As seasoned pros will know, Christmas is all about getting into the spirit - figuratively and literally.
As well as being the most wonderful time of year, it’s arguably the booziest too, with end-of-year parties, festive get-togethers and Christmas soirées all lining up in our calendars before the big day on December 25.
Whether you’re hosting or going to a winter wonderland party this year, one thing’s for sure: your drinks trolley needs restocking. Luckily, luscious libations have been pouring in from every booze brand worth its salt, many with a distinctly Christmassy edge.
From fire-water whiskies that will send Jack Frost packing, to display-worthy Snow Globe gins and ginormous bottles of fizz (because sometimes 75cl just won’t cut it), there are sleighfuls of festive specials just begging to be added to your online basket.
A drop of something special also makes for an excellent present, especially if you know the recipient is partial to a particular brand or tipple. Conversely, you could also use it as a chance to broaden their horizons with a bottle of something they’d never normally consider. Who knows, it could become their new favourite.
What’s more, these festive serves often come decked in limited-edition packaging that makes wrapping paper overkill - just stick a shiny bow on it and you’re done. This Christmas, gift smarter, not harder.
With more people opting for low and no-alcohol options outside of Sober October and Dry Jan, we’ve included some worthy options in this category too. Because everyone’s invited to the big, fat, end-of-year knees up, with or without the strong stuff.
Enough talking, more oogling: quench your eyes with our virtual cellar of the best festive drinks and new launches to help you keep to that golden seasonal rule: eat, drink and be merry.
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Perrier Jouet Belle Époque rosé 120th anniversary champagne 750ml
Perfect for virtually all gatherings and gifting ideas, who doesn’t love the cheerful pop of a cork - especially when it’s from a bottle of Champagne?
With its warm rose gold hue and beautiful anemone-illustrated bottle, this luxe bottle should be reserved for drinking with the ones you cherish the most. Whether you fancy spoiling someone rotten, or want something special to toast the holidays, Perrier-Jouët seldom disappoints.
The Champagne is made from a blend of grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and the flavour is fruity yet creamy with the merest suggestion of spice. One for the ages.
Buy now £290.00, Selfridges
Champagne Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé Petal Robe
You know it’s a truly special occasion when a robed bottle of Laurent-Perrier gets placed on the table. This year, the cuvee rose joins the party decked out in a rose gold case covered with enamel stokes to create a petal effect. The artistic bottle will delight collectors and new fans alike - and that’s before they’ve even got to the juicy and intense yet fresh flavours within.
Buy now £97.99, Selfridges
Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2015 x Paola Paronetto
Got some celebrating to do? Reach for Veuve Clicquot’s new Grande Dame expression made with celebrated Italian artist Paola Paronetto. Famed for her use of colour, Paronetto has treated the 2015 Grande Dame bottles to a change of outfit, with brightly coloured gift boxes made from a mix of natural hemp paper and cardboard, making them ripe for present-giving.
Once popped, you can expect to savour a bright and sparkling Champagne, silky on the tongue and fruity on the palate. One to delight and spoil the jolliest of fellows.
Buy now £171.00, Clos19
Nyetimber Classic Cuvée Magnum, 1.5L
If a super-sized bottle of sparkling won’t get your guests fizzing, what will? A warming UK climate and greater investment in homegrown grapes means sales of English sparkling wine are flourishing, going toe-to-toe with its more famous counterpart across the Channel. Nyetimber is one of our favourites and this 1.5L magnum bottle is a delight with seafood dishes, making it one to roll out alongside festive prawn cocktails.
Buy now £82.00, Fortnum & Mason
Harvey Nichols A Drink for Every Course Hamper
If you’re spending Christmas at someone else’s house this year, show your hosts some gratitude with the gift of a heavy hamper from Knightsbridge department store Harvey Nichols.
The curation offers bottles to pair with every course; think Premier Cru Champagne for canapes and fish dishes, a white, a red and a rosé for the main event and a dessert wine in the Sauternes.
And of course, it wouldn’t be Christmas without a bottle of port - for that, Harvey Nicks has provided a 10 Year Old Tawny Port. Cheers!
