Holiday spirits: Our favourite festive Cocktails
‘Tis the season to celebrate! So raise a toast to this year’s festive cocktails – they’re seasonal, delicious and easy. We’re feeling all warm and fuzzy already. Make sure you catch all the 12 drinks of Christmas here.
Aperol Spritz (Total time: 2 mins)
Light, refreshing and relatively low in alcohol, this colourful aperitif is ideal for the drier palate.
Ingredients
- 50ml Aperol
- 25ml gin, optional
- 75ml prosecco
- 1 splash soda water
- 1 piece orange peel, to garnish
Instructions
- Add ice to wine goblet, pour ingredients over and stir gently (but don’t lose the fizz).
- Garnish with peel.
Sweet and Spiced Apple Hot Toddy (Total time: 10 mins)
Keep the chills away with this non-alcoholic winter warmer.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp dark brown sugar, add to taste
- 1/2 tsp whole allspice
- 1 tsp whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 sprinkle grated nutmeg, to taste
- 2 litres cloudy apple juice
Instructions
- Warm ingredients gently over a low heat.
- Leave to cool, strain off spice and serve with a cinnamon stick to swirl in a balloon glass.
Mulled Fizz (Total time: 20 mins)
Fizz adds a touch of glamour to this festive fusion of port and spiced rum.
Ingredients
- 35ml Spiced Rum
- 50g caster sugar
- 50ml of water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 grated nutmeg
- 20ml clementine juice
- 15ml port
- 40ml sparkling wine
- 1 piece orange peel
- 2 cloves
- 1 vanilla pod
Instructions
- For the syrup, warm the sugar with 50ml of water, the cinnamon stick, nutmeg, two cloves and a split vanilla pod together gently for 3–4 mins, stirring occasionally. Leave to cool for 10 mins.
- Strain the liquid twice and decant into a jar.
- Shake the rum, 30ml of the spiced syrup, clementine juice and port in an ice-filled shaker for 15 seconds.
- Pour into a flute and gently add the sparkling wine and stir.
- Squeeze the orange peel over the drink and leave to garnish.
Christmas Pudding Martini (Total time: 3 mins)
Like drinking a dessert!
Ingredients
- 40ml Scotch whisky
- 10ml honey
- 10ml Frangelico
- 10ml Grand Marnier
- 3 tbsp single cream
Instructions
- Shake the first four ingredients over ice and strain into a martini glass.
- Whisk the cream lightly then float over the drink with the back of a spoon – just enough to cover the surface.
Cranberry and Clementine Sour (Total time: 10 mins)
A fruity concoction with a fresh tangy finish.
Ingredients
- 30ml cranberry puree
- 30ml vodka
- 20ml clementine juice
- 15ml Cointreau
- 1 egg white
Instructions
- Make the cranberry purée. Put 300g fresh or frozen cranberries, 200ml water and 100g sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2 mins and allow to cool.
- Use a hand blender or food processor to reduce to a purée. Strain through a fine sieve to remove the seeds.
- Dry shake (without ice) all the ingredients in a shaker to emulsify them. Then half fill the shaker with ice cubes and shake really hard for about 15 seconds. Strain into a glass filled with ice cubes.
For more drinkspiration take a look at Ocado’s guide to the best festive fizz