With Christmas less than a week away, we take a look at some of the best Scottish food and drink gifts that are sure to delight loved ones this December.
Picture: The Chocolate Stag Facebook
Angela and David Cockerton, owners of Garleton Lodge, a luxury small hotel in East Lothian, have recently launched their new handmade chocolate business – The Chocolate Stag.
David and Angela previously ran a very successful handmade chocolate business before they moved to the Middle East, and relaunching the chocolate business has always been part of the couple's business plan since their return to the UK.
Available in boxes of six or 12, with flavours such as milk chocolate caramel/almond crunch, dark chocolate spiced rum truffle and white chocolate truffle, the Chocolate Stag chocolates will made ideal stocking fillers.
Priced from £5 for a box of six, the chocolates are available to buy from here.
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This year, The Loch Lomond Distillery has the perfect Christmas gift selection for whisky lovers with its very own Three Wise Men; a specially crafted trio of 12 year old whiskies, each with its own unique style and character.
Traditionally, the ’12 days of Christmas’ marked the time between Christmas Day and the arrival of the three wise men; Gaspar, Balthasar, and Melchior, making this collection of 12 year olds the perfect way to toast the festive season.
Included is the Loch Lomond 12 year old, priced at £39.99, the Inchmoan 12 year old, £46.99 and the Inchmurrin, £44.99 all available to buy here.
Picture: Misty Isle Christmas mulled gin
Bringing together a host of traditional flavours that you’d associate with a mulled wine including botanicals such as star anise and liquorice root (all of which are soaked in the rich, Italian Amarone red wine prior to distilling), this new gin from Isle of Skye Distillers is perfect for the festive season.
It’s described by the team as having a similar flavour profile to a “delicious mulled wine combined with a generous juniper hit”, and they recommend enjoying it with a Scottish tonic water, a slice of orange and a cinnamon stick.
Priced at £36, it is available to buy at the distillery and online here.
Picture: The Three Chimneys Marmalade Bible
Shirley Spear, owner of The Three Chimneys on the Isle of Skye, is the author of The Marmalade Bible, which will make a perfect gift for anyone who loves to cook and create.
Shirley, whose multi-award-winning restaurant has built up a global reputation over the past 34 years, has written the ultimate guide to marmalade – not just to making it, but to using it as an ingredient all the year round in a delicious variety of dishes.
The recipes in the book are both sweet and savoury; from chocolate marmalade tart, marmalade breakfast muffins to marmalade sauce for roast duck.
There's also a recipe for the The Three Chimneys’ own legendary Hot Marmalade Pudding.
Priced at a secret-santa worthy £4.99, this lovely book is available to buy here.
Packed with 52 mouth-watering recipes, this collection allows readers to celebrate the best seasonal produce and create soups appropriate for every month of the year.
The recipes are vegan friendly but include tips to add dairy or meat according to individual preferences, and are ordered by month for full seasonality.
Priced at £8.99, the Seasonal Soup cookbook is available to buy here from 17 December.
Picture: Wegwood
Give the gift of a unique experience this Christmas, with the Wedgwood wild foraging tour.
Experience Scotland’s natural larder with chef patron of Wedgwood the Restaurant, Paul Wedgwood, as he hosts a wild foraging tour of Midlothian on Sunday 28 April 2019.
Chef Paul will lead a group forage searching out the very best wild seasonal ingredients in the countryside near to his award winning restaurant on Edinburgh’s historic Royal Mile.
On this one-day course attendees will uncover a secret world of natural edible possibilities and discover how to identify edible leaves, fruit and fungi. After a morning in the wilds of Midlothian you’ll return to the restaurant to dine on a menu inspired by the mornings identifications.
Priced at £100 per person, more information can be found by calling 0131 558 8737.
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Treat a wine-loving friend or family member to one of L’Art du Vin's wine master classes, for something a little different this Christmas.
More information can be found here.
Picture: Oro gin gift box
Give the gift of gin this Christmas with Oro Gin’s new luxury gift box, £55.
The perfect present for the discerning drinker, the gift set contains a full-sized bottle of award-winning Oro Gin or Oro V, accompanied by an art deco-style balloon glass - perfect for a Christmas Day G&T.
Packaged inside a luxury keepsake box with magnetic lid, complete with beautiful gold foil detailing, it’s ready to go straight under the Christmas tree.
Oro Gin is distilled in Dumfriesshire at The Distillery at Dalton, a family-run business which fuses distilling with science to create a gin based on a thoroughly scientific understanding of how different flavour compounds work and interact with each other.