Buy now £190.00, Harvey Nichols
Balblair Whisky 25 year old
Balblair has been making single malt whisky in its Highlands distillery since 1790. This year, the brand has launched an amber-hued 25-year-old, a dram that’s spent a quarter of a century maturing in old bourbon casks before being finished in Spanish oak butts.
Pour a measure to experience a serve that slips down the throat after washing tastebuds in spiced, chocolatey notes. A superb (and splashy) Christmas treat, this is a dram that’s worth the wait.
Buy now £590.00, The Whisky Exchange
BOTTEGA Stardust prosecco 700ml
Pop the cork on a golden bottle of Venice’s finest fizz - it’s Christmas!
While a standard bottle of Bottega is impressive enough, this year the brand has gone all out with its Stardust version. Studded with crystal gems, it's the gift to take to your next big Christmas party. Bound to go down a storm, once drained, it also makes a rather lovely candlestick holder.
Buy now £97.99, Selfridges
Patron El Cielo
The only thing better than triple distilled? Four times distilled.
Say hello to Patron’s new ultra-premium launch, made using the highest-quality Blue Weber agave that Mexico produces, along with water and yeast. Made in small batches in a copper still to guarantee the highest standards, this unicorn of Silver tequila surprises with bright, smooth and sweet flavours.
This is far too good for cocktails; splash over ice with a slice of orange to enhance its sunshine-like radiance.
Also available at Selfridges.
Buy now £169.99, The Bottle Club
Selfridges Selection Panettone Liqueur 500ml
The grown-up way to imbibe panettone throughout the festive period, Selfridge’s genius drink is a new launch this year - and we think it’s destined to become a festive fixture. The serve is heaving with ripe fruit and citrus flavours with a hint of warming caramel nestled within the oat-based cream. Buon Natale!
Buy now £19.99, Selfridges
Disaronno Velvet
Leaving a certain Irish cream liqueur quaking in its boots, Italian amaretto cream liqueur Disaronno has something new to shake up your cocktails this Christmas. It's released a Velvet version, packed with addictive notes of toasted almonds, apricot, vanilla and toffee that make it a winner in cocktails like a White Espresso. It gives a whole new meaning to a white Christmas.
Buy now £11.00, Waitrose
Bacardi Ocho 8 Year Old Premium Aged Rum, 70cl
Anyone for hot buttered rum? Yes, we thought that would catch your attention; the words alone are enough to warm the cockles. Make hot buttered rum, a hot Collins or a festive eggnog using Barcardi’s eight-year-aged rum, BACARDÍ Ocho.
The indulgent notes of dried fruits, spices and oaky vanilla make it an ideal winter warmer to enjoy neat or in a dark rum cocktail.
Buy now £24.75, Amazon
Aberlour A'bunadh Alba
Sweet and intense, this single malt makes a very special gift for fans of great Scotch.
The cask-strength dram has been drained from first fill American Oak barrels that previously held bourbon, imparting lavender, honey and creamy vanilla notes into the firewater. Baked bread, toasted nut and spiced fruit flavours unfold on the palate after the first sip, making it ideal for pairing with Christmas puds.
Since it's cask strength, the ABV can't be verified, meaning it's one to sip slowly and savour. Once you've tried it, you really wouldn't want to drink it any other way.
Buy now £85.23, Amazon
Hennessy XO Kim Jones Limited Edition
Cold and dark nights call for evenings by the wire sipping something rich and delicious to warm your cockles. Hennesy’s X.O cognac is a top choice; this year do it with pizzazz by filling glasses from a limited-edition gilded robed bottle made with British fashion icon Kim Jones.
Buy now £200.00, Fenwick
Beefeater Crown Jewel
Originally launched for the duty-free market, Beefeater has endured and emerged as one of the finest London Dry gins of its kind.
Fit for royalty comes this fabulous ruby red Crown Jewel bottle with an ABV of 50 per cent (so easy does it) and at a more-generous-than-usual full litre. Bring out the added grapefruit notes with a matching garnish on a classic G&T or mix into a martini for a drink fit for royalty.
