This boozy advent calendar will thrill gin devotees

There are loads of advent calendars for kids – mostly containing mini chocolates and sweets – and the beauty industry offers a few cool options too (check out these indulgent calendars by Clarins and Estée Lauder, for example).

But this new Sugarbird 12 Mini Gins Festive Gift Box is one of the best ideas we’ve seen for a while.

It features 12 different gins and can be used in the 12 days running up to Christmas, or for the traditional "12 Days of Christmas" that runs from December 25 onwards.

Or, just to celebrate 12 days of summer with a refreshing daily G&T, to be honest …

Each day, you open up the numbered window and make yourself a G&T with the 40ml bottle of gin that is revealed – it’s both a surprise treat in terms of the gin you’re going to sample, and a brilliant way to discover a new favourite.

The gift box costs R399 from Yuppiechef, and will make the perfect gift for a gin-loving friend. It is also a great way to conduct a bit of ‘serious research’ into the sheer variety of gin offerings out there these days.

Most the gins are readily available to purchase online if you do discover something you’d like to purchase in a full-size bottle.

Among the tempting gins on offer are a few that have already become classics of South African artisanal offerings – such as Inverroche Classic and Pienaar & Son Empire.

Plus, there are also a few less well-known options. Monks Mary Jane gin, infused with hemp, and the rose geranium-scented Ginologist Floral gin, for example, are among several varieties that most people are unlikely to have encountered before.

• Get your hands on the Sugarbird 12 Mini Gins Festive Gift Box here. Not for sale to anyone under the age of 18, of course.

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