Best rum advent calendars 2024 UK: we tested this year’s releases and they’re PERFECT for flavours new and old
WE’VE tested out a selection of the best rum Advent calendars to shop this year.
Whether you’re a rum connoisseur, know someone who is, or are just keen to try something different, a rum advent calendar is a great way to get into the festive spirit (literally) while sampling some liquors from established and new producers from around the world.
These days, there are endless categories of Advent calendars up for grabs.
So if you’re after something a little different to chocolates behind each window, then a rum Advent calendar is a great opportunity to discover some new and old favourites in the lead-up to the 25th.
From light to dark, aged to spiced, there are rums for every taste, and with these calendars, you’ll quickly become a specialist, sampling miniatures from some of the world’s best makers.
The Rum Company’s Advent Calendar – 24 x 50ml of British Rums, £149.99 £139.99
The Rum Company’s Advent Calendar, £149.99 £139.99 from The Rum Company
Pros: 50ml bottles, information cards, sturdy box, British rums
Cons: QR codes on cards for information on each rum.
If you’re looking for a rum advent calendar you can pop on your mantle piece, this one isn’t it.
Filled with 24 double measures of rum (that’s a whopping 50ml bottles), this hefty rum selection box is large and heavy and most definitely needs some space.
All the rums inside are British-made by independent distilleries, including Devil’s Bridge, The Salford Rum Company, and Two Drifters, so even if you’re a regular rum lover it’s likely you’ll be introduced to a rum or two you didn’t already know about.
A bundle of numbered cards in the box give a little information on each rum – tasting notes and serving suggestions – but to find out more, you have to scan the QR code which takes you to a dedicated page on the Rum Company’s website for each rum, where you can see a longer description, read reviews, and buy a full-sized bottle if you like what you’ve sampled.
The calendar was available from September, so you can buy it as a gift or start on your Christmas rums a little early, or tuck it away for something to look forward to.
A lot of items on the website are discounted right now, giving shoppers the chance to support indie rum makers for a little less.
If you’re new to rum, this calendar is the perfect way to try a few out.
Size: 50ml, Number of days: 24, Tasting notes: yes, Independent producers: yes.
1423 World Class Spirits’ Original 24 Days of Rum Advent Calendar, £79.95
1423 World Class Spirits’ Original 24 Days of Rum Advent Calendar, £79.95 from Wood Winters
Pros: Rum glasses included, tasting notes pamphlets to record your favourites, rums from around the world
Cons: QR code needs to be scanned to access information.
1423 consider their rum advent calendar to be a school of rums.
In this neat square box, you’ll find 24 numbered doors, behind which sit 24 20ml bottles of rum, two tasting note pamphlets, and two more, larger doors holding two dram-sized rum glasses.
Scan the QR code on the inside flap of the box to find out more information, and you’ll be taken to a dedicated page for each ‘rum of the day’ where you’ll find the country of origin, alcohol content, the type of still the rum was distilled in, how many years the rum was aged, and who produced it.
Each page also has a short video from the producers of the rum of the day.
The tasting note pamphlets are for you and a friend to fill in once you’ve tasted the rum, which is a great way of keeping track of which you liked best.
It’s a simple list of the rums by day, with a star rating system, so nothing too taxing.
If you want to go more in-depth on how you feel about the rum, you can join the online community and share your experiences.
The rums come from all over the world, including Portugal, Jamaica, Peru, Australia, and Indonesia, so whether you’re new to rum or looking to try out a few new world rums, this calendar is the perfect way to take lessons.
And the calendar is available from September, so you can get started right away.
Size: 20ml, Number of days: 24, Tasting notes: yes, Alcohol content: yes.
The Gin To My Tonic’s 12 Days of Rum-Mus Advent Calendar, £55 £50
The Gin To My Tonic’s 12 Days of Rum-Mus Advent Calendar, £55 £50 from The Gin To My Tonic
Pros: 50ml bottles, wide selection of rums, independent UK producers.
Cons: Only 12 days
Embodying the true spirit of Christmas, this 12-day rum advent calendar won’t spoil the surprise ahead of you opening your doors.
There’s no information on what the rums included will be ahead of the release of the calendar, only that they are independent, UK rums, and they come in generous measures.
