Beers & Ales
Manchester Union Lager Hamper
So buying a couple of cans of lager might not be the height of Christmas present giving, but it’s much more acceptable when it’s Manchester Union – because it’s FIT. They’ve also created hampers (£25), complete with snacks, to make the present of booze 100x better.
Espresso Martini Kit @ Eat Well MCR
With a wealth of food and drink offerings, Eat Well MCR’s Marketplace is a fantastic resource for present hunters, and you can’t go wrong with Into the Gathering Dusk’s “Plug into the socket” Espresso Martini Kit (£35). It comes with everything you need to create 10 of the best Espresso Martinis you’ve ever tasted.
Gift Packs @ Beermoth
With a massive selection of ales, beers, ciders and random brews made in someone’s shed, Beermoth is one of the best places in the city to pick up a few cans for the beer lover in your life. They’re offering up special gift packs of cans, or you can just buy a load of them, pop them in a carrier bag and offer up the best present under the tree.
Bottles and Cans @ MicroBar
This tiny bar in the Arndale Market hides an impressive selection of bottles and cans to buy – with beers and ales from all over the world to choose from. There are some great little oddities and rarities in here and their choice of German and Belgian lagers is unsurpassed.
Christmas Mixed 12-pack @ ShinDigger
Iconic Manchester brewery ShinDigger are offering a festive package (£36) of 12 mixed beers this Christmas – offering up all of their best sellers in one handy pack. You can even put a personalised note in there – telling your dad that you only bought it him for the chance of getting a (better) gift back in return.
Mini 5L Kegs @ Marble Brewery
Wrapping one of these 5L kegs and putting it under the Christmas Tree will make you feel like a proper BOSS this year – and there’s a decent selection of fresh ales available to choose from. Personally I’d be chugging their RUFUS Red Ale all Christmas morning – ready to embarrass myself in front of my Nan and the Queen a couple of hours later.
Special Gift Box @ Track Brewery
This special gift box from Track includes 8 mixed Track beers, a cap and a 10% discount card – perfect for a sibling or a cousin who likes beer but you don’t know what to get them.
ABC Christmas Selection Box @ Alphabet Brewing Co
This ‘bumper’ box (£40) contains a whopping 12 Alphabet special releases including DIPAs, bitters, pale ales, red ales, smoked porters, sours, a chocolate oragne stout and a DDH Kveik IPA which I don’t know what it means exactly – but it tastes bloody lovely.
Sesh IPA & Soul Lager @ Cannabrew
Yep, we’ve had CBD gin and now we’ve got CBD lagers – and surprisingly – these ones from Cannabrew actually taste really really good. I downed a few of their Soul Lagers over the weekend and it’s a fantastic tipple – perfect for fans of CBD and beer alike.
Wines
Forever Changes
With a small but very impressive selection of wines, Forver Changes is a great place to pick up your Christmas pressies – especially if someone is a fan of Orange wine – their Albarino ‘Pelicas’ Galicia from Spain is probably the best wine I’ve tasted all year – and I’ve had A LOT!
La Bandera
One of the greatest Spanish wine lists in the city, you’ll be sorted for choice when it comes to finding something for that ‘wino’ in your life. Their new ‘Christmas Markets’ allow you to order cheese, meat and wine hampers, and you can also simply just order a stunning bottle of vino from their site and pick it up anytime.
Reserve Wines
If you’re looking for a truly indulgent wine case then look no further than Reserve Wines’ ‘Christmas Day Mixed Case’ for £150. It contains 12 bottles, with sparkling, whites, reds, dessert wine and port to see you through the festive period.
ERST Bottle Shop
With a wealth of knowledge of natural wines, ERST is the place to go to pick up a bottle of decent plonk, one that’ll seriously impress the recipient. If you can get your hands on a bottle of the 2017 Metamorphika Muscat Brisat – get that – it’s amazing.
Another Heart to Feed Wine Shop
During lockdown and Tier 3 – Another Heart to Feed were forced to re-think their offering in the the NQ, so they’ve reinvented themselves as a wine shop – with an eclectic range of natural wines to buy – either in store or online with nationwide delivery straight to your gaff.
Vin-Yard
True experts in all things wine related, Vin-yard at Hatch are open and available for collection or delivery of their massive selection of wines from all over the world. They have everything you could ever want, including loads of fizz and even natural and low intervention offerings.
Salut Wines
There’s a massive selection of wine cases and boxes from Salut this Christmas – so you can’t really go wrong. There’s ‘Lockdown Survival Kits’, ‘Christmas Essentials’ and even a ‘Christmas – Sorted’ case – all stuffed with some of the best wines known to man in them.
Spirits
Strangeways CBD Gin
This will be a great one for your Nan, CBD infused gin from Strangeways. I’ve tasted it and it’s really rather good – and we all know that CBD is the future – so jump on the bandwagon as early as you can.
The Public Spirit Rum
A fantastic combination of five exquisite rums from the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, The Public Spirit also give back to the people of Manchester, with a quarter of their profits going directly back to the city’s food banks.
O’Donnell Moonshine
What’s ‘moonshine’? Well, you know in cartoons where that one character drinks out of a ceramic mug with ‘XXXX’ written on the side. Well, that’s moonshine. This stuff from O’Donnell though, which you can buy at Hatch, is top quality stuff – super-strong and super-tasty. The perfect present for the boozers in your family.
Manchester Gin
There’s the full range of Manchester Gin’s available on their online shop – including their ‘overproof’ version that’s 57% ABV, their limited edition FAC51 HAÇIENDA and even a HUGE 4.5L bottle coming in at a whopping £350!
Diablesse Rum
If spiced rum is your thing, or indeed – someone in your family’s, then Diablesse should be right up there at the top of the list of pressies to buy this year. There’s their Caribbean Golden or their Clementine Spiced to choose from – and if I’m being honest with you – it’s got to be the Clementine Spiced – it’s outstanding.
Witch King’s Rum
Brand-new bohemian fruit flavoured rum liqueurs – Witch King’s Rum comes in 3 flavours, and are perfect in cocktails or can be drunk neat. A great present for any rum lovers in your life.
