As Christmas is only a few weeks away, now is the time where most of us are shopping for gifts for friends and family.
If you're keen to get some local produce, and have a whisky, gin or foodie friend to buy for, then take a look at our pick of the best Christmas gifts from Scottish producers.
From personalised whisky to rum and handmade goodies - there's something for everyone here.
itison’s annual fundraiser for Social Bite has launched, and will help to feed those most in need this Christmas.
They’re asking big hearted Scots to donate £5 to buy Christmas dinner for a homeless person or a Christmas gift for families and individuals who continue to be hard-hit by the Covid-19 crisis.
The global pandemic has meant thousands of families and homeless people continue to fall through the gaps of support and are struggling.
itison’s £5 fundraiser will ensure that homeless people, individuals and families can enjoy a hot meal and a gift this Christmas.
The annual Christmas fundraiser has been running since 2014 and has raised an incredible £3 million and 600,000 donations to those who need it most.
Find out more and buy here.
The Craigellachie Hotel's much loved Copper Dog Whisky can now be personalised.
The special bottles allow dog lovers to put their favourite canine friend on their own bottle of the Speyside Malt, and is the ideal present for whisky aficionados and dog lovers alike.
A percentage of the sales will go towards raising funds for Wild at Heart Foundation, the charity which aims to end the suffering of stray dogs all over the world.
Priced at £45, bottles can be customised from a choice of 33 doggy doodles by renowned British artist Hugo Guinness making them a brilliant Christmas gift.
Regulars at the oldest whisky hotel in the world will be familiar with Hugo Guinness’ art which is featured around the property.
The customised bottles of Copper Dog whisky can be bought online here.
One of Glasgow’s top Italian restaurants and delis, Eusebi’s, has extended its product offering to include Dolce & Gabbana’s newest designer wine and festive panettone.
As the exclusive Scottish stockist of the wine, which is the creation of the iconic Italian fashion house and Sicilian winemaker, Donnafugata, customers can now purchase ‘Isolano’ as well as a variety of other unique bottles, either via the Eusebi website or at the venue on Park Road.
Isolano can be purchased from Eusebi’s for £40 per bottle, and with accompanying colourful box and packaging, it would make the perfect Christmas gift for a wine lover.
Customers can add panettone, the traditional Italian Christmas treat, created by Dolce & Gabbana in partnership with Fiasconaro, which is one of Italy’s best-known bakers of panettone.
It is made to a classic Milanese recipe infused with flavours of Sicily – a perfect union of north and south Italy.
Gift hampers are also available to purchase from Eusebi’s this Christmas, including the ‘Amalfi Christmas’ box, which comprises truffles and panettone flavoured with Limoncello, citrus Italian jam and a bottle of Limoncello.
Other boxes available include the ‘Italian Festive Breakfast’ with everything you need to replicate the first meal of the day, Italian-style, as well as the ‘Dolci Christmas’, which includes a selection of traditional festive Italian treats, or opt for the ‘Italian Goddess’, including extra-special chocolate and black cherry panettone, hazelnut hand wrapped cookies and a bottle of prosecco.
For more information, please visit the Eusebi Deli website.
Scottish rum producer, Cabezon Beverage has unveiled its new Speyside cask aged expression, Ron Cabezon – The Accord.
The Accord is the second expression from the burgeoning Scottish producer who launched in October 2021.
The Accord takes Cabezon Beverages award winning botanical rum, Ron Cabezon and ages it for another year in Speyside whisky casks.
The name ‘The Accord’ is a subtle reference to the roots of Ron Cabezon. Raised in Aberdeen, the City’s motto is ‘Bon Accord’ which means ‘Good Agreement’ but also to the rivalry of people’s spirit of choice where this makes rum and whisky work in harmony.
The Accord is limited to 350 bottles and pre-orders are open already with delivery before Christmas 2021.
Cabezon Beverage’s – Ron Cabezon, The Accord, can be purchased exclusively from the Cabezon Beverage website for £39.95.
The award-winning collection of small batch spirits has recently launched from J.G. Thomson & Co, a new brand from Edinburgh.
Hailing from Scotland’s capital, J.G. Thomson & Co’s first collection of small batch spirits includes a bold Jamaican rum, a citrus dry gin, three blended malt Scotch whiskies featuring Sweet, Smoky and Rich expressions, and two limited edition aged whiskies - one a 23 year-old blended malt, the other a 1972 blended grain.
All of J.G. Thomson & Co’s small batch spirits are available to order online as well as a range of leading whisky shops, bars and restaurants.
