We all love a pair of new pyjamas, a chocolate orange and some cosy socks but sometimes, what you really want is something unusual, like an unusual alcohol gift. Yes, a bottle of the old favourites (classic red wine or prosecco bubbles) makes a nice gift, but what about something a little bit funkier?
Take a step away from safe bets and go a little rogue with a candy cane martini or a lemon drizzle gin. There's a whole world of unusual and distinctively flavoured booze out there. Why not have a browse of our recommended picks and give that Christmas foodie or cocktail lover in your life something to taste test to their heart's content?
Closer's best unusual alcohol Christmas gifts, at a glance:
Editor's Choice: Edinburgh Gin Mulled Gin Liqueur Lantern, £14.95 on Amazon
Best gin gift: Engine Pure Organic Gin, £20 on Amazon
Best espresso martini gift: Funkin Cocktails Bartender Edition Salted Caramel Espresso Martini, £9.50 on Sainsburys
If you've taken a look at the usual alcohol deals and there's nothing that tickles your fancy, you might want to try something new. After all, how many bottles of pink gin are they going to get this Christmas? Impress them with a fancy flavour that they're sure to remember with the best unusual alcohol gifts for Christmas.
SHOP: The best unusual alcohol Christmas gifts for Christmas 2023
Please, drink responsibly.
Editor's Choice
![Edinburgh Gin Mulled Gin Liqueur Lantern 50cl](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2023/11/unusual-alcohol-gifts-3-1.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
Everyone loves a G&T all year round, but when it gets to Christmas, it's good to add a bit of a festive twist. Edinburgh Gin's Mulled Lantern comes with a bottle of Mulled Gin Liqueur and doubles up as a gorgeous festive decoration. A drink and a decoration? What more could you want?
Best gin gift
![Edinburgh Gin Mulled Gin Liqueur Lantern 50cl](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2023/11/unusual-alcohol-gifts-1-1.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
If you know a car lover or simply a fan of novelty bottles, ENGINE will tick all of those boxes. Made in Italy, ENGINE has a distinct flavour of balsamic, juniper, fresh notes of lemon peel and the intense aroma of sage, all against an elegant floral background. Its eye-catching fuel can-esque bottle is made of recycled aluminium, so it's eco-friendly too.
Best expresso martini gift
![Funkin Cocktails Bartender Edition Salted Caramel Espresso Martini 700ml](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2023/11/unusual-alcohol-gifts-2-1.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
www.sainsburys.co.uk
An espresso martini is a cult favourite drink all year round, so what better gift to give the coffee lover in your life than an espresso martini with a modern twist? Mixing salted caramel with coffee, Funkin's Salted Caramel Espresso is also reasonably priced coming in under £10!
Best rum gift
![The Salford Honey Rum](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2023/11/unusual-alcohol-gifts-7.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
www.masterofmalt.com
Treat them to a delicious bottle of The Salford Honey Rum. It’s made with a single-origin pot and column distilled rum that is blended and bottled less than two miles from Salford docks, with real Salford honey. Its sweet tastes of honeycomb, caramel and butterscotch with floral top notes and smooth rum flavour will have you coming back for more each time.
Best flavoured gin gift
![That's The Spirit Apple Pie Gin 70cl](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2023/11/unusual-alcohol-gifts-12.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
www.thebottleclub.com
Get into the Christmas spirit with this festive-flavoured applied pie gin. Highly rated at the Bottle Club, Apple Pie Gin is your slice of homemade heaven in a bottle ready for you to enjoy with friends or curled up on the sofa. Why not give it a try?
Best pre-wrapped alcohol gift
![Hayman's ready wrapped sloe gin](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2023/11/unusual-alcohol-gifts-9-1.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
www.haymansgin.com
This gorgeous Hand Gift Wrapped Sloe Gin from Hayman's comes ready-wrapped and is just as tasty on the inside as it is pretty on the out. A Christmas gift they'll really enjoy.
