Say cheers to the festive season with these Christmas cocktails – they're sure to get you in the Christmas spirit!
Say cheers to the festive season with these Christmas cocktails – they're sure to get you in the Christmas spirit!
‘Tis the season for mixing cocktails – whether for festive parties, dinner dates with friends, or Christmas Day itself.
We’ve got three great suggestions to help you celebrate at any time of day, with a classic mimosa to get you off to a sparkling start, a traditional mulled wine that’s perfect after a crisp winter walk, and a traditional egg nog for when it’s time to hunker down and put on your favourite festive film. You can’t fail to be in good spirits!
And for our guide to the perfect cocktail glasses, check out our blog here.
Classic Mimosa – ideal as an accompaniment to a special breakfast
- 1 bottle champagne or prosecco, chilled
- 1 litre freshly squeezed orange juice, chilled
Half-fill each of six glasses with champagne, then carefully pour in the orange juice until the glass is full.
Mulled wine – perfect to warm the cockles after a bracing winter walk
- 750ml bottle red wine
- 1 large cinnamon stick
- 2 star anise
- 4 cloves
- 2 strips lemon or orange zest, pared using a vegetable peeler
- 4 tbsp caster sugar
Put the red wine, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, citrus zest and sugar in a large pan. Cook on a low heat for 10 mins. Remove from the heat and cool, leaving to infuse for about 30 mins. To serve, heat without boiling and pour into mugs or heatproof glasses.
Egg Nog – creamy and delicious, pour yourself a cup of this and cosy up of an evening
- 6 medium free-range eggs, separated
- 5½ oz golden caster sugar
- 18fl oz whole milk
- 14fl oz double cream
- 12fl oz rum, bourbon or a bit of both!
- freshly grated nutmeg
Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl with 3½ oz of the caster sugar until the mixture is pale yellow and thick. (If you are making your egg nogs later, place the egg whites in a box and freeze until ready to serve.)
Stir in the milk, double cream, and the rum and/or bourbon. You can add a little grated nutmeg at this stage, if you like.
Pour the mixture into two 1½ pint bottles with stoppers and store in the fridge for up to two weeks – the alcohol will stop the cream and milk going off.
When ready to serve, defrost the egg whites into a clean metal or glass bowl and whisk until foamy and opaque. Add the remaining 50g of sugar and whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed.
Pour your ready prepared egg nog into a large bowl and fold in the whipped egg whites until well combined.
Ladle the egg nog into glass tumblers and serve with more freshly grated nutmeg over the top.
