Neurita is a tequila like no other, with two fruity flavours ready to up your cocktail game. The Neurita Citrus Tequila is tangy and bitter-sweet, featuring Sicilian orange and tangerine, perfect for the classic Margarita recipe, while the Neurita Rosa Tequila is flavoured with raspberry, strawberry and pomegranate for a fruity sweetness. £29.99 each from www.neurita-tequila.com
Graham Beck has been synonymous with quality South African fizz since 1991. Producer of some of the country’s best sparkling wines, its Blanc de Blancs 2017 (£19.99 from Majestic) is one to pop on Christmas morning, with aromas of lime, green apple and pair, flavours of citrus, brioche and gentle spice leading to a long finish.
It’s always worth getting the beers in for unexpected festive guests, and with the collection boxes available from Kentish brewery Shepherd Name there’s no excuse for a below par tipple. For £32.50 pick up a Christmas Collection box, with a dozen bottles including the IPA, Christmas Ale, Double Stout 1698 and Bishop’s Finger ales, or put together your own pick and mix from their classics such as Whistable Bay blonde lager and Spitfire Amber Ale. www.shepherdneame.com
The Oxford Artisan Distillery is the only distillery in the world to use populations of ancient heritage grains to produce their full range of spirits, after a chance encounter with an archaebotanist and grain expert. The result is a range of premium small batch spirits that your festive guests will relish. Their Sloe Gin uses locally-picked wild damsons and sloes rested in their award-winning Oxford Rye Organic Dry Gin for over a year and then spent a further year maturing in the richest Vintage Port barrique they could find, bringing depth alongside rich berry and wine flavours. Delicious. £25 from www.theoxfordartisandistillery.com
Brockman’s Gin pits itself as ‘properly improper’, an alternative to the mainstays of your cocktail cabinet and one to elevate your festive martini. A blend of botanicals including orange peel, coriander, cassia bark, liquorice, angelica and almond leave it with a warming flavour and a smooth finish; you’ll certainly be coming back for more. £40, available from Waitrose, Asda, Tesco, Morrissons, Marks & Spencer and CoOp, but order online for a personalised bottle.
Dima’s Ukrainian Vodka was created by Ukrainian-born, London-bred Dima Deinega in 2020 a premium, craft vodka distilled just outside Kyiv using the finest three grains – rye, wheat and barley - with the unique climate and Ukrainian black ‘supersoil’ enabling the finest conditions for grains to flourish. Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, Dima’s has been donating £5 from the sale of each £35 bottle to charities supporting Ukraine. www.dimasvodka.com
To accompany Christmas lunch, we’ll be reaching for a bottle of Hattingley Valley Blanc de Blancs 2014 (£41.50). The very finest in festive fizz, om the finest parcels of Chardonnay grapes, which continue to mature and develop in the bottle until opened, this is a it’s a deliciously fruity and honeyed wine from Chardonnay grapes with citrus and green apple aromas, layered with warming hints of honey, nuts and marzipan, it’s the ideal accompaniment to your turkey and all the trimmings. www.hattingleyvalley.com
If you’re really pushing the boat out this Christmas, The Dalmore has released something of a coup for any whisky connoisseur’s collection. The new 21-Year-old special edition, coming in at a cool £575 has a touch of gentle spice thanks to being matured in exquisite 30-Year-Old Matusalem oloroso sherry casks unique to The Dalmore. This is a seriously special whisky, presented in a smart navy display case with the 2022 birth date etched on to each bottle, this is a masterpiece to savour and enjoy straight. Available at Harrods and The Whisky Exchange.
Amarè is a new, independent, five times distilled vodka brand. Why five times? Because it makes the cleanest vodka and if you’re going to drink you may as well at least try and make it as less bad for yourself as possible. This is the furthest you can get from the corner shop lighter fluid vodka of your youth; the original is smooth and clean, the strawberry adds a sweet punch to cocktails and the passionfruit is the only ingredient you need for a banging Pornstar Martini. £35 each at www.amarevodka.com
8Track Rum was born from a love of music and good times. Made from fine Guyana and smooth 8-year-old vintage Barbados rums, the bespoke blend is infused with Seville oranges, vanilla, cloves, ginger and cinnamon. 8Track not only uses lightweight recycled glass in its bottles but a new plant-based bottle cap casing and is working to become carbon neutral. What’s more, they are dedicated to showcasing grassroots music - check out their social channels to discover more. £31.95 from www.8trackrum.com
To say we’ve been enjoying a tipple of Slingsby Blackberry Gin is an understatement. Pimp up your Kir Royale with a dash of this and you’re golden; it’s rich, fruity flavour is delicious with tonic or Prosecco - this is flavour that’s definitely not just for summer. £33.99 from www.masterofmalt.com
Connoisseurs of Scotch, Johnnie Walker, have released a new limited edition whisky from its Johnnie Walker Princes Street HQ in Edinburgh, an exclusive collaboration with luxury Scottish textile house Harris Tweed Hebrides. The first release in the Johnnie Walker Princes Street Collective - a new collaboration series to bring the brand together with creative forces from across Scotland to create collectable editions - the Johnnie Walker x Harris Tweed collaboration sees an elegantly designed bottle of the Johnnie Walker Limited Edition Princes Street Blend at home in a bespoke Harris Tweed carry bag. Matured for the last 12 montsh in hand-selected American oak casks at Johnnie Walker Princes Street's Whisky Makers Cellar, this has made for a seriously unique bottling. The catch? You'll have to go to Ediburgh to get your hands on a bottle... who's up for a Hogmanay weekend away?
www.johnniewalker.com
