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Christmas brings a run of invitations: dinners, drinks, the long lunch that rolls into the evening. Each one comes with the same small question: what do you bring?
Most of us play it safe and reach for a bottle we already know. Yet a host gift is the perfect excuse to bring something new to the table, a bottle your host hasn’t tried and might never have found on their own. Open it together and the gift becomes a deeper experience, a night that goes down in your own personal history book.
So we asked three of our WSET-trained whisky and wine experts – Helena Kuzmichova, Whitney Jacobsen, and Sam Wilson – which bottles they’d happily turn up to Christmas parties with this year. Any of them could become your new go-to favourite…
Don’t just bring the bottle of wine that’s been sitting in the cellar for a while. The best bottles are those that have some thought behind the gift. That means a bottle that’s chosen for the occasion as well as the person: a bourbon or a red wine for a dinner party, a single malt as a thank you gift, something unusual for a whisky lover and Champagne when there’s a celebration. Here are the host gift ideas our experts would choose this year.
Whisky is a gift most hosts are glad to receive, but the right bottle depends on who you’re visiting and why. Helena has a pick for three very different hosts.
When you’ve been invited to dinner, the bottle in your hand is the first thing your host sees. “Arriving with the right bottle is one of life’s small pleasures,” says Helena. “Weller Full Proof is one we’d happily bring ourselves.”
It’s a wheated Kentucky bourbon from Buffalo Trace, unfiltered and bottled at the same strength it went into the barrel. Expect caramel, vanilla and cinnamon, then a long, warming finish. Helena picked it so you arrive ‘with something that shows you thought about it’.
Price : £79.00
Christmas is when a lot of thank yous get said, so it’s important that your gift shows how you feel. “A thank you means more when it’s been properly thought about,” Helena explains.
Fettercairn Vanguard is a limited Highland single malt, finished in casks made with Scottish oak. On the nose and palate you’ll find floral honey, tropical fruit and a touch of vanilla. Her advice? “Add a personal message and let the bottle do the rest.”
Price: £85.50
Who will love it: anyone new to sipping rum, and whisky drinkers who enjoy a wine-cask finish. It’s also an easy bottle to share, as it’s smooth enough to win round friends who think rum is only for cocktails.
If you’re buying for someone who already knows their whisky, “The best gift is one they wouldn’t have found themselves,” says Helena.
Her suggestion is Michel Couvreur’s Blossoming Auld Sherried, a malt whisky matured in the cool cellars of Burgundy, in sherry casks from Jerez that held wine for more than 50 years. It gives dried apricot, orange peel, roasted nuts and honey. Add a personal message or an engraving and present it in one of our wooden gift boxes, and in Helena’s words, “it becomes a gift that feels entirely theirs.”
Price: £250.00
A wine gift for your host is the classic choice, which is exactly why it’s easy to bring the same bottle every time. Whitney’s recommendations help you step outside your comfort zone with three very different but exceptional choices.
Christmas hosts tend to cook big, so Whitney always starts by looking at the menu. “The right wine doesn’t just sit beside a meal, it brings it together,” he explains. If braised beef or game is on the menu, the 2015 Oddero Barolo Villero is the one he’d pour.
Poderi Oddero is one of Barolo’s historic traditional estates, with roots in La Morra stretching back to the eighteenth century. Aged for 30 months in large oak, it comprises red cherry, violet, liquorice and earthy spice with tannins that are now settling beautifully.
Price : £75.00. Buy a case of 6 and save £37.50!
Not sure what’s on the menu? Not a problem – Hackston’s can help, as Whitney says – “Tell us what’s on the table and we’ll find a match.”
Most of us order the same white every time, and Christmas is a good moment to break the habit. “Everyone has a go-to wine. Every so often, it’s worth finding a new one,” says Whitney.
Domaine Belargus Ronceray comes from Anjou in the Loire Valley, a region known for the sheer variety of grapes grown there. This is their Chenin Blanc, dry, structured and precise. In the glass you get citrus and orchard fruit, a gentle honeyed note and a clear mineral edge.
Price : £64.00
“It’s the kind of bottle we love to recommend,” Whitney explains. “A discovery that could easily become your next favourite.”
Between Christmas and New Year there’s usually something worth toasting, even if it’s just getting everyone round one table. “Champagne doesn’t need a grand occasion, but it does deserve a good one,” says Whitney.
Drappier Millésime Exception is a vintage Champagne from 2018, made to capture the character of a single exceptional year. A high proportion of Chardonnay brings citrus, almond and a touch of vanilla, while Pinot Noir adds depth and red fruit.
Price : £65.00. Buy a case of 6 and save £32.50!
As Whitney suggests, “Take it to a celebration, a long lunch or any gathering with good news worth sharing.”
Then there’s the host with a cabinet full of whisky, who seems to own every bottle worth having. Sam keeps a close eye on releases that rarely come round, and one has just arrived. “Something new has just landed and we’re really excited to show you,” says Sam.
This Clynelish was distilled in 1996 and bottled in 2022 at 26 years old, from a single refill hogshead. Clynelish is one of Sam’s favourite distilleries, known for its unpeated, waxy malts. Only 132 bottles exist, at natural cask strength, released by First Editions in collaboration with the Japanese sculptor Yoshitoshi Kanemaki.
Price: £1,090.00
If there’s a collector on your list this Christmas, this is the bottle they’re least likely to own already. But act fast, advises Sam, as “It’s in our collection now for anyone who’s been looking for it.”
Any bottle you buy from us can now be finished with original artwork by our own artist, for just £10 a bottle. The results are beautiful, and they turn a bottle your host will enjoy into one they’ll keep on the shelf long after it’s empty.
Our new personalisation service is available on every purchase, whether you buy online or in our Knightsbridge store. Add a personal message, artwork or an engraving, choose one of our wooden gift boxes, and it becomes really special.
Book your personalised engraving and artwork online and for more information, read our blog on How to personalise a whisky or wine gift for Christmas.
A bottle that suits the meal is the safest choice. For braised beef or game, Whitney recommends the 2015 Poderi Oddero Barolo Villero. If you need help, let our team know the menu and we can suggest the perfect pairing.
Yes. Whisky keeps well once opened, so your host can enjoy it long after the evening. Weller Full Proof, a wheated Kentucky bourbon with caramel, vanilla and cinnamon, is the bottle Helena would bring to dinner herself.
A bottle chosen with the person in mind, and with its own personal message. Fettercairn Vanguard, a limited Highland single malt with floral honey and tropical fruit, works well – even better when personalised with a special engraving or artwork by our own bottle artist!
Something they’re unlikely to have found themselves. Michel Couvreur Blossoming Auld Sherried, matured in Burgundy in sherry casks from Jerez, is an unusual choice. For a collector, the 26-year-old Clynelish 1996 is one of just 132 bottles.
Yes. Our personalisation service is available on every purchase, online or in store, so you can add a personal message, drawing or engraving to any bottle you choose and transform your bottle into a work of art.
If you’re not sure which bottle will suit your host, tell our team who you’re visiting and what’s on the table, and we’ll help you find the right one. Or browse our gifting section to find a new favourite.
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