This week sees the launch of The Whisky Club from The Times and The Sunday Times: timeswhiskyclub.com is an on-line shop dedicated to the world's finest malts, blends and spirits.

The site's launch just before Christmas means it's a great place for unusual gifts such as: a 10-year-old Laphroaig; Polish vodka that comes with a stem of bison grass, or an extremely rare 40-year-old Bruichladdich - just 400 bottles made and only 100 allocated to the UK - which at £1452 would make any whisky connoisseur's Christmas. There is even a twist on the traditional advent calendar: a Whisky Advent Calendar - help count down the days with a daily 3cl dram of whisky.

Said John Witherow, Editor of The Sunday Times: "John Witherow, Editor of The Sunday Times said: "Our readers want more than just The Sunday Times Wine club, so now we're giving them a Whisky club to keep them in permanent good spirits."

Endorsing timeswhiskyclub.com is Alice Lascelles, one of the UK's leading authorities on liquid culture, and columnist for The Times on Saturday and The Sunday Times' Style Magazine. Said Alice: "This is a user-friendly site where you can buy an incredible range of spirits, informed by a wealth of jargon-free tasting notes and distillery information. Whether you're looking for cocktail ideas, food matches or an unusual and thoughtful gift, timeswhiskyclub.com is the place to go for an expertly-curated selection of the very finest drinks. The trend for entertaining at home is continuing to rise, and a well-stocked drinks cabinet is always appreciated."

Building on the heritage of The Times and The Sunday Times, timeswhiskyclub.com is selling drinks from a number of distillers, including the Buffalo Trace distillery which was the first in America to make use of steam power. Ireland's Midleton distillery, built in 1825 by the Murphy brothers and home to one of the world's largest stills. And Japan's Hakushu distillery, originally founded in the foothills of Mount Kaikomagatake.

Available to buy are classic and rare spirits including whisky club-branded 30, 40 and 50-year-old speyside malts; tasting sets, single cask and rare bottlings. From absinthe through to Jenver (a Dutch gin, thought to be a forerunner to today's modern gins) the site's stock exceeds 4,000 and delivery takes just 24-hours.

Also available is one of the largest collections of drams (3cl samples) available from any retailer. This means customers will be able to sample an artisan whiskeys from America for example, before buying.

Although anyone can buy from timeswhiskyclub.com becoming a member will mean access to exclusive events and offers. In time, the site will launch specially- branded 'The Times' and 'The Sunday Times' accessories, such as etched tumblers.