Ondine Oyster & Grill are celebrating their suppliers in one box of treats this Christmas.
The team worked with I.J. Mellis, Philippe Larue of L’Art Du Vin and Welch Fishmongers to pick out products they think customers will love.
Inside the hamper you'll find,
It's priced at £125 plus £10 for national delivery and last date for ordering is Wednesday 15th December. Local delivery is £5 and last date for ordering is 19th December. Customers can also collect from the restaurant too.
Rum & Cake is a new sipping rum from Scottish alchemists, Buck & Birch.
It's made by infusing dark rum with Buck & Birch Hogseed Parkin (a fantastic spice that is grown in Scotland), then cold-filtered to ensure a sumptuous sipping sensation, laced with molasses and Scottish spice.
Offering a fresh scent of orange peel with a spicier kick on the palate, the Hogseed Parkin adds a snappy end note.
Rum & Cake is on sale now priced at £32.99.
The Gleneagles & Co hampers bring together a selection of fine foods and treats.
Each hamper contains a rich figgy pudding created by the hotel’s pastry chefs, as well as Gleneagles’ own blend milk and dark chocolate, tablet, truffle oil, marmalade and raspberry jam and very festive bauble.
The large version of the hamper also contains additional treats, like Gleneagles & Co shortbread, two variations of jam, oatcakes and chutney, as well as a bottle of Taittinger champagne.
Priced at £150 (standard) and £250 (large) the hampers are available to purchase exclusively from Gleneagles & Co within the hotel’s retail arcade until 5 January 2022.
Alternatively gift vouchers are available to purchase online all year round for Gleneagles’ range of restaurants, activities, and overnight stays.
For more information and to buy, visit the Gleneagles website.
This Christmas you can design your own bottle of Glasgow 1770 Single Malt Scotch Whisky.
Choose between two award-winning single malts: Glasgow 1770 The Original, our fresh and fruity signature single malt; or Glasgow 1770 Peated, our rich and smoky single malt.
The personalisation process is simple, just head online and enter the text you wish to be printed on the bottle label - this is limited to 30 characters.
Then enter the text you wish to be printed on the gift carton label, limited to 25 characters. Each of these messages can be different and totally unique to you.
Priced at £49, find out more here.
Treat a loved one that loves seafood and a single malt to this decadent hamper.
Old Pulteney, The Maritime Malt, has partnered with sustainable seafood supplier Fish To Your Door to create a sensory ‘at home’ whisky and seafood experience, ideal for nights in over the festive period or as a gift.
The seafood hamper includes fresh oysters alongside a bottle of the award-winning Old Pulteney 12 Year Old single malt to flavour and pair with.
Distilled and matured by the sea on Scotland’s most northerly shores, Old Pulteney whisky is ideal for pairing with seafood.
Inside the hamper, priced at £60, customers can enjoy a bottle of Old Pulteney 12 Years Old (70cl) Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 12 oysters (plus oyster shucking knife) and a box of Guylian chocolates.
Find out more and buy online here.
The maker of the world’s favourite whisky glass, Glencairn Crystal, has launched a gin goblet, just in time for the festive season.
The Glencairn gin goblet is an ideal gift for gin fans, and has been made for gin serves and cocktails.
The East Kilbride based family-owned crystal glassware company is famous for creating the iconic official glass for whisky, but with the huge rise in the popularity of gin in recent years, they've created a dedicated gin glass.
The design includes a curved shape to help focus and enhance the aroma, and an elegant stem to keep your hand away from warming the gin.
The Glencairn gin goblet is available at The Glencairn Crystal online store, priced £10, and can also be personalised with bespoke engraving.
Launching just in time for the festive period is a ‘Trio of Scottish honeys’ by the family-run Scottish Bee Company.
Priced at £22.49, the signature gift pack contains three 227g jars of honey, including one Scottish Heather Honey (which holds a Gold Great Taste Award and platinum award for quality at the London International Honey Awards), one Signature Blend Honey and one Scottish Blossom Honey.
Since launching the Scottish Bee Company in 2017, owners Iain and Suzie Millar have increased bee numbers in the world by around 23million, started Scotland’s first bee farming apprenticeship, won multiple awards and trained as honey sommeliers.
Find out more and order here.
If the celebrations are set to be a little low key this year, treat yourself and a loved one to a dinner for two at home courtesy of the Seafood Ristorante in St Andrews.
For £95 customers can tuck into:
For more information, please visit the restaurant's website.
