Christmas guides

Classic Christmas cocktails

This is the essential list of simple and easy festive cocktails that you can make at home. From winter warmers to elegant sippers, you’ll love these top 5 classic Christmas cocktails.

Cocktail ideas

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Hot buttered rum cocktail recipe

Hot Buttered Rum has been keeping people warm with its brand of creamy, sweet, and festively spiced flavours for generations. The recipes don’t change much and neither does the comfort it brings.

Prep

15 mins

Serves

12 people

Ingredients

500ml White rum

250ml Apricot brandy or Cointreau

50g Unsalted butter

10 -12 Cloves

1 Orange

1 Litre unsweetened cloudy apple juice

1 Whole nutmeg

Method

Step 1

Peel and juice your orange. Then place the butter in a saucepan over a low heat, add the cloves and orange peels. When it begins to foam, add the apple juice, orange juice then pour in the rum and apricot brandy (or Cointreau). Bring the mix to a simmer, then turn off the heat and strain into toddy glasses. Grate fresh nutmeg to garnish.

Matt Looker, creator of the Snowy Grasshopper

Brandy Alexander cocktail recipe

Ah the Brandy Alexander, a delicious slice of pudding in a glass, like a milkshake for grown-ups. This decadent concoction made with Cognac, cream, and Bols creme de cacao is a winner all-year-around but there’s something really special about it at Christmas time.

Prep

5 mins

Serves

1 person

Ingredients

30ml Bols Brown Creme de Cacao

30ml Remy 1738 Accord Royal Cognac

30ml Whipping cream (what Americans call heavy cream, single cream is too light and double cream too thick).

Method

Step 1

Shake all the ingredients with ice. You’ll want to give this a really good shake. Then fine strain into a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with some grated nutmeg or a piece of Cadbury’s flake if you’re feeling alive. Top tip: swap the brandy for Irish whiskey and you’ve got a homemade Bailey’s.

Wassail cocktail recipe

Another variation of hot, mulled punch Wassail dates back to Yuletide celebrations and is mentioned in Hamlet. It’s a very old traditional Christmas drink that deserves a real comeback. The apple-based boozy concoction has its own dedicated wassail bowl (fans of Frasier may recall Niles distinguishing it from a punch bowl) and its own drinking ritual, wassailing, a traditional ceremony that raising a glass and singing a song to the health of trees on Twelfth Night. It does involve a touch of baking, but it’s not difficult at all.

Prep

45 mins

Serves

12 people

Ingredients

450ml Port

2 Litres apple cider

200g Caster sugar

30g Root ginger, sliced

8 Whole cloves

4 Cinnamon sticks

1 Orange, sliced

1 Lemon, sliced

Apples, sliced to garnish

For the baked apples

4 Apples

2 Tbsp brown sugar

½ Tsp ground cinnamon

Method

Step 1

You’ll want to prepare the baked apples a few hours ahead. Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan 180°C, gas 6). Core the apples and cut into four chunky rounds and put on a lined baking tray. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon then sprinkle over the apples and bake for 25 minutes. You want the apples to be soft and sticky. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Step 2

Onto the wassail! In a pan (a slow cooker is ideal if you have one) put in the ginger, cinnamon, cloves, sugar, and citrus slices then add your cider and port and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat before you add the baked apples. Serve warm and ladle 200ml into heatproof glasses. Garnish with a slice of apple. You can go really fancy and a cinnamon stick/cranberries/star anise/all of the above.

Poinsettia cocktail recipe

A juicy, pretty-in-pink alternative to Buck’s Fizz, the Poinsettia oozes sophistication darling. It’s also a Christmas party staple that’s very easy to make.

Prep

10 mins

Serves

8-9 people

Ingredients

1 Bottle Prosecco or sparkling wine

125ml Grand Marnier (or Cointreau or Triple sec, chilled)

500ml Cranberry juice (chilled)

Method

Step 1

You can make this simply by combining your fizzy wine with an orangey spirit of choice and juice of many cranberries in a large pitcher. But a pro-tip is to mix the Cointreau and cranberry juice in a large pitcher the night before, covered with cling film and keep chilled in the fridge of course. Let those ingredients really get to know each other before you top it all up with the chilled fizz before serving in wine glasses or champagne flutes.

Spiked Hot Chocolate cocktail recipe

The hot chocolate is always a favoruite winter warmer but there’s no reason it can’t be improved upon. With booze. That’s what we have here. Lovely.

Prep

5 mins

Serves

1 person

Ingredients

50ml Chairman’s Reserve Spiced

150ml Whole milk

50g Milk chocolate, chopped

Method

Step 1

Warm the milk in a saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from the heat add the chocolate and stir until melted. Pop the pan back on the heat until warm then add the rum. Pour into a mug and serve. Feel free to add all the trimmings: whipped cream, chocolate powder, marshmallows…