Review: Drinks by the Dram Whisky Advent Calendar 2021
November is upon us, which means holiday shopping will soon follow. For the spirits enthusiast in your family, consider an early present in the form of an advent calendar: 12 or 24 30ml mini bottles that can be consumed, one each day, leading up to Christmas.
Drinks by the Dram was nice enough to send me an advance copy of its 2021 Whisky Advent Calendar, a 24-pack of world whiskeys that covers pretty much the entire globe — except for the U.S. The full rundown of spirits (sorry, spoilers ahead!) includes the following:
Nc’nean Organic Single Malt Whisky – Batch 7
Grace O’Malley Blended Irish Whiskey
Mackmyra Björksav
Kyrö Malt Rye Whisky
West Cork Black Cask
Stauning Rye
Tamdhu 12 Year Old
Gulliver’s 47
Tobermory 12 Year Old
Aerolite Lyndsay 10 Year Old – The Character of Islay Whisky Company
Egan’s 10 Year Old Single Malt
Mortlach 16 Year Old
World Whisky Blend (That Boutique-y Whisky Company)
The Glenrothes 12 Year Old – Soleo Collection
Lagavulin 8 Year Old
Brenne Cuvée Spéciale French Single Malt Whisky
Talisker Port Ruighe
Teeling Small Batch
The Singleton of Dufftown 15 Year Old
Glengoyne 12 Year Old
Monkey Shoulder Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
Laphroaig 10 Year Old
Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Solera
Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old
Plenty of old friends, but definitely some stuff in there that I’d never tried — or even heard of, in some cases. I won’t do a full review of everything in the list — you can scour the site if you want to delve into specifics — but overall quality is high, and the $220 price tag is solid, meaning you pay less than $10 per sample. (In the UK, the set will run you £149.) Just remember to order soon, as these sets tend to sell out — and it’s more fun to drink these leading up to Christmas, rather than starting on Christmas day — though, seriously, you can’t go wrong either way.
A- / $220 / thespiritco.com