There might only be 12 doors on this advent calendar, but behind each one is a hefty 50ml sample, and what I can tell you is, it’s an impressive range of flavoured rums, classic rums, spiced rums, and even a white rum.
This is purposefully done, so that your advent calendar doors act as early Christmas gifts, and each one is a surprise.
If you can contain your suspense, once the advent calendars have been dispatched, you’ll be able to dive in and check out what Santa brought.
If you’re being good and can wait till it’s time to open your first door, which is December 13th, you can keep an eye on The Gin To My Tonic’s socials where they’ll start sharing information on each day’s rum, including tasting notes and history, as you open your daily door.
Pre-orders for the calendar opened in September, with an early bird discount.
Please note, the review box I received was an example, so the rums shown in the images might not be the rums in the 2024 advent calendar.
Size: 50 ml, Number of days: 12, Independent producers: yes, Tasting notes: no
The Craft Gin Club’s 12 Days of Craft Rum Advent Calendar, £49.99
The Craft Gin Club’s 12 Days of Craft Rum Advent Calendar, £49.99 from Craft Gin Club
Pros: Independent UK producers, 50ml bottles.
Cons: The doors are a bit difficult to open, only 12 days.
For a 12-day-only rum advent calendar, it’s a big box, and that’s partly because behind each door is a generous 50ml bottle.
I say partly, because, yes, the bottles are whoppers, but there’s also a fair amount of space between the doors in the calendar meaning it’s not too heavy, just large.
Featuring rums from all over the UK, including Cornwall, Wales, Manchester, and Scotland, plus the Isle of Man and Isle of Wight, this is the calendar for you if you like spiced rum.
Every bottle in the calendar is spiced, including pineapple spiced, banana cake spiced, and honey spiced.
The Mermaid Spiced Rum is a particularly beautiful bottle and it’s nice to see like-for-like miniatures of the full-sized rums.
There are no tasting notes or details on the rums on the website, but turn your advent calendar over and on the back you’ll find a list of the rums included with brief, but very informative, tasting notes and alcohol content.
The doors are a little difficult to open and they rip due to the force needed to get into them, but a bit like tearing Christmas gifts apart, who cares if it makes a mess?
The calendar is available for shipping from October 14th, so you can rip into these spicy drams early, or save them for the 12 days before Christmas.
Size: 50ml, Number of days: 12, Tasting notes: no, Independent producers: yes.
Drinks by the Dram’s The Rum Advent Calendar, £99.95
Drinks by the Dram’s The Rum Advent Calendar, £99.95 from Drinks by the Dram
Pros: Includes navy strength rums, rums from around the world, 25 days.
Cons: Wax seals are difficult to remove, no information on the rums in the calendar.
This heavy, though quite compact, advent calendar, includes 25 drams of rum, so rum lovers have a door to open on Christmas day too.
Including a few spiced rums, blended rums, and some estate, reserve, and navy strength rums, this calendar is for straight-up rum lovers who like their rums strong and pure.
Not for the faint-hearted, some of these rums are powerful and reach up to 57% alcohol content.
The selection comes from all over the world, including rums from Jamaica, London, Holland, Thailand, Barbados, and Cuba, and some producers have more than one sample in the box, giving you the chance to try a blend and a single estate rum from the same distillery.
Each bottle is the same in appearance and all are wax-sealed, which looks great, but makes them a little tricky to open.
You’ll need a knife handy, as, even though the wax seals have wax pulls to open them, they aren’t effective and usually just pull off without making a dent in the seal.
There’s no information on the rums on the box, and no tasting notes, but over on the Master of Malt’s website you can see a spoilers list of the rums, where you can click through on each one to find information on the distiller, tasting notes, and the chance to buy a full bottle.
Size: 30ml, Number of days: 25, Tasting notes: no, Alcohol content: yes
Drinks By The Dram’s Spiced Rum Advent Calendar, £74.95
Drinks By The Dram’s Spiced Rum Advent Calendar, £74.95 from Drinks By The Dram
Pros: 25 days, mix of independent and big companies, worldwide rums
Cons: Wax seals are difficult to open
For those rum lovers who like things spicy, behind each of the 25 doors in this spiced rum advent calendar is a 30ml sample of something seasoned with an extra kick.
