We are just a few weeks away from what many consider their favourite time of the year: Christmas. In many parts of the world, the festive season is a time to celebrate and enjoy time with friends and family. Below, we’ve put together a guide to drinks and gift sets that will help to prolong and increase the celebrations and merriment.

It is well known that Luxurious Magazine is an avid supporter of the global drinks industry. As we have done for the past fifteen years, we’ve put together a Christmas drinks guide. Unlike in previous years, this year’s will be more concise and contain drinks and gift suggestions that many deem as ‘real world’, i.e., affordable.

Without further ado, let’s begin…

Della Vite Prosecco

Della Vite is a relative newcomer to the drinks landscape. It made its debut in the autumn of 2020 with two wines: Della Vite Prosecco Superiore DOCG, which was made exclusively from hand-picked grapes from Valdobiaddene, and Della Vite D.O.C. Treviso Rosé Prosecco.

The drinks brand is the brainchild of the sisters Poppy, Chloe, and Cara Delevingne, and it has gone from strength to strength since its launch.

Della Vite made it into our guide for a couple of reasons: first and foremost, every celebration could always use a little extra pop and fizz. In addition, Della Vite tastes good; it is a high-quality drink, vegan-certified, affordable, and, to round things off, it is sustainably made.

The Prosecco Rosé boasts an elegant, pale coral pink colour and an aromatic nose of freshly crushed wild berries and rhubarb. It is bright and clean on the palate, with delicate fruit flavours balanced by a creamy texture and the obligatory fine bubbles. Thanks to its extra-long fermentation process of ninety days, it benefits from a long, smooth finish. 11.5% ABV.

The Della Vite Prosecco D.O.C Treviso Rosé is available exclusively at Sainsbury’s and costs £21.50 for a 75cl bottle.

Serving Suggestion:

Sparkling Cosmo with Della Vite D.O.C. Treviso Rosé Prosecco
Carrie’s favourite got an upgrade this year. Elevate this classic cocktail with Della Vite D.O.C. Treviso Rosé Prosecco, with hints of fresh rhubarb and wild berries that accentuate the zesty vibes from the lime and cranberry.

  • 25ml premium vodka
  • 10ml Cointreau
  • 25ml cranberry syrup
  • 10ml fresh lime juice
  • 50ml Della Vite DOC Treviso Rosé Prosecco

Method: Shake and strain ingredients, top with Prosecco. Garnish with lemon wedge.

“From our family to yours, may your glass always be full, the laughs hearty, and your table full of love.” – The Delevingnes.

Bathtub Gin

We’ve been fans of Bathtub Gin for a number of years. In fact, we were first introduced to it in 2019 when it made its debut in that year’s Christmas drinks guide. We’re pleased to welcome it back and hot on the back of wonderful news.

Harlie Brown Studios and Bathtub Gin
Just in time to be placed under the tree, Bathtub Gin and Harlie Brown Studios combined their skills to produce a limited edition punchbowl and a lovely-looking gin bottle, which is available from Masters of Malt.

The Harlie Brown Studio is probably best known for its gorgeous ceramic ‘Wiggle Mugs‘, and as luck would have it, the ceramics studio and Bathtub Gin are both based in Kent, which makes working together an obvious move. The combined skills of these two creative brands have resulted in a stylish limited-edition bottle of gin and a rather lovely-looking punchbowl.

Both companies value attention to detail and the visual aspect. Paulina Kurt from the Masters of Malt team diligently hand-wraps every bottle of the gin, which is adorned with hand-drawn illustrations of the botanicals used in Bathtub Gin’s double-infused recipe.

Equally as striking is the “Le Punch” bowl, which features a hand-painted exploration of Bathtub Gin’s botanicals, Harlie Brown’s iconic ‘wiggle’ details, and a ‘gooey and gorgeous’ melted glaze finish. Making the bowl even more sought after is that each is subject to hand-building techniques and organically shaped design, which ensures that every bowl is unique.

The limited-edition design Bathtub Gin bottle and punch bowl are available to purchase as a set from Master of Malt (RRP £130), or the bottle can be bought independently (£34.95).

Goodrays Deluxe CBD Wellness Box

Christmas is known as a time to indulge. However, it is also an opportunity for reflection. Looking after one’s health has become a priority in modern times, and December and January are usually the months when people ‘take stock’ of their lives and decide whether to change or stay on the same path.

Although this is a drinks guide, alcohol is never a prerequisite for inclusion.

Like the Moth gift set, the Goodrays Deluxe CBD Wellness Box would make a lovely gift. The good news for teetotallers is that it doesn’t contain a scintilla of alcohol.

Goodrays was founded in 2020 by CBD industry expert Eoin Keenan (above), who wanted to make effective CBD products accessible to all. Since then, the brand has experienced incredible growth and is now regarded as Europe’s fastest-growing CDB brand.

Although the company offers an extensive range, our choice for the guide is the Goodrays Deluxe CBD Wellness box.

