Get into the festive spirit with this brilliant selection of Christmas cocktail recipes. With each recipe, we will recommend the perfect tipple to accompany it and detail the steps needed to make it as well as the ingredients.
750ml Sharpham Pinot Noir Red Wine
1 large cinnamon stick, or 2 small ones
2 star anise
4 cloves
2 strips lemon zest, pared using a vegetable peeler
4 tbsp caster sugar
Method: Put the red wine, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, lemon zest and sugar in a large pan. Cook on low heat for 10 mins. Remove from the heat and cool, leaving to infuse for about 30 mins. To serve, heat without boiling, stir in the sloe gin (if using, see tip below) and pour into mugs or heatproof glasses.
When making a mulled wine you need to use a high-quality wine such as Sharpham Pinot Noir. This is a ripe and youthful cool climate Pinot Noir showing wild strawberry, cherry with subtle spice. Full flavoured with juicy red berries and broad tannins.
2 750ml bottles Sharpham Dart Valley Reserve White Wine
3/4 cup sparkling apple cider
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cranberries, halved
3/4 cup cranberries, whole
1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
3 rosemary sprigs
Garnish: rosemary sprigs
Method: Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher. Stir together with a large wooden spoon to help the sugar dissolve. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. Serve chilled with a garnish of rosemary sprigs. Make sure to get some of the fruit in every glass!
Sharpham Dart Valley Reserve White Wine is ripe and fruit-driven and has a rich profile. Stone fruits such as white peach dominate the nose. The palate is rounded with sweet apricot and subtle spice on the finish.
25ml triple sec
50ml cranberry juice
75ml Nua Prosecco
1 fresh bay leaf, to garnish
Method: Chill the triple sec, cranberry juice, champagne and a martini glass in the fridge until cold. Pour the triple sec and cranberry juice into the chilled glass, then slowly top up with the champagne and garnish with the bay leaf.
Softer and more rounded than other prosecco, Nua Prosecco mixes fabulously well with fruits such as peaches and works beautifully in a Bellini cocktail. Elegant with a fruity bouquet, a mellow and creamy mouthfeel, delicate bubbles, subtle white peach, apple puree and brioche flavours and distinctively crisp finish.
50ml Glenmorangie 10 Year Single Malt Scotch Whisky
3 tsp honey
1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half
1 lemon, half juiced and half sliced
2 cloves
Method: Whisk the whisky and honey together and split between 2 heatproof glasses. Add half of the cinnamon stick to each, then top up with 200ml boiling water. Add a splash of lemon juice to each, then taste and add more to your preference. Finish each with a slice of lemon, studded with a clove, and serve immediately.
Glenmorangie is a brilliant addition to a classic hot toddy. This smooth whiskey welcomes you with a rush of citrus, then holds your attention with layers of luscious flavour, from orange to honey and creamy vanilla, with bursts of peach.
Small handful of ice cubes (optional)
25ml orange liqueur
25ml The Famous Grouse Blended Scotch Whisky
200ml stout
chocolate orange shavings, to garnish (optional)
Method: Drop a few ice cubes, if using, into a short glass and pour over the orange liqueur and whisky. Top up the drink with the stout, then garnish with the chocolate orange shavings, if you like.
Smooth and perfectly balanced, The Famous Grouse Blended Scotch Whisky features Scotland’s favourite blend of the finest malts and exceptional grain whiskies. Full golden, clear and bright in colour with an aroma of candied fruits, buttery shortbread and citrus peel. To taste, dried fruit, soft spices (cinnamon/ginger), a hint of oak with a smooth and well-balanced finish.
Crushed ice
50ml Maker's Mark Bourbon Whiskey
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh orange juice
½ tbsp sugar syrup
2 slices of oranges
Honey
Gold edible glitter
Method: Using a small paintbrush (or your finger), brush some honey around the rim of two tumblers and use another small paintbrush to stick edible gold glitter around each. Fill each glass with crushed ice. Put the bourbon into a cocktail shaker with the lemon juice, orange juice and sugar syrup. Shake and strain into each glass, and serve with an orange slice and short straws.
Maker's Mark Bourbon is distinct not only for its unique flavour but its iconic bottle that is hand-dipped and sealed in red wax. Smooth and subtle, Maker's Mark is bourbon with a distinguished history. It took six years of trial and error to perfect the recipe, a corn, barley and wheat combination, that makes this whisky so special.