Perfect for spicy rum lovers who want to discover a few new rums, or for those who want to begin their spicy rum adventure, the calendar contains drams from the Caribbean and South America, plus a few from England, like the Salford Dark Spiced Rum.
The magnetic flap door at the front of the calendar keeps it nicely closed shut when you’re not opening doors, and it’s a good sturdy box that won’t fall apart as you use it.
Drinks by the Dram all feature wax-sealed sample bottles, but I find the wax seals a little difficult to open.
They look great, but the wax pull tab tends to fall off when you pull it and you need a sharp knife to open up the seals.
Although there’s no information on the rums in the calendar, over on the Masters of Malt website there’s a full list of rums that you can click on for more information, including comprehensive tasting notes, allergy information, and to buy full-sized bottles.
What I really liked about this calendar is the interesting mix of independent rums and big company rums like Bacardi, sitting side by side behind the 25 doors.
Size: 30ml, Number of days: 25, Independent producers: yes, Tasting notes: no
Drinks By The Dram’s Mini Rum Advent Calendar, £69.95
12 Dram Rum Advent, £69.95 from Drinks By The Dram
Pros: Small and manageable box, worldwide rums, varying strengths, 12 easy to open doors
Cons: Wax seals on sample bottles are difficult to open
A mini version of Drinks by the Dram’s regular rum advent calendar, this smaller box has 12 doors instead of 25, and makes a good alternative for anyone wanting a cheaper choice or for anyone wanting to just dip their toes into the world of rum.
There’s no flap door on this one, the 12 doors are right there on the front of the box, but behind those doors are the same wide range of rums, mostly from the Caribbean and South America, but also one from Thailand and one from London.
There’s a navy strength rum in there and a spiced rum, so even though the box is smaller, the variety is just as big.
The doors are somehow easier to open on this mini version than they are on the bigger calendar.
There’s a thumb flap to punch through that the big calendars don’t have, and you can then easily open the door from the thumb hole without any ripping.
It’s no surprise that information on the rums and tasting notes aren’t included in the box, as there’s literally nowhere they could go, but on the Master of Malt’s website you’ll find a full list of the rums included, where you can click through on each one to find out more and order a full sized bottle of the ones you like.
Size: 30ml, Number of days: 12, Tasting notes: no, Alcohol content: yes.
What is a rum advent calendar?
Just like a chocolate advent calendar, rum versions usually have a miniature behind each door that you can open in the lead-up to Christmas.
They’re usually a great way to try new flavours and discover new brands, giving you a daily tasting session throughout December.
Alternatively, you can save them up to enjoy over the festive period.
How much are rum advent calendars?
Rum advent calendars are on the pricier side, but they’re not just your average advent calendar with flimsy doors and sub-par chocolate. They often feature rare, hand-picked bottles of tasty rum – so they really do make a special gift.
If you’re looking to spend sub-£55, choose a rum advent calendar with 12 bottles like Drinks by the Dram’s 12 Dram Premium Rum Collection Tasting Set which is priced at £51.95.
A full month of rum tasting will be pricier, with calendars typically starting at £80. The most expensive option in our picks is Drinks by the Dram’s Rum Advent Calendar – Premium (2023 Edition) which at £124.95, promises to take you on a ‘rum voyage’.
Where to buy rum advent calendars in the UK?
When it comes to buying a rum advent calendar either for yourself or for a rum-loving friend, there are a few reliable places you can look in the UK.
We’ve listed our top retailers and brands below where we were able to source the calendars included in our picks, alongside some other places:
- Amazon
- Master of Malt
- Not On The High Street
- The Whisky World
- The Whisky Exchange
- Hard To Find Whisky
What to look for in rum advent calendars?
Don’t settle for less when it comes to choosing the best rum advent calendar for you.
To avoid disappointment, we recommend looking for a calendar that offers a hand-picked selection of good-sized drams that are interesting, and a little tricky to find.
You don’t want to open a day, knowing you could have bought the dram down the corner shop, so do some research and check out if the calendar features special, rare or exclusive drams from around the world.
It’s also worth double-checking how much rum you’re getting. Some calendars are just 12 bottles while others offer the full 24.
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