The Best Drinks Advent Calendars to Buy this Year

It’s that time of the year again folks! Yes, the time of year where Christmas themed items begin to appear on the shelves and you continue to be astounded by the blind eagerness of modern brands. It’s the beginning of October for crying out loud! We hate to break it to ya, but Christmas is actually only 2 months away…  Break out the tinsel, crack open that box of Quality Streets - Christmas is hurtling towards us at an astonishing pace.

While the humble advent calendar may be reminiscent of childhood Decembers, it’s not just for children. Recently, alcohol brands have been bursting onto the scene with advent calendars just for adults. From Prosecco clocks to sommelier worthy wines, drinks advent calendars are getting more and more creative with each year. So, whether you’re buying one as an early Christmas gift, or just getting it for yourself, you’ll want to check out our guide to the best drinks advent calendars in 2021.

For Wine Lovers:

Laithwaites Advent Calendar

If you love wine, you’ll love Laithwaite’s Wine Advent Calendar! Presented in a beautiful box reminiscent of a chateau adorned with Christmas decorations, this calendar features 24 different wines all hidden away within its numerous doors and windows. There’s also an extra special treat for Christmas Eve, with (spoiler alert) a half bottle of champagne inside the roof! Not only is it decked out with a delicious selection of wines, but there’s also a chance to win 6 free bottles for Christmas if you find a ‘Winning Window’... We have a hunch these are going to be SUPER popular, so grab your reservation now!
Find here: £69.99

67 Pall Mall Sommelier Advent Calendar 2021

In the advent of drinks advent calendars, it was usually tiny bottles of spirits that one would find behind each paper door. However, these days advent calendars span the alcohol world, and with 67 Pall Mall’s Sommelier Advent Calendar the game has been well and truly upped. The private members club for wine lovers has created an advent calendar with a 75ml sample of a fine wine behind each door, expertly chosen by their resident sommelier. Every wine has a QR code which when scanned reveals a video guiding you through the intricacies of each wine. Now THAT sounds sophisticated!

Find here: £555

Brixton Wine Club Canned Wine Advent Calendar

What we love about this calendar is that it not only has a great range of wine within it but many of the brands included in the calendar are also UK based start-ups that have made award-winning wines so it’s a great place to try some delicious up and coming wine from the UK. Featuring 24 carefully selected wines ranging from reds, whites, bubbles and even cocktails there’s a brilliant mix of drinks to enjoy each night that’ll keep you excited about coming back for more the next day!

Find here: £115

For Scotch Lovers

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar

We’ll never say no to a good Scotch over here at The Three Drinkers, and Drinks By the Dram’s Scotch Advent Calendar means for the entire month of December we won’t have to! Behind each door is a 30ml wax sealed dram of Scotch whisky from a variety of different Scottish distillers. This advent calendar spans a whole range of brands, from mega-famous distillers you know and love to new discoveries bursting onto the Scotch scene. With so much Scotch ready to be tasted, you’ll definitely find something to satisfy your palette. You might even find a new favourite!

Find here: £149.95

For Chocolate Lovers

Hotel Chocolat Grand Advent Calendar

Booze and chocolate have long been a match made in indulgence heaven. Nothing is more satisfying than finding a brilliant chocolate and drink pairing to feast upon on those chilly December nights. Hotel Chocolat’s Grand Advent Calendar is filled with their signature chocolates, and a few miniatures of their drinks! You’ll be treated to (spoiler alert) their Salted Caramel Cacao Vodka, their Cacao Gin and their Chocolat Cream Liqueur. There might even be a sachet of hot chocolate for cosying up on the sofa (which, yes, you may add the cream liqueur to, we won’t judge). Chocoholics: this is for you.

Find here: £68

For Rum Lovers/Pirates

Rum’s Revenge 12 Day Advent Calendar

ARRRR! Shiver me timbers, it looks like we’ll be feasting with pirates this December! Rum’s Revenge clearly has an eye for detail, with their scrumptious advent calendar arriving in a real, reusable treasure chest. It’s not just chocolate coins you’ll find, however, but 12 single cask rare rums hand selected from around the world. Not only will you uncover 12 brilliant rums, but you’ll also receive a skull’s head glass to drink from, a treasure map, a piece of eight lapel pin and a TOP SECRET hidden treasure… Whether you’re a lover of rum, a tentative trier, or legitimately sail under the skull and cross bones: this advent calendar is a treasure not to be missed.

