Men’s Christmas Gift Guide 2018 And £25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

I’ve put together a Men’s Christmas gift guide for 2018, collaborating with some fantastic brands to find unique gifts for men. I’ve also decided to treat one lucky winner to a £25 Amazon gift card too so make sure to enter below!

The Summerton Club

The Summerton Club Spirit Subscription service.

Do you have a man in your life who loves a full drinks cabinet? A Craft spirits members club, The Summerton Club brings you a unique subscription service. A great gift idea for spirit lovers at £50 per delivery with free delivery. The Summerton Club brings you exclusive first tastes of high-quality spirits. They offer a range of options from monthly, bi-monthly and quarterly subscriptions. You can also opt to only receive Whiskies.

Mens christmas Gifts - Mackmyra Gruvgold Swedish Sible Malt Whisky

I was sent their October Bottle of the Month, Mackmyra Gruvgold Swedish Single Malt Whisky. A well-aged spirit currently unavailable in the UK! Gruvgold meaning ‘Gold from the Mine’. A wonderfully smooth Swedish Single Malt Whisky aged in a variety of small casks. Casks used include Olorosso, Bourbon, Sherry and Swedish oak, 50m below ground in the Bodas Mine. 

Greater Skies Personalised Star Map Print

Want a truly unique gift? A Greater Skies Personalised Star map Print is a Star map of the sky above a certain location on a specific day! Perfect for friends, family or your partner. I had this Mulberry Personalised star map Print framed for a friend. You can pick from 5 different colours on this specific map.

It shows the Star map for his birthday, you could choose any special date to fit. You can add a title and up to five lines of text to your personalise star map. You can choose to instantly download and print a star map for yourself or you can have it printed for you for an extra cost. Costs vary depending on size, style and if you would like your print framed. 

Framed Starmap

Genuine Leather Beer Holster

Beer Holster

A genuine leather beer holster is perfect for keeping hands free. A water-resistant gift for any beer lover. This fab holster fits on any belt up to 4cm wide. 

Magnetic Beer Tree

This fun Magnetic Beer Tree is great for Men who love funky bottle tops! Holding up to 60 bottle tops at one time, you can now safely store favourites. This could be used for anything metal so if you know a guy who loves to collect anything like this it will make a great gift too.

£25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

As promised, one lucky winner will win a £25 Amazon gift card, so get entering the Rafflecoptor below. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Round 2 – Ales By Mail/ The Craft Beer Shop

I sent the Mr for round 2 at Ales By Mail (online) or The Craft Beer Shop last week. He surprisingly came back with money on him which in all honesty I am amazed at! I got a bit carried away on my first visit & spent a slight bit more than the Mr did. With over 300 craft beers at Ales By Mail, there is something for everyone, even if you mostly just enjoy the artwork.

Round 2

 

 

 

Round 2 - Ales By Mail

As you can see the Mr was well behaved only picking up 8 beers from Ales By Mail this week. He picked up the Darkstar – Revelation mostly because it’s purple & well, we need a touch purple in this post somewhere! Revelation is a beer the Mr hasn’t had in quite a number of years but really enjoys too, he was quite pleased to find it!

Stouts from Ales By Mail

The Mr’s friend Steve picked up this selection of Stouts for his round 2 from Ales by mail. It’s always interesting to see what these 2 pick up as they both like very different beer styles. The Craft Beer Shop/Ales By Mail have such a great selection and variety of styles it’s great to finally see both the Mr & Steve returning with new & different beers. I have to admit some of these Stouts made me a little nose drunk just from the smell haha!

The Mr started off with Conflux pale ale from Unity and Steve picked out the Henley dark. I quite like the lighter beers the Mr chooses whereas I find the darker stuff like this really nasty.

Next up for the Mr was the white stout from The Durham Brewery with Steve trying the Boss Black, another rather strong beer.

Trust was next in line for the Mr and Deccan Traps for Steve.

The guys decided to wait until the next day to carry on drinking but Steve started with the Westerham Double Stout with the Mr starting with Beavertown Lupuloid IPA.

The Cloudwater DDH pale Citra Eukanot was second for the Mr with Steve trying the Imperial Russian Stout.