Treat friends or family to a taste of Italy this Christmas, thanks to hamper from Edinburgh’s renowned restauranteurs Victor and Carina Contini.
The hamper includes treats such as: a classic Contini Panettone (specially made for the family-owned business by the same artisan Italian baker for the last 40 years), Contini Prosecco, Contini coffee and a bottle of Torre Del Falasco Corvina, Cantina Valpantena, Veneto 2021.
The hamper is £50 and available to order now.
To find out more and order, click here.
Satisfy a sweet tooth with a box of delicious, ethically made chocolate brownies by Scottish homelessness charity, Social Bite.
100 per cent of the proceeds made from the 'boxes of joy' go to the organisation’s efforts to end homelessness in Scotland.
A limited-edition Christmas Bundle gift set is on sale now and is priced at £30.
It features a glass reusable KeepCup, a box of four festive flavoured brownies and a 250g bag of Social Bite Blend Dear Green coffee.
There's festive flavours available now in the Christmas bundle, and Bake Off fans can enjoy a limited edition box from 2020 winner Peter Sawkins.
There will also be an option for tea lovers, too. The normal boxes are filled with four brownies in a variety of flavours can be purchased directly from Social Bite online for £12 per box, with vegan and gluten free options available and UK-wide delivery.
When you buy online, you are also given an option to ‘pay it forward’ so Social Bite can distribute brownies to people experiencing homelessness on its free food handouts.
As a social enterprise business, Social Bite exists to achieve social objectives and is driven by a cause, rather than profit. Its brownie delivery service helps to sustain its enterprise model and support more people into jobs to help break the cycle of homelessness.
To order, visit their website.
Outlander star Sam Heughan's blended whisky is back in stock across the UK.
Made by Loch Lomond Whiskies, the blended Scotch has won multiple awards since its release, including double gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Championship and another double gold medal at this year's New York World Wine and Spirits Competition (NYWWSC).
Priced at £79.95, The Sassenach was available through online retailers such as Master of Malt and on the Loch Lomond Whiskies website.
In late 2020 Sam Heughan joined us on our podcast Scran to chat about his whisky, as well as why he chose a blend over a single malt, how it was almost made in America and his re-discovered love of Scotland through filming Outlander.
This little brewery, which is tucked away down the namesake lane in Glasgow's Finnieston area, produces small batch, high quality organic beer.
This year they have a 12 pack, priced at £32.99, available to order online for home delivery. The pack contains three cans from each of their four main lines, Tropical Ale, Raspberry Saison, 88 Shilling and Lager Lager.
A great gift for any beer fan, and a chance to support a local business. Find out more and buy here.
The team at Farmhouse Gin have a range of themed gift bags available to buy online for this Christmas.
With prices starting at £30, bags include a Winter Night In, The OG, Someone's Been Good this Year and Farmhouse Fan.
Each bags include a 20cl Farmhouse Gin and extras such as tonic, candles from Melrose Candle Co., chocolate from Quirky Chocolate and Farmhouse bobble hat.
The range of gift bags can be viewed and ordered here.
Farmhouse Gin has the tagline - Middle East inspired, crafted in Scotland - a nod to the founder's time in Dubai (which is also seen in the camel on the bottles).
The gin is London Dry in style and has sumac, a Middle Eastern ingredient that gives warmness and hints of pepper to the overall finish.
The cook school and farm in Perthshire has put together a selection of treats to enjoy this Christmas.
The large, willow hamper is filled with:
The hamper, along with other foodie gift ideas, is available to order now on the Ballintaggart website priced at £150.
Scottish rum has been getting a lot of love recently, and is often tipped as the 'next big thing' after the gin boom.
With this in mind, husband and wife team Becky and Matt, set up Old Mother Hunt rum during lockdown, after Matt lost his job.
Speaking of how the company came to be, Becky said: "We created the company at the beginning of lockdown after Matt lost his job as a captain at Flybe, two weeks after we moved house.
"We both felt so despondent and hopeless as it’s not looking very likely that Matt will ever be able to return to his career.
"Our lack of household income made lockdown and the entire situation so stressful and demoralising. There were no jobs and we quickly realised we’d have to create our own jobs and future.
"We decided on rum as it’s well known enough for people to be interested but not so well known that people are bored of it. Old Mother Hunt has given us an opportunity to be busy again and focus on a future."
This Christmas, why not treat the rum fan in your life to one of their two rums?
There's Winter Spiced - a rum bursting with Christmas flavours and sweetened with homemade caramel.
