Gifting wine and spirits at Christmas is tricky. On paper, the task is easy: pick a delicious sounding drink in a nice-looking bottle, package it up nicely and you’ll be everyone’s favorite holiday guest.
In reality, the task is more complex, with diverse palettes and preferences making a faux pas more likely than you think.
Fortunately, we’ve done the hard work and bring you some of this year’s finest releases, as well as a few show stoppers from the archives that are not just collectors items, but bottles to open, share and enjoy. Cheers!
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Thirty Aged Years, Buichladdich
The thirty has become a staple in the Bruichladdich line up – and its most premium of its regular bottlings. Aged in ex-bourbon casks, the whisky is oaky and honeyed, with a flash of lovely soft vanilla. There’s a lick of salt thanks to the distillery’s proximity to the sea, but unusually for an Islay whisky, there is a distinct lack of smoke.
Price
£1,500 (approx. $1,970)
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Grand Siècle Iteration N°26, Laurent Perrier
Instead of relying on one vintage for a top bottle of champagne, Laurent Perrier ingeniously combines three harvests to create what it calls ‘The Perfect Year.’ The result is Grand Siècle. Iteration N°26 combines the 2007, 2008 and 2012 vintages and is 58 percent Chardonnay, 42 percent Pinot Noir. The wine itself is delicate with zaps of citrus; suggest the recipient pair it with seafood or shellfish.
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Tiger Edition Single Malt Whisky, Ki One
Korea has been emerging as a leading whisky producer in recent years and leading the charge is Ki One. Based in Namyangju, about 15 miles east of Seoul, it was the country’s first distillery to produce a single malt whisky. Tiger, Ki One’s inaugural core release, is aged in a combination of sherry and red wine casks and won gold at the International Wine and Spirit awards this year. Buy a bottle to gift and a bottle to keep.
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2021 Cabernet Sauvignon, Patrimony
Known for releasing Paso Robles’ first fine wines, Patrimony’s Bordeaux-style offerings are highly coveted. This year’s pick from the California winery is the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon. Yielded from a cool late summer, the grapes hung for an extended period. The wine was aged for 30 months in new French oak: the result is a deep palette with gentle acidity and plenty of texture.
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Scottish vodka, X Muse
Whisky might be Scotland’s most famous liquid import, but clear spirits are on the rise, too. X Muse (pronounced ‘tenth muse) distills two types of barley – one of whisky’s most important ingredients – and blends with specially selected water from Bonnington Estate. It’s a meticulous process that yields a smooth, sweet vodka.
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Rosé Champagne 2010, Dom Perignon x Takashi Murakami
This fall, Dom Perignon launched a collaborative project with artist Takashi Murakami. The result: two limited edition bottles adorned with Murakami’s signature floral illustrations. Of the two, go for the Rosé Vintage 2010, which is otherwise unavailable until 2026.
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Art is the Flower, The Macallan
A celebration of the late Scottish artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh – especially his interpretations of nature – The Macallan’s Art is the Flower honors the enduring inspiration of the natural world. The whisky itself (a non-age-statement single malt) is sweet with hints of fresh apple and fig, while the bottle and its collector’s case is an homage to Mackintosh’s 1902 stained glass panel, The Spirit of the Rose. It’s a pretty one for the drink’s cabinet.
Price
£800 (approx. $1,050)
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Alcohol-free sparkling wine, Wild Idol
Chances are, someone in your orbit will be abstaining this Christmas. For such a recipient, consider Wild Idol – an alcohol-free English sparkling wine that is made in much the same way as the real thing, but with the natural grape juice bottled before it has time to ferment. It has all the look and feel of champagne (both in the glass and on the shelf), sans next-day headache.
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Festive Icons case, Justineri and Brooks
And finally, when just one bottle will not do, a showstopper is needed – and you can rely on Justerini and Brooks to pull out all the stops. The merchant’s Festive Icons Case wraps up some of the finest bottles of wine and whisky and puts a big red bow on it: there’s Château d’Yquem, there’s a mythical 1982 Château Lafleur Pomerol and there’s a Ulysse Collin blanc de blanc. The crowning jewel of this bumper pack? A bottle of Port Ellen’s 41-year-old Prima & Ultima third release.
Price
£16,000 (approx. $21,135)