I tested boozy Christmas crackers – winner would look beautiful on any table and even has alcohol-free option
ONE of the best parts of Christmas is pulling a cracker, putting on the silly paper crown it held and reading out the cheesy joke before tucking in to your festive feast.
Traditionally, gifts inside them might include a fortune-telling fish or a tiny pair of nail clippers you lose almost immediately.
But now boozy crackers are upping the ante. While they may not have the usual snap when you pull them, the goodies inside definitely won’t go to waste.
Hayley Minn has a cracking time putting a selection to the test.
EDINBURGH GIN
£14.99 for four, Amazon
THESE feature four 50ml bottles of Edinburgh Gin’s best flavours – rhubarb and ginger, orange blossom and mandarin, elderflower, and plum and vanilla.
While there’s no denying all four flavours are deliciously sweet and boozy, I wouldn’t exactly call these good crackers.
For starters, there are no jokes or crowns. And they don’t snap when you pull them – though none of the others I tested did either.
These are just bottles of booze in cracker-shaped packaging. They would be good on a Christmas table so your guests can have them as a tipple for dessert.
But make sure you buy some mixer too, as these gin liqueurs are 20 per cent ABV, and crackers do not include tonic.
RATING: 3/5
VIRGIN WINE PROSECCO
£32.99 for six, virginwines.co.uk
WHAT screams Christmas more than red and gold packaging – and bubbly?
These six luxury crackers are fabulously festive and would complement any place setting wonderfully.
You could choose a pack of six crackers of assorted wines (£29.99), gin and tonics (£34.99) or spirits (£34.99).
But we plumped for some celebratory bubbly.
Each cracker includes a miniature 20cl bottle of bubbly – and there’s a Christmas hat and cheesy joke inside – all that will have the whole dinner table saying prosec-ho-ho.
The only downside is there is just one side of the packaging to pull, but guests will not mind when these otherwise offer so much.
RATING: 5/5
JOHNNIE WALKER GOLD LABEL
£17.90 for one, The Whisky World
WITH eye-catching white and gold packaging, plus bows tied on each end, this boozy cracker option looks wonderfully festive.
However, they are extremely pricey, featuring a 200ml bottle of the distiller’s Gold Label Reserve blended Scotch whisky tucked inside.
So they would be better off as a present rather than put on the table – unless you want to spend a lot of money and get your guests VERY drunk.
They don’t include a crown or joke either. This is a lovely idea – and the booze is delicious – but I will be reserving this as a gift for my dad, and saving my pennies for some more reasonable crackers.
RATING: 1/5
FEVER-TREE
£9 each, Waitrose
IN brightly coloured packaging and with silver ribbons tied around each end, these great crackers from premium tonic water brand Fever-Tree will look beautiful on any table.
The range features 11 flavours, so there will be something there to please everyone at your festive table.
Each 50ml can of tonic is paired with a small bottle of a well-known tipple that will be a perfect match for it.
There is even an alcohol-free option available, Aromatic Spritz. I tried the Tequila Mexican Lime Spritz, featuring Vivir tequila, and the Mediterranean gin and tonic cracker, which contained some Sipsmith Zesty Orange gin.
These are a bit pricey, but they do include a crown and joke!
RATING: 5/5
KOCKTAIL
£35 for four, or £9 each, kocktail.co.uk
ONE of the most expensive Christmas cracker sets I tried. These feature 100ml bottles of pre-mixed cocktails in Passionfruit Martini, Espresso Martini, Amaretto Sour and Negroni.
The same flavours – plus Margarita – can also be bought as individual crackers at £9 each.
At 20 per cent ABV, having these on your table would be a nice, boozy way to end the dinner, and every flavour was delicious.
The crackers open silently yet smoothly when you pull them. But, again, there are no crowns or jokes.
A 500ml bottle of the drinks is £27, so you would be better off buying your favourite plus your usual crackers separately.
RATING: 2/5
ASDA BOOZY CRACKERS
£4 each, £10 for three
BRILLIANT value and with a terrific range of well-known names to choose from, there’s little to dislike about Asda’s boozy crackers.
Brands include Stella Artois, Malibu and the ultimate festive tipple, Baileys.
Inside each cracker is a miniature version of the drink, plus a little extra to pair it with. So, with the Stella you get nuts, Baileys comes with sea salt caramel fudge, and the Malibu pack has a can of Coke.
But they’re not really crackers, as you only open the pack from one side – plus there’s no joke or crown.
These as best as presents rather than sitting on a Christmas table.
RATING: 4/5
MOTH COCKTAIL
£29 for six, mothdrinks.com
WITH six of London-based Moth’s cocktails ready to serve in cans, there is something to suit pretty much every guest’s taste.
My favourite is the Espresso Martini, but the pack also contains a Cosmopolitan, Margarita, Negroni, Pink Gin Fizz and Old Fashioned.
While the crackers do not make a snap, they satisfyingly open up when you pull them.
These crackers also don’t have paper crowns or jokes inside, but they do include some fun facts to share at the dinner table instead, if that’s your thing.
If you fancy some cocktails to go alongside the meal, these are sure to add that extra bit of fun to your feast.
RATING: 3/5