Best cocktail gift
![Nio Cocktails Christmas Cocktail Gift Box](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2023/11/unusual-alcohol-gifts-5-1.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
niococktails.co.uk
You can guarantee the perfect gift in time for Christmas with these postbox cocktails from NIO. Their range of Christmas cocktails comes in flavours Spiced Negroni, Winter Sidecar, Christmas Margarita, Apple Rum Punch, Christmas in Manhattan and Snow Daiquiri. Packaged in flat-pack boxes, simply cut off the corner to pour and enjoy.
Best alcohol selection gift
![Cooper King Sharing Selection (3 x 100ml) Spirit](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2023/10/cooper-king-gin-box-gift.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
www.masterofmalt.com
Perfect for posting to far-away friends and family, this selection box of Cooper King gin fits through the letterbox and is ultimately more fun than your usual selection box of chocolate bars. Beautifully packaged and delicious to boot, the ideal present for gin lovers who want something extra special this Christmas.
Best unique gin gift
![Flamingo Tears Gin](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2023/11/unusual-alcohol-gifts-5-2.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
firebox.com
If you've heard of Firebox, you'll know that the brand has tonnes of unusual alcohol gifts to enjoy, and this is one of them. The popular Flamingo Tears Gin combines flavours of bittersweet citrus blended with crisp and dry juniper aromas to make a grapefruit-flavoured gin. It's all presented in a beautiful, unique bottle.
Best Christmas-themed gin gift
![Sixpence Pud Christmas Pudding Gin Liqueur](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2023/11/unusual-alcohol-gifts-2-2.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
firebox.com
The Sixpence Pud Christmas Pudding Gin Liqueur looks good enough to eat, and it's the perfect gift for a Christmas host this festive season. It has an unforgettable festive flavour, exploding with notes of apple, winter spices, candied fruit and vanilla.
![Kavka vodka](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2022/12/Kavka-Estate.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
Fancy a banging martini this festive season? Get your Bond on with this delicious voddy that has added apple and plum fruit spirits. It comes in a fancy tube for an extra touch of gifting class and is also delicious as a shot if that's your festive vibe. Shaken or stirred or downed in one, it's a yes from us.
Best prosecco gift
![Della Vite prosecco](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2022/12/della-vite-prosecco-scaled.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
www.sainsburys.co.uk
Festive fizz doesn't come more stylish than this. The brand was founded in 2020 by the supermodel sisters who wanted to create a premium Prosecco product that could rival Champagne at the Christmas table. It comes in a slick, black, presentation box, is 100% vegan, and is pretty darn drinkable to boot.
Best chocolate liqueur gift
![Mozart Dark Chocolate Liqueur, 50 cl](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2023/10/mozart-dark-chocolate-liqueur.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
For the chocolate lovers in your life this Christmas, you can't go wrong with Mozart chocolate liqueur. For those cold winter nights add it to a hot chocolate or have it for a Christmas Day tipple on its own.
Best celebrity-owned drink gift
![Ramsay's Gin 70cl](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2023/11/unusual-alcohol-gifts-8-1.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
www.masterofmalt.com
One thing about Gordon Ramsay is that he knows his stuff when it comes to food, and he clearly now knows his stuff when it comes to drink too as he has partnered up with Eden Mill to make Ramsay's Gin. The gin is a delicious new take on a classic London Dry Gin inspired by the taste of Scotland and is a great gift for anyone who fancy themselves as a food and drink connoisseur.
Best gift for wine-lovers
![Red Wine Gin](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2023/11/unusual-alcohol-gifts-1-2.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
firebox.com
Can't decide on whether to get them red wine or gin? Now you don't have to. Why not have both? This Red Wine Gin Liqueur from Firebox takes the rich berry aromas of a fine red wine, those smooth and subtle notes of plum and blueberry, then balances them perfectly with dry juniper and complimentary botanical flavours.
Best for those who like a good looking bottle
![Five Farms](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2022/12/Five-Farms-Irish-Cream-Liqueur-1.png?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
The first sip is with the eye, and this is a seriously nice looking bottle. It does good as well as looking good and is the world's first farm-to-table Irish cream liqueur. Moooooooove over Baileys tbh.
