I’m making it a very merry Christmas indeed with these cocktail recipes.
Cocktails are great, aren’t they? I love that sometimes they taste like they have no alcohol in at all.. and they can mix unusual flavours into something super delicious.
Aldi sent over a whole bunch of spirits and challenged me to make some Christmas cocktails… and here’s what I made.
(Take a look at my spring cocktail recipes if you fancy something more floral)
1. Cranberry Mule cocktail recipe
• dampen a sprig of rosemary, and coat in white granulated sugar.
• add ice and cranberries to a glass.
• in a cocktail shaker, combine 25ml syrup, 25ml cranberry juice, and 40ml dry gin.
• pour into the glass & top up with ginger beer.
• serve with a straw and the sugared rosemary to garnish.
I love this cocktail recipe because ginger beer and gin is one of my most favourite drinks ever, however with the cranberry juice it makes it feel so much more Christmassy and colourful.
The rosemary also looks a little bit like a bit of Christmas tree with frost on, so it’s a lovely garnish.
2. Golden Glitter cocktail recipe
• dampen the rim of a glass & roll in demarara sugar.
• add a brown sugar cube or teaspoon of sugar to the glass, with a few drops of agnostura bitters.
• pour a shot of brandy in, and top up with champagne or prosecco.
• garnish with orange peel.
You can’t really beat a champagne cocktail, can you? Well, actually, I prefer Prosecco, but whatever. I love this cocktail recipe because it’s particularly sparkly and golden, with the addition of Christmassy brandy.
3. White Christmas Sangria recipe
• chop up fruits – you can use apple, citrus fruits, and definitely cranberries.
• add fruit to a jug with a sprig of rosemary, and pour over a bottle of white wine, 75ml vodka, 100ml white grape juice, and top up with soda.
• chill in the fridge for a while, to let all the flavours infuse.
• dampen the rim of a glass and roll in white granulated sugar.
• pour in the chilled sangria.
• dampen a sprig of rosemary, and coat in white granulated sugar, and garnish the glass.
Sangria is bloody lovely and reminds me of the summer, but I’ve never even thought of having a white one.
The addition of cranberries makes it much more festive, and you can make this in a large jug and share it with friends… or drink it all yourself. It has so much fruit in that it’s basically a meal, and definitely good for you, right?
4. Warm Spice cocktail recipe
• put 1tsp of honey and a shot of whisky into a heat proof glass.
• add a cinnamon stick and a couple of cloves or a star anise, and top up with hot water.
• stir in some lemon juice and a slice of honey.
This is basically a hot toddy with some spices in. A warm alcoholic drink in the winter is so great, but it’s usually a mulled-something. This is similar in that it has spices, but it will also be really soothing if you’ve got a bit of a sore throat.
So those were my Christmas cocktail recipes… which one do you like the sound of best?
