-
Home
-
Food & Drink
- Alcohol Advent Calendars
Boozy Christmas Advent Calendars
Advent calendars might be one of the most exciting parts about Christmas. The moment you open the first door is when the countdown to the day itself gets underway and you know things are only going to get better. Traditionally, people tend to have calendars that either have pictures relating the nativity story or else pieces of chocolate behind each of the doors, but there are more options available than that.
In recent times there has been a trend for advent calendars that have more of an adult theme to them; specifically with the development of boozy Christmas advent calendars that contain bottles of alcoholic delights hidden behind the doors. There are numerous different types of boozy calendars out there, with some of them the type you’d want to share with someone else, whilst others are for one person who has a penchant for specific drinks.
Jump to: Gin | Beer | Whisky | Bourbon | Tequila | Rum | Vodka | Cognac | Armagnac | Wine
Gin Advent Calendars
With every passing year it appears as though gin is becoming more and more popular. From local producers making gins specific to the area they’re in through to the largest companies on the market developing gins for different occasions, it has become the spirit du jour. Here’s a look at the different companies offering gin-based advent calendars:
GINVENT
The original gin advent calendar that sparked a craze, Ginvent just keeps getting better and better. An advent calendar has 24 doors and this one is no exception, with each door covering a 3cl bottle of gin that will thrill any lover of the spirit. The gins range from ones made by newly formed companies to others created by craft distillers that you’ll doubtless have heard of before.
THAT BOUTIQUE-Y GIN COMPANY ADVENT CALENDAR
That Boutique-y Gin Company is the world’s first independent gin bottler, so you can expect any number of fantastic gins behind the 24 doors of their advent calendar. Some of them are Christmas-themed, such as the Yuletide Gin, whilst others are there to give you a taste sensation you might not otherwise opt for, like the limited edition Hot Sauce Gin. Each bottle is a handle 3cl in size.
GIN ADVENT CALENDAR
This is the gin-based advent calendar for those of you that like the tried and trusted brands out there. Every day features a 3cl sample of gins you’ll have tried before; or variations on the theme at the very least. We’re talking Tanqueray, Bathtub and the East India Company gins, for example. If you like to be a little bit more adventurous then don’t think this is a no-no, however; there are still a fair few you’ll be excited to try like Spit-Roasted Pineapple Gin.
Beer Advent Calendars
At Christmases gone by you might well have seen photos posted to social media of someone buying a box of 24 beers and writing random numbers over each with a black magic marker. An amusing tactic that will doubtless please certain people, but for most you need to go that little bit further if you want to impress and treat them to a truly magical Christmas. That’s where beer advent calendars from proper companies do the hard work for you, with the following being some great examples. Can't find what you're looking for? Have a look at even more beer boxes here!
THE BEER HAWK ADVENT CALENDAR
Beer Hawk’s boozy advent calendar is the ideal treat for the alcohol aficionado in your life. Behind each door you’ll find a bottle or can of beer from one of seven different countries spread across four continents. This is not simply a boring bottle of lager hidden in a box! Instead, there are seventeen different types of beer, from pale ale to porters, including four beers exclusive to the Beer Hawk advent calendar.
GERMAN BEER ADVENT CALENDAR
If you're feeling nostalgic from Oktoberfest and want something a bit different than what you can find in Tesco, check out this German beer advent calendar. Inside, you'll find 24 German beers, as well as an exclusive tasting glass and a guide to help you work out tasting notes. The beers range from lighter Weiss type beers to heavier stouts, so a really good choice for that person with a well-rounded beer palate.
WORLD LAGER ADVENT CALENDAR
Let’s be honest, beer is one of the best things about being a grown-up. This Beer Hawk advent calendar takes full advantage of that fact and features 24 craft lagers from some of the world's best breweries. From America to the UK to Italy, you can spend the month of December traveling round the world for the best lagers from the comfort of your home! A great gift for someone who prefers lighter beers.
Whisky Advent Calendars
Whisky has long been seen as a drink for the connoisseur with companies offering tasting sessions and distilleries regularly selling out their tours. It is a drink that lends itself to being enjoyed on a cold winter’s night, warming the cockles and putting fire in the belly of even the hardiest of souls. Master of Malt is a company that knows what it’s talking about, so here’s a look at some of their top-picks.
