December is just a little more than a week away and many kids (young and old) are looking forward to their chocolate advent calendars (I always liked the Mars bar ones, as you got three “fun-size” Mars bars in it in addition to the usual chocolate shapes). The last few years have seen an increase in connoiseur calendars; that is, high-end advent calendars. These are calendars that not only allow people to celebrate Advent / the countdown to Christmas, but also allow them to sample a smorgasbord of their chosen interest; I’ve seen calendars full of tea, coffee, fine chocolate, perfume, and all manner of goodies.
Of course, we at SummerFruitCup are most interested in the boozy ones. What started as the tie-up between Gin Foundry’s Ginvent and Master of Malt’s Drink by the Dram has blossomed into a full array of offerings, including Master of Malt’s new “Pick your own Advent Calendar”.
Whilst a new gin, whisky, or other spirit each day is pretty exciting, the sheer range of what you get to try is superb, too: from small producers to large ones, spirits from around the world, new to old, and maybe even an advent calendar exclusive!
There is also a growing interactive factor on-line, with both consumers and industry folks being encouraged to engage in online conversations about each day’s drams. As such, we were kindly sent some advent calendars from the folks at Master of Malt.
Ginvent Calendar 2015
24 x 30ml drams of delicious juniper libations from Europe, the US, and Australia, covering a range of different styles and one that is exclusive to the Ginvent calendar.
There will be daily tasting tweets led by the Gin Foundry (around 19:00 GMT) and, of course, we (@summerfruitcup) will be joining in, too. You can also check out the daily animated openings of each door on DT’s Instagram account.
Whisky Advent Calendar 2015
24 x 30ml drams of whisky, including a 50 Year Old Scotch, a blended whisky that was awarded “World’s Best”, and an award winning Japanese whisky.
There will be daily tasting tweets (around 18:00 GMT) by Mrs B (@saraandthebear) and you can check out her (crafty) daily Instagrams here.
There’s still time to get your own calendar from Master of Malt; here’s a list of their full range:
Whisky Advent Calendar RRP £149.95
Ginvent Calendar RRP £114.95
Botanical Ginvent Calendar RRP £124.95
Bourbon Advent Calendar RRP £139.95
Rum Advent Calendar RRP £149.95
Cognac Advent Calendar RRP £149.95
Tequila Advent Calendar RRP £149.95
Mezcal Advent Calendar RRP £149.95
Armagnac Advent Calendar RRP £149.95
Absinthe Advent Calendar RRP £134.95
Vodka Advent Calendar RRP £99.95
Naga Chilli Vodka Escalation Calendar RRP £99.95
