Overview
Why should kids have all the fun at Christmas? Ripping open a new treat every day of December is the kind of fun that never gets old, which is why some clever characters have created advent calendars especially for adults. Instead of chocolates or toys, you'll count down to Christmas Day with a daily fix of your favourite booze. From beers and wine, through to top Aussie gins, here's our pick of the best advent calendars for grown ups.
BEER
BEER CARTEL
With over 1,000 craft beers at its Artarmon bottleshop and even more online, it's safe to say Beer Cartel knows a thing or two about the big, wide world of ales and lagers. Its 2017 advent calendar features 24 countdown beers, plus that all-important Christmas Day brew, handpicked from top breweries across Australia and overseas. What's more, there's a whopping 20 different beer styles featured in the lineup. Grab yours online, or at the Sydney store. $119.99
CRAFTY BREW
Keep your beer standards high this festive season, with Crafty Brew's all-local, all-craft 2017 advent calendar. The online beer boutique has curated a mix of 24 top-notch brews from across the country and decked out each of those cardboard doors with some fun, Great Barrier Reef-themed artwork, so you can countdown to the big day in style. $119
CARWYN CELLARS' CANVENT CALENDAR
Add this one to your Christmas list for 2018, folks. This year, the booze experts at Thornbury's Carwyn Cellars threw together an all-Aussie lineup of craft beer tinnies for their Canvent Advent-ure Calendar, made 200 of them, and they've promptly all sold out. For future festive seasons, you can rest assured there's nothing boring in this mix. Behind the 24 cardboard doors of this slab-shaped creation are some of the most impressive and interesting local drops around, from hop-heavy IPA's, to tastebud-tingling sours, and everything in between. $150
WINE
HALLIDAY FESTIVE WINE GUIDE
For a DIY twist on the traditional advent calendar, we love Halliday's Christmas creation — a free, downloadable round-up of 24 quality wine picks. You'll need to make the journey to your bottle shop to purchase the goods, though it's curated by the tasting team behind the iconic Halliday Wine Companion guide, so you know you're in good hands. This year's version is set to be released around November 20.
THE TWELVE WINES OF CHRISTMAS
The lead-up to Christmas becomes one extended wine tasting with Secret Bottle's boozy riff on the advent calendar. Dubbed The Twelve Wines of Christmas, this nifty package features 12 tasting tubes of top Aussie wine — all reds, all whites or an equal mix of both. You'll also score tasting notes and access to special future discounts on any drops you love. $86
THE WINE GALLERY
While ploughing through a bottle of wine each day for a month seems slightly unreasonable, the new advent calendar from The Wine Gallery boasts a much more manageable 12 bottles, featuring the sommelier-led start-up's highest rating wines of 2017. Yes, it's a mighty handy collection to have on hand during the festive season. Drink a few solo, share some with mates and save a couple for those last-minute Christmas pressies. $285
CIDER
BOOZE BUD
Those balmy days in the lead-up to Christmas are prime time for cider sipping, so the crew at Booze Bud have put together an advent calendar featuring a selection of Australia's favourite cider varieties. You'll enjoy 25 different bottles and cans, in a range of styles both sweet and dry. This year's lineup is being kept under wraps, though last year's included treats from the likes of Pagan, Jachmann, Batlow and Willie Smith's. Booze Bud also offers a beer-filled version of its countdown calendar. $109.99
SPIRITS
MASTER OF MALT WHISKY CALENDAR
How does 24 pre-Christmas drams sound? International online spirits retailer Masters of Malt has again dipped into its impressive collection to create the whisky-filled advent calendar of your dreams. The 2017 edition features 24 wax-sealed 3cl serves of whisky, including award-winning drops from around the world and plenty of drool-worthy single malts. There's even one worth £600 a bottle. $213.72
GINTONICA
Hardcore gin-thusiasts will be clamouring to get their mitts on Gintonica's all-Aussie gin advent calendar, which features an expertly curated lineup of spirits from 21 of our finest distilleries. In addition to the 24 50mL bottles of local gin, it's got a bunch of great extras, including tasting notes and serving suggestions from the distillers, a map showing 101 Australian and New Zealand gin producers, and cocktail recipes from The Martini Whisperer. $295
CARWYN CELLARS DECEMBER SURVIVAL KIT
Depending on your festive season stress levels, Carwyn Cellars' gin-filled advent calendar is either a fun Christmas countdown or a sweet, boozy lifeline, aptly dubbed the December Survival Kit. This one's a celebration of Australian gin, filled with 24 30mL nips from some of the country's top distilleries. You'll be reacquainted with some old favourites and make a few new discoveries as well. $220