Palace of Holyroodhouse will offer festive events for adults and children through November and December. You can find here the details of the events. Do not forget their gift shop offers a wide range of exclusive gifts inspired by the royal palaces and the works of art in the Royal Collection. Around the Northern Hemisphere, we are once again settling into our jumpers and boots for the colder months. With the festive season looming large (however you celebrate it), it’s time to get your home ready for the occasion – and that includes your gin selection! This festive gin made in Edinburgh is flavoured with frankinscense and myrrh. It also has "sweet orange notes and lingering spice from cinnamon and nutmeg." So as you can imagine, the competing gin companies have been racing against each other to bring the ultimate Christmas gin to the market, and grab a slice of that lucrative festive action before December 25.

Chair of the judging panel, Adam Hardie, Partner and Head of Food and Drink at Johnston Carmichael, said: “It continues to be a very tough and challenging year but many are not just surviving but excelling. The Scottish Gin Awards have revealed gin brands which have successfully achieved medal status in 2023, following the awards dinner in Glasgow this month. Hidden Curiosities Aromatic London Dry Gin – yuzu / pink grapefruit peel / pink peppercorns and green cardamom podsThis is the original Christmas gin, first produced by the distillers at Sacred Spirits in Highgate, London in 2010. The gin is made by macerating a Christmas pudding for three months, before being cold-distilled with juniper. The pudding is based on a family recipe of Sacred founder, Ian Hart. The gin has crisp, classic juniper on the nose with a rich, fruity spiciness. The texture is exceptional, accompanied by light buttery notes, vine fruit, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar, before an elegant, dry finish. This is a lovely all-rounder, but particularly superb in a Martini made with gin poured straight from the freezer.

As well as its signature London Dry gin, the limited-edition calendar includes exclusive festive flavours like Chocolate Orange and Spiced Pear & Cinnamon making this the ideal treat for any gin aficionado. Taking its name from an alternative moniker for Christmas pudding, Tarquin’s Figgy Pudding Gin sees its Cornish Dry Gin infused with dried figs, clementine zest, Christmas spices and blow-torched, brandy-soaked cherry wood chips. On the nose, it conjures up the image of a steamed pudding with alcohol-soaked fruits and dark-golden caramel. The palate is syrupy but beautifully light and not too sweet, with notes of dates and figs in syrup, powdered ginger and cinnamon, and buttery cake batter. Tarquin’s suggests enjoying the gin in a Festive Fig-roni, or paired with ginger ale for a longer drink; for optimal enjoyment, find a comfy chair in front of a roaring fire!Castle Street will host the LocalMotive Castle Street Christmas Market from 18 November to 24 December.

The Great Gallery will display a 15 foot, glittering Christmas tree adorned with decorations of all sorts. East Princes Street will host market stalls selling arts and crafts and f estive food and drinksand the Christmas Market If you want to get away from everything then why not try out the famous Edinburgh Christmas Market. Here are just a glimpse of things to do in Edinburgh at Christmas and what will happen from Friday 17 November 2023 to Saturday 6 January 2024. The results are highly regarded as they are independently audited by a panel of experts and judged live in a rigorously assessed blind tasting event. The West Gardens will also hold the Winter Windows Schools Art Project, Garden’s Cottage Lighting and festive illuminationsThe ultimate award, Scottish Gin Distillery of the Year, was presented for a second year in a row to North Uist Distillery. They also collected the award for Best New Product of the Year for their Downpour Coast & Croft Gin. Browse our exciting and unique craft gin flavours including wild organic gin, rose gin, & lavender gin. Whether you're looking to treat yourself with our unique botanic gin flavours, shopping for a luxury gin gift or gin hamper for a special someone, or looking for gin minatures as a perfect gin taster, we have the best luxury gin gifts for all occasions. For inspiration, the gin maker said that it turned to its fan club of 30,000 “Ginfriends” to determine if the phrase “Crimbo Limbo” was the most fun and festive name for this curious time of the year.