Drinks by the Dram the whisky explorer advent calendar
Best: Overall
Rating: 9/10
As a tall and imposing box with a windswept countryside scene in the shape of a whisky bottle “painted” on the front, this advent calendar was among some of the more beautiful we tried. The windows are pleasingly “out of order”, making it more fun to find each day’s door, and the thick card keeps its shape satisfyingly as you prise it open to pick out the daily dram.
Unlike some of the boxes on this list, this calendar has no spoiler “menu” of the selection inside, meaning each is a veritable treat. The only hint at what’s to come is a sentence on the back, reading: “From old favourites, through innovative bottlings and...exciting, lesser-known expressions, there is something delicious behind each door”. We were indeed happily surprised by the array of offerings, from the brilliantly-titled singleton of dufftown 12-year-old single malt (£32.25, Masterofmalt.com), to the American eagle tennessee bourbon (£33.95, Amazon.co.uk), to the Irish double oak writer’s tears (£44,95, Masterofmalt.com) (a name that this freelance journalist noted with wry irony).
Without giving too much away, the final Number 24 window offered a sweet-yet-sharp taste of blended scotch, rounding this international tour up with a flourish that would complement any Christmas Eve. We would have appreciated more information about each of the drams (perhaps a sentence on the back of the windows?), but that’s a small quibble on what is essentially a super-solid Christmas selection.