The festive season calls for festive drinks! During winter we tend to opt for hot toddies, Christmas spices and richer flavours, but what really makes the drink festive is the presentation. Use sprigs of rosemary, apple slices, clementines and various red berries to give the cocktail a festive flair.
Which one of these festive cocktail recipes will you be making during the holidays?
Calvados & Thyme Spritz
This tastes like an apple pie!
60ml Calvados (I used Berneroy Fine)
30ml Thyme & Cinnamon syrup
Prosecco
Soda water
Build directly over ice and garnish with extra thyme and some lemon.
Thyme & Cinnamon syrup
To make the flavoured syrup, simply add sugar, water and cinnamon stick to a saucepan. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add fresh thyme leaves. Take off the heat, cover with a lid and leave to sit for 30 minutes to an hour. Strain and store.
Hot Negroni
25ml Gin (I used Kalevala)
20ml Campari
25ml Sweet vermouth (I used Cucielo)
Hot berry tea with a touch of honey
Orange slice and red currants for garnish
Measure the first three ingredients into a glass and top up with hot berry tea. Garnish with an orange slice.
Looking for more Negroni recipes? See Holiday Negroni Recipes.
Winter Margarita
Pomegranate seeds (muddled and for garnish)
25ml Fresh pink grapefruit juice
20ml Fresh lime juice
50ml Tequila reposado (I recommend Pancho Datos)
Fiery ginger beer
Himalayan salt rim
First, coat the rim of your glass with salt, avoiding getting any inside the glass. Muddle plenty of pomegranate seeds through a sieve to create around 25ml of juice. Shake all but the ginger beer with ice and strain over ice. Top up with fiery ginger beer and garnish with the remaining pomegranate.
Festive Highball
45ml Timorous Beastie Highland Malt Scotch Whisky
20ml Redcurrant & cinnamon syrup
Soda water
Sprig of rosemary
Simply build the drink over ice and garnish with rosemary.
Redcurrant & cinnamon syrup
To make the flavoured syrup, simply add brown sugar, water and redcurrants and cinnamon sticks to a saucepan. Muddle the berries well to release all the flavour. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Take off the heat, cover with a lid and leave to sit for 30 minutes to an hour. Strain and store.
Ginger & Rosemary Sour
50ml Rosemary-Infused Big Peat Islay Malt Scotch Whisky
20ml Lemon juice
20ml Ginger syrup
Egg white
Sprig of rosemary for garnish
Infuse whisky with rosemary overnight. Dry shake all ingredients. Add ice and shake again. Strain into an ice-filled tumbler and garnish with the rosemary.
Ginger syrup
To make the flavoured syrup, simply add sugar, water and ginger slices to a saucepan. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Take off the heat, cover with a lid and leave to sit for 30 minutes to an hour. Strain and store.
All-in-One Winter Fizz
30ml Gin (I used Kirkjuvagr Orkney Gin)
25ml Fresh clementine juice (or orange)
10ml Cointreau
15ml Fresh pomegranate juice
10ml Cranberry syrup*
Prosecco
Pomegranate seeds/Citrus slices/Thyme/Rosemary
Shake clementine juice, pomegranate juice, cranberry syrup and gin together with ice. Double strain into a large Champagne flute and top up with Prosecco. Garnish with your chosen ingredients.
*I used Monin cranberry syrup because it’s nearly impossible to find cranberries in Italy. If you have access to cranberries, I recommend making your own syrup and storing it in the fridge.
Don’t Give a Fig
50ml Christmassy Gin ( for example Kirkjuvagr Yuletide Gin)
15ml Fig syrup
Cinnamon stick
Clementine slice
Premium tonic water
You can build this directly in the glass over ice. Add the gin and fig syrup and give it a stir. Add more ice if needed and top up with premium tonic water. Garnish with cinnamon, clementine and/or a fig.
Fig syrup
Simply add sugar, water and figs to a saucepan. Muddle the figs gently to release more flavour. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Take off the heat, cover with a lid and leave to sit for 30 minutes to an hour. Strain and store in the fridge.
Popcorn Negroni
30ml Peated Scotch (I used Laphroaig QA Cask)
25ml Sweet vermouth (I used Cucielo)
20ml Campari
7.5ml Monin Popcorn Syrup
Stir all ingredients with ice and strain over a large cube. Garnish with an orange peel.
What is your favourite festive cocktail recipe? Which seasonal flavours do you prefer?
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