Twelve bottles for midnight seemed fitting, and the countdown to that moment calls for something special: a liquid that rises to the occasion and makes the final hours of the year feel as significant as they ought to. Whether you’re hosting a full-scale party, settling in for a quiet evening for two, or simply determined to enter the new year with something worth staying awake for, these bottles deliver.
New Year’s Eve demands more than a half-hearted bottle of supermarket fizz grabbed at 4pm on the 31st – though we’ve included one excellent supermarket option for those whose December credit card statements have induced mild panic.
The selection covers every phase of the evening and every type of drinker. There’s Nigerian palm wine for those who want to toast alongside Kiribati (the first place on Earth to see in the new year), English sparkling that gives champagne a run for its money, an Italian aperitivo that Venetians have been drinking since 1920, and a Somerset perry for anyone who’s had quite enough of wine, thank you. We’ve got options for the designated driver, the friend who peaked at 10pm, and the one who’ll still be going strong when everyone else is hunting for an Uber.
Nkulenu Nigerian Palm Wine
Ideal for being first to toast the new year…
We’re starting off our list with a bit of a leftfield entry…
The very first place on Earth to welcome the new year is the island nation of Kiribati, where the traditional celebratory drink is karewe, a beverage made from the sap of the coconut palm. Left to ferment, karewe becomes a gently alcoholic palm wine with a sweet, yeasty character that Pacific Islanders have been enjoying for centuries. The technique of tapping coconut palms for their sap is an ancient one, practiced across tropical regions from Southeast Asia to West Africa.
While authentic Kiribati karewe remains elusive in the UK, Nkulenu Nigerian Palm Wine offers a chance to experience this category of drink. Crafted from the sap of palmyra, date and coconut palms, it delivers that distinctive palm wine character: milky white in appearance, slightly effervescent, with flavours that hover between tangy and sweet. The fermentation creates a drink that sits somewhere around 4% ABV, making it surprisingly sessionable for something so unusual.
Pouring a glass as the clock approaches midnight offers a nod to the very first celebrations happening 13 hours ahead in the Pacific. You could, of course, raise your glass at 11am UK time to toast in sync with Kiribati, though that might raise a few eyebrows over brunch. Regardless, it’s a conversation starter, certainly, and a reminder that bottle-popping New Year traditions around the world extend far beyond champagne.
Nkulenu Nigerian Palm Wine, £4.49, at afrobuy.co.uk
Read: 10 beautiful spirit bottles to gift this year
Piper-Heidsieck 2014 Vintage Magnum
Ideal for making a statement at midnight…
If you’re going to pop a magnum at midnight, it might as well be the best champagne in the world. That’s not marketing hyperbole: the Piper-Heidsieck 2014 Vintage Magnum was crowned Supreme World Champion at the 2025 Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships, beating over a thousand sparkling wines from 23 countries to claim the top spot. It’s only the fifth champagne house ever to receive the ultimate accolade in the competition’s 12-year history.
This is Piper-Heidsieck’s first vintage magnum release since the 1980s, which makes it something of an event in itself. A blend of 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay from 19 villages (87% of which are Grands and Premiers Crus), it spent five years on the lees before disgorgement. The nose delivers orange blossom, apricot and brioche with hints of toasted almond, while the palate offers tangerine, lime zest and a whisper of liquorice. It’s silky, it’s radiant, and it knows exactly what it’s doing.
The magnum format isn’t just about spectacle (though arriving at a party with 1.5 litres of world-champion champagne certainly makes an entrance). Larger bottles age more gracefully, developing greater complexity while maintaining freshness. That’s good news for anyone not drinking this one all at in one sitting.
Piper-Heidsieck 2014 Vintage Magnum, £154, at thefinestbubble.com
Nyetimber Classic Cuvée
Ideal for when the clock hits midnight…
If you’re going to toast the new year with bubbles, there’s a strong case for making them English ones. Nyetimber has spent decades proving that the South Downs can produce sparkling wine every bit as complex and celebratory as anything from Champagne, and the Classic Cuvée remains their flagship for good reason. A blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier from vineyards in Sussex, Hampshire and Kent, it’s made using the traditional method and aged on the lees for a minimum of three years.