The main notes are orange and cinnamon with hints of festive spices, which go well with ginger ale and an orange garnish, as a Daiquiri or a Spice 75 cocktail.
Smoky Oak- is a drier rum that will appeal to whisky drinkers who want to try something new.
Naturally sweetened by virgin American oak casks, it’s very easy to drink and is beautifully smoky.
This one is best served either neat, over ice with premium cola and lime or in a rum old fashioned.
To find out more and buy, visit their website.
Created in recognition of over 200 years of British policing, this special bottling of Gin Blue Line will raise money for police officers, both past and present, who suffer with PTSD.
Co-founder of the distillery Cameron McCann is a retired Met police officer, having served in the force for 21 years.
His network of retired police officers asked if he would create a special gin to raise awareness of, and much needed funds for, police charities supporting those suffering from work-related mental health illness within the British police forces.
20 per cent of Gin Blue Line profits will go to a range of charities including Police Care who support serving and veteran police officers who have suffered any physical or psychological harm as a result of policing.
Made with carefully selected botanicals including forget-me-nots, Scottish heather, sage and kaffir lime leaves, this gin is bottled at 43% and is the first to be created by Stirling Distillery’s new head distiller Lisa Matthews.#
Hand bottled and waxed at their distillery in the shadow of Stirling castle, their 70cl bottles retail at £35 and the 5cl mini bottles - ideal stocking fillers for Christmas - are £5.
They can be ordered online or in the distillery shop.
Glengoyne Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky has unveiled the latest batch of its coveted Teapot Dram - Batch No. 008.
As Glengoyne’s most popular limited-edition range, the Teapot Dram tells the story of an old distillery tradition where workers would be given three fingers of whisky, three times a day.
Most distilleries would give workers a tumbler of new-make spirit, hot off the stills. But Glengoyne would always ensure the team were given tumblers filled with a young, first fill sherry cask whisky.
The less seasoned members of the distillery team would, to save face, discreetly pour some of their untouched drams into a copper teapot which sat on the canteen windowsill, ready for their older colleagues to enjoy later.
Honouring this tradition, the Teapot Dram has remained a deliberately bold, sherry matured limited release. Batch No. 008 is matured exclusively in first fill European and American oak sherry casks and bottled at 59% ABV.
The limited-edition single malt is dark amber in colour and has a nose of ginger, stewed apples and soft leather.
This nose makes way for a warming palate of soft oak, dry sherry, and velvety prunes. On the long, lingering finish, oak and spice continue with pepper and a flash of citrus.
Priced at £120, it's available at the distillery shop and online now.
Edinburgh charcuterie maker, East Coast Cured is offering two hamper this Christmas.
Customers can have hampers made up to order or choose from an at home hamper (£25) or a friends and family hamper (£40) containing a selection of the award winning salamis and sliced meat.
If you'd rather create your own, you can, with extras such as Silver & Green olives, Peagreen Boat cheese sables, Galloway Lodge pickle and handmade Scottish chocolates by Pittenweem Chocolate Company
To find out more and order, visit their website.
Specialist soft drink manufacturer Rapscallion Soda have a DIY kit for fans of their cans.
Customers can select up to four Rapscallion Soda flavours to add to a box for delivery, for £33
To find out more and order, visit the Rapscallion Soda website.
Harris Tweed is now as popular as ever, but this Christmas you can treat loved ones to a Harris Gin tweed jacket.
The distillery created its own tweed back in 2018, when the Isle of Harris Distillery set out to discover more about the art of weaving, and the skills of the people who create the historic island textile.
The distillery, along with Harris Tweed Hebrides and the Harris Tweed Authority, worked closely with schools across the island and set local schoolchildren the challenge of designing the Isle of Harris distillery’s very own tweed.
The eventual winner was 14-year-old Scott Murray from S3 at Sir E. Scott School in the Isle of Harris.
This tweed can now be made into bespoke jackets designed by Judy R Clark, who worked with Alison Macleod of Tiger Textiles in the Isle of Lewis. Alison was tasked with embroidering the hidden message in the back collar of the jackets.
The price of the made-to-measure jacket is £660 plus postage which includes a consultation and a fitting, with an opportunity for minor customisations, with Judy at her Edinburgh studio.
To find out more, visit the Isle of Harris Distillers website.
Tablet is a traditional Scottish treat that many love to (or try to) recreate at home.
But if you haven't quite mastered it, and would love to buy some for a sweet loving friend or family member then newly launched company, Third Sin Tablet, is offering just that.