Find here: £249.95

For Vodka Lovers

Vodka Explorer Advent Calendar

Buckle up - we’re going exploring, with Drinks By the Dram’s Vodka Explorer Advent Calendar. If you’ve ever disregarded vodka as a simple, monotonous spirit, this advent calendar will bash those misconceptions and introduce you to the wide range of flavour profiles that are out there. After tasting 24 curated, high-quality vodkas, we promise you’ll appreciate this classic spirit like a connoisseur. Vodka producers big and small from all over the world are hiding in 30ml bottles inside this calendar, so put on that explorer gear and get tasting!

Find here: £99.95

For Tequila Lovers

Arriba Tequila Advent Calendar

Though they may come in 30ml bottles, let it be known that the tequilas inside Arriba’s Tequila Advent Calendar are off limits for shotting with salt and lime. We see you. In fact, this advent calendar was curated especially to showcase the nuances and subtleties of tequila, a drink worthy of savouring (…and no salt allowed). With a selection of blanco, reposado, and añejo, Arriba is guiding you through tequila at all stages of its life. We promise you, by Christmas Day, you’ll be such an enthusiast that you’ll be racing to go out and explore more tequila.

Find here: £124.95

For Gin Lovers

That Boutique-y Gin Company Advent Calendar

Not only is this advent calendar beautiful, it’s stuffed full of gin goodies for gin-lovers far and wide. That Boutique-y Gin Company has put together a selection of 24 30ml bottles from their large selection of wildly popular gins. From Spit-Roasted Pineapple to Squeezed Yuzu, That Boutique-y Gin Company is nothing if not inventive with their flavours. You’ll be bursting with excitement to find out the next creation behind each door, and will not be disappointed with what you find. If you’ve been looking to expand your gin collection in a fun and interesting way, we really recommend this calendar.

Find here: £49.95

For Tea Lovers

24 Reasons To Smile Advent Calendar

Love a good cuppa? Looking for an advent calendar you can actually open and consume in the morning? T2 has just the thing for it, with their 24 Reasons to Smile Advent Calendar showcasing an eclectic selection of teas to celebrate the countdown to Christmas! Just like wine, good tea has a complicated flavour profile of its own. Try testing your taste buds in an alcohol-free way by picking up one of these calendars and basking in the range of flavours T2 has put together. P.S. This calendar comes in both loose leaf and teabag edition - so don’t worry if you don’t have a tea infuser!

Find here: £22

For Beer Lovers

Beer Hawk 2021 Advent Calendar

Now, we’ve talked a lot about spirits so far - but what about something for the beer-lovers in our lives? Well, have no fear - we have not forgotten about you! For beer fiends with a taste for new and interesting craft beers, Beer Hawk has created the beer advent calendar to end all beer advent calendars. For its 8th year running, Beer Hawk will be providing you with 25 unique craft beers from all around the globe. They may be presented in a bottle, they may be presented in a can: but all of them are presented alongside a tailor-made website created to guide you through tasting and enjoying the beers. Get hoppy this December and give Beer Hawk a go - you won’t regret it!

Find here: £75

Tiny Rebel Beer Advent Calendar 2021

When Tiny Rebel say that this Advent Calendar is their ‘craziest project to date’ you have to take notice… After all this award-winning brewery from Wales are known for experimenting with beer flavours and styles - Imperial Honey Glazed Ham Marshmallow Porter anyone? This whopping box of 25 beers includes a mixture of IPAs, NEIPAs, stouts, Sours and some stuff they ‘honestly don't even know how to categorise’. That’s not all there’s also an exclusive Teku Glass plus a surprise gift. And for all you can collecting geeks out there, these 25 collectable cans will never be available again as they will only be in this Advent Calendar.

