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Christmas gift ideas 2013: best drinks bottles

Do judge these bottles by their labels…

Luke Blackall
Wednesday 20 November 2013 18:08 GMT

1. Dom Perignon – Jeff Koons

For most people, the opportunity to buy a piece of artwork by Jeff Koons, one of the world’s most successful artists, remains an impossibility. So for those who don’t have a spare few million down the back of the sofa, Koons has created a limited edition bottle for one of the greatest champagne houses - Dom Perignon both in vintage blanc and rosé. If you can resist opening it, the bottle (like the one designed the previous year by David Lynch) seems destined to become a collectors’ item.

Blanc 2004, £165, selfridges.com

Rosé 2003, £345, selfridges.com

2. Pernod Absinthe - Maison Kitsuné

The green fairy meets the fox with this design as Pernod Absinthe has teamed up with French record label Maison Kitsuné (Kitsuné means fox in Japanese) to create a second design with a limited run of 10,000 bottles. The brightly-coloured design brings to mind the hallucinogenic history of the drink, while the 68% ABV reminds you that it’s still one to mix carefully.

£40, sipstor.co.uk

3. Gordon’s & Temperley – Ten Green Bottles

Alice Temperley, who achieved national attention as the designer of the bridesmaid’s dress worn by Pippa Middleton at the royal wedding, has turned her hand to the labels of gin brand Gordon’s. The result is not one, but ten different designs called Ten Green bottles. Though you wouldn’t want any of these to accidentally fall…

RRP £14.99

4. Nicolas Feuillate, Palmes d’Or Brut Vintage 1999

Although there is no designer-name attached to it, much care has gone into crafting this bottle from the oldest producers union in Champagne. The result is a rare combination where form matches foam, as both the bottle and its contents evoke the glamorous age of the Cannes Film Festival.

£85, johnlewis.com

5. Absolut London - Jamie Hewlett

Swedish vodka institution have one of the longest traditions of playing with the design of their bottles. One of the latest is their Absolut London bottles which features a celebration of the city’s “creativity and rich style heritage” from Jamie Hewlett, well-known for his work with the band Gorillaz.

£15.99, selfridges.com

6. Grand Marnier

The French liqueur is hoping to prove a popular Christmas spirit with its new limited edition bottle. The striking red product is a homage to the boulevards and plans of Georges-Eugène Haussmann, the man responsible for the design of much of central Paris

RRP £26.05

7. Hennessy Paradis Imperial - Stéphanie Balini

This exceptional drink – it is a blend of extremely rare eaux-de-vies from the 19 and 20 century, was created to replicate the cognac commissioned by the Russian Imperial court in 1818 to celebrate Tsar Alexandre 1’s 42 birthday. The decanter it comes in, created by designer Stéphanie Balini, matches its grandeur, featuring both a crystal cabochon and an 18 carat gold-plated label. As does the price.

£1475, thewhiskyexchange.com

8. Leo Hillinger - Zaha Hadid

One of the world’s leading architects used computer aided design to create this new bottle, for Austrian winemaker Leo Hillinger. The bottle is designed to interlock with others while the official description talks about its “continuous spatial curve” and “concave indentation”. Fine wine and fine dinner conversation.

99 Euros, leo-hillinger.com

9. Beefeater 24 – Johanna Basford

The people behind Beefeater 24 are proud of the creation and rightly so. Now the spirit has a new bottle from illustrator Johanna Basford, who has come up with a design inspired by the 12 hand-selected botanicals and teas, which are used to make Beefeater 24 at its south London base.

£65, sipstor.co.uk

10. Roberto Cavalli vodka

Literally a designer bottle as it comes from Roberto Cavalli. With his own brand vodka the flamboyant Italian fashion star has combined two of his great loves – design and partying. The first vodka to be made entirely in Italy, the manufacturers say it represents the “appeal, seduction and quintessence of pure femininity”, while Cavalli has described it as “like water and fire coming together in a single element”. The limited night edition will blend in well at a nightclub.

£58, harveynichols.com

11. Belvedere (RED) Special Edition

It always nice to know that you're giving something back at Christmas. Belvedere have an ongoing partnership with (RED), the Aids-battling charity. 50% of the profit from the sale of each of their rather festive special edition bottles go to the cause.

£33, 31dover.com

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