The result is a pale gold wine with delicate bubbles and an enticing nose of brioche, fresh apples and hints of toast. On the palate, there’s bright acidity balanced by a creamy texture, with honeyed notes and a touch of chalky minerality that speaks to the terroir. It’s consistently served at Wimbledon and various royal occasions, so feels fitting for the most significant toast of the year, too.
For New Year’s Eve specifically, there’s something satisfying about ringing in a new chapter with something homegrown. The quality-to-price ratio currently outperforms most champagne at the same level, making this an intelligent splurge rather than a reckless one.
Nyetimber Classic Cuvée, from £42, at nyetimber.com
Aldi Prosecco Spumante DOCG Valdobbiadene
Ideal if the Christmas period has emptied your wallet…
December has a way of draining bank accounts, and there’s no shame in seeking value when you’re bracing for your next statement. The good news is that Aldi’s Valdobbiadene Prosecco punches well above its price point. This isn’t your standard supermarket fizz: the DOCG classification (the highest tier in Italian wine law) means it comes from the steep hillside vineyards of the Valdobbiadene region, where Glera grapes have been cultivated for generations.
In the glass, expect crunchy green apple, honeysuckle and white peach, with a light, creamy quality and delicate floral touches. The Good Housekeeping Institute has given it their seal of approval, calling it ‘dangerously drinkable’. Fine bubbles and bright acidity keep things fresh, making it an ideal crowd-pleaser when you’re catering for numbers.
For a New Year’s Eve flourish, rim your glasses with popping candy or edible glitter before pouring. The popping candy creates a crackling ‘fireworks’ sensation as you sip, which feels entirely appropriate for the occasion. It’s a party trick that costs pennies and makes an £8 bottle feel considerably more theatrical.
Aldi Prosecco Spumante DOCG Valdobbiadene, £7.99, at aldi.co.uk
Select Aperitivo
Ideal for turning that prosecco into something more interesting…
The Aperol Spritz has conquered the world, but in Venice they’ll tell you the original was made with something else entirely. Select Aperitivo was created in 1920 by the Pilla brothers in the Castello district, a year after Aperol appeared in nearby Padua. For over a century, it’s remained the Venetian choice – the deep red bottle you’ll see lined up behind the bar in every bacaro from San Marco to Cannaregio.
Made with 30 botanicals including juniper berries and rhubarb root, Select sits somewhere between Aperol and Campari – more bitter and complex than the former, softer and fruitier than the latter. There’s orange zest and red berry on the nose, with a bittersweet finish that makes it far more interesting than the ubiquitous orange option. The classic serve is three parts prosecco, two parts Select, a splash of soda, ice, and – crucially – a fat green olive rather than an orange slice.
For a New Year’s Eve party, a batch of Select Spritzes is hard to beat: crowd-pleasing, easy to make in volume, and low enough in alcohol that guests can enjoy several without missing the countdown. If you’ve bought the Aldi prosecco above, this is precisely what to do with it.
Select Aperitivo, £17.95, at thewhiskyexchange.com
Tails Espresso Martini
Ideal if you’re finding it hard to stay awake…
Let’s be honest: staying up until midnight gets harder every year. The sofa starts whispering sweet nothings around 10pm, and by 11 you’re wondering if anyone would really notice if you just closed your eyes for a moment. Enter the espresso martini, that glorious contradiction of a drink that says ‘I’m sophisticated’ and ‘I refuse to miss the countdown’ in equal measure.
If you’re lagging too much to make your cocktails from scratch, think pre-batch. Tails has done the hard work for you with their already-mixed version of this classic, made with 42BELOW vodka from New Zealand and premium espresso coffee. The quality is genuinely impressive for something that comes ready to pour. Just add ice, shake vigorously for that signature frothy top, and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with three coffee beans if you’re feeling traditional (they represent health, wealth and happiness, apparently).
The caffeine hit is real, so this isn’t the drink for those planning an early night. But for anyone determined to see in the new year with eyes wide open and glass in hand, it’s the perfect solution. No faffing with espresso machines at 11:45pm, no hunting for coffee liqueur at the back of the drinks cabinet. Just shake, pour, and power through to the fireworks.
IDEAL Tip: Serve with a hazelnut and cocoa wafer roll perched across the rim. It jazzes up a shop bought espresso martini beautifully, and gives you that extra sugar hit to keep you going until midnight. Use it as a straw if you’re feeling decadent, but fair warning; it’ll quickly go soggy. The perfect excuse to have another, perhaps?