Find here: £87.50

For Prosecco Lovers

Prosecco O’Clock Advent Calendar

Christmas just isn’t Christmas without a bit of bubbly, and with the UK’s growing love for this Italian fizz, it’s no surprise a Prosecco Advent Calendar has popped up. The look of this calendar is certainly out of the box, and by out of the box we mean a full size, working, wooden clock engraved with ‘Fizzy Time!’. Though each bottle is lined up with an hour, we don’t recommend drinking all 12 in one day. Instead, try one every other day! The lead up to Christmas is just as important as the big day - so celebrate it by popping some tiny bottles!

Find here: £114.95

For Picky Drinkers:

Master of Malt Build-Your-Own Advent Calendar

If you’re wanting to create a personalised advent calendar for the one you love, or perhaps you can’t stand surprises - why not create your own advent calendar with Master of Malt’s customer calendar builder! It also means you can make your calendar gluten-free or vegan, so dietary requirements won’t get in the way of you having a good time. This is a great way to test out some spirits you’ve been eyeing up while at the same time counting down to Christmas!

Find here: Price varies

Looking for more drinks news? Why not have a read of The World’s Best Vodka or The Best Scottish Gins to Try?

Camden Town Brewery Launch Marmite Ale

So… Do you love it? Or… Do you hate it?

That’s probably a question you’re tired of being asked about Marmite, especially since there’s always one friend who says “Actually, you know what - I don’t love or hate Marmite…”. Well be tired no more, as Marmite now has a brand new product for us to make small talk squabble about. Camden Town Brewery, who have been praised over their modern can design and tasty beers, have just announced their collaboration with Marmite to create the world’s first Marmite Ale!

Though it might sound crazy, beer and Marmite are closer in composition than you might think. Marmite includes beer yeast in its production, so putting Marmite back into beer isn’t really very unusual at all! If you know a Marmite hater who is at the same time a beer lover, you might want to let them in on that fact and see if they change their ways. Beer on toast anyone?

Camden Town Brewery have combined the Marmite with smoked Rauch malt, pilsner, Munich and Perle hops from the brewery’s ever-loved Hells Lager to create this new ale. It’s also not just a Marmite flavouring that’s added to the ale, but the real glossy sticky stuff itself - so Camden Town Brewery are NOT skimping when it comes to the flavour in this concoction. The flavour is said to be not just Marmite-y but also smoky, bready and rich - so ale lovers listen up!

As Marmite’s savoury flavour seems to lend itself to an ale, we’re honestly quite excited about this launch. Camden Marmite Love Hate Ale is now on sale but as it’s a limited edition we’re thinking people are going to be buying it up fast - so pick up your pack today!

Size: 330ml
ABV: 4.8%
Find here: £8 (4 cans)

As for a food pairing, we’re thinking toast?!

For more interesting flavoured beers, check out The World’s First Beer Made From Mustard or Space Beer.

Space Beer!

As they say in Ancient Rome: Per Cervisiam Ad Astra! For those of us not familiar with Latin - beer is going to the stars.

The headline ‘billionaire going into space’ probably doesn’t shock you anymore, but ‘billionaire going into space with 70lbs of hops to later auction off to a brewery for charity’ might. Actually, that probably doesn’t shock you either. Jared Isaacman, a tech billionaire, is commanding a three day Space X flight on which he will take 70 pounds of hops with him to turn into ‘space beer’. He is currently on the lookout for a partner brewery to create the space beer with him, tweeting:

“Help spread news! @inspiration4x will be flying up to 70lbs of hops to orbit in a month. We are going to auction hops to a brewery w/ all funds to @StJude. Who wouldn’t order a [beer] brewed w/ space hops? If interested..inquire on http://inspiration4.com (Ty Dan McDonough for idea)”

The Inspiration4 mission, the first space crew made up entirely of civilians, is not just a casual trip into space - it’s a 200 million dollar fundraising mission for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The hospital, based in Tennessee, provides extensive medical services to children with some of the most severe illnesses. Whilst the hospital costs $2.8million a day to run, the services are provided at no cost to the recipients - a shockingly rare occurrence in the United States. 

