Casements’ Whiskey-Soaked Advent Calendar Is a Must-Have for San Francisco Cocktail Lovers

If you aren’t quite ready for the onslaught of holiday cheer this year, Mission bar Casements is preparing an Advent calendar to get you into the spirit. The cheerful-looking Advent calendar is filled with an assortment of boozy surprises to open each day until Christmas.

As is appropriate for an Advent calendar made by a bar, expect a number of boozy gifts to be included in the mix. Casements co-owner Gillian Fitzgerald says calendar owners will be “tasting their way through Ireland from Donegal to Dublin to Dingle” with whiskeys, liquors, and cocktails from the Emerald Isle. There will be pre-batched cocktails like the house gin and tonic with cardamom-infused tonic syrup, or the Italia 90 negroni made with Bertha’s Revenge from County Kerry in Ireland. For the whiskey enthusiasts, there will be pours of rare versions from Ireland, including Gold Spot, a Midleton Very Rare 2021, and the Redbreast Kentucky Oak Edition. Smaller distilleries will also be featured in the calendar, with tastes of Waterford Whisky, Boann Distillery, and an intriguing-sounding pour of Currach Single Malt Irish Whiskey distilled in an Atlantic kombu seaweed cask. “Definitely a plethora of new finds for every whiskey enthusiast,” Fitzgerald says via email.

Bottles will range in size from half-ounce drams to 3-ounce pours. And if you’re the type that enjoys tasting notes, Casements has you covered: Fitzgerald says the team will record Instagram Live tastings each day at 5 p.m., opening the day’s bottle with distillers and blenders joining from Ireland. The videos will all be saved to the Casements Instagram account (@casementsbar), in case customers would like to revisit a video, or miss a day or two of tastings.

The Advent calendar costs $220, with just 100 calendars available for sale via the Casements website or in-person at the bar, starting November 21. Home delivery within San Francisco is also available for an additional $10, with delivery dates on November 25, 26, and 29.