For the whiskey amateur: the Whisky Advent Calendar

Remember those Advent calendars many of us made as kids? A cardboard calendar with little doors or windows for each of the days leading up to Christmas? Behind each window was a little treat.

Scroll through Pinterest and you’ll see plenty of DIY options for Advent calendars with envelopes tied to a branch and tiny drawers hiding sweets or toys. As you can imagine, they’re mostly for kids.

The British online liquor purveyor Master of Malt, however, makes an Advent calendar that’s definitely for adults. The Whisky Advent Calendar 2015 hides a wax-sealed, 3-centileter dram of whiskey behind each window, with everything from a Dalmore 15-year-old to a 50-year-old Invergordon, Yoichi single malt Japanese whiskey, and the world’s best blended whiskey per the the World Whiskies Awards 2014.

It comes in a 9-inch-by-13½-inch cardboard box (also available in a Christmas red-colored edition) with the windows neatly numbered and outlined with perforations. No getting ahead of the dates and peeking ahead of time without anybody knowing. We tried it. Once a window is opened, there’s no disguising the fact that it’s been breached.

We do know this: The whiskey for Dec. 1 is Glenfarclas 25-year-old single Highland malt, which sells for roughly $150 to $175 a 750-milliliter bottle in Los Angeles.

With an Advent calendar like this, it’s best not to rush things. Bide your time and wait to see what each day’s dram will reveal. Pour into a glass and enjoy.

Needless to say, the Whisky Advent Calendar would make a great gift for a whiskey fancier. Connoisseurs will already have their favorites and set opinions, so the calendar may be more appropriate for someone beginning their exploration of the wide world of whiskey.

If you’re thinking of giving someone the Whisky Advent Calendar, better hurry. This one only ships from Britain and costs $189.89, plus about $53 shipping to the U.S., including all duties and taxes. (However, due to import restrictions, they cannot ship to the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Pennsylvania or Utah.)

Unfortunately, the Old & Rare Whisky Advent Calendar at $1,266.28 is already sold out. But not to despair, you can also find a Ginvent Calendar for $145.56, the Bourbon Advent Calendar for $177.22, the Rum Advent Calendar for $189.89 and the Vodka Advent Calendar for $126.57, and finally the Tequila Advent Calendar for $189.89. (All prices reflect exchange rates on Nov. 23.)

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