All is calm, all is bright, until you realise you need to get gifts for your friends and family this festive season. Well, you’re in luck if they happen to enjoy a tipple or two, for this list is packed with boozy gift ideas.
Whether you’re gifting someone naughty, or looking to buy yourself something nice, here are some Christmas-appropriate presents sure to incite a good time.
Atlas Cocktail Co. Christmas Cocktail Box
We’re spoilt for choice every time we peruse the alcohol gifting options on Atlas Handcrafted. Every item looks like a joy to receive, and it’s hard to choose one when there are just so many enticing choices. This festive season, there’s no better pick than their Christmas Cocktail Box (S$150). Inside each merry package are 5 of their own craft bottled cocktails (we’ve tried them and they’re good), festive trinkets, and a premium gift card where you can have them pen your own personalised message for your giftee. For something hands-on, get their Mulled Wine Gift Platter (S$138) instead, which comes with everything you need to make your own DIY mulled wine at home.
Bottega Gold Gift Box
There’s nothing quite like popping open a bottle of sparkling wine to get the festivities started. The Bottega Gold Gift Box (S$88), which comes inclusive of a 750ml bottle of Bottega Gold Prosecco and two Bottega flutes, is designed with that very purpose in mind. Adorned in gold hues from top to bottom (including the box), this item screams ‘celebration!’ from the moment it arrives on your doorstep. Don’t need the flutes? Order individual bottles of Bottega Gold Prosecco (S$50) from Ferrari Food + Wine instead, where every order of six bottles (for the first 50 customers) will get you two complimentary Magnifico Gold goblets as well.
GudSht Jolly Bundle
The jolly good folks behind cheeky bottled cocktail label GudSht are dishing out the good vibes this year-end with a trio of Christmas concoctions laced with Yuletide warmth. The Merry Cinna-nog is a rich and creamy drink sure to bring the festive feels, while the Grinch Juice is a fresh and zesty beverage best served to get the evening started (or to nurse a hangover the next morning). We’re going straight for the Papa Noel’s Negroni however, a bittersweet cocktail that best reflects our soul, and which happens to be the stiffest of the lot too. Gift all three as a Jolly Bundle (S$39), or feel free to head down to their gastrobar GudSht @ Cineleisure and drink-in with your buds instead.
Hendrick’s Measurement Maestro Pack
Just for the holidays, the curiously cucumbery Hendrick’s Gin has made available the Measurement Maestro Pack (S$103). It’s a fancy way to say that the kit comes with a Hendrick’s measuring jigger, so you can pour out your Hendrick’s Gin like a bartending maestro would. Perfect for that friend of yours aspiring to work some mixology magic behind the bar one day. Or if you’d rather have your cocktails already made and ready to drink, the new Hendrick’s Gin Martini (S$88) is what you want. The bottled cocktail, created by Hendrick’s own master distiller Lesley Gracie in collaboration with five world-class bars – Brujas (Mexico), Yaldy (Germany), Maybe Sammy (Australia), Nauticus (Scotland), and Singapore’s very own Nutmeg & Clove – is the first concoction under their all-new Batch & Bottle range of RTDs. Simply pop the whole bottle in the freezer (yes, freezer) and pour out a glass of icy Hendrick’s Gin Martini whenever the mood calls for a stiff, classy tipple.
Tanoke Christmas Gift Set
This one’s for the sake fans out there. Sake bar and restaurant Tanoke is bundling together Christmas Gift Sets (S$48-S$68) that are great for stay-home sake-fulled celebrations. Each set comes with either a bottle of mildly sweet and tart Hitotoki Junmai Sparkling Sake, or the naturally pink and elegant Hitotoki Junmai Sparkling Rosé, plus a choice of Christmas Fruit Cake or Festive Cookies. These sparkling sakes are not only on point for their celebratory tone, but pair well with food too, so you can enjoy them together with your festive feast. Speaking of food, Tanoke’s Festive Bundles (S$228, serves 4-5 persons) are a real treat for epicureans who love their grilled meats. Plus, it’s meant to be enjoyed with sake.
Temple Cellars Canvent Calendar Box 2021
It’s an advent calendar filled with cans of beer, thus they’ve called it the Canvent Calendar (geddit?). In any case, the idea’s the same: get a mystery box with 24 flaps that you open each day, and inside each one hides a beer for your drinking pleasure that day. It’s a surprise selection, and that’s part of the charm of the gift. You won’t know exactly what’s in it until you open it, but they’ve at least revealed that brands like Garage Project, Collective Arts, Behemoth Brewing, Heretic, Stone, Fuerst Wiacek, and more are included. There are two kinds of Canvent Calendars to choose from too. The Beer Box (S$199) will net you a good mix of all beer styles, while the IPA Box (S$249) will guarantee that every beer inside is some variant of India Pale Ale. Both are perfect for a beery good time this Christmas.
That Boutique-y Whisky Company Advent Calendar 2021
Every one of us knows a whisky lovin’ friend or two. Rather than try to figure out what bottle they want (cause they don’t know either), why not get them an advent calendar instead, one that’s packed to the brim with different whiskies. EC Proof’s That Boutique-y Whisky Company Advent Calendar 2021 (S$201.40) is a special surprise sure to please any whisky fiend. Behind every one of the box’s 24 windows sits a different 30ml wax-sealed sample dram of independently bottled whisky, that’s sure to gratify their palate. Not a fan of advent calendars? EC Proof has plenty of other spirited gift boxes too, such as this uber cool Retro Gin Fridge (S$128) or this slick 12 Dram Premium Gin Collection (S$95).
BONUS: Lyre’s Classico Grande (non-alcoholic)
Want all the fun of popping open a bottle of sparkling wine but without the actual effects of alcohol after drinking it? That’s what the Lyre’s Classico Grande (S$36) is designed to do. It’s great for mummies-to-be, those who just got their vaccine shot, teetotalers, and folks not looking to get inebriated in general. Lyre’s has released the Classico Grande, a 750ml bottled format of their canned Classico drink (which is meant to mimic prosecco), just in time for the holiday season. And as 0% ABV wines go, the Classico is among the best in the market, with a dry fizz and mouthfeel akin to the sensation you get when drinking sparkling beverages.
BONUS BONUS: Compendium Spirits x Section D Christmas Cocktail Box
This one’s a doozy, and we’re including this here as a bonus only because one of the persons behind this includes the writer of this article (there, full disclosure). When this writer isn’t busy sitting behind a desk typing away, he’s busy behind a bar creating cocktails under his private home bar brand Section D. So this Christmas, he has teamed up with local distillery Compendium to come up with DIY kits meant to bring the festive spirit into your home. Inside each beautiful Christmas Cocktail Box (S$108) is everything you’ll need to create 2-3 portions of each of the two different cocktails. Those who like their drinks spirit-forward will enjoy the Santa’s Fireplace, a rum-based cocktail filled with toasty popcorn notes and cinnamon. Meanwhile, the Pining for Snow will satiate your winter wanderlust with creamy, palm sugar tones, and a touch of baking spice to jolt your memories of festive market bakes. Get it online on Compendium’s webstore or at selected Cold Storage and Jason’s Marketplace outlets.
[Read more: Where to get homebrewing equipment in Singapore]
About the Author
Dannon Har is the Managing Editor of Spill. Discovering his innate gift for drinking only at a ripe age, he spares no time trying to find more delicious drops to imbibe during his time on Earth. When he’s not minding every detail at Spill, he spends his time concocting luscious libations and sharing them with folks that visit his home bar.