Get some festive spirit(s) with these yummy christmas cocktails

Christmas comes but once a year, so what better excuse to get adventurous with your drinking and treat yourself to some truly special festive drinks. 

Skiddle asked some people in the mixology business to send us their brightest and best cocktail ideas. We then picked out the most promising for you. You are encouraged to substitute the branded drinks for an equivalent if necessary, though the results may not come out as expected…

Mocktails, cocktails, the choices are nearly limitless. So to do something a bit different we chose some of the weirdest and wildest of them. Christmas is your excuse to be adventurous, and that means that wasabi and Tabasco source are all in the mix. Really.

Just remember to drink responsibly, kids!

Adventurous Cocktails

Mount Gay Frappe Eclipse

Coffee and rum, yum yum…

INGREDIENTS:

1 shot of espresso

12.5ml cream

12.5 milk

15ml gomme

INSTRUCTIONS:

Shake ingredients hard and pour over cubed ice into a sling glass.

Garnish with coffee beans and sprinkle with chocolate. OH YES.

Amarula White Christmas

White chocolate shavings and cognac!

INGREDIENTS

1/2 shot Amarula Cream

1 shot Brandy or Cognac

Grated Nutmeg

1 shot fresh cream

White Chocolate shavings

INSTRUCTIONS

Place all ingredients into shaker with ice and strain into a glass.

Garnish with white chocolate shavings

OR for a Christmas touch, sprinkle with cinnamon/add a cinnamon stick.

Spiced Voyager

“You could say it’s like Captain Morgan and Ginger Beer having a kiss under the

mistletoe”

INGREDIENTS

2 bar spoons of white sugar

50ml Captain Morgan’s Spiced

12.5ml Lime juice

6-8 Basil leaves

Crushed ice

Ginger Beer

INSTRUCTIONS

Muddle the basil, sugar and lime in your finest highball glass and fill with crushed ice.

Pour the Captain Morgan’s Spiced, top up with Ginger Beer and stir.

Garnish with a basil leaf.

Mulled Ale

We’ve heard of mulled wine, but mulled ale? Well, it could work..

INGREDIENTS

2 x 500ml bottles of Badger Golden Glory Ale

300ml clear apple juice

100ml brandy

1 cinnamon stick

5 whole cloves

Peel of half a lemon

Peel of 2 clementines

6 tbsp caster sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

Place the ale in a large saucepan with the rest of the ingredients, and stirring

to dissolve the sugar, gently bring up to a simmer. Be careful not to boil!

Ladle the warmed mulled ale into warm glasses and serve immediately.

Toffee Toddy

Vodka and toffee? Can’t go wrong.

INGREDIENTS

1 part Dooley’s Original Toffee & Vodka

1 part milk

1 part double cream

1/2 part cognac

Whole nutmeg or ground nutmeg

Cinnamon sticks

Apple and orange peel (optional)

EQUIPMENT

Latte glass or thick tumbler

Pan and serving ladle

INSTRUCTIONS

Pour the Dooley’s, milk, cream and cognac into a pan

Add cinnamon sticks, a sprinkle of nutmeg and chopped apple (optional) and

orange peel

Gently heat over a stove for 5-10 minutes

Serve with an extra sprinkling of nutmeg

Alternatively, the cocktail can be served cold over ice.

Kentucky Cream

“A decadent fusion of winter-warming ingredients, this is the ultimate of all

nightcaps…”

INGREDIENTS

1 x squeeze fresh orange

1 ½ shots Red Stag

½ shot Bols Dark Cacao

10ml vanilla syrup

2 shots single cream

INSTRUCTIONS

Shake all ingredients with cubed ice for 10 seconds,.

Strain into glass filled with ice.

Garnish with a sprinkling of nutmeg.

Candy Cane Martini

Pretty Christmassy. It’s got a candy cane and everything...

INGREDIENTS

35ml Absolut Vanilla

15ml Peppermint Schnapps

50ml Club Soda

Candy Cane Garnish

Glass: Martini

INSTRUCTIONS

Stir vanilla vodka and peppermint schnapps together over ice for 1 minute.

Add soda, then double strain into a chilled martini glass and enjoy!

Frozen Pink Festival

Full of fruit and icy cold. Sounds refreshing. This one would probably suit the summer months just as well.

INGREDIENTS

Handful of raspberries

Half a watermelon

5 ice cubes

Bottle of Croft Pink port.

Glass: Cocktail

INSTRUCTIONS

Place a few chunks of watermelon and 4 raspberries in a blender.

Add a large measure (to taste) of Croft Pink and 5 ice cubes.

Blend everything together and serve in a cocktail glass

Garnish with a couple of raspberries.

The Ruby Bellini

Champagne and grapefruit doesn’t seem too unreasonable.

INGREDIENTS

10ml Campari

10ml Grapefruit juice

10ml Sugar syrup

120ml Champagne or Prossecco

INSTRUCTIONS

Build the ingredients into a champagne flute.

Add the Campari, Grapefruit juice and Sugar syrup to the champagne flute.

