What whisky lovers want for Christmas
What do whisky lovers want for Christmas? That’s a question we can answer, not just because we’re the best whisky shop in the world but because we too are whisky lovers.
The answer is, of course, whisky.
We know it’s tempting to try and ram the stockings with all kinds of vaguely related whisky paraphernalia in an attempt to seem more interesting or involved than simply buying a bottle of whisky.
Don’t. We couldn’t care less if your present is another bottle of our old favourite. We will never not want that. It’s ok. Gift-giving is not a competition. You even knowing what our old favourite is actually is enough of a compliment.
If you don’t happen to know for sure, then we’re here to help. Below are top whiskies, as well as other ideas from gift packs, tasting sets, and even whisky baubles. Our guide to buying whisky for Christmas is now live and worth consulting too, as is our sister feature What whisky lovers DON’T want for Christmas.
Which whisky to buy: the classics
To start with, we’re going to give you a few options of whiskies that you can’t go wrong with. Nobody would be upset to find any of the following whiskies under their tree:
Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old Whisky 70cl
The ultimate sherry-finished single malt that even non whisky drinkers appreciate.
Lagavulin 16 Year Old Whisky 70cl
A benchmark for smoky whisky with an industry-wide seal of approval.
Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old Whisky 70cl
The perfect all-rounder that should be a staple in any drinks cabinet.
Four Roses Bourbon Whiskey 70cl
The kind of big taste, bargain price whiskey that makes bourbon brilliant.
Redbreast 12 Year Old
The critics fave, the apple of our eye, and with a bonus Project Wingman Bird Feeder!
Which whisky to buy: the cool and underrated
Longmorn 18 Year Old – Secret Speyside Collection Whisky 70cl
Longmorn is a blender’s secret weapon and the connoisseurs’ choice for those in the know.
Shortcross Rye & Malt Irish Whiskey 70cl
Irish whiskey newcomer with bags of personality and flavour.
High Coast Timmer – Peat Smoke Whisky 70cl
A Swedish smoky whisky that stands up to many of the Islay greats.
Filey Bay Moscatel Cask Finish Whisky 70cl
Rich and rewarding English whisky that is impossible to only have one dram of.
Wormtub 10 Year Old – Batch 3 Whisky 70cl
A whisky geek’s go-to with more character than a Shakespearean villain.
Which whisky to buy: the Christmassy kind
Christmas Cake & Dark Chocolate & Medjool Dates & Cinnamon 8 Year Old Whisky 70cl
Does what it says on the tin. Which is an awful lot.
Big Peat at Christmas 2023 Whisky 70cl
A sensational, seasonal, smoky sure-thing, this is the first Big Peat Xmas finished in sherry casks.
Seaweed & Maple Syrup & Butterscotch & Christmas Cake Whisky 70cl
Does what it says on the tin. Which is an awful lot. But with smoke.
Paul John Christmas Edition 2023 Whisky 70cl
Tip-top Indian whisky finished in festive colheita tawny Port casks.
Roasting Chestnuts & Peat Fire Embers & Mince Pies & Hygge 10 Year Old Whisky 70cl
10-year-old Islay and sherried Islay single malts cosy up together in a fireside dram.
Other perfect presents: gift sets, baubles, glasses, and more
Whisky gift sets
There are plenty of products on our site that aren’t just bottles of whisky. We have a dedicated whisky gift set section full of fancy presentation tins, branded glasses, and neat accompaniments. For example, The Glenfarclas 15 Year Old Gift Set comes with a 70cl bottle of a brilliant Glenfarclas 15 Year Old, alongside a 50ml miniature of the Glenfarclas 25 Year Old and Glenfarclas 105. The Teeling Small Batch Gift Set gives you two beautiful glasses, while the Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey Guitar Case Gift Pack speaks for itself.
Build your own tasting set
How personal and wonderful is this? Rather than one bottle, you can create a tasting set with five different 30ml wax-sealed dram containing whisky that you selected for them. That’s just about the best stocking filler we could ever think of. If you need inspiration or know they’ll love one we’ve already put together, there are plenty of pre-made tasting sets to choose from too. Like our own Christmas Whisky Tasting Set.
Drinks by the Dram Whisky Baubles
Still real whisky that they can drink, but with the added bonus that it comes in a beautiful, festive receptacle. This is a set of six baubles, each one containing a different 30ml dram of whisky from some brilliant producers. Little wooden toys or cheap choccies have nothing on these…
Drinks by the Dram Whisky Crackers
Drinks by the Dram has just the thing, perfect for post-Christmas-dinner drinks for whisky fans too, Christmas crackers! Way better than tiny nail files and weird red plastic fishies are 30ml drams of whisky. Also the traditional party hat and a traditionally terrible joke too. Lovely.
Denver & Liely Whisky Glass
One of the few whisky gifts that we will appreciate that doesn’t contain actual whisky is a really good glass. Something like Denver & Liely Whisky Glass which is designed to heighten the drinking experience by allowing you to concentrate on the aromas and flavours. But don’t ever gift an empty glass, people. A dram, a bottle… it needs some whisky to go with it.
Malt Whisky Yearbook 2024
The same can be said for a good whisky book, like the Malt Whisky Yearbook. A superb resource for any whisky lover, it’s packed with up-to-date distillery info, the latest on whisky shops, whisky sites, and new expressions, as well as new articles from top whisky folk. But we can’t make this point enough: it’s still worth making sure you have actual whisky to go alongside it.
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