As we creep ever nearer to the big day, it’s not too late to buy your loved one – or yourself – a whisky themed Christmas Gift. Whether it’s a novelty glass, a tasting experience or a ticket to a whisky festival, there is plenty on offer.
For starters, take a look at the very nicely packaged crystal glass tumbler set with a bag and gift box available from keepitpersonal for £12.99. It makes a super-quick and easy present and with a couple of clicks and you’re all done. These glasses can also be personalised and include an engraved message of your choice, for an extra special touch.
Another great option is the globe decanter set for £40 from MenKind which comes with 2 glasses and also a crescent-shaped, wooden stand. VonShef also have a set of whisky glasses and stones on offer for £19.99 from VonHaus (links in footer). For more of a novelty than practicality approach, the rocking whisky glass and ice ball gift set at £17.95 from thekitchengiftco.com is a fun alternative. Of course, a staple offering is the good old Glencairn whisky glass, and a unique whiskey glass which I picked up at the recent Belfast Whiskey Social.
Whisky Glasses
Whisky Bottle Labels
One very inexpensive gift, for all whisky lovers, is to give them a personalised whisky label. There is a huge range of personalised labels to choose from, with many being self-adhesive and easy to apply to a bottle of your choice.
Over at personalisedbottlelabels, they offer a live label preview option and that’s a quick and easy way to create your own personal and unique label masterpiece! Labels on sale at £4.99 – bottles not included! This is great if your whisky lover’s favourite bottle doesn’t offer personalisation.
If you’re interested in buying a bottle as well as the personalised label, then check out The Famous Grouse for their personalised bottle on sale for £25. There are lots of other options out there so including single malts branding, too. Glenfiddich seem to offer such an option for its 12 or 18 year old expressions. Good hunting!
A Tasting experience
Beginner’s Guide to Whisky for Two with The Whisky Lounge £49
If you’re buying a gift for someone and you’re not sure if they like whisky/whiskey, then a perfect gift could be to book a beginner’s guide to whisky event. This will allow 2 people to select one from 10 venues across the UK and to sample 6 different whiskies. That’s a great way to learn more about the “water of life” – one of the most popular drinks in the world!
Whisky Book
If you’re interested in finding out the opinion of someone recognised as an expert in the whisky world, then look no further than the annual version of the Jim Murray Whisky Bible 2020. It’s described as the world’s leading whisky guide and will set you back a reasonable £14.99.
I’d say it’s a novel Christmas Gift idea – ha ha
Whisky Board Game
Talking tables whisky board game £22.
You can buy a board game to match your favourite tipple! This is an ideal gift for any whisky lover who knows their Scotch from a Bourbon and a single malt from a grain whisky. Work your way around the game board, collecting different worldwide whiskies to win.
It’s a game of chance, knowledge and twists. You can have 2-6 players, or play in teams of 6+ players. Of course, no drinking is required! I really like this one – hint hint!
Whisky Advent Calendar
If you like the idea of a whisky Advent Calendar, then I mentioned in a recent post that there’s a really pricey version available. The Old and Rare Advent Calendar was on sale for a whopping £999, but I can see that it has ‘plummeted” down to £350. Not too bad a deal if you’re into expensive whiskies.
Mind you, I suspect they have all sold out out by the time you’re reading this!!
Hip Flasks
It’s the traditional whisky-themed gift idea.
Just looking at a single website, which was thewhiskyexchange.com, I found a staggering 18 completely different versions of hip flask products. Prices range from £7 for a basic model up to £37 for a posh leather-bound version.
I like the look of the Artamis Porthole Stainless Steel Hip Flask. That gift set contains a classic round shaped stainless steel flask and it comes with a porthole for seeing how much is left inside, along with a funnel for easy filling. It’s on sale for £24.45.
Whisky Crackers
If you’re struggling to find something really different, then how about choosing a Christmas Whisky Crackers set! You can do your bit for the environment at the dinner table by ditching the old fashioned versions of crackers with their cheap plastic toys in them and switch over to a ‘dram surprise’ instead.
Each box is filled with 6 crackers and there is a different 30ml dram of whisky, a party hat, and a traditionally terrible joke inside each one!
Whisky Globe
Putting a different spin on things, you really can hold the whole of the world of whisky in your hand with a Globe Decanter (see what I did, there??!!).
The hand-blown glass globe features a world map design and gently spins on an axis when placed into the cradle. It will hold a full bottle of your favourite tipple and makes a fantastic gift whatever the occasion. So, a globe isn’t just for Christmas…. Groan.
If you’re quick enough, you can pick one up at gettingpersonal for £24.99 but you can also currently get a discount on that price by using SAVE10 as a 10% discount code at the checkout!
Tasting Sets
There are lots of great whisky tasting sets out there and one that caught my eye comes from the tastingcollection.com. They offer tasting kits which include drams selected by a variety of people to ensure variety in the kit. The folk come from all walks of life, ranging from whisky bloggers through to industry experts such as Masters of the Quaich, so should make for interesting tasting!
There are some different options available and these range from luxury boxes of 6 or 12 different types of whisky or up to as many as 24 – sounds a bit like the Whisky Advent Calendars to me!
A very reasonably priced option to look at is the Game Of Thrones edition created by Johnnie Walker. This has 3 different blends offered as A Song of Ice, A Song of Fire and White Walker. Available for £14.95.
The Whiskies of Scotland Jigsaw
If you, or a loved one, are into jigsaw puzzles, then here’s a suggestion for you. Themasterofmalt website is offering a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle map of Scotland showing off the regions of scotch whisky production and a number of distilleries which reside in those areas. Fun to complete, and useful too.
And finally.....
Whatever you choose to buy for your loved one – or even for yourself – do let me know what you think about the products and the prices!
All the very best.
Mark
thanks!