SCOTCH WHISKY ADVENT CALENDAR
When it comes to whisky, there’s no better place to begin than in the country that started it all. Behind each of the 24 doors of this calendar you’ll find a 3cl sample of specially selected whiskies from some of the country’s finest distillers. From single malts to blends, complex tastes to peaty wonders, there are drams in here that will knock your socks off. One of the days you’ll even discover a fifty-year-old Scotch that you’d pay a fair whack of money to try anywhere else!
JAPANESE WHISKY ADVENT CALENDAR
The beauty of whisky as a drink is that it doesn’t need to be made in Scotland to be worthy of your time. In fact, each country that makes whisky puts its own twist on the old classic and Japanese whiskies are growing in popularity with every passing year. This advent calendar offers the opportunity to test 3cl samples of some of the best whiskies emerging from the Land of the Rising Sun, including ones by Nikka, Yamazaki and Akashi.
VERY OLD & RARE WHISKY ADVENT CALENDAR
The reason whisky continually manages to grip the imagination is that there are some varieties of it that are close to being liquid gold. This advent calendar is for the truly discerning customer, with each of the 24 3cl samples contained within a wooden box crafted exclusively by Simon Jewell Designs. When it comes to the content, you’re not going to be disappointed. There are rare treats like a sixty-year-old single malt Scotch and a Japanese variety that would set you back £19,000 if you wanted to buy a full bottle.
Bourbon Advent Calendars
Scotch is usually made from malted barley, whilst bourbon tends to be distilled from corn. The latter is often slightly sweeter than the former, whilst Scotch is famed for that ‘bite’ that could keep a kilt-wearer warm in the dead of winter. Some people love both, but more often than not you’ll find that this can be something of a dividing line that isn’t easily crossed.
BOURBON ADVENT CALENDAR
Jim Beam is perhaps the most well-known bourbon of all, so it’s no surprise to find a bottle of that inside the Bourbon Advent Calendar. Drinks by the Dram haven’t just gone with the obvious options, though, mixing in some much-loved classic like Knob Creek with lesser-known varieties such as Rebel Yell and Hudson Baby. The box contains 24 doors, each hiding a 3cl sample of delicious bourbon.
Tequila Advent Calendars
Anyone who’s ever been forced to do a shot in a student bar will tell you that tequila is not a pleasant drink, no matter how much salt and lime you slam down with it. That’s not really fair, though, as anyone who has ever had a drink of proper tequila will tell you. Lovers of the Mexican speciality will quite rightly tell you that true tequila can be as varied and interesting as gin, whisky or any other spirit.
TEQUILA ADVENT CALENDAR
What better way to sample numerous different tequilas and decide on the viability of it as a drink than to get a Tequila Advent Calendar, filled with 24 3cl samples, and find out for yourself? There are offerings from companies like Don Julio, Herradura and Ocho Reposado, featuring variations on the theme ranging from blanco to añejo especial. This is the true tequila they don’t tell you about at uni!
Rum Advent Calendars
Ever since the first mixologist poured some coke on top of a measure of rum and added a squeeze of lime, the assumption from most people has been that rum is a decent mixer for a cocktail. That doesn’t do the drink much justice, as any self-respecting pirate would no doubt have been willing to tell you. You don’t need to be Jack Sparrow to enjoy the taste of rum, however.
RUM ADVENT CALENDAR
Drinks by the Dram’s Rum Advent Calendar will present the owner with a little slice of sunshine on what might otherwise be a dark and miserable winter’s night. 24 samples of 3cl each lie behind 24 doors and the calendar features a nice mix of well-known brands and artisan makers. Rums, such as Appleton Estate and Ron Zacapa, rub shoulders with Pirate's Grog and Rumbullion!, meaning there’s a real variety on offer here.
Vodka Advent Calendars
The Russian word for ‘water’ is ‘vody’, which should give you some indication of just how seriously they take their national drink. After all, you have to be reasonably happy to end up with a glass of vodka instead of water if you get misheard at the bar. Smirnoff and Stolichnaya might be the best-known brands, but the owners of an advent calendar filled with vodka sample will soon learn there’s so much more to the spirit.
