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- Coffee and tea: start each morning with variety
- Notable entries (coffee & tea)
- Hot chocolate and other nonalcoholic treats
- Wine, canned wine and beer: variety and discoveries
- Notable entries (wine, beer, canned wine)
- Whisky calendars: from approachable to ultra-rare
- Notable entries (whisky)
- Mixers and cocktail components
- Quick picks: which calendar to choose
If you’re already thinking about holiday gifts, beverage-themed advent calendars are reappearing for 2023 with options that span coffee pods to rare Scotch. These boxes promise daily tasting experiences and limited-run items, so they matter now for anyone planning gifts, dinner parties, or a season of small culinary discoveries.
Advent calendars are no longer just chocolate: this year?s selections cater to a wide range of tastes and budgets, from inexpensive single-serve coffees to ultra-premium whisky samplers. Below is a practical guide to the most notable beverage calendars on the market, what makes each one different, and where they?re likely to be useful.
Coffee and tea: start each morning with variety
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Coffee and tea calendars dominate the non-alcoholic category, and they?re useful for both everyday routines and special-moment sipping. For pod users, single-serve collections take the guesswork out of the morning routine, while loose-leaf and bagged-tea kits lean toward exploration and higher-quality infusions.
Keurig?s cup assortment offers a low-cost, 24-day selection that mixes legacy brands and newer partners ? a convenient pick for households that already use a Keurig brewer.
For people who prefer manual brewing, a specialty coffee calendar delivers freshly roasted single-serve packets from around the world. These sets often emphasize origin and roast date, which matters to anyone who cares about aroma and freshness.
Notable entries (coffee & tea)
| Calendar | Type | Days/Servings | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keurig ? single-serve K?cups | Coffee (pods) | 24 | Budget-friendly, wide brand mix; seals for Keurig machines |
| Yawn Brew ? global coffee selection | Coffee (whole bean or ground) | 24 | Fresh-roasted, single-origin packets from multiple countries |
| DavidsTea ? loose-leaf sampler | Loose-leaf tea | 24 (two 8?oz servings per pouch) | Varied styles: black, green, herbal; higher quality leaves |
| Vahdam India ? tea bags | Bagged tea | 24 | Indian-sourced teas with herbal and spiced options |
Hot chocolate and other nonalcoholic treats
For families or anyone who prefers a caffeine-free seasonal ritual, hot cocoa calendars are a straightforward indulgence. Expect curated flavors rather than brand melanges ? think classic, dark, peppermint and nutty twists designed for a warming cup.
These make especially good stocking stuffers or companion gifts for holiday movie nights.
Wine, canned wine and beer: variety and discoveries
Alcohol calendars fall into two broad camps: tasting-sized formats that encourage sampling, and ready-to-drink cans for outdoor or casual occasions. Smaller pours are ideal for guided tasting at home; cans are practical for gatherings and travel.
In Good Taste and similar wine-advent producers package flight-sized bottles that let you explore red, white and ros? without committing to full bottles. Some wine calendars pair daily tasting notes and pairing suggestions delivered digitally.
On the other end, canned wine and hard seltzer calendars are designed to be approachable and shareable, often spotlighting small producers or underrepresented wineries.
Notable entries (wine, beer, canned wine)
| Calendar | Type | Days/Servings | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| In Good Taste ? wine advent | Wine (mini bottles) | 24 (187 ml each) | Mixed varietals, international selection; daily tasting emails |
| Maker Wine ? canned wine | Canned wine | 12 | Focus on smaller, female and minority?led producers |
| City Brew Tours ? beer boxes | Craft beer | 8 (Hanukkah) or 12 (Christmas) | Regional microbreweries; live virtual tastings and brewer chats |
| Costco ? Brewer?s Advent | Beer (German breweries) | 24 | Warehouse pickup only; contents vary by location |
| Give Them Beer ? hard seltzer | Hard seltzer | 12 | Mix of mainstream and indie brands; bright holiday packaging |
Whisky calendars: from approachable to ultra-rare
Whisky advents range from broad-sampling collections to once-in-a-lifetime drams. Lower?volume pours let buyers taste different styles?bourbon, rye, single malt?without opening full bottles. Premium boxes include collectible and aged expressions that command high prices.
Flaviar curates multi-country sampling sets and often bundles tasting glasses or membership perks. At the extreme end, there are calendars that include exceptionally aged or rare bottlings aimed at collectors.
Notable entries (whisky)
| Calendar | Type | Days/Servings | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flaviar ? whisky advent | Whisky (50 ml samples) | 24 | Mixed styles; often includes tasting glasses and membership benefits |
| Drinks By The Dream ? Old & Rare | Rare whisky (1 oz drams) | 24 | Extremely premium/collectible bottlings; high price tag |
Mixers and cocktail components
Not every calendar delivers alcohol. Some focus on the craft of the cocktail ? syrups, bitters and recipes that transform home bartending. These are ideal for people who want to experiment with flavors or create non-alcoholic versions of classic drinks.
A practical example is a 12-day syrup calendar that pairs concentrated mixers with a recipe booklet, so you can make a three-step cocktail, a more advanced version, or a zero-proof alternative.
Quick picks: which calendar to choose
- Best for tight budgets: Pod-based coffee boxes ? daily variety without a big spend.
- Best for exploration: Single-origin coffee or mixed-mini wine sets ? travel by taste.
- Best splurge: Rare-whisky collections ? collector-quality samples and storytelling.
- Best for parties: Canned wine or hard-seltzer calendars ? shareable and portable.
- Best non-alcoholic gift: Hot cocoa or cocktail-syrup calendars ? seasonal comfort and creative mocktails.
Availability is a practical concern: some calendars sell out fast, and a few?particularly warehouse exclusives and small-batch boxes?are only sold in specific channels. If a calendar is on your gift list, check retailer sites and pickup options now rather than waiting until December.
Whether you want to gift discovery, host themed evenings, or simply elevate your winter mornings, this year?s beverage advents offer a way to make the countdown to the holidays tastefully memorable.
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