 

The guys were quite happy with their choices and enjoyed most of these whilst Steve struggled with the Imperial Russian Stout that smells similar to Covonia.. grim! I’m sure it won’t be too long before they go back for another round!

Have you tried any of these craft beers before?

10 Craft Beers To Try 2017

If you love craft beer then here are 10 craft beers to try that the Mr has enjoyed over the last few months. We have been seeking out new and different craft beers for the last year or so for the Mr and have found a great range across M&S, Tesco, Morrison’s & Asda. A few months ago we shared a list of 10 beers the Mr had enjoyed this year and decided to share again. So if you are looking for new craft beers here are some more to keep an eye out and give a try.

10 Craft Beers To Try

Oakham Brewery (UK) – Green Devil IPA – 6.0% A.B.V

oakham ales - green devil ipa

Whitewater Brewery (N.I) – Hoppel Hammer – 6.0% A.B.V

Hoppel Hammer

Nøgne Ø (Norway) – Pale Ale – 6.0% A.B.V

Nøgne Ø Pale Ale

Tiny Rebel (Wales) – CWTCH – 4.6% A.B.V

Adnams & M&S – Southwold Winter IPA – 6.7% ABV

adnams southwold winter IPA

Windsor & Eton Brewery (UK) – Treason West Coast IPA – 5.8% A.B.V

Treason west coast IPA

Dark Star (UK) – Sunburst – 4.8% ABV

Dark Star - Sunburst

Redwell (UK) – Extra Pale Ale – 5.6% A.B.V

Redwell (UK) Extra pale ale

Brewdog (UK,Scotland) – Hop Fiction – 5.2%

Brewdog - Hop Fiction

Innis & Gunn (UK, Scotland) – Session IPA – 4.5% A.B.V

Session IPA

Sierra Nevada (USA) – Pale Ale – 5.6% A.B.V

Sierra Nevada - Torpedo

Have you tried any of these 10 craft beers yet? If so which is your favourite?

 

Cocktail Nights At Lanes – Benfleet

Love cocktails? Cocktail nights at Lanes in Benfleet, Essex is the perfect place to go for a chilled out atmosphere and delicious drinks to relax with. Lanes is a fine dining restaurant and bar located 4 minutes from Benfleet train station.

Lanes Cocktail Bar

Opening times

Tue: 12:00 – 22:30

Wed: 12:00 – 22:30

Thur: 12:00 – 22:30

Fri: 12:00 – 23:30

Sat: 12:00 – 23:30

Sun: 12:00 – 18:00

Cocktail Nights

Cocktail nights are being introduced at Lanes this week and will continue every Thursday night from 10pm to midnight. Lanes are offering a range of cocktails for £7.50 each or 2 for £12! BARGAIN! (Who’s coming with me?) For those that prefer Mocktails those are available for just £3.50 each too!

Cocktail nights at lanes

Cocktails Available

Grey Goose Cosmo

Classic Margarita

Palm Breeze

Long Island Ice Tea

Elderflower and Cucumber Collins

Mudslide

Elderflower Bellini

With a fantastic selection of cocktails and a delicious fine dining menu, Lanes is definitely worth a visit. Just look at that roast.. if the drinks don’t tempt you the food most definitely will!

Lanes Fine Dining Restaurant

Food serving times

Tue: 12:00 – 15:00 / 18:00 – 21:30

Wed: 12:00 – 15:00 / 18:00 – 21:30

Thur: 12:00 – 15:00 / 18:00 – 21:30

Fri: 12:00 – 15:00 / 18:00 – 22:00

Sat: 12:00 – 22:00

Sun: 12:00 – 16:00

Lanes is a family friendly restaurant with disabled facilities, a function room, smoking area with free Wi-Fi. Along with a selection of cocktails and food Lanes also offer real ales, a unique selection of wines and speciality coffee.

Lanes Coffee

What are you waiting for!? Whether you are looking for a night out drinking cocktails, a family meal with a gorgeous glass of wine or a coffee to warm up with as the colder months draw closer, Lanes has you covered. With a relaxed modern atmosphere you are sure to enjoy your visit.

Do you love cocktail nights? Which cocktail is your favourite?