Best whiskey gift
![Glenmorangie X Whisky](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2023/10/glenmorangie-whisky-gift.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
www.masterofmalt.com
Whisky and coke are a match made in mixing heaven and now, thanks to Glenmorangie, you don't have to worry about wasting your nice on-the-rocks whiskies in your glass of cola, only for them to get lost in the sweet fizz. Yep, that's right, Glenmorangie X is the high-end whisky you've been looking for, only it's been designed for mixing. But how, you ask? Well, the jist of the matter is that this new X addition to the Glenmorangie family is ever-so-slightly sweeter than its single malt siblings and so it won't go unnoticed when mixed with your favourite ginger beer, juice or cola.
Best gift for vodka martini-lovers
![Broken Clock vodka](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2022/12/Broken-Clock-yorkshire-vodka-copy-scaled.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
www.thewhiskyexchange.com
Vodka and Yorkshire aren't two things we'd automatically put together but chuffin' heck this works. A classic martini made with this good stuff will class up any Christmas or New Year affair or, if you must give it away, the presentation tube is so nice you probably don't even need to wrap it.
Best gift for Bailey fans
![Coole Swan Superior Irish Cream Liqueur, 70cl](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2023/11/unusual-alcohol-gifts-11.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
www.johnlewis.com
Coole Swan combines Single-Malt Irish Whiskey, Belgian White Chocolate and Fresh Irish Cream, making it a great gift for any chocolate lovers this Christmas. Serve neat or over ice, but always chilled.
Best lactose-free liqueur gift
![Kyrö Dairy Cream Liqueur](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2023/10/kyro-dairy-cream-lactose-liqueur.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
www.masterofmalt.com
A great gift for fans of Baileys who want something a bit fancier this Christmas. This cream liqueur from Finland is made using local milk as well as Kyro's very own rye whiskey, meaning that even if your loved one can't make it abroad this Christmas their tastebuds can. All this talk of dairy may be scaring off those with lactose intolerance, but fear not - Kyro Dairy Cream is a lactose-free liqueur.
Best novelty spirit gift
![Jaffa Cake Rum](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2023/11/unusual-alcohol-gifts-3-2.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
www.masterofmalt.com
They'll be over the moon with this Jaffa Cake Rum, a fun and funky gift to tantalise their tastebuds over the festive season. Jaffa Cake Rum is made with actual Jaffa Cakes to give it an authentic flavour, alongside oranges, fresh orange peel and cocoa powder - all blended with Caribbean rum.
Best gift for G+T fans
![Sipsmith Lemon Drizzle](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2023/10/sipsmith-lemon-drizzle-gin.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
www.masterofmalt.com
Does your loved one always have their G+T with a slice of lemon? Why not cut out the middle man and give them a bottle of Sipsmith's Lemon Drizzle Gin this Christmas? Sipsmith has ingeniously bottled one of Britain's favourite bakes, replicating the taste of Lemon Drizzle cake with this gin. The recipe was meticulously crafted by Master Distiller Jared Brown and Head Distiller Ollie Kitson, who combined various forms of lemon flavourings.
Best for fans of the planet
![Respirited vodka](https://images.bauerhosting.com/celebrity/sites/2/2023/12/Respirited-sustainable-vodka.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
www.thewhiskyexchange.com
Respirited is bottled in recycled glass, uses a sustainable cork, compostable capsule and the label is printed on recycled paper. It tastes great too.
How to create a well-stocked cocktail bar
Get your base spirits sorted
Depending on the kinds of cocktails you like making, you're going to need a bottle of each of these: vodka, gin, rum, tequila and whiskey.
Stock up on liqueurs
Next, you need some additional spirits to pump up your creations. Cointreau, Campari, vermouth, Aperol and Kalhua are classics that are good to have behind the bar.
Have your garnishes at the ready
To add some flavour and spice to your cocktails you're going to need some garnishes. Some great ones to have ready are simple syrup, salt, chilli, limes, lemons, oranges, mint and cranberry juice.
Now for equipment
A shaker is essential, as well as measures, stirrers and a good quality, large ice cube tray. You'll also need the right glass wear, including martini glasses, tumblers, champagne flutes and highball glasses.
Lucy Brown is a contributing writer at Closer online.