Review: Smugglers Spirit’s Gin Baubles

When do I get to drink my Christmas tree?

Last year, I bought some of Smuggler Spirit’s gin-filled Christmas tree baubles and did not use them because I did not have a Christmas tree. 

Yeah, I know. Judge. I deserve it. I’m 2.4% better coordinated this holiday season and have a new and dangerously sharp wire Christmas tree, one loop of tinsel for it, a curtain of lights too large for the tree, one Stormtrooper wrecking ball bauble, and so clearly needed these gin baubles.

Here’s the thing! I think they look great! There’s something neat about how the liquid-filled spheres catch the abundant light from my generous coating of tree lights. 

Gin bauble design

I like the design too. Most baubles are round, but Smuggler Spirit’s gin baubles have flat bottoms so that you can rest the little bottles on your table. This is handy when drinking them as a rolly-polly gin-dispensing disaster dervish would be a poor Christmas choice.

The tops of the gin baubles are little screw caps with a ring, like a nervously weak keyring, attached through which is looped some red ribbon. In practice, the keyring attachment is more than enough to hold the gin bauble, but I admit to a moment of caution as I hung liquid over presents.

I suspect, too, that gin-filled baubles are heavier than many other tree decorations. My wire Christmas tree certainly drooped its branches when I hung baubles on the end, but I could curl up the fake branch, and all was well. I suspect, but can’t prove, that the weight of the baubles is right and will be a non-issue for most trees.

Here’s the good news; the screw caps work well. They’re easy to twist off, and until you do so, there’s no sign of them carpet bombing with their precious contents.

How does the gin taste?

Purely for the review, I had to twist open one of my Christmas tree decorations and taste-test it. Yeah, I know; life as a blogger is full of sacrifices.

I like gin. I don’t drink as much, thankfully, as I did a few years ago when I went through a dramatically thorough gin phase, but I still know what I like. 

And I like the liquid Smugglers Spirits have put in these baubles.

I’m not going to claim to be an expert, but I’ve tasted some very posh and fancy gins, and these tree decorations aren’t on that level… but do they need to be? 

Smuggler’s Gin Baubles are a fun gift, and the gin needs to be good enough not to ruin the gift or novelty. That’s a low bar; in practice, the gin in these Christmas tree enhancers easily surpasses it.

I note that the box says “selection of” and I’ve only taste-tested one bauble. If the others are different, I am confident they will be as good. 

Overall

Smugglers Spirits are based in the Pentland Hills, Edinburgh, growing chemical-free botanicals in a self-sustaining permaculture. They’re a company I’d like to support, and I’m pleased these gin baubles are good.

I’d buy these gin baubles as a gift for friends and try to get the box to them early in December. They then have the challenge of deciding whether they decorate their own Christmas tree with them and… what… drink them at Hogmanay?

I think I’m going to drink one a day from Christmas. The idea of slowly stripping the tree of decorations in a boozy anti-advent calendar is fun.

A box of six gin baubles costs £24.50.