Tails Espresso Martini, £12.50, available at supermarkets and Amazon
REAL Royal Flush Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Tea
Ideal if you’ve indulged too much over Christmas…
After a fortnight of mulled wine, champagne toasts and one too many sherries at the neighbours’, there’s something to be said for greeting the new year with a clear head. The challenge has always been finding something that feels celebratory rather than penitential. REAL has solved that problem rather elegantly.
Made at their Fermentery on the Waddesdon Estate in Buckinghamshire, Royal Flush uses first flush Darjeeling tea, known as the ‘Queen of Teas’, fermented over several weeks to develop genuine complexity. The result is fragrant and fresh on the nose with notes of grape and stone fruits, while the palate delivers white peach, rhubarb and a touch of blackcurrant. There’s a delicate acidity that mirrors sparkling wine and a long, soft finish that rewards proper glassware.
Multi-award winning and now served by sommeliers at some of the UK’s most prestigious restaurants, this is non-alcoholic drinking for grown-ups. Low in calories and sugar, with no preservatives or additives, it lets you raise a proper toast at midnight without adding to the accumulative December damage.
REAL Royal Flush Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Tea, from £8, at Waitrose, Ocado and Sainsbury’s
Wilding November Perry 2021
Ideal if you still want a drink, but not too hard…
Table ciders and perries have been building momentum over the past year, cropping up on wine lists and in bottle shops with increasing regularity. It’s a trend that shows no sign of slowing into 2026, and for good reason: these are drinks that offer the ceremony of wine without the headiness. Perry typically sits around 5–8% ABV compared to champagne’s 12%, making it ideal when you want something sparkling and sociable but don’t fancy writing off the rest of your evening. Or, indeed, the next day…
Wilding’s November Perry captures the richer side of the category. Picked and pressed at the tail end of October into November, it’s a blend of late-ripening varieties – Claret, Oldfield, Blakeney Red, Hellens Green, New Meadow, Pine and Taynton Squash – from the Perry House Farm orchard in Chew Stoke. Where early-season perries tend toward lightness, this has more body and depth: ripe pear, gentle tannins, and a sweetness that feels earned rather than cloying.
Sam and Beccy Leach run Wilding from their base in Chew Magna, Somerset, where they make cider and perry with an uncompromising natural approach: hand-picked fruit from organic orchards, wild yeast fermentation, no sulphites or additives. The quality has rocketed in recent years, and this is a producer worth watching.
Wilding November Perry 2023, £16.80, at beckfordbottleshop.com
Jinro Flavoured Soju
Ideal if you want your new year to go off with a bang…
The soju bomb has become something of a ritual in Korean drinking culture, and there’s no better moment to import that energy than midnight on New Year’s Eve. The premise is simple: drop a shot glass of soju into a glass of beer and down the lot. The execution, ideally, involves a certain amount of theatre and a crowd willing to cheer. And that’s what NYE is all about, don’t you think?
Jinro’s flavoured soju range has made the spirit far more accessible to those who find traditional soju a touch austere. The Peach variant is particularly popular, with its soft fruit sweetness taking the edge off the 13% ABV, though Strawberry, Grapefruit and Plum all have their devotees. At 350ml per bottle, they’re sized for sharing across a few rounds.
While Korean beer can be tricky to track down in the UK, Japanese and Chinese lagers offer that clean, crisp profile that integrates well with the soju. Asahi Super Dry, Sapporo and Tsingtao are all widely available and won’t fight the fruit flavours. Just make sure everyone’s ready before you drop.
Jinro Soju Peach 350ml, from £5, widely available at Asian supermarkets and major retailers
Pantalones Organic Tequila Blanco
Ideal for keeping the party going…
Speaking of Korea, as Rosé and Bruno Mars put it in APT – a song we couldn’t get out of our head this year – “sleep tomorrow, but tonight, go crazy”.
Every party reaches a fork in the road around 1am. One path leads to coats, sensible goodbyes and a taxi. The other involves someone producing a bottle of tequila and the collective decision that sleep is for January (the second). If you’re committed to the latter philosophy, you might as well do it with something sophisticated rather than the dusty bottle of José Cuervo that’s all frost bitten at the back of someone’s freezer. Enter Pantalones Organic Tequila Blanco.
