars
- Alcohol Baubles
- Drinks Hampers
- Xmas Gift Subscription
- The Drinks Gift Set
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