With so much pressure around the big day, an entire turkey to cook and then consume, travel and gift giving rituals to cater for, the in-laws and the time honoured face off with those soggy sprouts… why not just celebrate Christmas as a season, ahead of time and begin in December by joining in a new ritual – the daily Ginvent dram!

If this sounds like just the tonic for your winter festivities, thankfully we’ve got something perfect for you! GIN ADVENT CALENDARS. The original and (in our opinion greatest) calendars have been making their way around the world and with the help of the Drinks by the Dram team, have become a permanent December fixture in households from London to New York. What’s inside? 24 individual 3cl drams of different gins hidden behind carefully perforated doors, ready for you to discover.

Ginvent began as a way of celebrating the diversity of gin available in a resurgent market, with the original calendar sized at two meters and installed in a Central London bar for the duration of December. Since the Ginvent calendar’s inception 3 years ago it has always been a platform to shout about good gin. In their more manageable miniaturised size today (we’re not sure Royal Mail would take the 2m squared version…), they have allowed thousands to join in the tastings at home, unearthing old and new brands alike in a quest to find the perfect gin for each person.

With more gins available in 2015 than there has ever been in the past 50 years, Ginvent has maintained this core idea of celebration, which remains the central foundation on which an entire month of activity is built upon. However, the 24 gins included also represent a carefully selected curation of the best gins the category has to offer.

We spend a lot of time selecting the gins included and only invite a very limited amount of distilleries to take part.

While it’s not like we are selecting the national rugby team so perhaps not the toughest pressure decision to make – as always we wanted to be able to showcase the breadth of the category, both in global terms but also in the styles of gins available from Barrel-Aged, Navy, Old Tom and the vast array of Dry Gins. We like championing the small, the lesser known and strongly believe in the fact that there is a perfect gin for each and everyone. The Ginvent calendar encompasses all of these elements.

Add this to Gin Foundry readers having an in-depth knowledge on gin and a keen interest in the new, as well as anyone who has purchased a calendar before – the challenge to find a captivating lineup for 2015 is a task we’ve had to rise to. We can say with confidence that no matter your level of gin knowledge, newbie or super geek – there will be a lot of new gins to discover this year. Ginvent 2015 will see limited edition gins custom made for the calendar, special imports that are not on sale in the UK or US markets yet, as well as hard to find gins joining a lineup heavily focused around craft distilleries from all over the world. More importantly, there are 24 incredibly tasty gins inside.

This year, we’ve also made the Ginvent season more complete with a chance to join tastings. While places are limited, we will be selecting a lucky few and will send them drams to join in on the fun. As always, expect daily updates on the Gin Foundry website in December with a focus on behind the scenes information, showcasing the teams who make each of these delicious gins.

Finally, the eagle eyed will have already noticed – we’ve spruced up the design for 2015, conceptually peeling back the layers to reveal a more cellular structure underneath. Metaphorically, we wanted to reveal what was beneath the obvious top layer – matching the content within the calendar this year. We love the big names of the Gin world but there is a wealth of distilleries that make up the fabric of this burgeoning spirit, packed with character and soul that is clear to see for all who want to look closer.

We always reveal the lineup inside the calendars as we can appreciate that there are many who want to know the contents before deciding to buy. However, if you are part of the other half and don’t want to know until they open each door, scroll no further! Spoiler alert coming up under the image below.

FAQ’s and T&C’s for all those enjoying their GINVENT Calendars

How do I take part in the competions to win Gin related goodies, actual full sized bottles and dram sized tasters which are happening each day?

Follow Gin Foundry, on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to see how to take part! We only have 5 T&C’s and they are:

1. You must be over 21yrs old to take part.

2. You must be based in the UK to take part and have a valid UK address to send the prize to (no PO boxes!).

3. Competitions close at 5PM GMT each day. Winners will be contacted within the hour and made public on Gin Foundry’s social media channels so everyone can see who the lucky winners are!

4. If you don’t respond in 24h having been contacted, we will pass on the prize to another person.

5. Prizes are non refundable or exchangeable for an alternative prize or cash equivalent.

How do I attend a tasting?

Tastings are limited and we have already sold out on many of the dates. However, the events where there are still spaces are posted on Eventbrite – HERE

My Ginvent has the same gin included twice, is this normal?

No! Each calendar is filled by hand and sometimes a dram goes astray. Please email us with a photo and we’ll see what we can do to remedy the situation immediately! The calendar is due to have 24 separate gins and we will honour this promise.

You keep posting about which gin is behind each day and I’m getting a different order. Is this normal?

No! They should all be in the same order, so that everyone gets the same gin on the same day. Again, as it’s all done by hand, sometimes things can go in the wrong order and we apologies if this has happened to you. Get in touch and we’ll see what we can do to fix it.

WARNING THERE WILL BE A CONTENT SPOILER UNDER THIS IMAGE!

In no particular order… the Ginvent 2015 lineup includes:

Fillier’s Pine Blossom Gin, Brighton Gin, Makar Glasgow Gin, Santamanía, Tarquin’s Hedgerow Edition Gin, Blackwater No.5 Gin, Hernö Old Tom, West Winds Broadside, Helsinki Gin, St. George Botanivore, Rock Rose Gin, Ferdinand’s Quince Gin, Adnams Copper House, FEW American Gin, Bathtub Old Tom, Warner Edwards Rhubarb Gin, Hayman’s London Dry Gin, Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin, Dà Mhìle Seaweed Gin, Shortcross Gin, Pickering’s Navy Strength Gin, Bobby’s Gin, Perry’s Tot Navy Strength Gin and Caorunn Gin.