Christmas Gift Guide – Alcoholic Drinks*

Figure Libre Freestyle Blanc and Rouge Wine

I personally love my wines, I don’t mind if it is white, red, rose or sparkling but when I have dinner, I tend to have either a red or white depending on what my main course is.  I also enjoy food and wine pairing when I have my meals so Domaine Gayda wines which we are featuring would be perfect for you if you are like me.  We were sent the 2017 Figure Libre Freestyle Blanc which has a deep gold colour, is very aromatic and has a hint of stonefruit and honeysuckle which is perfect to be drunk now or in the next 5 years as the flavours will keep developing. We were also sent a bottle of 2018 Figure Libre Freestyle Rouge which is Ruby red with some purple highlights, it is a vibrant wine with flavours of black fruits, pepper, spice and garrigue. Again another full-bodied wine with a silky finish.  If you are wondering, Figure Libre Freestyle is the name given to an ambitious range of wines designed to shake up conventions and break new ground for expressing the inherent style of Languedoc and Roussillon. Figure Libre Freestyle reflects a desire to think outside the box and bring together grape varieties that would otherwise never have met in the same bottle. If you love wines or looking for bottles to gift this Christmas, these wines is sold for around £15.65 in the UK and you can find them at Cambridge Wines, Hedonism, The House of Townsend, Harperwells, The Somerset Wine Company, From Vineyards Direct, Glug Wine Merchant, Oxford Wine Company, Hard to find Wines, The Wine Company and Harrogate Fine Wine Co.

When its Christmas and you’re trying to find the perfect gift for the various members of your family, and you want something substantial but also reasonably priced, this ‘The Classic Ales of England’ Box of beers is the perfect choice. The beers came in a box of six 500ml bottles, however, on their website it seems that you are now only able to purchase boxes of 12 bottles, which actually probably works out as a better Christmas gift.  What’s great about gift set is that you have a real selection of beers, which each one being different means that any beer fan can have a taster of different ones they perhaps wouldn’t usually buy. It is basically your own pub crawl from the comfort of your own home. The location of the breweries you will find in the pack range right from the South Coast all the way up to the Lakes. A couple of recognisable names include Marston’s Pedigree and Hobgoblin by the famous Wychwood Brewery. This is a hassle-free gift as all the bottles have been prepackaged means that you don’t have to search the stores for different beers to create your gift. We have featured the 6 bottles, you can order the 12 bottle gift here which is priced at £17.99 (which is £2.99 per litre). This makes for a great modest priced, but sizeable gift.

I find that gin is the in-drink at the moment with a lot of bars and clubs serving up fruit-flavoured gins, hence we are featuring Kokoro Gin which expertly infused with the Japanese flavours of blueberry and lemongrass to produce the perfect gin liqueur this Christmas.   You can either serve this up at home or purchase a bottle of this as a gift for a loved one.  Just serve the gin with tonic, soda water, champagne or simply over ice. The gin is refreshing and a new flavour to try this season. The perfect gift to get a gin lover this Christmas, Kokoro donates 10% of their profit from every sale to the C.W. Nicol Afan Woodland Trust to support the conservation and restoration of Japan’s ancient woodland.  If blueberry & lemongrass if not your flavour, then head to their website to discover other flavours such as Cherry Blossom, Yuzu & Ginger or the traditional Gin flavour.  The 50CL bottle is priced at £20.50, you can purchase the Blueberry and Lemongrass Liqueur here.  Alternatively, if you are looking at a giftset, you can also purchase their 3-bottle 20CL gift set for just £37.50.

Personalised Prosecco

What better way to treat someone special this Christmas than with a personalised bottle of fizz! This Prosecco is sure to put a smile on that special person’s face when they open their gift to find a message just for them emblazoned across the bottle. Simply create your own festive greeting for your family member, friend, neighbour or work colleague. This will then be printed on the traditional silver label of the 75cl bottle of Italian Prosecco, from the Personalised Bottle Labels company. And, thankfully, the tipple inside tastes rather good, too. It’s well balanced with plenty of peachy fruit and a delicate, light finish, so this gift is definitely not a gimmick. The label is printed using waterproof inks, and it can be personalised with any name up to 25 characters and a message of up to 80 characters. The fizz is ideal to be enjoyed at a seasonal get-together, with a meal or during a romantic night at home in front of the fire. Priced £17.99, you can order your bottle of personalised Prosecco here.