As the festive fervour grips you, make your Christmas the best ever with these seven whiskies that will be much-desired gifts for your loved ones.
The festive spirit is all about celebrations, gifts, and good cheer. And nothing combines all three better than a bottle of a good whisky with unique flavours and notes that pair beautifully with the cold weather and flavoursome food that is the spirit of Christmas.
For the love of whisky!
To make it easier for you to buy a gift this Christmas, we’ve put together a list of wonderful, easy drinking whiskies that one can enjoy even as cocktails. Ranging from not-so-expensive to truly extravagant options, there’s a whisky for every budget, right here.
So this year, gift yourself and your loved ones a thoughtful gift in the form of a whisky and open up a whole new world of deliciousness for your friends and family.
Flavours like vanilla, dark chocolate, marzipan, and Christmas cake bring a feel of Christmas to your bar. And while you may all have our favourites, this is also the season of change… With the New Year on the horizon, perhaps it’s also time to try a new whiskey?
Buffalo Trace
With prominent notes of vanilla, toffee, cinnamon, and oak, Buffalo Trace not only makes for a great everyday dram but also a perfect spirit for Old Fashioned and Egg Noggs.
Ardbeg Wee Beastie
The youngest expression from one of the most iconic distilleries from Scotland and not just Islay, the Wee Beastie makes for a monster of a dram with notes of peat, honey glazed ham, pepper, cloves, and lime zest.
Johnnie Walker Green Label
An exceptional blended whisky made only from single malts, the Green Label is delicate yet flavourful, and makes for a great gift for someone starting their whisky journey.
Chivas Regal 18 YO
A smooth, sweet, and indulgent whisky with notes of pears, honey, milk chocolate, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It has little bit of everything and makes for a great introductory dram for a beginner.
The Macallan 15 YO Double Cask
As the name suggests, the whisky has been matured in casks made from two types of oak — American and European. The Macallan 15 YO with rich notes of chocolate, vanilla, raisins, and gingerbread makes for an ideal gift for a seasoned whisky connoisseur.
Aberlour 16 YO
A rich and very Christmassy dram, Aberlour 16 YO is an explosion of flavours thanks to the unique double maturation in ex-bourbon barrels and oloroso sherry barrels. The complexity and balance make it an ideal dram to start exploring the world of sherry cask whiskies.
Amrut Masters Select
Amrut Masters Select, launched by the distillery that put India on the global single malt map is the first expression in their new annual Single Cask series. With rich and pronounced notes of dried fruits, mild peat, chocolate, and baking spices, this limited Only 510 bottles globally makes for a great gift for a seasoned whisky connoisseur/collector.
Vinayak Singh is co-founder of The Dram Club — a whisky and spirits appreciation platform with the goal to make whisky fun & democratic — and Blind Gilt — a recently-launched premium cocktail mixers brand. Vinayak quit his 15 year career in capital markets to follow his “spiritual” calling and passion.
Read more.
12 Indian single malt whiskies for your year-end bar stock-up
17 International single malt whiskies for your year-end bar stock-up