Work night out: If you are out and about this festive period with work colleagues and want to impress them with your knowledge of good Scottish vodka then keep a look out for a bottle of Arbikie on the gantry of the bar. Based in Inverkeilor, Arbroath, the Arbikie Highland Estate is a family-owned working farm perched on the east coast of Angus. The owners at Arbikie are fourth-generation Scottish farmers so they know what it takes to perfectly nurture the crops that they use to distil their gin. It's priced at £42 and you can pick up a bottle or buy online www.thegoodspiritsco.com

Christmas Eve: When the kids are tucked up and kidding on they are sleeping and you are stealthily wrapping the last of their Christmas presents and require a little libation to get into the festive mood, then look no further than the newly launched Seawolf Rum. This is the first white rum to be distilled on Scottish soil and has been created by a new company called Boilermaker Drinks Co, which is headed up by the owners of the multi-awarding winning Bramble bar in Edinburgh. My recommendation would be to get that shaker out of the cupboard, add a large measure of rum, a measure of fresh lime juice, a teaspoon of sugar and some ice. Shake it as hard, then sit back and relax before the mornings celebrations. You can get your hands on Seawolf at www.royalmilewhiskies.com/sea-wolf-scottish-rum-41-50cl, but be quick: there are initially only 300 bottles being released (priced £29.95).

Christmas Day: If you want to impress guests with your mixology skills, then an easy way to do this is with this simple cocktail. Even folks who say they don’t like whisky will love this mix of Monkey Shoulder blended malt whisky, fresh lemon slices, pressed apple juice, elderflower cordial and ginger beer. Put it all together in a big Kilner jar or punch bowl with ice, and let your party guests help themselves. Monkey Shoulder can be found in most supermarkets for around £26.

Present time: If you want to give the gin-lover in the family something special this year and don't want just give them a bottle then buy them the Eden Mill Christmas Cracker Box. You get 100ml of five different gins, which are all different Christmas-inspired flavours of Original Gin, Cranberry & Spruce, Candy Cane, Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire or Grapefruit And Cracked Black Pepper ... all beautifully wrapped up in a Christmas cracker, which also includes a gin distillery tour voucher for The Eden Mill distillery in St Andrews. The box is priced at £50, which you can purchase on their website www.edenmill.com/shop/gin/5-gin-christmas-cracker-box

Nightcap: After a fun-filled day and as the excitement starts to fade, for me there is nothing better than settling down with decent dram of single malt whisky. If ever there was a time of year to spoil yourself with something a bit special then this is it. One of the best I've tasted this year is Isle of Jura Prophecy Single Malt. They describe it as “profoundly peated”, meaning it is pretty smoky but with a delicious sweet aftertaste. For a non-age statement single malt, some might say it's expensive at £60 a bottle but for me the whisky justifies that price. You can get it from www.thegoodspiritsco.com/island/21154-isle-of-jura-prophecy.html

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