A black box makes sense in the darkest month of the year. Behind the doors sits heavy molasses rum from Guyana next to fresh cane juice from Guadeloupe, and somewhere in the run there is one bottled at navy strength. You can change your mind about rum several times over 24 days.

The expert's description

24 Days of Rum Black Edition - Rum Advent Calendar filled with 24 x 2 cl is a rum advent calendar holding 24 different rums in 2 cl miniature bottles at strengths from 38% to 54.5%, with two glasses in the box.

The concept comes from 1423 World Class Spirits, a Danish company that has turned the rum calendar into a fixed part of December for rum drinkers in a good many countries. The selection follows one rule: as many origins as possible within 24 doors. The two glasses are included so the rum can be tasted properly from 1 December rather than poured into whatever tumbler is nearest.

Geography is the real content here. There is heavy molasses-based rum from Jamaica and Guyana, aged Spanish style bottlings from Panama, Peru, Guatemala and El Salvador, and rhum agricole pressed from fresh cane juice in Martinique, Guadeloupe and Réunion. Further afield come bottles from Mauritius, Indonesia, Brazil, Australia and Cambodia, where Kampot pepper has been steeped into the rum. One is distilled on Orkney, an island known for something rather different from sugar cane.

A couple of the doors hold rum-based spirit drinks rather than straight rum, and that is deliberate: the calendar is meant to show the edges of the category as well as its centre. The running order stays hidden, but the full list of all 24 bottles sits under the Description tab. For corporate gifting the shop takes orders from six calendars upwards at ordre@whisky.dk.

Tasting notes

Nose

Molasses and dark brown sugar form the base note throughout, but the French bottles break the pattern with green cane, olive and something earthy. Along the way banana, coconut and dried apricot turn up, and on one day there is a clear smell of freshly cracked pepper.

Palate

From tight and dry to round and cask-sweet. The aged Central American rums are soft with vanilla, caramel and toasted oak, while the Jamaican and Guyanese ones are sharper-edged with liquorice, dark fruit and an oily weight. The agricole bottles cut through with acidity and cane juice, and the 54.5% of the navy bottling registers from the first sip.

Finish

Length varies as much as the styles do. The lightest let go quickly on cane and citrus, while the heavy ones hang on with tobacco, dark chocolate and spiced wood.

Specifications

Name: 24 Days of Rum Black Edition - Rum Advent Calendar filled with 24 x 2 cl
Producer: 1423 World Class Spirits
Region/Country: Rum from around the world
Type: Rum Advent Calendar
ABV: 38-54.5%
Size: 2 CL per bottle
Number of bottles in the calendar: 24
Edition: Black Edition
Serving suggestion: Neat at room temperature in a small glass, with a single drop of water if needed

Flavour profile

Molasses · Dried Fruit · Spiced · Cane-fresh · Cask-aged

Did you know?

Each of the 24 miniature bottles carries its own label, drawn to mirror the producer's original bottle. Nothing is tasted blind, and from 1 December the rum of the day can be looked up and rated by rum drinkers worldwide at 24daysofrum.com.

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A mocha-brown box, 24 doors and a world that reaches well beyond the Caribbean. Uganda, South Africa, India and Fiji grow sugar cane too, and they are what makes December interesting here. Two glasses sit in the box, because this calendar is built for two.

The expert's description

24 Days of Rum Mocha Edition - Rum Advent Calendar filled with 24 x 2 cl is a rum advent calendar holding 24 different rums in 2 cl miniature bottles at strengths from 38% to 54%, averaging around 41%, with two Spey Dram glasses in the box.

The Mocha Edition sets itself apart first and foremost through its line-up. Where rum means the Caribbean to most people, this edition pulls towards Africa, Asia and the Pacific. Uganda, South Africa, India, Indonesia, Fiji and Mexico stand alongside classics from Martinique, El Salvador, Trinidad and Belize, and it is exactly that mix which makes the calendar hard to second-guess.

The styles are as scattered as the countries. There is rum distilled from fresh cane juice in India, a Mexican rum with twenty years behind it, spiced rum from Scotland and a couple of rum-based spirit drinks, one of them built on orange. Because strength swings from 38% to 54%, both weight and punch shift noticeably from one day to the next.

With two Spey Dram glasses and a tasting notes folder in the box, the calendar is made to be shared and to be written down as you go. The running order stays hidden, but the full list of all 24 bottles sits under the Description tab. For corporate gifting the shop takes orders from six calendars upwards at ordre@whisky.dk.

Tasting notes

Nose

Dried fruit and coconut first, with vanilla and pale caramel behind. The African and Asian bottles pull in another direction with green cane juice, ripe banana and a trace of spice, and a couple of doors smell clearly of orange peel.

Palate

The breadth shows up most on the tongue. The aged rums are round and cask-sweet with raisin, dried apricot and toasted oak, while the Indian cane juice rum is tight and juicy with sweetness straight from the cane. The spiced bottling lays cinnamon and nutmeg over the top, and the strongest at around 54% deliver real pressure.

Finish

From short and fresh to long and dry. The oldest hang on with dark syrup, tobacco and dry wood, while the youngest let go faster on cane and citrus peel.