VODKA ADVENT CALENDAR
To many people, vodka is a reasonably bland drink that is the perfect base for mixers and cocktails. The Vodka Advent Calendar features 24 doors hiding 24 3cl samples of different types of the drink, providing the perfect opportunity to find out which ones are for you. Some of them are flavoured, like the Mozart Chocolate Vodka and the Ketel One Citroen Lemon Vodka, whilst others are of the premium or superior variety.
NAGA CHILLI VODKA ESCALATION ADVENT CALENDAR
This is very much a gift for the daredevil in your life, thanks to a collaboration between Drinks by the Dram and the Hot Enough Vodka Company. As if 24 3cl samples of vodka isn’t enough, these feature an amount of Naga chilli that gets hotter with each passing day. We’re not joking here, either. You’ll start off at 10,000 scovilles but by Christmas Eve you’ll be downing a shot with 240,000 scovilles worth of spice in it. Water, please!
Cognac Advent Calendars
Named after the town of Cognac in France, this variety of brandy is made by twice distilling white wine grapes. They start off as acidic to the point that most people would call them ‘undrinkable’, but by the time they’ve been through the distillation process the drink is one sought after by kings and queens. You can get your very own Royal sensation by opting for a cognac advent calendar.
THE COGNAC ADVENT CALENDAR
’Elegance’ and ‘indulgence’ are two of the words most commonly associated with cognac, so you can see why this is a gift for the most discerning of spirit drinkers. There are 24 different bottles hidden behind the doors, each containing a 3cl sample of the region’s finest offering. From famous brand names, such as Courvoisier and HINE, through to others that only lovers of the drink will know like Pierre Ferrand and Frapin, this is a Christmas build-up filled with the very best.
Armagnac Advent Calendars
Isn’t an Armagnac the thing that Marty McFly finds when he goes Back to the Future and uses it to make himself rich? No, that’s an almanac. Armagnac, meanwhile, is a brandy that is specific to the region of Gascony in southwest France of the same name. Made in column stills rather than the pot stills used to produce Cognac, it’s aged in oak barrels to give it a distinctive flavour that lovers of the drink can’t get enough of.
ARMAGNAC ADVENT CALENDAR
If you’ve always been a Cognac lover and have never found the opportunity to sample a bit of Armagnac then the build-up to Christmas might be the ideal time to do just that. Drinks by the Dram have selected 24 different options for you to try, with 3cl being the perfect amount for you to get to know it as a drink. Clos Martin, Marquis de Montesquiou and Baron de Sigognac are just some of the companies that you’ll get to know courtesy of the Armagnac Advent Calendar.
Wine, Champane, & Prosecco Advent Calendars
Spirits and beers are all well and good, but for some the longer drink you find with a nice big glass of wine or Prosecco simply can’t be beaten. There are hundreds and thousands of different wines out there, to say nothing of what happens when you start sampling whites, reds and rosés. Prosecco, meanwhile, has over-taken Champagne in terms of sales in recent years. Here are two boozy advent calendars you might want to consider for yourself or a loved one:
LAITHWAITE'S WINE ADVENT CALENDAR
The Laithwaite's box arrives with 24 different labeled windows, behind each of which you’ll find a delicious miniature bottle of wine. Size-wise they range from 187ml to 250ml, so you’ll find a decent amount to taste and judge every time you open it up. You’ll find everything from Kiwi Sauvignon to Aussie Shiraz and Prosecco. This year, in 2018, they're even promising a Gold medal-winning Champagne on the 24th!
THE SPARKLING FIZZ ADVENT CALENDAR
Christmas is a time for happiness and celebration, for families to come together and pretend to enjoy each other’s company in a way that most don’t bother with for the other 330+ days of the year. There’s no better accompaniment to a feeling of celebration and joy than a glass of fizzy stuff, which is where the Sparkling Fizz Advent Calendar comes in. Featuring 24 miniature bottles of 20cl, the calendar has everything ranging from simple sparkling wines through to cavas and, of course, Champagne.