The best bar and boozy gifts for people who love to drink

For wine lovers who want to discover new and approachable wines, go for Crushed Wines’ Christmas cases. Curated by an all-female team of wine lovers, Crushed offers small-batch wines sourced from sustainable wine producers who practice ethical trade. Their Classy Christmas Case is a perfect holiday gift. Expect three wine bottles that includes sparkling wine Genevieve Zero Dosage Blanc de Blanc from South Africa, white wine Borgo Stajnbech 150 Lison Classico DOCG from Italy, and red wine Guthrie Family Chateau Guthrie from California. 

Price: $1,138
Where to buy: crushedwines.com

InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong just released its first-ever Whisky Tasting Book series in time for the holiday season. Whisky buffs and budding whisky enthusiasts will definitely enjoy these selections of drams. Four books were available during their initial launch, but the Connoisseurs Tasting Book and The Macallan Collection Book sold out pretty quickly. Two remaining books containing a dozen 30ml whisky expressions are available for purchase: the 12x12 Whisky Tasting Book (includes 12 YO expressions of The Glenrothes, The Dalmore, The Macallan Sherry Oak, The Macallan Double Cask, and Mortlach, among others) – and The Bourbon Tasting Book (includes Wild Turkey 17 Years Master's Keep, Jack Daniel's No.27 Gold, and Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Select, among others). Make sure to order it today before they run out.  

Price: $880
Where to buy: eshop.icgrandstanford.com  

Counting down to Christmas is more fun with a daily dose of booze and sweets, and Smith & Sinclair has got you covered. The brand's Naughty or Nice Countdown Calendar comes with an assortment of 24 vegan-friendly, alcoholic cocktail gummies (5 percent ABV per gummy). Flavours include our favourite Old Fashioned, Manhattan, and Hibiscus Negroni gummies.

Price: $495
Where to buy: hk.smithandsinclair.com

Hong Kong spirits label Perfume Trees Gin recently launched a sugar-free coffee liqueur called Pale Ink, and it's a great gift for home bar enthusiasts who enjoy the bitter taste of coffee in their tipple. The liqueur uses Perfume Trees Gin as its base, and for the first run, the coffee flavours were influenced by Urban Coffee Roasters' founder Gary Au. The brand plans to collaborate with various coffee roasters for future instalments. There are only 2000 bottles released in the market, so best to buy early to secure a bottle. 

Price: $468 
Where to buy: soberorblotto-shop.com

For Negroni lovers, here's a gift pack that allows them to create a winter riff of the classic bitter aperitif. The DIY kit comes with a bottle of Campari (750ml), Bulldog Gin (750ml), Caffe Borghetti (700ml), The Bitter Truth Chocolate Bitters (200ml), and a complimentary pair of Riedel neat glasses. The Winter Negroni recipe is available on the link below. 

Price: $812
Where to buy: meta-bev.com 

For the wine connoisseur, give them a gift of wine exploration at one of the best wine bars in the city. James Suckling Wine Central offers gift vouchers that guests can use as spending credit for food and wine from the bar. Oenophiles can indulge in a wine list (most are available by the glass) covering James Suckling's 100-point rated wines during his decades-long career as a wine critic.  

Price: $500 or $1,000 (valid for 12 months from date of purchase)
Where to buy: jamessucklingwinecentral.com

Cloudy Bay recently launched two expressions of Sauvignon Blanc, and it's considered to be the estate's finest representation of its winemaking expertise. Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2021 is fresh, fruity with stone fruit flavours, while Te Koko 2019 presents savoury profiles and notes of preserved citrus and tropical fruits. Whether you're looking for a good bottle of wine to bring to your next Christmas gathering or to give a friend who enjoys crisp white wines, these vintages will do the job. 

Price: $288 (Sauvignon Blanc 2021); $480 (Te Koko 2019)
Where to buy: watsonswine.com 

For people who love fizzy sparklers, give them the gift that will allow them to enjoy sparkling wine by the glass and preserve the remaining bubbly in the bottle for up to four weeks. Sparkling wine has the shortest drinkability window. Once you pop, you have to finish the whole bottle because it loses its effervescence. This new Coravin system uses a portable, easy-to-use tool that combines a secure, universal-fit stopper with a hand-held charging unit that maintains the sparkling wine's carbonation level between pours.  

Price: $3,680 (includes one Coravin Sparkling Charger, two Coravin Sparkling Stoppers and four Coravin Pure Sparkling CO2 Capsules)
Where to buy: coravin.hk

Four Pillars gin's annual Christmas release is finally available in Hong Kong, and it's the perfect gift for gin enthusiasts. The 2021 Australian Christmas Gin is distilled with pudding and aged for a year in 100-year-old Muscat barrels. It has notes of juniper, cinnamon, and sweetness from the Muscat – smells like gin and tastes like Christmas.  

Price: $688
Where to buy: hkliquorstore.com

Another festive spirit that's great to open on Christmas day. Glenmorangie's A Tale Of Winter is a 13-year-old single malt Scotch finished in Marsala wine casks from Sicily. The whisky holds a Marsala top-note, flavours of honey, cocoa, nuts, caramelised oranges and pears, and warming spice – made for sipping during wintertime.   

Price: $965 (SRP); $998 (HK Liquorstore)
Where to buy: hkliquorstore.com 

For the gin obsessed, Ginsanity offers a monthly curated selection of exclusive gins (mostly not available in the Hong Kong market) from around the world, complete with tasting notes, cocktail recipes, tonics, and other surprise treats. There's an option to subscribe to a monthly, quarterly, or annual package. If you're buying it as a gift, just pick your preferred package, input your friend's delivery address, and they'll deliver it straight to their door. Monthly deliveries go out every first Friday of the month, so if you're buying for a single month and already missed the cut-off, make sure to contact Ginsanity for the arrangement.  

Price: Monthly ($588), quarterly ($1,675), or annual ($6,468) package
Where to buy: Order via ginsanity.hk

Timeless & Tasty's The Islay Explorer tasting set is made for whisky lovers who enjoy the smoky and peaty flavours of whiskies from the Islay region. Their current Islay region tasting pack comes in a gift box containing five 30ml sample whiskies from A.D. Rattray Williamson 6 YO, Cadenhead's Islay Distillery 9 YO, Port Askaig 10 YO, Blackadder's Bowmore 15 YO, and Br7 Elements of Islay (Bruichladdich).  

Price: $480
Where to buy: timelessandtasty.com