Looking for festive gift options this Christmas? Our spirited Christmas gift guide puts together an eclectic selection that will help ease your gifting dilemmas.
Can we all agree that 2022 is looking like it’ll end on a most cheery note? Compared to the muted celebrations in the past two pandemic-inflicted years, this festive season looks set to put a smile on all our faces.
And to help you along, we’ve put together a festive gift guide to make sure you pick out the right presents to make someone happy. So whether you’re picking out a Christmas gift for a booze-loving friend, sweets for a loved one, or something for a year-end dinner party, this guide has got you covered:
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- Kakkow x Compendium Spirits Festive Bonbons
- Maison Chisaka Christmas Special – Yuzu Pleats
- Coravin Pivot Wine Preservation System
- Drinkmate Carbonation System
- Reidel Veloce Wine Glasses
- Origin Mulled Wine and Christmas Gin
- The Balvenie x Adeline Tan Limited-Edition Gift Sets
- Beam Suntory Advent Calendar
- Belvedere Vodka Cocktail Set
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Kakkow x Compendium Spirits Festive Bonbons
Local artisanal chocolatier Kakkow has collaborated with Singapore-based craft distillery Compendium Spirits for a set of exclusive bon bons for this festive season.
You’re looking four very unconventionally flavoured chocolate treats specially concocted with similarly esoteric liquor offerings from the distiller. There’s spicy Green Curry made with Ondeh Ondeh Soju, earthy yet malty sweet Jerusalem Artichoke infused with Fireball Mead, or nutty Mont Blanc with a ganache of Dark Rum. Then there’s Tokyo Banana with banana and peanut notes, infused with Compendium’s Kopi-O Liqueur.
The collaboration is available a 12-piece festive Kakkow x Compendium Spirits Bonbons Box (S$40) comprising of the four fun flavours, or the Kakkow x Compendium Spirits Bonbons Pairing Box (S$80) that also comes with 100ml bottles of Compendium’s Ondeh Ondeh Soju, Kopi-O Liqueur, Rachelle’s Fireball Mead and Dark Rum for pairing pleasure with those bonbons.
You can purchase the Kakkow x Compendium festive bonbons at kakkow.com.sg.
Maison Chisaka Christmas Special – Yuzu Pleats
Need a gift for someone with a sweet tooth? Consider the Yuzu Pleats by Maison Chisaka. Pleated cakes are all the rage these days, and this seasonal Yuletide special from the French-Japanese patisserie combines some of the best French and Japanese flavours in one beautiful confection.
Unlike its ever-popular chocolate and praline-based Signature Pleats, the Yuzu Pleats (S$109 for an 8″, 1kg cake) feature layers of bergamot curd, moist almond sponge, and crisp yuzu pressed shortcrust, all encased in a creamy yet delightfully refreshing yuzu cream cheese mousse. It’s then dusted with 24K gold and snow-like sugar, making it a delight to behold as much as it will excite the tastebuds of cake fiends.
The seasonal Yuzu Pleats is available from Maison Chisaka at www.maisonchisaka.com.
Coravin Pivot Wine Preservation System
Here’s a gift idea for the oenophile. Coravin, the makers of the wine preservation and serving device we commonly see in fancy restaurants, has recently launched a more home-friendly version that’s perfect for those who drink frequently at home.
The new Coravin Pivot is an easy-to-use device that allows you to pour single glasses of their favourite wines and keep them in a freshly-opened condition. Simply attach a universal-fit stopper to any wine bottle, fit on the Pivot device, and pour. The device will then fill the bottle with argon gas to minimise oxidation, allowing you to keep the remaining wine for up to four weeks. Not that it will last that long!
If the Coravin Pivot sounds like something your wine-loving friend would use, Coravin has partnered with 1855 The Bottle Shop for a festive promotional bundle that comes with one Coravin Pivot, a three-pack set of argon capsules, as well as a bottle of Le Ragose Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico Riserva DOCG 2011 for you to practice it on at a special price of S$325 (usual price S$390).
You can purchase the Coravin x 1855 festive bundle from all 1855 The Bottle Shop retail fronts or online for island-wide deliveries at www.1855thebottleshop.com.
Drinkmate Carbonation System
Buying what looks like a kitchen appliance may not exactly be your idea of a good festive gift, but hear us out. The Drinkmate is a specialised device that can carbonate almost any liquid, making it an interesting apparatus that can improve the repertoire of any aspiring home bartender. In fact, you may spot the Drinkmate sitting in the back bar of some of your favourite cocktail bars around town.
Simply add your choice of liquid – mineral water, juice, and even wine – to the bottle, attach the bottle to the main housing, and pulse away to your desired carbonation level. Carbonate some mineral water as soda for your whiskey highball? Quite easily done. Need some sparkling coconut water to top off your rum cocktail? Easy peasy.
We’ve even tried reviving sparkling wine that have gone flat using the Drinkmate. It works! We’re sure there are more innovative uses for this. Drinkmate is currently offering a special mega Christmas bundle – which includes Drinkmate carbonation beverage maker machine, 2 x BPA-free 1-litre reusable carbonating bottles, 1 x fizz infuser, 2 x CO2 cylinders, and 2 x 0.5L bottles – at a special price of S$198.
