M&S has a proud history as a leading British innovator and for over 136 years customers have turned to M&S for unique, original, quality products – conceived, created and developed by us working with our trusted suppliers and produced to the highest standards,” said an M&S spokesman.

Come December there’s something about having a glass of wine or gin after work that just gets even more appealing than ever - you’ve got to be prepared for your Christmas do, after all. Both would make great Christmas gifts however - and I can see them being popular once again this year.Classic gin botanicals such as juniper, angelica root and citrus peel are used in Gilded Gin, but elderflower and Valencian clementine stand out. Of course, the gold flakes also stand out, but don’t do much in terms of flavor and are truly there for your aesthetic pleasure. The M&S bottle looks beautiful sat on a drinks table at Christmas. It lights up by pushing a button underneath and stays lit for over 30 seconds. Once shaken the gold leaf really does make it look like a magical snow globe as it floats around, shimmering in the light. While the Aldi taste wasn't awful, I would drink it again - but when teamed with a mixer it seemed to lose a little flavour.

There's a reason why the M&S snow globe has been so popular this year, and while it's a good effort from Aldi, overall it tasted a bit too sweet and we weren't as dazzled by the overall appearance of the bottle as we were with the Marks and Spencer version. If there's one thing that we all love in the run up to Christmas, it's all the festive food and drink on sale. The supermarkets have launched their popular Christmas gin liqueur bottles. Both have lights at the base and edible gold flakes within the liquid. To make it fair, I sampled the gin straight, as well as with lemonade (my choice of mixer). When it was straight the clementine taste was strong, however I still wouldn't be able to drink it straight.Per the brand, Gilded Gin is best enjoyed with “soda water and a slice of orange or alternatively Fever Tree Elderflower Tonic.” Yum. I tried the liqueur on its own and was pleasantly surprised. It didn't taste too much of alcohol, more a sweet drink. One member of the gin team said they thought it “smells like Christmas” adding that it had "more a taste” than the Sloe Gin.

The gold flakes seemed finer here too - but there was more. However you needed to give it a real good shake to see the effect. Mixing it with tonic, the Cranberry and Clementine was still very prominent and somehow transformed from a Christmas feel to a more refreshing summer taste, helping it become the perfect all-year-round gin. The bottle was very pretty and got a 10/10 for design, with a clear agreement from the gin team that it ranked best for design compared to the two other Aldi gins we tried. I remember seeing last years versions adorned with trees, snow and reindeers. This year, it does feature Santa's sleigh and reindeers flying over mountains.However, I wanted to go into this tasting with an open mind so tried my best to leave previous encounters with Sloe Gin behind. John Coldham, IP Partner at law firm Gowling WLG, said: “M&S is taking a forthright approach to protecting its IP this year, against Aldi in particular. We have seen a number of clients choose to challenge Aldi’s aggressive approach to taking inspiration from others, and M&S is doing the same. The huge press interest in the earlier dispute between M&S and Aldi about chocolate cakes called Colin and Cuthbert has not deterred M&S from taking action again. The bottle glows a golden colour once you switch on the light. I did like how there was two settings here, a constant glow and a flashing light. Changed it up slightly. The shiny star, or in this case, Christmas Tree, or the product, was the design of the bottle, in the centre stood a glass Christmas Tree surrounded by floating gold flakes. It is once again the battle of Marks & Spencer and Aldi. We all know the saga surrounding Colin and Cuthbert the Caterpillars.

But they are small and right at the bottom of the bottle. You can hardly notice them. Going on looks, M&S was winning slightly here. Both retailers' gins liqueurs come in a clementine flavour. M&S also do a mulled sugar plum flavour. The sweet drink would make for the perfect festive drink, especially for a Christmas party or gift.Moving on to the design of the bottle, it has a simple yet striking look, with berry vines all over and the gins' dark purple colour making it striking amongst any home bar shelf. So, why not turn to a Scottish gin brand that’s ready to serve up some 41% ABV gold flake fun? Swiss 24-karat edible gold is added to the Scotland-made gin and we think that exudes pure elegance… someone should sip this spirit in long silk gloves and a golden floor-length gown. Marks and Spencer’s version arrived on the scene a few years ago, with shoppers desperate to get their hands on the stunning bottle - and others going as far as to collect all the different flavours to create a collection. When you press the light underneath, the bottle glows a glorious bronze/gold colour - with the light reflecting off the flakes.