8 best gin advent calendars that will get you in the festive spirit

This calendar’s packaging is top-notch – we loved the exterior cover’s magnetic flap, designed to keep it in place. It’s a brilliant option for gift-giving – the wax-sealed bottles add an air of sophistication, backed up by the sleek gold design of the box. The gins were seriously swanky too – 25 bottles of juniper-based deliciousness from premium distillers such as Tanqueray’s (in this case a sample of their citrus fruit-distilled Tanqueray no. ten) and Hapusa, a Himalayan gin brand that uses foraged botanicals. The only downside? Once you’ve sampled this calendar’s delights your go-to budget gin brand will no longer cut it.

Yes, tonic water goes well with mixers but so does chocolate, and this calendar offers the best of both worlds. More specifically, this calendar contains 24 chocolate squares of chocolate and a 50ml bottle of Gordon’s pink gin, which is flavoured with raspberries and strawberries – the perfect pick-me-ip for grey winter nights. The packaging is simple and classy, with 24 windows positioned around the bottle, and its envelope-style opening helped keep the contents in place.

There are no half measures in this fantastic calendar, which contains 25 bottles of gin (50ml). We loved the attention to detail when it comes to the packaging – the front of the calendar depicts a snow-dusted country house with glowing windows, while the 25 doors inside each display a different style of window.

We were also impressed by the range of gins in this calendar – there are plenty of big-name gin distillers although the focus is on more unusual flavours, such as the Christmas cake gin from Tarquin’s (which we can assure you, is delicious).

Advent calendars don’t get cooler than this one from Virgin Wines, which has slapped a pixelated penguin on the front of its calendar and filled it with 25 bottles of loveliness from some of the world’s top gin producers.

There was no shortage of gins from smaller craft producers, which not only made this calendar’s contents more visually appealing (we were particularly taken with Tarquin’s bright blue glass bottle) but allowed us to discover some new favourites, a great example of which was Masons of Yorkshire tea gin. Yes, it sounds absolutely bonkers on paper, but trust us – it’s gorgeous.

Everything about this advent calendar screams luxury, and although we’ve flagged the slightly higher price tag, if you’re going to spend your hard-earned cash on a gin calendar, this is a worthy contender.

We loved the way every can of mixer or bottle of gin is tucked into its own drawer (we can envision reusing this calendar), and it feels incredibly sturdy. Some might argue that almost everyone has a can of mixer lying around, but this brilliant calendar showed how much of a difference the right tonic water can make. The rhubarb and raspberry tonic water, for example, wasn’t something we’d have ever plucked off a supermarket shelf, but it went fantastically well with the calendar’s bottle of Salcombe gin. As for the gins, you can expect some seriously premium offerings from a wide range of distilleries, including Sipsmith and Surrey-based Silent Pool.

This advent calendar is guaranteed to make you feel festive, thanks to the beautiful image on the front – a wreath-adorned townhouse on a winter’s night (we’re particularly fond of the cute cat pictured on door number two).

There’s something for everyone hidden within this calendar. While we’d urge caution if you like your gin and tonics simple, we also suspect this calendar could be a great way to introduce you to new types of gin, whether it’s the spiced clementine offering or the toasted marshmallow hot chocolate gin. The 24-bottle selection includes a mix of tipples from That Boutique-y Gin Company, as well as from some smaller craft distilleries.

Drinks by the Dram is clearly a company that doesn’t take itself too seriously (and we mean that as a compliment). We loved how the packaging told the story of the brand’s foray into advent calendars and of course the great array of different gins on offer within this Christmas countdown. Behind the 25 doors of this calendar are 25 gins that range from quirky but delicious offerings, such as the Jaffa Cake gin to Tanqueray No 10’s dry gin. The regal gold-and-teal packaging gave this calendar a regal feel which makes it perfect for gift-giving.

Now for something completely different. This is about as far removed from your traditional advent calendar as it’s possible to get. This Christmas countdown is a long wide ribbon of hessian to which 24 bottles of gin have been attached. The gins are wonderfully varied – we loved the fruitiness of the citrus zest gin, while the dry gin will appeal to traditionalists and the warm and spicy gin is perfect for Christmas – it’s got a warming peppery hit with works perfectly with the spirit’s other notes.

We recommend stringing this calendar from rafters, door hooks or shelves – just make sure it’s well-secured because there are a whole lot of bottles. Here’s to decking the halls with bows of holly – and miniature bottles of gin.