12 December, 2018
Let the festivities Be-Gin!
Gin has certainly been a big trend in 2018. I, myself, have gone from a novice gin drinker to the owner of 70+ bottles! As Christmas approaches there are lots of gift ideas for the gin lover….. hint hint!
Is there any better way to start the month of December then with a gin advent calendar? There are many variations available this year, from those with a miniature behind each door, to those incorporating miniatures with complimentary tonics or even a full size bottle of gin with 24 different tonics. I opted for ‘The Gin Advent Calendar’ from ‘Drinks by the Dram’. Behind each window is a specially selected gin presented in a 30ml wax-sealed dram.
Aldi are stocking ‘The 12 Gins of Christmas’, which is a bargain at £34.99 for 12 hand-picked gins with 12 premium mixers.
Gin Crackers are popular this year too! Aldi are selling ‘Festive Gin Crackers’ at £19.99 for 6 crackers, each containing a 50ml miniature.
Virgin Wines have ‘Gin & Tonic Christmas Crackers’, each containing a 50ml miniature with a can of Fever Tree Indian Tonic Water. These are priced at £32.99 and can be sent as a gift with a personalised message.
Bring on Christmas Day!
No Gin lovers Christmas tree would be complete without ‘Pickering’s Gin Baubles’! Each pack contains 6 colourful, refillable plastic baubles, each containing 50ml of Pickering’s Gin. Perfect served with Indian Tonic Water and a wedge of grapefruit. The RRP of these is £29.99 but they are readily available a number of places online for less. They sold out everywhere last year!
Festive Gin glasses are another must! My pick of the bunch are Dunelm’s set of 2 ‘Merry Ginmas’ glasses, priced at £8.
Many companies have brought out Festive Gins. A few of my favourites are:
- M&S Christmas Dry Gin – available instore for £25
- That Boutique-y gin company ‘Yuletide Gin’ – available online for £34.95
- Gower Gin ‘Pinwydd’ – available from ‘Cheers Wine Merchants’ for £29.99
Ideas for Christmas Gin perfect serves to follow in a future blog post…..
Or why not treat a Gin enthusiast to a monthly Gin subscription? Craft Gin Club create a Gin of the month box, complete with one of the world’s finest small-batch gins alongside delicious mixers, treats and a copy of ‘Ginned’ magazine. December’s box has just arrived and it features ‘Tarquin’s Cornish Christmas Gin’, perfect served in a glass full of ice with a premium tonic, slice of orange and cinnamon stick. It costs £40 a month, with a choice of how often you wish to receive it and free cancellation. Alternatively, for £14 a month, there’s the ‘I Love Gin’ subscription. Each month you receive 2 gin miniatures with 2 complimentary mixers, a recipe booklet and £5 gin voucher. Again, there is no commitment and you can pause, skip or cancel as required.
For the chocolate lover, there are Gin chocolates. My favourites are ‘Thomas & Grace dark chocolate gin caramels’ from Lakeland, priced at £5.99. They are even sparkly!
A Gin lover needs a Christmas Gin jumper! There are lots out there but my favourites is this ‘Let Christmas BeGIN’ sweatshirt from Tesco. Why not accessorise with this ‘Jingle Bells’ hat, also from Tesco.
What about a Gin Christmas card? The Daffy’s Gin Christmas card contains a 5cl miniature and can be sent directly to the recipient! Merry Ginmas indeed!
Why not make a gift for a Gin lover? I’ve got 2 straightforward recipes. The first is for Gin marinated olives, the second is for Cranberry infused Gin.
For the olives, mix the following ingredients in a large bowl until well combined and then store in an air tight jar and use as necessary.
- 250g pitted green olives
- 8 pickled garlic cloves
- 250ml Gin
- 250ml good quality olive oil
- slivers of lemon peel from 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme
Serve on a festive cheese board or in a martini! I will warn you….. these olives pack a punch!
To make 1 litre of Cranberry Gin, you will need:
- 500g golden caster sugar
- 600ml gin
- 400g frozen cranberries
- large sterilised Kilner jar
- sterilised funnel
- sterilised gift bottles
- Put the sugar in a pan with the gin and heat gently, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- Put the cranberries in a large sterilised Kilner jar. Pour in the gin syrup. Seal and leave in a cool place for 2-6 weeks.
- Strain off the cranberries and use a sterilised funnel to pour the cranberry gin into sterilised gift bottles. Seal. This will keep for up to 6 months in a cool place.
I will be adding this to my fizz on Christmas morning!
Let Christmas be-GIN!