Gin baubles: The Edinburgh distillery selling this year's must have Christmas decoration

It was a Christmas decoration that originated in Edinburgh. But gin-filled baubles are likely to be hanging from Christmas trees all over the world this year, with their popularity soaring to new heights since the capital's own craft gin brand, Pickering's, started selling them four years ago.

Each pack contains six different coloured plastic baubles. Picture: Pickering's Gin website.

The drinkable decorations are an obvious take on the traditional glass hanging bauble and can be refilled, not just with alcohol but any liquid.

And these festive balls of fun are made from a specially treated plastic which does not interfere with the flavour of the drink, and it also means they won't shatter if they fall from the tree.

How it all started

Pickering’s first started producing their screw-top gin baubles (a set of six brightly coloured glass baubles filled with their signature gin) in 2014 as a bit of fun for a Christmas fair at Edinburgh’s Summerhall, where the distillery is based.

A few hundred baubles were sold within the first hour of the fair, so the Pickering’s team decided to step up production for 2015 to several thousand baubles. These sold out in just a few days.

Thanks to the increased coverage, Pickering’s found itself with lots of new fans on social media the following year, managing to sell out the 30,000 baubles they were stocking in 82 seconds. The festive trend also caught the eye of the American press and celebrities, including business executive and TV personality Martha Stewart.

Each pack contains six different coloured plastic baubles. Picture: Pickering's Gin website.

Two months before last Christmas, the distillery had expanded their team and had produced about a million baubles throughout the year.

Competition has since grown from other gin makers who have latched on to the idea, and there are now several brands out there marketing their own boozy baubles.

How to buy them

Pickering's

The original gin-filled baubles can be bought in packs of six through the Pickering's Gin website for £30. Each brightly coloured bauble contains 50ml of their signature gin which is described as smooth, refreshing and flavoursome and based on an old Bombay recipe.

Other websites offering this product include Amazon , John Lewis or 31DOVER

Here are some of the other brands which are available...

Lakes Gin

You can opt for the The Lakes Distillery's bauble gift set - a mixture of signature gin and liqueur gin in 50ml baubles. The Cumbria-based distillery also offers standard six packs which are available for £29.95, or you can opt for a single 200ml sized bauble for £17.95.

Boozy Baubles

These self fill Boozy Baubles come in three pastel colours with a screw off silver top and metallic thread. Each bauble can be reused and will hold up to 150ml (they advise filling 50ml) of gin, rum, whisky, cognac, vodka, or whatever takes your fancy. You can find the set of six on Amazon for £15.95.