Buy now £55.94, Master of Malt
Mermaid Gin
Encased in blue-tinted Venetian glass, the Isle of Wight distillery’s Mermaid Gin always goes down well for special occasions.
It’s a versatile spirit, working just as well in a classic G&T as it will in a Gingerbread Martini, in tune with the season. As well as the classic, there’s a pink Mermaid Gin (£38) that’s flavoured with juicy IoW strawberries and Mermaid Zest (£38), infused with locally foraged coastal rosemary.
Not sure which to splash out on? Try the Mermaid Gin discovery pack, which comes with 5cl miniatures of the original and pink gins as well as a salted vodka (£18).
Buy now £38.00, John Lewis
That Boutique-y Gin Company Yuletide Gin
Christmas in a bottle, this craft gin is bursting with the flavours of the season. Try it with a flavoured tonic (star anise is supposedly sensational) and a cinnamon stick for true Yuletide vibes.
Buy now £37.95, Master of Malt
Hafner 15-Year-Old XO Brandy
At the more premium end of the scale is Hafner 15-Year-Old XO Brandy from Austrian producer House of Hafner. Aged for 15 years in small oak casks, it’s got a gorgeous golden hue with deep and intense flavours, while everything is presented in a spectacular glass decanter and satin-lined gift box.
Buy now £79.90, The Whisky World
Pomello and Elderflower aperitif
What do you get the drinks aficionado that seems to have every bottle of booze going? A Swedish aperitif that will heighten their favourite mixes, ofc. Made from grapefruit’s gentler cousin pomello with notes of elderflower added to the mix, the delicate pink blend tastes great on its own but even better when recruited for a spritz, marg and sour recipes. 18 per cent ABV.
Buy now £42.99, Selfridges
Dutch Barn Orchard Vodka
Not made from potato or wheat but an apple. This British-made vodka is full of good surprises offering a mouthful of crisp and fresh spirit that’s been distilled more than 70 times to get it to optimum clarity. There’s none of the bitterness or burn you might taste in inferior brands, which makes it the perfect tipple to sip neat or swirl into cocktails.
Buy now £29.74, Master of Malt
1800 Tequila x Mike Skinner
Christmas: a time for tinsel, mulled wine, and unusual celebrity collabs. This year’s eyebrow-raiser is 1800 Tequila’s tie-up with… The Streets’ Mike Skinner. The limited edition bottle, of which there are only 500, is inspired by Skinner’s albums and street art, giving a new twist to the spirit. For fans, this is a must-have.
Buy now £40.00, Master of Malt
Edinburgh Gin Christmas Edinburgh Dry Gin, 70cl
A Christmas gin has become a must-have on the festive drinks trolley in recent years. If you’re looking for a new one to bring Yuletide drinks to life, Edinburgh Gin has just the bottle. It’s packed with festive botanicals and aromatics - think frankincense and myrrh - along with nutmeg and ginger to keep your bells gin-gling all the way to Christmas Day (especially if you make a gin martini, which we plan to).
The red and gold foil-decorated bottle comes in a matching box that’s perfect for putting under the tree.
Buy now £34.00, John Lewis
Codorniu Ars Collecta Cava
When it comes to bottles of fizz, Spain’s Cava often finds itself at the bottom of the tree. Codorníu is hoping to play fairy godmother by giving it a Gaudi-makeover, just in time for Christmas. Presented in hand-blown glass bottles with a chic swirl design, choose from Blanc de Blancs and Grand Rosé Reserva.
Buy now £15.00, Ocado
Club Soda Mood-Enhancing Gift Box
Staying off the sauce doesn’t mean you can’t have a drink this Christmas. Club Soda’s booze-free hampers will give your recipient plenty of jolly feels with well-established brands and new players in the mix. The mood-enhancing box contains six crackers designed to put them in the spirit - minus the pounding head in the morning.
Buy now £55.00, Club Soda
Vinca Wine Lovers Tasting Box
Proving that good things do indeed come in small packages is Vinca. The canned wine company has teamed up with a few friends to create a sweet little hamper that’s perfect for gifting or stuffing into Christmas stockings. Expect three cans of Vinca’s finest, plus sweet and savoury snacks to have them with.