The story behind this one is better than most. Matthew McConaughey and wife Camila founded Pantalones in 2023, inspired by the margaritas they shared on the night they met. ‘Pantalones’ is Spanish for pants, and also slang for guts, which captures the brand’s philosophy of not taking things too seriously. The name alone prompts questions at parties.
The liquid inside is entirely serious, however. Made from 100% Blue Weber agave grown by fourth-generation farmers who have been caring for over 7,000 acres since the 1920s, this is certified organic, gluten-free and distilled in traditional copper pot stills. On the nose, expect cooked and raw agave alongside caramel, lime and vanilla. The palate delivers a smooth, silky experience with gentle sweetness and a clean finish that invites another sip rather than wincing.
Now available at Waitrose across the UK, it works brilliantly in a New Year’s Eve margarita or sipped neat as to keep the party going.
Pantalones Organic Tequila Blanco, £34 at waitrose.com
Cotswolds Signature Single Malt Whisky
Ideal for contemplating the year ahead…
There’s a particular window on New Year’s Eve, somewhere between the champagne toasts and the taxi home, when the mind turns to what lies ahead. This is whisky’s moment. A glass of something amber and contemplative invites the sort of quiet reflection that fizz simply doesn’t allow – though whether you’re making resolutions or mentally filing them under ‘nice idea, won’t happen’ is between you and your tumbler.
The first single malt ever distilled in the Cotswolds deserves attention from anyone who assumes English whisky can’t compete with the Scots. Founded in 2014 by former financier Dan Szor, Cotswolds Distillery has built its reputation on using 100% locally grown, traditionally floor-malted barley and an innovative approach to cask management.
The Signature expression is matured in a combination of STR (shaved, toasted and re-charred) ex-red wine barriques and first-fill ex-bourbon casks in a 70/30 split, then married for 12 weeks before bottling at 46%. On the nose, honey and red fruits emerge alongside hints of treacle. The palate is luscious and silky, delivering marmalade on toast, vanilla custard and gentle cinnamon spice, finishing with a warming oakiness and a peppery tingle.
Non-chill filtered and with no colour additives, this is whisky made with integrity by people who clearly care about the result. It’s the sort of thing to pour for that quiet moment after midnight, when the fireworks have stopped and the year ahead feels full of possibility.
Cotswolds Signature Single Malt Whisky, £46, at cotswoldsdistillery.com
Amaro Montenegro
Ideal for signalling the night is over…
Every party needs someone to bring out The Bottle. The one that says, gently but firmly, that the evening has reached its natural conclusion. In Italy, that bottle is invariably an amaro – and Amaro Montenegro has been performing this dignified duty since 1885.
Created in Bologna by Stanislao Cobianchi, a herbalist who abandoned a career in the church to travel the world collecting botanicals, it was originally called Elisir Lungavita before being renamed in honour of Princess Elena of Montenegro upon her marriage to the future King of Italy. The poet Gabriele D’Annunzio called it ‘the liqueur of virtues’, which feels about right for something designed to draw a line under proceedings with a certain grace.
The recipe calls for 40 botanicals including bitter and sweet orange, cloves, cinnamon and coriander, extracted through boiling, maceration and distillation before a final secret ingredient called Il Premio – a micro-distillation so potent that just one litre is needed for every 15,000 litres of finished amaro. The result sits somewhere between sweet and bitter, with notes of orange peel, vanilla and gentle herbal warmth.
Italians swear it settles the stomach after a heavy meal – and after a New Year’s Eve of canapés, midnight champagne and whatever else you’ve been putting away, that’s no small promise. Pour small measures into whatever glasses are still standing, raise a toast to the year that was, and accept that it’s time to find your coat.
Amaro Montenegro, £19.30, at ocado.com
The Bottom Line
New Year’s Eve is the one night of the year when excess feels justified. These bottles understand the assignment: some are spectacular to look at, some are exceptional to drink, and the best are both. Whether you’re counting down to midnight with champagne flutes raised or settling into the first hours of January with something amber and contemplative, there’s no reason to compromise. The year ahead will have plenty of ordinary evenings. This isn’t one of them.