The money raised from auctioning the hops will also go to St Jude’s, and judging by how much other space alcohols have been valued, that will hopefully equate to some seriously big bucks! A bottle of Pétrus 2000, made from merlot grapes in the Bordeaux region and aged for 14 months in space, has been given an estimated sale price of $1,000,000 by auction house Christie’s. 

It doesn’t look as if any brewery has taken a sniff of Isaacman’s astronaut hops just yet, but the good cause and extraordinary circumstances make it look as if he still has a good chance of finding a partner. We can’t wait to see what comes of both this historical space mission and this historical beer!

Are you a beer lover? If so, check out these Marvellously Modern Beers or if it is something more wacky you are looking for then how about Goose Poop Beer?!

The Perfect Pint to Pair with Mayonnaise

Planning on breaking out a jar of mayo and going straight in with a spoon? Well, do we have the drink for you! Duke’s Mayonnaise has teamed up with Virginia’s Champion Brewing Company to bring you the perfect beer to pair with their mayonnaise. 

Even if you’re not making the radical decision to go full mayo monster and eat it straight up, this beer is apparently custom designed to be a brilliant accompaniment to a BLT lathered in creamy mayonnaise. The beer is named ‘Family Recipe’, a nod to the original recipe for Duke’s Mayonnaise dating all the way back to 1917. In fact, Duke’s still uses the same recipe today!

From the sounds of it, this beer is American down to the core. Rebecca Lupesco, Duke’s Brand Marketing Manager of Mayohem told brewbound.com: “The spirit of this collaboration truly encapsulates the Duke’s brand – it’s bold, southern, and a little saucy.” 

But how should I enjoy this beer you may ask…? Rebecca’s got you covered there: “Champion has perfected the art of beer and food pairings with Family Recipe – sun-ripened, juicy tomatoes, crispy bacon, lots of Duke’s mayo, and a refreshing sipping beer is basically what summertime is made for.” 

How insightful, Duke’s Mayonnaise. We truly feel a mayonnaise brand has taught us something new about life. If not for a refreshing sipping beer, what is summer made for?

The Vienna-style lager comes in at an ABV of 5.1% and is made with Vienna salt, Magnum, and Saaz hops. If you’re looking to pick up a Family Recipe, you can bag a 4-pack NOW on Champion Brewing Company’s website for $12.99.

They’re only available in the US right now, so please do tell us how it tastes if you get the chance to try it!

For more beer news how about checking out Prawn Cocktail Flavoured beer or this beer brewed from mushrooms?!

The Best Beer to Drink this Summer

As the summer pushes out one more month, we’re breaking down some of our favourite beers (some of which are a little strange) to drink on those warm sunny days. There’s even some non-alcoholic beer on the list, which is definitely worth checking out!

Corona Extra

Undoubtedly the beer of the last one and a half years, Corona has become even more of a hit with thousands of people enjoying the ice cold irony of the name topped with a lime wedge. While brilliant straight out of the ice bucket with lime, we’re loving the Corona cocktails popping up all over the internet. Our personal favourite is the ‘Corona Sunrise’, which can be made in the bottle using tequila, orange juice, grenadine and lime juice and turns the beer a punchy grapefruit colour. Since we can’t go to Mexico, let’s make Mexico come to us!

Size: 330ml
ABV: 4.5%
Find here: UK £12.60 for 12 // US $16.99 for 12

Snake Venom Beer

Are you looking for a challenge this summer? How about a 67.5% beer challenge? No, we haven’t put the decimal point in the wrong place - Scottish brewery Brewmeister’s ‘Snake Venom’ is officially the world’s strongest beer at 67.5% ABV, which is more than most vodkas! This beer isn’t meant to be chugged, however, as a bright yellow warning tag recommends you take it in 35ml portions. Even still, it’s an impressive feat and the beer is so alcoholic that it can’t carbonate! This one of a kind beer does come with a bit of a price tag, but then again, extracting venom from snakes is tricky work!