You can purchase the Drinkmate carbonation system from drinkmate.sg.
Riedel Veloce Wine Glasses
Any self-respecting wine lover will tell you that proper glassware is critical to your tasting experience. So if you’re looking to gift a wine enthusiast this festive season, we’d recommend a set of Riedel Veloce glasses.
Recently released in the Singapore market by the specialty Austrian glassware manufacturer, the Riedel Veloce is a range of glassware made specifically for drinking wine specific to grape varietals. There’s a Cabernet Sauvignon glass that’s perfect for full-bodied reds such as your favourite left bank Bordeaux, Super Tuscan, or a Napa Valley wine; a Sauvignon Blanc glass for your favourite zingy Marlborough or more mineral Loire expressions; or a Chardonnay glass if you’re a lover of Burgundian or Margaret River whites. There’s even a specialised Champagne glass if you’re a huge fan of bubbly.
Riedel’s authorised Singapore distributor Cellarmaster Wines currently has a Riedel Veloce Tasting Set of four different glasses – Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay – on special offer at S$197 (usual price S$246) that will make a perfect gift for the new wine enthusiast.
You can purchase Riedel Veloce from Cellarmaster Wines at www.cmwines.com.sg.
Origin Mulled Wine and Christmas Gin
We always look forward to the festive offerings from Origin Bar at Shangri-La Singapore come Christmas season, particular the seasonal mulled wine by the hotel’s extremely talented head sommelier. This year Shangri-La Group Head Sommelier Britt Ng is again offering his limited edition Britt’s Mulled Wine (S$78 for 500ml), a personal concoction using spices such as nutmeg flower, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, and palm sugar for a more local touch.
But this year Origin Bar is upping the ante. Aside from its ever-popular bottled cocktails, it has also introduced a house gin. The Origin Christmas Gin (S$88 for 500ml) is an English fruitcake-inspired London Dry Gin that’s been redistilled using cinnamon, cloves, almond, vanilla and candied orange, giving it rich and spicy notes that’s totally reminiscent of the season.
And while you’re there at Shangri-La Singapore, be sure to check out their Christmas retail section where you can pick up festive goodies such as Christmas Tree Bonbons (S$78) or a DIY Gingerbread House Kit (S$78).
You can also order online any of Shangri-La Singapore’s festive offerings from https://bit.ly/shangrilafestive22, available now till 25 December 2022.
The Balvenie x Adeline Tan Limited-Edition Gift Sets
Looking to gift a whisky lover who happens to be a support of the local arts scene as well? Look no further than the latest collaboration from The Balvenie. The Speyside single malt whisky maker has collaborated with renowned Singapore illustrator and visual artist Adeline Tan to create an art piece and limited-edition set perfect for the gifting season.
Inspired by Tan’s art piece “The Tiger of Singapore”, the special set comprises of either The Balvenie 12-Year Old DoubleWood or 14-Year Old Caribbean Cask in a beautifully designed gift box – and even comes with ceramic whisky cup and coaster – all of which are emblazoned with Tan’s tiger orchid design.
These limited-edition The Balvenie x Adeline Tan gift sets are available with the purchase of The Balvenie 12-Year-Old DoubleWood (S$138) or 14-Year-Old Caribbean Cask (S$175) here: bit.ly/TheBalvenieMakersGiftSet.
Beam Suntory Advent Calendar
Here’s a gift that any adventurous spirits lover will enjoy. For this festive season spirits company Beam Suntory has released a limited-edition advent calendar. Created in collaboration with online retailer Alcohol Delivery, this is a Christmas gift set that allows you to celebrate 12 days worth of surprises from Beam Suntory’s stable of alcohol brands.
Not that they are too much of a surprise, especially if you know Beam Suntory well enough. You can most possibly expect to find miniatures for Scotch whisky brands like Auchentoshan and Bowmore, American bourbon Maker’s Mark, and Japanese Roku Gin, among others. But what’s also fun is that interspersed with these miniatures are various drinks-related collectibles that help add character to your spirits collection.
The Beam Suntory Advent Calendar retails for S$99 exclusively on Alcohol Delivery.
Belvedere Vodka Cocktail Set
And because there’s never enough booze at year-end soirees, a bottle of vodka is always going to be welcome as a gift at home parties. Especially one like this Belvedere Vodka Cocktail Set, which comprises of a bottle of premium Belvedere Vodka along with a bartending tool set – comprising mixing spoon, shaker, strainer, and jigger – so you can help the host put together drinks for other guests.
Not that most of those guests will that the iconic rye-based Belvedere Vodka from Poland is a top-shelf vodka made by the oldest vodka-producing distillery in the world. But they will appreciate its delicate vanilla and soft cream notes, accentuated by hints of white pepper, almond and Brazil nut. Just make sure you have some vodka-based cocktail recipes at hand to fully express the vodka’s flavours.
The limited-edition Belvedere Vodka Cocktail Set is available for purchase on the Moët Hennessy Lazmall at the retail price of S$99.
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