Specifications

Name: 24 Days of Rum Mocha Edition - Rum Advent Calendar filled with 24 x 2 cl
Producer: 1423 World Class Spirits
Region/Country: Rum from around the world
Type: Rum Advent Calendar
ABV: 38-54%
Size: 2 CL per bottle
Number of bottles in the calendar: 24
Edition: Mocha Edition
Serving suggestion: Neat at room temperature, ideally two glasses side by side so two days can be tasted against each other

Flavour profile

Dried Fruit · Vanilla · Coconut · Spiced · Cane-fresh

Did you know?

The Mocha in the name refers to the colour of the box, not to coffee. There is neither coffee nor mocha in any of the 24 bottles. The concept itself comes from the Danish company 1423 World Class Spirits, so the rums of the world arrive in a box put together in Denmark.

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Twenty-four small glimpses of Norway, one for each day of December. From the mild to the boldly spiced, an entire nation's akvavit heritage packed into twenty-four miniatures.

The Expert's Description

Akvavit Advent Calendar "A Taste of Norway" is an advent calendar with 24 miniature akvavits, 40% alcohol.

The calendar brings together 24 different Norwegian akvavits in 2 cl bottles, letting you count down to Christmas with a new tasting experience each day. Among the 24 doors you'll find classics such as the acclaimed Arvesølvet alongside other Christmas akvavits and local Norwegian styles, making the calendar a broad introduction to Norwegian akvavit tradition rather than a single distillery's world.

Tasting Notes

Nose

Varies from day to day, from mild herbal notes and citrus to boldly spiced, cask-matured aromas.

Palate

Spans the breadth of Norwegian akvavit tradition, from light, fresh styles to full-bodied, sherry-matured editions with caraway and spice.

Finish

Shifts from short and clean to long and spiced, depending on which door is opened.

Specifications

Name: Akvavit Advent Calendar
Country: Norway
Type: Akvavit Advent Calendar
ABV: 40%
Size: 24x2 CL
Serving suggestion: Serve ice-cold in a small glass, one new akvavit at a time, each day leading up to Christmas Eve.

Flavour Profile

Variety · Caraway · Spice · Citrus

Did You Know?

With 24 different miniature bottles, the calendar lets you taste your way through most of the breadth of Norwegian akvavit tradition, from the mildest to the most boldly spiced styles, without buying 24 full bottles.

Twenty-five doors, twenty-five distilleries, and no two of them alike. One holds dry juniper from a Welsh coastline, the next something spiced from the highlands of Vietnam. December turns into a route you drink your way along, one day at a time.

The expert's description

Gin Advent Calendar - Gin Calendar filled with 25 different gins of 5 cl is an advent calendar holding 25 different gins in 5 cl miniature bottles at strengths between 40% and 45%.

The format is the whole point. 5 cl is a generous measure rather than a taster, so every door stretches to a proper Gin and Tonic with a garnish chosen for the bottle of the day. There is room to taste the gin neat first and then watch what the tonic does to it.

The spread is wide. Distilleries from Wales, Cornwall, Yorkshire, the Isle of Man, Orkney, Ireland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Monaco, Tasmania and Vietnam all turn up. Some bottles are bone dry and juniper-led, others are outright Christmas releases built on baking spice, fig, apple, orange and cocoa. Several are special editions that do not sit on the shelf all year.

The running order stays a secret, but the full list of all 25 gins sits under the Description tab for anyone who cannot wait until 1 December. For corporate gifting the shop takes orders from six calendars upwards at ordre@whisky.dk.

Tasting notes

Nose

Juniper runs through the lot, but rarely the same way two days running. Some doors smell sharply of citrus peel and fresh herbs, others of baked apple, dried fig and warm spice. One arrives with orange and cocoa.

Palate

The range is broad. The dry gins are tight and peppery with juniper right at the front, while the winter releases are rounder and fuller, with fruit sweetness and a baking-spice floor. Strength moves between 40% and 45%, and the difference is easy to feel from one day to the next.

Finish

From short and dry to long and spiced. The classics sign off cleanly on juniper and citrus, while the Christmas gins hang on with baking spice and orange peel.

Specifications

Name: Gin Advent Calendar - Gin Calendar filled with 25 different gins of 5 cl
Region/Country: Gin from around the world
Type: Gin Advent Calendar
ABV: 40-45%
Size: 5 CL per bottle
Number of bottles in the calendar: 25
Serving suggestion: Neat in a tulip glass, or with Tonic Water and a garnish matched to the gin of the day

Flavour profile

Juniper-dry · Citrus · Spiced · Fruity · Christmas Spice

Did you know?

The calendar carries 25 doors rather than the 24 that are standard in Denmark. The last one therefore waits for Christmas Day, when most other advent calendars have long since been emptied.

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Tea Advent Calendar 2024 Edition – 25 Tea Brewers

Tea Advent Calendar 2024 Edition – 25 tea bags = 400 ml of delightful tea.
Now you can give more than just a great tea experience as a Christmas gift to all your loved ones! The Brew Company returns with their popular tea advent calendar. With this calendar, you can enjoy a unique organic tea experience every day until Christmas, with 25 carefully crafted blends of natural tea, herbs, and dried fruit, served in our sustainable and recyclable Tea Brewer packaging.