Size: 330ml
ABV: 67.5% (WOW)
Find here: UK £39.99 (on offer) // US $69.51

Damm Inedit Beer

From the packaging, this beer looks more like an expensive champagne than a Spanish wheat beer. It’s Estrella’s luxury makeover that happens halfway through the movie, Inedit’s gorgeous golden colour encased in a glossy dark bottle. Created by one of Spain’s top chefs, Ferran Adrià and a team of sommeliers, Inedit is flavoured with spices that create a complex aroma and expertly pair with many dishes. Whether sour, salty, bitter, spicy or buttery, Inedit compliments whatever you’re cooking with style and flair. While it may be an older creation, it is a luxury beer not to be missed.

Size: 750ml
ABV: 4.8%
Find here: UK £4.89 // US Price differs, find your nearest supplier here.

Brewdog Punk AF (AF for alcohol-free, not AF for as f-)

Being teetotal in summer isn’t always the easiest thing to do, especially when it seems everyone is out having a tipple in the sun. However, Brewdog has knee slid onto the scene with their new Punk AF beer and is making not drinking pretty damn sexy. Full of tropical flavours and pine but still tasting like beer, Punk AF is rocking our world with its funky houndstooth can. Never again fear feeling not cool when you’re not drinking - Punk AF is here. And it’s cool.

Size: 330ml
ABV: 0-0.5%
Find here: UK £4.00 for 4 // US $7.99 for 4

BONUS BEER: Brains’ Bayside

This beer has been placed in its own special section as it might be a bit tricky to find at the moment, but is still worth the mention. Bayside Lager is Welsh Brewery Brains’ newest addition to their line of Welsh beers and is currently only available on tap at their pubs and B&Bs across Wales (sad face). If you do find yourself in a Brains pub, run to the bar and grab a pint (or three) of this crisp, light and very drinkable lager - it’s a perfect summer drink and a true tribute to Welsh living.

ABV: 4.3%
Find here: Available at Brains pubs and B&Bs. Find your nearest here.

Seen any summery beers you think we’d like? Give us a buzz on our social media channels at @thethreedrinkers - we can’t wait to hear from you. If you fancy drinking up some more delicious beer goodness on our website, then head over to our beer page for lots of more beer-iliant articles now!

Goose Poop Beer? Take A Gander At THIS!

Holy Sh*t! Just when you think craft beer has done it all… 

A tasty beer probably isn’t the first thing you think of when you hear ‘goose droppings’, but for Finnish microbrewery Ant Brew, those droppings are a key ingredient in their latest line of eco-conscious beers! Yes - really! We’re not sure how, shall we say, aromatic Goose Poop Imperial Stout (8-10% ABV) is going to be as it’s not yet on the market - but this weird and potentially pongy blend is already causing a stir on the internet. 

Ant Brew’s new ‘Wasted Potential’ series was dreamed up after its home city Lahti, Finland was named European Green Capital 2021. Each of its seven planned beers tell a story about sustainability and the circular economy using ingredients such as local food waste, moss, and wild herbs. The City of Lahti aims to be zero-waste by 2050 and is already repurposing 99% of its waste, so this beer seems to be a goose-step in the right direction.

So how do goose droppings fit into this?

Are they even safe to use for beer? Apparently, yes! Ant Brew assures in a statement that ‘the poop is used in a food-safe way to smoke malt to create a unique stout beer’, so we needn't worry about catching any scary goose poop disease. The droppings are lovingly gathered from local parks, which I’m sure was an interesting job advertisement for Ant Brew to put out - WANTED: NIMBLE HANDS, ANIMAL LOVER, BAD SENSE OF SMELL, GOOD KNOWLEDGE OF CRAFT BEER. It does mean, however, that the parks of Lahti will be the booziest, cleanest and greenest in Europe. 

If the thought of drinking poop beer gives you goosebumps, you’re not alone - but perhaps zero-waste alcohol is something we should be looking to take a gander at in the near future. Innovation is essential to improving how we consume products in an environmentally friendly way, and what better product to start with than everyone’s favourite summer beverage. 

