Ten of the best Christmas cocktails

‘Tis the season to be jolly so we’ve enlisted the help of some of the world’s best bars to share their favourite Christmas cocktails and how to recreate them.

Try your hand at recreating one of our top 10 Christmas cocktails from 2014

Cocktail culture has been booming throughout 2014 and as bars approach one of the busiest times of the year, the industry certainly shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

This winter, while some bartenders have opted for traditional festive flavours such as cinnamon, nutmeg and spices, others have experimented with coffee, peppermint and smoked bacon.

Hot drinks also feature predominantly in our list, making the perfect winter sippers on cold and blustery nights.

Click through to the following pages for some Christmas cocktail inspiration.

If we’ve missed a particular favourite of yours, let us know in the comments below.

Alaska

Created by Salvatore Calabrese as one of five carefully crafted Christmas cocktails, Alaska is the perfect light and refreshing tipple to enjoy should you consume too much Turkey this year.

Ingredients:

60ml Gin

20ml Yellow Chartreuse

Dash of bitters

5ml Gomme

Method: Shake together all the ingredients. Prepare a coupette with a pear sugar rim. (To make a pear sugar rim, run a slice of pear around the rim, then roll the rim in sugar). Pour into the coupette and serve.

Milkybar Snowball

 

Created by Richard Woods of the Duck and Waffle, this Milkybar Snowball is a fun, festive take on the 80s classic Snowball using a chocolate bar favourite that is strictly for adults only.

Ingredients:

65ml Milkybar Advocaat

15ml Vodka

15ml Sugar syrup (1:1 water and caster sugar)

1 Egg

30ml Prosecco

Nutmeg

Method: Shake first three ingredients with the egg, then re-shake with ice cubes and strain over Prosecco into a small, tall highball glass. Garnish with fresh grated nutmeg for a festive scent.

Hot Apple Punch

Available at The Whip at the Running Horse until the end of the year, this warm winter Punch by David Gerrans combines Christmas flavours such as apple and cinnamon for a more traditional tipple.

Ingredients:

35ml Williams Elegant Gin

Cloudy Apple Juice

Sugar Cinnamon

Method: Heat cloudy apple juice, sugar and cinnamon. Pour mixture over Williams Elegant Gin.

Hot Buttered Rum

With notes of caramel, baking spice and oatmeal cookies, this Hot Buttered Rum from Erick Castro of Polite Provisions in the US is the perfect winter warmer after a long-day’s work.

Ingredients:

45ml Demerara Rum

100ml Allspice Syrup

1 small knob of butter (about as much as you’d put on a piece of toast)

Method: Temp your glass with hot water and discard, then add the butter and splash of hot water to melt the butter.  Add the rum and allspice syrup and mix. Top fresh grated cinnamon.

Avalanche

Hard shakes have taken the bar industry by storm lately, so it comes as no surprise that Salvatore Calabrese of London’s Playboy Club has concocted this boozy banana milkshake in time for the festive period.

Ingredients:

30ml Crème de Banana

13ml White crème de cacao

15ml Amaretto

30ml Double cream

Half a banana

Method: Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pout into a highball and garnish with toasted almonds.

Mulled Marmalade Swizzle

If mulled wine is becoming a bit too repetitive for you, then why not try the Mulled Marmalade Swizzle from David Gerrans of The Whip at the Running Horse combining winter flavours of marmalade and dried fruits.

Ingredients:

50ml Chase Marmalade Vodka

50ml Mulled wine

Dried fruit

Icing sugar

Method: Mix mulled wine and Chase Marmalade vodka together with some crushed ice. Add some dried fruit and icing sugar to garnish.

Espresso Zabaione

Australia’s Eau de Vie has given the humble Espresso Martini a grand makeover this winter and created, Espresso Zabaione. Vodka, coffee and maple syrup are stirred down with ice. Layered on top is a saffron and vanilla mousse, frozen with liquid nitrogen to create a frozen cap. Crack through the cap and enjoy the goods.

Ingredients:

50ml Flor de Cana 7yr

15ml Coffee liqueur

10ml Spiced maple syrup

30ml Coffee

Saffron & Vanilla mousse

Method: Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir. Strain into a stemmed glass and layer mousse on top. Cover with liquid nitrogen to chill. Serve with a spoon. 

Quick Egg Nog

Inject a little excitement into the traditional Egg Nog this Christmas with this easy-to-make Quick Egg Nog from David Gerrans of The Whip at the Running Horse.

Ingredients:

90ml Chase Vodka

1 Whole egg

2 tsp. caster sugar

Grated nutmeg

Method: Shale all ingredients together, strain over ice and grate nutmeg on top to garnish.

Peppermint Butler

Erick Castro of Polite Provisions has created this Peppermint Butler with deep notes of fresh picked mint and cool milk chocolate to make a delicious dessert alternative.

Ingredients:

45ml Fernet Mentha

30ml Crème de Cacao

30ml Cream

Method: Shake with crushed ice and pour into a goblet. Garnish with a mint sprig.

Kentucky Kickstarter

Not your traditional Christmas cocktail, but if you fancy an alternative savoury sipper to the usual Christmas concoctions, then this meaty Bourbon-based cocktail from Eau de Vie could be just the ticket. 

Ingredients:

40ml Experimental Spirit Company smoked bacon Bourbon

15ml Pirere Betrand Curacao

15ml Maple syrup

1 Whole egg

1 Scoop vanilla bean ice cream

1 Dash whisky barrel bitters

Crispy bacon

Method: Add a whole egg into the shaker, maple syrup, Orange Curacao, ESC smoked bacon Bourbon, whisky barrel bitters and vanilla bean ice cream and dry shake. Add ice and shake a second time. Strain into a chilled glass milk carton, crisp the bacon with a blowtorch and serve with a candy-striped straw.