Christmas - you spend months declaring that it’s too early for it and suddenly it’s 1 week away! As the nights were drawing in a few of us were a bit busy coorying in at home or meeting friends for festive drinks and we maybe need a little help now getting the gift stuff sorted. You definitely don’t want any old thing and you probably want a gift that really suits each loved one. No matter whether it’s a gift for a whisky lover or just a last minute gift idea we have you sorted. Here are a few last minute Christmas gift ideas and examples to get you going.
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Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas
EXCITING EXPERIENCES TO SHARE
- Can be purchased right up to the line (…even 3am on Christmas Day…)
- No wrapping
- Making memories
We’re all a little bit more conscious of the environment this year and a little less interested in acquiring more stuff, so why not get some tickets for a nice experience you can share. The best part is you don’t have to brave the shops, as you can buy these from the comfort of your own home!
The Clydeside tours aren’t just for Christmas - if you purchase a voucher for your loved one they will have the whole year to come and visit. You can be sent either a handy e-voucher or a beautifully presented physical voucher – just make sure to get your order in by Wednesday the 18th of December.
Browse our tour and monetary vouchers from our online shop.
The Tour & Tasting
Book the tour to explore our whisky distillery together with your loved one and learn about the shared history of whisky and the Clyde. This is a 1-hour tour at The Clydeside that includes a tour of the distillery and a tutored whisky tasting of three single malts. Don’t worry if you or your loved one don’t consider yourselves whisky experts just yet – our knowledgeable guides are here to introduce you to the world of whisky and answer any burning questions. This is also a great experience for the family with multi-media displays, friendly guides and a soft-drink option for children.
Chocolate & Whisky Tour
A treat just for the adults. On this upgraded version of the tour you will be taken through 5 carefully selected single malt whiskies perfectly paired with different artisan chocolates from local chocolatier Sugarsnap. This is the perfect indulgence for any foodie and a really great way to explore Scotch whisky.
WHISKY THAT’S HARD TO FIND
- Impress your loved one with a rare treasure of a whisky
Impress your loved one with these rare whisky finds. Although you may have sampled one or two in one of Glasgow’s excellent whisky bars you may be hard pushed to find a 70cl to take home.
Top Lowland Whisky Picks
Ailsa Bay Sweet Smoke - £57
There aren’t many Lowland distilleries to start with but this one is even then a wee bit difficult to come across as its only sold by select retailers. Named after the island across the water from the distillery where blue hone granite has long been quarried to make curling stones. This is a light but complex whisky: its gently peated to 022ppm but also ‘micro-matured’ in Hudson Baby Bourbon casks giving it an intense vanilla flavour underlined by soft smoke.
Bladnoch 10 - £67
The most southerly Scotch Whisky distillery is pretty tucked away and its precious liquid pretty hard to find. Originally established in 1817 they claim to be the oldest privately owned distillery. Their malt is made from locally sourced barley, is non-chill filtered and natural colour. True to the characteristics of the region this whisky is grassy and floral on the nose with ginger and vanilla sweetness on the palate.
Top Highland Whisky Picks
Deanston 15 Organic - £70
An interesting distillery, a discontinued dram. Deanston distillery is housed in a repurposed cotton mill meaning that the building itself is an example of dramatic, red-brick Edwardian architecture and that they are sitting on a great water source - the powerful river Teith. The 15 year old Organic is another non-chill filtered and natural colour release full of malty, honey sweetness. The Organic was also a limited release – they aren’t making any more!
Ledaig 18 - £85
A tasty wee dram from ‘the Artisan Distillery’ on the sweet Isle of Mull. This is quite a small distillery so they don’t make enough to fill thousands of shelves. Hard to find and hard to pronounce – apparently its ‘lay-chick’. This 18 year old is full of tricks: its peated and finished in a sherry cask. This leads to a wonderfully rich dram. Seaweed, chilly flakes and oak on the nose turning to orange peel, coffee and tobacco on the palate.
Top Speyside Whisky Picks
Glenfiddich Winter Storm - £210
An experimental spin on a classic single malt, this is Scotch Whisky finished in ice wine casks from Canada. A standout from the experimental range that also included a Glenfiddich finished in I.P.A. casks. Perfect for anyone with a sweet-tooth, the ice wine cask provides a luscious, intense sweetness that matches the fresh-fruit flavours we expect from Glenfiddich.
Macallan 18 Triple Cask - £235
This much coveted single malt is renowned around the globe but not often found in the likes of supermarkets. Matured for eighteen years in a combination of European and American sherry seasoned oak casks and American ex-bourbon oak casks. Lashes of orange and chocolate in an oaky yet smooth Single Malt.
Top Islay Whisky Picks
Port Askaig 8 - £40
This is an independent bottling of an Islay whisky and as such not as easy to find as some of the bigger names; the people from Port Askaig have carefully selected Islay casks and bottled them in limited batches. This is their core expression and is very true to the spirit of the malt: softly smokey with an underlying delicate, malty sweetness.
Octomore 9.3 - £179
Designed to triumph over all smokey whiskies the Octomore Single Malts are undoubtedly impressive. Bruichladdich only use barley produced on the island of Islay itself and then a fraction of their precious barley is malted to produce this single farm Single Malt. To give you a sense of scale, this Octomore is peated to 133ppm which it is reckoned is around 100ppm more than the likes of Lagavulin. At 62.9% A.B.V. this whisky makes for quite the experience.