Ann Dunning set up the Third Sin tablet company during lockdown having spent 12 months sourcing the finest ingredients and perfecting her home-made recipe.
This recipe uses a combination of different artisan sugars, unsalted butter as recommended by top chefs, an intensely creamy condensed milk and pure, fresh vanilla from the pods of Madagascar orchids.
The result is a delicious, fresh tablet that can be enjoyed at its best at home within a few days of being made.
The 800g trays of tablet are made to order in Ann’s kitchen on the West Coast of Scotland.
To find out more and order, please visit Ann's website.
Dram loving family members or friends will appreciate a membership to The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, which opened the doors to its latest venue in Glasgow last year.
Members can enjoy the ever-changing range of the Society’s one-off whiskies, released each month in the comfort of the Edinburgh, London or Glasgow bars, as well as a calendar of UK-wide tasting events.
A year’s membership to the Society costs £65 and provides whisky-lovers with benefits throughout the year, including access to the multi award-winning monthly Outturns of around 20 new single cask whiskies; free subscription to digital magazine Unfiltered, its award-winning monthly digital members’ magazine; and a calendar of colourful events and intriguing whisky experiences to share alongside other like-minded members.
To buy membership to The Scotch Malt Whisky Society as a gift this Christmas, visit their website here.
They've also recently collaborated with Scotland’s first fragrance house, Kingdom Scotland, pairing SMWS single cask whiskies with two perfumes.
Available to sample at Society venues in London, Glasgow and Edinburgh – including Edinburgh’s Kaleidoscope Bar, Whisky Magazine’s ‘Whisky Bar of the year’ – the partnership explores the fascinating relationship between whisky and perfume.
The Kingdom scents Metamorphic and Portal have been expertly paired with SMWS Flavour Profiles Lightly Peated and Juicy Oak & Vanilla.
Find out more here.
The Smokehead Skull Gift Tin includes the core range in miniature bottles, ideal for cocktails this Christmas.
The 5cl bottles of Smokehead original, High Voltage and Rum Rebel, are the ideal measure to sample and enjoy Smokehead neat or mix it up in cocktails, such as a Smokehead snowball, Smokehead grinch and a butter rum punch.
The tin can be bought online, priced at £22.99, here.
Blackthorn Salt Crystals
Described as a salt unlike any other, Blackthorn is an artisan sea salt produced on the shores of Scotland's West Coast.
Reviving centuries old techniques, Blackthorn Salt is made using an impressive and wholly unique blackthorn tower - a striking 8m high, 25m long structure - that harnesses the natural elements to create a one-of-a-kind sea salt.
A handmade product utilising the elements and the single ingredient of Scottish seawater, Blackthorn Salt is 100 per cent natural, suitable for vegans, those with allergies and discerning tastes alike.
Best sprinkled by hand, Blackthorn Salt provides a distinctive crunch and burst of flavour to home cooking, and the beautifully decorated box is an ideal gift for foodies this Christmas.
A 240g box is £6.40 or £3.90 for a 120g box – and these are available from Not On The High Street, Amazon and directly from the Blackthorn Salt website.
This Christmas gift box from Tayport Distillery is perfect for a couple or shared amongst friends.
The gift box, priced at £39.99 includes 50cl Wild Rose Gin, four Franklin & Sons Tonics, Wild Rose Gin Mince Pies and Scots Pine flavoured fudge.
To find out more and order, please visit the distillery website.
Lerwick Brewery, the UK’s most northerly and remote brewery based on the Shetland Isles, has recently launched a Christmas gift pack that celebrates their island home.
The Lerwick Brewery Fair Isle Bottle Cover gift pack contains two of their pale ales, Azure, a branded glass and a Fair-Isle knit bottle holder, handmade on the island by Alexis Bruce of Lexknits.
The bottle covers are knitted locally by Alexis Bruce, who produces bespoke bottle covers for the brewery to sell alongside their beers for a true Shetland gift.
The Fair Isle Bottle Cover gift pack is available to buy online, or at their brewery shop in Lerwick.
The Secret Garden Christmas Gin (50cl, 39% ABV) is distilled with botanicals grown in the distillery’s Secret Herb Garden on the outskirts of Edinburgh.
Freshly distilled Cinnamon, Ginger and Cardamom are blended with Juniper, Coriander, Angelica Root and Winter Savory to create a gin that is naturally festive.
The Secret Garden Christmas Gin is available now online priced at £16.95 for 20cl.
