Christmas cocktail recipes

From festive drinks parties, Christmas Day and into New Year's Eve, these cocktail recipes will get you through them all

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Preparing Christmas dinner and hosting the day with extended family, their offspring and spouses can be tiring and stressful. Combine that with having to time everything perfectly, meet everyone’s needs – from goose-fat roast potatoes to mashed – and actually produce a meal that is edible and warm, it can all really take its toll. It’s a long, complicated process and day. So a cocktail – or two – can definitely make things easier.

For years, mulled wine has been the go-to drink for festivities, but well-mixed cocktails are making ever-more-frequent appearances on Christmas menus. Just take festive spices and fruits and mix with alcohol and you're almost there.

Unlike our friends across the pond, eggnog is not too high on our Christmas drinks list (mainly because many people are still unsure as to what it actually is). But for something a little less creamy, we have some lighter Christmas cocktail recipes to get you through the festive week.

Cointreau fizz with warm vanilla and apple

50 ml Cointreau
​15 ml fresh lime juice
5 ml vanilla syrup
30 ml cloudy apple juice
40 ml soda water

Fill the glass with ice, add the Cointreau, lime juice, vanilla syrup, cloudy apple juice, soda water and stir. Then garnish with a vanilla pod and a slice of apple.

The Christmas negroni

To add a fun twist of pink and some wintery spice to the traditional Negroni cocktail, gin fans can try the Edgerton Christmas Pink Negroni at home:

80ml infused gin
50ml Martini bitters
50ml Martini bianco
2 slices of orange

To make the infused gin

120g golden caster sugar
3 cloves
zest of 2 oranges
1 cinnamon stick
pinch of black pepper
500ml Edgerton Original Pink Gin

Add all the ingredients, except for the gin, to a small pan. Gently bring the mixture to the boil then simmer over a low heat for 8-10 minutes, until it forms a light syrup. Take off the heat and leave to cool. Pour the cooled syrup and its infusions into a glass bottle and top up with the gin. Shake well and store for at least two weeks to infuse. Make the gin as far ahead as possible, then just before guests arrive at Christmas drinks parties, mix the ingredients in a jug, stir well and divide between glasses.

Citrus Christmas surprise

40 ml Cointreau
10 ml fresh lime juice
50 ml fresh clementine juice
​40 ml sparkling water

Fill a glass with ice, add the Cointreau, fresh lime juice and clementine juce. Then top it off with sparkling water, and stir briefly. Garnish it with three fresh cranberries for a festive feel.