With Christmas almost upon us and millions around the country preparing to eat, drink and be merry, here's the lovemoney.com guide to getting your hands on some bargain booze for the festive season.
Most of us love a tipple at Christmas, and you can almost hear the retailers rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of tills ringing with festive cash.
But if you like a bargain, don’t worry, there are still quite a few to be found.
So to help you save a few pounds this Christmas while still getting suitably merry, here are my top tips for picking up some alcohol on the cheap...
Champagne and bubbles!
If you love to wake up on Christmas morning or celebrate New Year’s Eve with a decadent glass of bubbly, you need to start shopping around now for the best deals. And the good news is that fizz doesn’t have to cost a fortune!
£5 and under
- Tesco Sparkling Non Vintage (NV) Cava is currently available for just £3.99.
- Asda has Marques de Monistrol Vintage Cava for just £5, reduced from £11.98.
- And if you prefer Rose, Asda also has Canti Sparkling Pinot Grigio Rose for just a fiver (reduced from £6.71).
£10 and under
- Asda has the cheapest champagne, with Pierre Darcy’s Champagne Brut Non Vintage (NV) available for just £10 (reduced from £23.98!).
- Alternatively, you can currently snap up Maschio Prosecco Spumante Extra Dry for £5.99 at Tesco – reduced from £11.99.
- And Asda has Wolf Blass Yellow Label Pinot Noir Chardonnay Brut for just £6, reduced from £10.98.
£20 and under
- Tesco has Andre Carpentier NV Champagne for just £12, which is better than half price. The offer lasts until 3/1/12 so you can stock up for New Year’s Eve, too.
- Save £17 in Sainsbury’s on its Antoine De Clevecy Champagne – available for just £12.99 until 1/1/2012.
- Alternatively, Ocado is offering 50% off its Bredon Brut NV champagne, now just £12.99.
£30 and under
- Veuve Cliquot Yellow label NV Champagne is currently on offer at £27.49 at Tesco (saving £7).
- Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial NV champagne has a £5 saving at Sainsbury’s, making it £25.99.
- And you can currently save £13.99 off the Tattinger Brut Reserve NV champagne at Ocado, now just £22!
Wine
Asda is currently offering 3 for £10 on over 50 bottles of wine – so whether you’re a red, white or rosé drinker you’ll be sure to find something to suit your taste!
Sainsbury’s is offering quite a few wines at 3 for £12 (including Hardy’s, Echo Falls and Wollemi) and 2 for £10 (including Gallo, Banrock Station and Blossom Hill).
And Tesco is offering a number of wines with 50% off, making most come in at the £4.50-£5 mark. Wines on offer include red and white bottles of Hardy’s, Gallo, Kumala, Banrock Station, Blossom Hill and Jacob’s Creek.
Spirits
If you’re planning a party, head to Asda for some great rollback prices on spirits, including 70cl bottles of Gordon’s Gin, Famous Grouse Scotch Whisky and Baileys for just £10. And 50cl bottles of Cointreau and Disarrono Amaretto are also just £10.
Tesco has a number of one-litre bottles of spirits on offer for just £15 each, including Bacardi Rum, Martini, Baileys and Morgans Spiced Dark Rum.
Smirnoff Red Label Vodka, Bell’s Scotch whisky and Gordon’s Dry London Gin are now £16.
For £20 you can buy a 70cl bottle of either Glenmorangie 10-Year-Old Malt Whisky (saving £7) or the Glenlivet 12-Year-Old Malt Whisky (saving £9.29).
And don’t forget the sherry - Croft Original Sherry is currently just £8 for one litre (reduced from 10.67) at Asda, or Harvey’s Bristol Cream is £9 for one litre at Sainsbury’s. And you can save £3.45 on Cockburns Special Reserve Port at Tesco, now just £10.25 for one litre.
Beer, lager & cider
Asda currently has 20x440ml packs of Carlsberg and 18x440ml packs of Budweiser for just £10.
And 12x440ml packs Strongbow Cider are now just £7, as are 10x440ml packs for Guinness Draught!
If you prefer Sol, San Miguel or Tiger beer you can snap up 12x330ml can packs at Tesco for just £9.
And 12x284ml bottles of Stella Artois or 12x275ml bottles of Becks Bier are £8 at Tesco (or 2 for £15/4 for £25).
Soft Drinks
Don’t forget the drivers, non-drinkers and kids when stocking up - there are plenty of soft drink offers available.
For example, two, 12x330ml packs for Coca Cola/Diet Coke/Coke Zero and Caffeine free Coke will cost you just £7 at Sainsbury’s – or snap up 4x2litre bottles of Pepsi at Tesco for £4.99 (offer lasts until 25/12)
For sparkling water, 2x1 litre bottles of Perrier can be bought for £1.50 in Tesco. And Shloer Sparkling White/Red Grape Juice is on Buy One Get One Free at Tesco (£2.09 for 2x750ml until 2/1/2012).
So there you have it, whatever your tipple this Christmas, you’re sure to find a bargain!
MySupermarket
To compare prices on specific brands and types of alcohol it’s worth heading to mySupermarket.co.uk or if you’re a devoted wine drinker try their specific vino-store.
But if you do decide to buy the festive booze a week before Christmas it’s probably a good idea to hide it away until the big day – or you could find yourself at the supermarket again on Christmas Eve!
Frugal tip
And as a final note, if you’ve never shopped online before, make sure you take advantage of every offer available. You can currently get £15 off your first online shop with Tesco (provided you spend £100) for example, simply by using the code XXMFLP at the checkout. Check out the supermarket websites to find out if you could save.
Happy shopping – and remember to drink responsibly!
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