Christmas cocktail recipes: traditional drinks with a festive twist
Looking forward to a Christmas cocktail, or two?
‘Tis the season to be jolly, and if you’re looking for festive drink inspiration that’s a little different to mulled wine or snowballs, we’ve got some great Christmas cocktail ideas, masterminded by Ilya Demenkov from immersive theatre company ‘The Lost Estate’.
These Dickensian style Christmas cocktails are all available at their sell-out festive extravaganza ‘The Great Christmas Feast’ – but you can also try making them yourself for your Christmas parties (or cosy festive evenings indoors).
Some of them involve a little pre-prep (such as infusing) for an extra festive touch – but if you’re on the ball, this can easily be done in advance.
And, if you want to visit the show, it’s a recreation of ‘A Christmas Carol’ complete with Victorian style feast and live music running now until 12th January.
First Edition 1843
Ingredients:
- Cognac 30ml
- Yellow Chartreuse 10ml
- Lemon juice 20ml
- Simple syrup 15ml
- Angostura Bitters 1-2 dashes
- Champagne
- Garnish: Lemon Twist
Method:
Shake everything other than the Champagne with ice and fine strain into a fancy Champagne glass.
Top with Champagne and garnish with a lemon peel.
Smoking Bishop
Ingredients:
- Pinot Noir 75ml
- Ruby Port 12.5ml
- Tawny Port 12.5ml
- Orange Curacao 10ml (they use Pierre Ferrand)
- Cherry Liqueur 10ml (they use Cherry Heering) 10ml
- Demerara sugar syrup 15ml
- Water 12.5ml
- Christmas Spice tincture 2-3 dashes
- Garnish: smoke, nutmeg and an orange twist
Method:
Christmas Spice tincture: Infuse Christmas spices separately in high-strength vodka (approx ratio 1:4 spice to vodka by weight) for a minimum of one week. Strain through cloth and blend to taste.
Drink: Combine all the liquids in a pan and heat gently to around 60-70C (don’t boil). Pour into a glass, add an orange twist, grated nutmeg and top with smoke from a smoking gun.
Cap the glass with a beer mat or similar to keep the smoke in.
Drink immediately!
Punch A La Charlie
Ingredients:
- Aged Rum 30ml
- Brandy 15ml
- Creme de Peche 10ml (they use Merlet)
- Tea syrup 15ml
- Lime Juice 15ml
- Allspice Tincture 1 dash
- Water 30-50ml (to taste)
- Angostura Bitters 2 dashes
- Garnish: nutmeg
Method:
Tea syrup: Bring 400g sugar and 200ml water to the boil in a pan. Add 15g black tea and 15g green tea, remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 5 mins.
Strain immediately through cloth and keep in the fridge.
Drink: Combine all the ingredients, adding the water last to achieve the desired balance.
Chill in the fridge and serve in punch glasses or tea cups with some ice. Garnish with grated nutmeg.
Old Curiosity
Ingredients:
- Bourbon (infused with toasted pecan nuts) 50ml
- Demerara syrup (1:1 by weight) 15ml
- Burnt orange tincture 1 dash
- Dr Adam Elmegirab’s Winter Spiced Bitters 2 dashes
- Garnish: Orange Twist
Method:
Burt orange tincture: Remove the rind from a couple of oranges and put under a hot grill until the edges are charred. Infuse along with a few cloves, cardamom, star anise and coriander seeds in high-strength vodka (approx ratio 1:4 spice to vodka by weight) for a minimum of one week. Strain through cloth.
Pecan infused bourbon: Put 100g pecan nuts in the oven at 180C for a few minutes until lightly toasted. Combine with a bottle of Bourbon (700ml) and leave to infuse for minimum 24 hours. Strain through cloth.
Drink: Combine all ingredients in an ice-filled rocks glass. Stir for 30 seconds to dilute and chill. Garnish with an orange peel.
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