Inside the gift box is:

  • A selection of market-leading dosed 30mg CBD Drinks – with a daily dose of Vitamin D
  • 1 x 500mg CBD Oil Zen Drops for daytime zen
  • 1 x 500mg CBD Oil Night Drops to help you rest easy every night
  • 1 x Tub mixed flavour 25mg CBD Gummies for compact calm on the go

All Goodrays’ products are subject to rigorous testing and science-backed efficacy. The drinks are a treat for the palate and are made with as little impact on the planet as possible.

The gift box costs £79.95, and orders can be placed via goodrays.com.

Moth Drinks

This next suggestion is perfect as a gift or for sharing. It is the Moth: Duo Glass Gift Pack. Inside this gift set are two glasses, an ice cube tray that will make some monstrous cubes and six delicious ready-to-drink cocktails comprising:

  • x2 Margarita
  • x1 Negroni
  • x1 Old Fashioned
  • x1 Cosmopolitan
  • x1 Espresso Martini

All of the above cocktails are bar-strength, and each has been made with the very best craft spirits. To craft the flavours, the drinks brand works closely with some highly regarded names in the industry: Tequila Enemigo, Wood Brothers Distilling Co., Tarquin’s Cornish Gin, Asterley Bros. The English Whisky Company, and Bob’s Bitters.

The Moth: Duo Glass Gift Pack is priced at £39, but the good news is that it is currently offered at the discounted price of £31. You can place an order on the Moth website here.

James Gin

James May, the well-known presenter perhaps best known for his involvement in motoring-related television programmes, has recently been broadening his horizons by jumping headfirst into the world of gin.

In time for Christmas, James has launched a limited edition ‘Turbo’ version of his Asian Parsnip gin. The latest tipple to bear his name has been limited to only 500 bottles and was born in the mind of master ginsmith Hugh Anderson. The turbocharging of James’s regular Asian Parsnip gin has been achieved by adding horseradish to the mix!

To create the gin’s unique allure, the following botanicals were used: Parsnip, horseradish, ginger, caraway seed, cubeb pepper, fenugreek, cardamom, grains of paradise, liquorice root, sweet orange, juniper, angelica root, coriander seed.

James Gin Asian Parsnip Turbo is available from www.jamesgin.com – £36.95 for 700ml – 40% abv.

To complement the launch of the Turbo gin, James has also launched The James Gin Big Book of Cocktails (£7.99), a guide to the world’s greatest cocktail recipes.

Jamie Maudsley, the mixologist at The Royal Oak, Swallowcliffe, was instrumental in shaping the book’s content, with James taking the somewhat more palatable role of tasting and approving.

Never Say Die Bourbon

Our final suggestion for this year’s drinks guide is Never Say Die Bourbon. I have chosen to include the range because I love the brand name and its incredible backstory.

The Never Say Die story can be traced back to 1951, to a farm in Lexington, Kentucky. A foal was subjected to a difficult birth at the farm, and it was ‘touch and go’ whether it would make it. With options running out, a shot of whiskey was poured down its throat. Incredibly, the foal made it through the night, making a full recovery, and on the back of this, it was given the name ‘Never Say Die’.

Three years later, that same horse entered the Epsom Derby, regarded as the world’s greatest horse race. In front of 250,000 spectators, it defied its lengthy odds of 33 to 1 to win the race, thus becoming the first American-born winner in seventy years.

Fifty-seven years after Never Say Die first made its amazing recovery, two friends, Pat Madden and David Wild, happened to bump into each other at the Kentucky Derby. It was here that Pat told David about the incredible story of the horse that beat all the odds at his family’s farm.

After sharing a few tipples, the old friends decided to create a premium Bourbon that would travel in barrels to the UK, following in the hoof steps of its namesake.

Never Say Die Small Batch Bourbon
(RRP £59.95, 47.5% abv, 70cl)
Available to buy from Master of Malt, Amazon, Whiskey Exchange, The Whisky World, and Selfridges.

This is an ‘any occasion’ bourbon with a lower abv (47.5%) and mellowed spice – and lashings of flavour. It is light and approachable with vanilla, caramel, orange and mild oak. With just 2,750 bottles per small batch, it is an approachable blend of the brand’s most interesting barrels, all of which were selected to complement one another, resulting in a balanced and versatile Bourbon.

Never Say Die Barrel Strength Bourbon
(RRP £79, 56% – 61% abv, 70cl)
Available to buy from Master of Malt, Amazon, Whiskey Exchange, and The Whisky World.

This is a ‘High Rye’ Bourbon that blends subtle spice, caramel undertones and an amazingly smooth finish. Bottled at 56% – 61% abv, it is punchy and characterful and can be enjoyed neat, on ice or in your favourite whiskey cocktail. The flavour is individual to each barrel, but look out for oak, caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, coconut and pepper spice.

Never Say Die Rye Whiskey
(70cl, 52.5% ABV, RRP £64.95)
Available to buy from Whiskey Exchange, The Whisky World

This is the latest expression from the brand and was made using a proprietary ‘sweet mash’, which has resulted in a smoother, more flavourful whiskey. This, along with the generous use of corn in the mash bill, reminds the drinker of their favourite Kentucky Bourbon, but with a rye whiskey’s unmistakable flavour, spice and intrigue.