Swap chocolate for a daily dram with these whiskey and gin advent calendars

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me // Enough mini bottles to make me climb the tree...

If a daily dose of chocolate in your advent calendar sounds like one calorific bite too many this Christmas season, you might want to mix it up with Drinks By The Dram’s selection of boozy calendars instead.

With a different mini bottle hidden behind each door, it’s a great way for whisky, rum or gin lovers to get a taste of a tipple they may not have had the opportunity to try before.

According to Drinks By The Dram, this year’s collection includes:

• Sherry Cask Whisky Advent Calendar (£129.95) – Perfectly aligned with one of the biggest trends in whisky for 2024, offering 25 rich, sherry-cask matured drams.
• Peaty Whisky Advent Calendar (£129.95)– Ideal for the festive season, featuring 25 smoky, warming drams, perfect for winter sipping.
• The World of Whisky Advent Calendar (£129.95) — A globetrotting whisky adventure awaits! Featuring exceptional drams from both traditional regions like Scotland and exciting emerging markets such as India and New Zealand, this calendar is a journey in a glass.
• That Boutique-y Gin Advent Calendar (£64.95) – An eclectic mix of flavoured gins, including Neroli, Balsamic Strawberry, and Spit-Roasted Pineapple.
• Dadvent Calendar (£54.95)– A budget-friendly, 12-day whisky calendar designed as the perfect gift for father figures.
• Drinks By the Dram Rum - 12 Day Adventure (£69.95) — If a full-blown 24-day Advent countdown feels like too much of a voyage this December, this calendar offers the perfect mini-cruise into the world of rum and would make a cracking gift for a rum fan.

Each box offers individual, wax-sealed bottles with 30ml servings of a selection of drinks — and Drinks By The Dram estimates that you’ll save on average 40% by picking up the calendars versus tracking down each dram individually.

Of all the calendars on offer, it’s The World of Whisky and Boutique-y Gin Advent Calendars we’re most excited about.

Offering a full 25 days worth of servings, The World of Whisky calendar (pictured up top) would make Phileas Fogg proud with samples from 12 different nations, so you’re getting a taste of what the likes of New Zealand and India has to offer, as well as traditional Scottish casks. Drinks By The Dram point out the Paul John Classic Select Cask, Jameson 18 Year Old, and The Cardrona – The Falcon as highlights.

If gin’s more your thing, the That Boutique-y Gin Company’s Advent Calendar will be a real adventure, with the distillery known for its uniquely spicy and fruity takes on the classic gin flavour profile.

All the calendars can be picked up now, direct from Master of Malt — just no cheating and peeking behind the doors until December rolls in!

• The best whisky, taste tested