Buy now £20.00, Vinca
Black Lines Oatnog
With many brands now cottoning onto the fact that vegan Christmas food and drink is very much here to stay, we're thrilled to welcome Oatnog into the fold. The serve may be free-from, but you'd never guess with a creamy, buttery, gently spiced drink filling each waiting glass.
This year there's even more incentive to buy a bottle - Black Lines will provide five free meals to Londoners through The Felix Project, a charity close to The Standard's own heart.
Buy now £20.00, Master of Malt
Hattingley Valley Classic Reserve NV Anniversary Magnum
Christmas is a time to go big, and that goes double for Champagne. English sparkling wine producer Hattingley Valley has released a limited edition magnum of its 2013 vintage just in time for big bashes. Brimming with festive favourite flavours of nougat, orange peel and citrus as well as apple and nuts, everything from the bottle to the wine within is something to behold.
Buy now £95.00, Hattingley Valley
MOTH French 75
Made with sparkling white wine rather than Champagne (as the authentic recipe dictates), MOTH’s version of a French 75 is nonetheless a delicious serve fitting for the festive season. Light and refreshing, it’s dangerously sessionable and looks beautiful in the glass filling it with an elegant blush hue.
Each 200ml can (note: slim enough to slip inside a Christmas stocking) sings with notes of lemon and berries, merrily mixed in amongst Tarquin’s Cornish gin. A lovely option for Friendmas parties or starting Christmas morning as you mean to go on.
Buy now £3.99, Waitrose
Champagne Lanson x Exmoor Caviar limited edition gift set
Now here's something to get really excited about. Champagne Lanson has teamed up with its friends at Exmoor Caviar to create a gift set made to deliver festive sparkle. The bundle contains the two brand's best-selling products including a pair of beautiful Mother of Pearl spoons to round off the luxury treat. Turkey doesn’t stand a chance.
Buy now £100.00, Exmoor Caviar
BOBO Wines
Can boxed wine ever be good enough for gifting? We weren't sure until we stumbled across BOBO Wines, a new company thinking inside the box. Specialising in organic wine, the selection spans red, white, orange and rose options, each one spotlighting the finest in French viniculture and worlds away from the bottom shelf of a budget supermarket aisle as you can imagine.
Each box contains 2.25L which, helpfully, can slide neatly into the fridge, staying bright and fresh for up to six weeks. Boxes are fully recyclable and wrapped in loud neon labels so you won't even have to bother with wrapping. Win!
Buy now £46.00, BOBO Wines
Seedlip
Groaning at the thought of another boozy eggnog or want to test-run low and no options before Dry Jan? Find a guilt-free tipple in Seedlip.
Inspired by the English countryside, the collection is sugar-free and botanical-heavy: think berries and cardamon (Seedlip Spice 94), citrussy lemongrass, ginger and orange (Seedlip Grove 42) and rosemary, thyme and mint (Seedlip Garden 108).
Pair with tonic or ginger ale, slosh over ice and add a fancy garnish.
If you’re looking for more inspired mocktail options, Seedlip has paired with Apricity and Night Jar to serve alcohol-free cocktails for a limited time. Our fave? Apricity’s Rosehip and Yuzu Martinis - a must-try.
Buy now £56.88, Seedlip
Broken Clock Vodka
At some point over the festive break, you're going to need a martini. Whether it's to help fast-forward a family game of Scrabble, to hide behind prying questions, or to slosh around the tree warbling to Mariah for the umpteenth time, the classic cocktail comes into its own over Christmas. While certain martini-making spirits will always have a place in our drinks cupboard, now is the perfect time to try - or gift - something new. And for that we have Broken Clock Vodka.
Inspired by an English garden and bearing notes of rose petal, apple and cinnamon, it offers a refreshing take on a vokda martini: mix 70ml of the spirit with 10ml of dry vermouth, add lemon peel to garnish - and prepare for take-off.
Buy now £36.95, The Whisky Exchange
