Best gin Advent calendar: 24 days of ginspiration
Fancy some festive spirits to get you into the festive spirit? Discover the best gin Advent calendars and celebrate Christmas in style
While we all love traditional Advent calendars, with their beautiful, festive designs, daily door-opening excitement and sweet, chocolatey rewards, sometimes you fancy something just a little stronger. In recent years, boozy Advent calendars have delivered exactly that, providing everything from daily craft beers to drams of whisky and beyond, and here we’re going to explore the best gin Advent calendars to buy this Christmas.
Whether you’re an avid connoisseur of gin and mixology or just love the odd gin and tonic, the best gin Advent calendars can take your taste buds on a journey through time and space as you explore everything from classic, hundred-year-old recipes to the latest, most modern distillations. These bundles can contain a gamut of gin styles, from London Dry, Old Tom and Navy Strength to a mouth-watering range of flavoured varieties.
And if all this talk of daily Advent treats has got you in the mood for more, then make sure to read our guides to the best traditional Advent calendars, the best beer Advent calendars and the best tea advent calendars. But back to the matter at hand – to get you, or your nearest and dearest, some daily ginspiration this Christmas, keep on scrolling and check out our list below.
READ NEXT: Our full roundup of the best gins you can buy this festive season
Best gin advent calendars: At a glance
- Best overall: Virgin Wines Gin Advent Calendar | £100
- Best craft gin calendar: Masters of Malt Gin Advent Calendar | £90
- Best pink gin calendar : That’s the Spirit Pink Gin Advent Calendar | £45
- Best for well-known brands: Blue Tree Gin Advent Calendar | £70
- Best packaging: TheLittleBoysRoom Gin Advent Cracker | £160
- Best budget craft calendar: That Boutique-y Gin Company Advent Calendar | £60
The best gin Advent calendars to buy in 2023
1. Virgin Wines Gin Advent Calendar: Best overall gin Advent calendar
Price when reviewed: £100 | Check price at Virgin Wines
The strongest all-rounder on our list, this gin Advent calendar from Virgin Wines does everything well. The packaging is cheery yet tasteful, as well as sturdy and nicely textured, allowing it to stand up well to the weight of all the gins it contains.
Speaking of which, said gins are a well-curated lineup, with showings from popular brands as well as smaller distilleries and a broad range of styles and flavours represented. Those we think you’d be most eager to try include Aber Falls Marmalade Gin, Keeper’s Honey Infused Gin and Pickering’s Navy Strength.
While you’re at it, you can save yourself a tidy bit of money on postage and packaging by picking up some extra boozy gifts along with this one, such as Virgin’s beer and wine Advent calendar offerings.
Key details – Quantity: 24 bottles; Size: 5cl
2. Master of Malt Gin Advent Calendar Premium Edition: Best craft gin Advent calendar
Price when reviewed: £90 | Check price at Master of Malt
This is the option to plump for if your intended recipient is a true gin aficionado, bored with the standard off-licence fare and ready to venture into uncharted territory. Curated by the experts at Drinks by the Dram, this Advent calendar contains gins from around the world, with wonderfully inventive and crafty options abound.
Highlights that jumped out at us straight away include 6 O’Clock’s plum-coloured Damson gin, Hendrick’s flowery Flora Adora gin and Roku’s Japanese Craft offering. Beautiful inside and out, this prettily put together Advent calendar is available in four different designs: Original, White Christmas, Craft and, our personal favourite, the colourful Art Deco pattern.
One thing you should note about this calendar is that the bottles within are a tad smaller than the rest of the entries on this list, coming in at 3cl, as opposed to the standard 5cl. However, given the quality on offer, we reckon this will only make you savour them all the more.
Key details – Quantity: 24 bottles; Size: 3cl
3. That’s the Spirit Pink Gin Advent Calendar: Best pink gin Advent calendar
Price when reviewed: £45 | Check price at The Bottle Club
For the gin drinker in your life who loves to be pretty in pink, this Advent calendar is sure to hit the mark. Festive and fierce, the pink packaging for That’s the Spirit’s calendar is gram-ready and gorgeous, as you can see from the shots listed at the bottom of the page when you click the link above.
More than just a pretty face, however, this Advent calendar is packed with 12 fun and fruity pink gins from well-known brands such as Gordon’s, Bombay and Whitley. If you’re at all intrigued by the sounds of bubblegum, strawberry or passionfruit gins, then this is the calendar for you. Go on, forget the snow, and make it a pink Christmas instead.
Key details – Quantity: 12 bottles; Sizes: 5cl
4. Blue Tree Gin Advent Calendar: Best option for well-known brands
Price when reviewed: £70 | Check price at Amazon
Not everyone will want to try smoky gins from South America or Yuzu-flavoured tipple from an obscure distillery, and that’s fair enough. For anyone looking for a nicely packaged bundle of gins containing plenty of familiar faces, this is the one to go for.
Housed in a bright and straightforwardly Christmassy box, this Advent calendar contains 24 gins with household names at every turn, including Gordon’s, Beefeater, Sipsmith and more.
Of course, that’s not to say that there aren’t a few fun surprises hiding in this festive package. Ginovation’s Victoria Sponge gin, What Lies Beneath’s Violet gin and Edinburgh Gins’ seasonally appropriate Apple and Spice flavoured option should all provide a fun twist to proceedings to break up the usual London Drys and more traditional offerings.
Key details – Quantity: 24 bottles; Sizes: 5cl;
5. TheLittleBoysRoom Gin Advent Cracker: Best gin Advent calendar for packaging
Price: £160 | Check price at Not on the High Street
Containing a healthy mix of well-known names and more niche distilleries, as well as a nice variety of standard gins, flavoured gins and gin liqueurs, this calendar from TheLittleBoysRoom is a strong all-round contender.
With the daily door-opening unveiling a range of gins including a nice sloe gin from 6 O’Clock, a lemony Malfy miniature and a Mulled Winter Fruit option from Poetic License, the gin tippler in your life will be more than pleased with what they find.
Extra festive points are due for the packaging, too – it’s not a box, a hamper basket or a caddy, but a giant, bow-wrapped Christmas cracker. The packaging alone would be enough to earn it a place on this list, whatever the quality of gin inside. However, with a quality selection housed in this giant cracker, you’re getting the best of both worlds this Christmas.
Key details – Quantity: 24 bottles; Sizes: 5cl
6. That Boutqiue-Y Gin Company Advent Calendar: Best budget craft gin advent calendar
Price when reviewed: £60 | Check price at Master of Malt
Teaming up with the experts at Drinks by the Dram, budget tipple producer That Boutique-y Gin Company have produced a very reasonably priced calendar brimming with intriguing gins from around the world. Inside its darling packaging, which depicts a rowdy gin bar at Christmas, you’ll find twenty-four juniper infused creations from the Boutique-y Gin Company and other brands. While this year’s line-up is still mostly under wraps, some names that are featured include Blackwater, Golden Moon and Salcombe Distilling Co..
Some highlights from That Boutique-y Gin Company’s contents list that are currently known to us include their sweet and sour Cherry gin, Salcombe’s Port-Barrelled Pink and a delightfully complex Smoked Rosemary offering.
Key details – Quantity: 24 bottles; Sizes: 3cl