35ml Peaky Blinder Spiced Dry Gin
15ml Gingerbread Liqueur
10ml Coffee Liqueur
5ml Simple syrup
25ml Espresso
30-40ml Double Cream, to top
Shaved chocolate or nutmeg, to garnish
Method: Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, then add your gin, gingerbread liqueur, coffee liqueur, simple syrup and espresso. Shake well. Strain into a martini or coupe cocktail glass. Remove the ice from your shaker and rinse, then add the cream and shake for a minute, so it goes a little frothy. (That bit is optional!) Gently pour your cream over the back of a teaspoon so it floats on top of your drink. Sprinkle with a little shaved chocolate or ground nutmeg (cinnamon or ginger will also work here). Serve immediately!
Made from a carefully selected collection of no less than nine botanicals. Not for the faint-hearted, the peppery notes of the ginger and the grains of paradise make this a bold, spicy gin choice. Peaky Blinder Spiced Dry Gin is warm and spiced with plenty of coriander, cardamom and a touch of sweet orange. There is a long and warm finish with ginger and grains of paradise.
50ml Papillon Sloe Gin
25ml lemon juice
2 tsp sugar syrup
ice
sparkling water
lemon slice
fresh or frozen blackberry
Method: Pour the sloe gin, lemon juice and sugar syrup into a cocktail shaker and fill up with ice cubes. Shake well until the outside of the shaker feels cold, then strain into a tall glass filled with more ice. Top up with sparkling water and stir gently. Garnish with a lemon slice and a blackberry.
Papillon Sloe Gin is made with sloes that have been handpicked from the hedgerows of East Dartmoor and Shute Farm making it a brilliant choice for this cocktail. The sloes have been soaked in the signature Papillon Gin for a year, then lightly sweetened with Dartmoor heather honey to create a delicious balance of flavour.
25ml Tarquin's Cornish Dry Gin
25ml cherry brandy
25ml Benedictine
Handful of ice, to serve
Few drops Angostura bitters
50ml pineapple juice
25ml lime juice
Sparkling water to top up
1 thin slice of fresh pineapple (optional)
Cocktail cherry
Method: Pour the gin, cherry brandy and Benedictine into a mixing glass or a jug. Add the ice and Angostura bitters. Stir well until the outside of the glass feels cold. Pour the mix into a tall glass, then add the pineapple juice and lime juice and stir gently. Top up with sparkling water and garnish.
A contemporary Cornish take on a classic London dry gin, inspired by the wild Atlantic Ocean and cliff tops of North Cornwall. Tarquin's Cornish Dry Gin is made with 12 botanicals hand sourced from both exotic locations around the world as well as locally foraged ones to create a vibrant, fresh and unique nose and flavour profile.
1 tbsp soft light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
100ml Captain Morgan Dark Rum
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 cinnamon sticks, to serve
Method: Combine the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl, then gradually pour in the rum and melted butter, and stir together. Evenly divide the mixture between two small heatproof glasses. Top each with 100ml boiling water and stir well. Serve with a cinnamon stick to garnish.
Captain Morgan Dark Rum captures the spirit of the Jamaican tavern parties Henry Morgan and his crew would have enjoyed, with a rich and full-bodied taste perfect for the modern day buccaneers who seek real, authentic fun with their crew.
1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can cream of coconut
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
350ml Ninefold Rum
Cinnamon sticks for garnish
Method: Mix all ingredients in a blender at high speed. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour. Shake well before serving. Serve cold in a small glass. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.
Coquito is a delicious Christmas cocktail from Puerto Rico. Ninefold Pure Single Rum is deliciously smooth and creamy making it ideal for this distinctive take on classic eggnog. Notes of vanilla, caramel, butterscotch and citrus, with a long and spicy finish.
50ml Pirate's Grog Five Year Old Rum
25ml clementine juice
1 tsp maple syrup
Cinnamon stick, to garnish
Method: Shake all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice cubes, then strain into a cocktail glass. Crumble over the cinnamon stick to garnish.
Made with premium five year aged rum, this is an exotic infusion of salt, caramel, a touch of allspice and a secret ingredient, which can be found growing along the enchanting shores of Roatan, Honduras. The rum is aged in white American oak, bourbon barrels for five years before being blended in small batches. This makes the rum perfectly smooth with rich flavours of vanilla, butterscotch and raisin.