Top off with Champagne or Prossecco.

Serve with a stirrer.

Amarula Mint Snow

Vanilla ice cream and mint? In YOUR cocktail? Yes.

INGREDIENTS

1 shot Amarula Cream

1/2 shot Crème de Menthe

1/2 cup vanilla ice cream

Garnish with a couple of mint leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

Pour into a tall glass.

Very Adventurous Cocktails

The real fun begins here. Here be recipes that probably shouldn't work, but somehow do. For the adventurous and fearless amongst you!

Wasabi Martini

For those who need reminding, wasabi is a Japanese mustard garnish. And it’s going in your drink, heeheehee…

INGREDIENTS

12 Parts ABSOLUT Vodka

3 Parts Lemon Juice

2 Parts Simple Syrup

1 Paste Wasabi

INSTRUCTIONS

Fill a shaker with ice cubes. Add all ingredients. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with wasabi paste.

The Hennessy Winter Tea Cocktail

Yes, you can put earl grey tea and jam into your cocktails at the same time. Here’s (complicated) proof.

INGREDIENTS

40ml Hennessy Fine de Cognac

5g Loose Earl Grey tea leaves

50ml Boiling water

3ml Simple syrup

5ml Fresh lemon juice

3 dashes Old Fashioned bitters

2tsp Black cherry jam

Garnish: Whole star anise and orange/ lemon peel

INSTRUCTIONS

Warm a tea cup with hot water.

Fill a tea strainer with the tea leaves and add to the warm cup.

Pour the boiling water through the tea strainer and leave to infuse for 1 minute.

Remove the tea strainer, add the jam and stir gently until dissolved.

Now add all the remaining ingredients and stir.

OPTIONAL: Garnish with a whole star anise and add orange or lemon peel for a zestier drink.

Absinthe Egg Nog

You read it right. This cocktail is a staple at The Old Absinthe House in New Orleans. It is also one of the finest 'morning after' remedies you will ever taste. Try it.

INGREDIENTS

1½ ounces (40 ml) Enigma verte absinthe

½ ounce (15 ml) orgeat (almond) syrup

1 egg white

½ ounce (15 ml) single cream

4 ounces (120 g) shaved ice

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine all ingredients in a blender

Blend for 5 seconds and serve in a chilled cocktail glass

The Perfect Bloody Mary

The old classic.

INGREDIENTS

250ml tomato juice

25ml vodka

1 tps Worcesterhire sauce

Lime juice to taste

A dash of Tabasco Pepper Sauce

Lime slices to garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Blend and serve in a highball glass packed with ice and garnished with the

lime slices.

Paloma Faith's Keep the Faith

Did you know that Paloma Faith is also pretty nifty behind the bar? Here’s one of her creations: chilli, chocolate and Tia Maria!

INGREDIENTS

25ml Tia Maria

30ml Dark Mozart Liqueur

25ml Sugar Syrup

5-6 Slices of Whole Red Chilli

¾ parts Tia Maria

1 part dark chocolate liqueur

¾ parts sugar syrup

5 – 6 slices of whole red chilli

INSTRUCTIONS

Add all the ingredients into a shaker with lots of ice.

Shake well & strain into a martini glass.

Make a cut on the side of the whole red chilli, place on the rim of the glass.

(Extra chilli can be added for more spice!)

Garnish: Whole Red Chilli

Glass: Martini

Method: Shake and strain

RC Really Christmassy Cocktail

Cola, ice cream and vodka infused with cinnamon? Doesn't sound too bad, does it?

INGREDIENTS

12.5mls Kahlua

37.5 mls cinnamon-infused vodka

150 mls RC Cola

2 scoops of vanilla ice cream

Ice: Cubed

Garnish:

2 cinnamon sticks

2 cherries

INSTRUCTIONS

Infuse the vodka with cinnamon sticks by leaving the cinnamon in the vodka for 4 days.

Fill a tall glass with ice and add all the ingredients APART from the ice cream and putting the RC Cola in last.

Add the ice cream scoops at the top and garnish with the cinnamon sticks and cherries.

Green Tea and Gin Detox Cocktail

After all that wasabi, jam, absinthe, chocolate, egg nog (you get the picture) you may be thinking of a detox? Well, here’s a detox cocktail! It’s got green tea AND gin (go figure).

INGREDIENTS

50ml Hoxton Gin

20ml Elderflower cordial

7 mint leaves

50ml Twinings Green Tea with citrus.

INSTRUCTIONS

Add 50ml of boiling water to 1 tea bag and wait until water infuses. Then place in fridge to chill.

Shake vigorously.

Strain into a chilled martini glass.

Garnish with mint leaf floating on the surface of the drink.

So. We hope there’s something here to tickle your fancy this Christmas. Has anyone got the guts (literally) to try the absinthe eggnog? Why not tell us which recipe you enjoyed most, or better yet, share your own fine cocktail combinations in the comments?

Merry Christmas! 

Words: Jack Oughton

All this put you in the festive spirit? Check out our guide to Christmas and New Year events in your area.