Goose Poop is still in production at the moment, but Ant Brew has already released two of their seven beers from the range. The first, Dumpster Diver, is a wit-style beer brewed with expired fruit purees and orange peels from a local juicer’s stall; the second, Boreality Check, is a sour beer made with local moss. The Wasted Potential beers are currently only able to be purchased in Ant Brew’s pub, however zero-waste beers are popping up worldwide - so keep your eyes peeled and your nose peg on! 

If you happen to come across a zero-waste or eco-friendly beer, please let us know on our Instagram, Twitter or Facebook at @thethreedrinkers! 

We’re always on the lookout for the next big thing when it comes to inventive drinks and we’d love for you to get involved in the process!

For more weird and wonderful beer flavours make sure you check out Prawn Cocktail Crisp Beer or Vagina Beer!

Why do hangovers get worse with age?

Remember your early 20s? After a few too many drinks, you’d wake fresh as a daisy, ready to tackle work, run a marathon, pen a bestseller. But, as we slip into later life, our hangovers become incapacitating. Pounding headaches, nausea and hangxiety (read our piece on what that is here) can all turn up after just a couple of tame pints at the pub. Even choosing what to watch on Netflix becomes a chore.

It’s not just your imagination  though - there is some science behind it. According to physicians, as you age, your body’s metabolism slows down and that doesn’t just mean the inevitable waistline expansion. Your body no longer metabolises certain things, including alcohol, as well because your liver doesn’t work quite as efficiently as it did when you were 21.

Enzymes in your liver begin to process alcohol by breaking it down into acetaldehyde, a toxin commonly thought to be a contributor to hangover symptoms. From there, enzymes break the acetaldehyde down into non-toxic acetate. But, here’s the thing: your liver can only do that so fast, and it gets slower as you age. So, in effect, acetaldehyde hangs around in your body for longer, getting pushed into your bloodstream – and increasing that grim hungover feeling.

Of course, there are other factors at play. Your genetics are important – we all have those annoying friends who ‘don’t get hangovers’, at any age – as is the quantity you drink and how often. And, perception matters. You might recall that you didn’t get hangovers when you were younger, but was that really true? Your hangovers may be more about feeling anxious and having low productivity rather than nausea and headaches. 

Earlier in life, feeling rubbish after a big night out with mates almost feels like a badge of honour. Yet over time, the novelty wears off. And, when combined with increased responsibilities like high-pressured jobs or childcare, hangovers genuinely are worse  - and longer - than they used to be as you take longer to recover. 

Want to know why we get ‘hangxiety?’ Read all about it here.

Prawn cocktail Crisp Flavoured Beer, You Say?!

Coming from Yorkshire and having grown up mere streets away from the Seabrook factory, it was hard not to get excited about the news that Leeds-based brewer Northern Monk have teamed up with Bradford-based Seabrook to create two new styles of beer: Cheese & Onion and Prawn Cocktail. Just, wow.

They first teased us with this on April Fool’s day, so we weren’t sure here at 3DHQ whether to believe it or not. It wouldn’t be the first time that Northern Monk have pulled off an exciting new style of beer… Anyone else remember their jam roly-poly and Yorkshire pudding beers made in partnership with Aunt Bessie’s last year? It turns out, however, that it is in fact true and the two companies have succeeded in bringing together two of our nation’s favourite things: beer and crisps!

These unique beers are made from a base beer that has been combined with actual Seabrook crisp flavouring. Sadly, we haven’t managed to get our hands on them but the Cheese & Onion lager, coming in at 5.4% abv, is described as having a distinct aroma and leaving you with an aftertaste of cheese and onion whereas the Prawn Cocktail Gose, at 5% abv, is said to be a sour beer with distinct saltiness and a tang of prawn cocktail.

Unfortunately, these crisp-inspired beers are currently sold out, but you can see more of Northern Monk’s imaginative flavours and delicious drinks in the meantime here. If you do manage to get your hands on some, let us know what you thought via our social media @thethreedrinkers!

For more wacky beer stories, take your pick from Aunt Bessie’s Roast Potato Beer, Colman’s Mustard Beer, Fungtn Mushroom Beer and not forgetting Vagina Beer!