How to make Meghan Markle’s favourite festive cocktail

Duchess revealed the recipe for her favourite Christmas drink in an interview

(Getty Images)

Alongside the mince pies, chocolate logs and string of roast dinners, Christmas is a great time experiment with festive cocktails and mocktails.

While you may traditionally opt for a warming mulled wine, a punchy whisky sour or a quintessentially-festive cup of eggnog, this year why not concoct a cocktail that has received the royal stamp of approval?

In 2015, prior to meeting Prince Harry, then-Suits actor Meghan Markle conducted an interview with Grazia in which she shared her top tips for throwing a fun-filled Christmas dinner party with friends.

In addition to explaining how to adorn bannisters with garlands, create pretty table-scapes and source silverware on Etsy, the Duchess of Sussex also revealed her favourite festive beverage: the Almond Milk Spiced Holiday Cocktail.

The nut milk-based cocktail is made with a simple assortment of ingredients, including cinnamon, dates and bourbon.

Almond milk (iStock)

Here’s how to make the cocktail, as per the duchess’ instructions:

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of unsweetened almond milk. You can make your own by blending raw almonds with milk and then straining the mixture.
• 1 tsp of cinnamon.
• 1 tsp of cardamom.
• 1 tsp of powdered ginger.
• 1/2 tsp of clove.
• Six to eight dried dates that have been soaked in water.
• Bourbon.
• Cinnamon sticks for garnish.

Method:

• Excluding the alcohol, blend all the ingredients together in a powerful blender, before pouring the mixture into a small saucepan.
• Heat the saucepan at a low temperature until heating.
• Next, add between 4 and 6 oz of alcohol into the pot depending on the preferences of your party.
• Pour each drink into a glass and garnish with a cinnamon stick.
• If you would rather enjoy the drink cold, you can do so by shaking the mixture in a cocktail shaker.
• You can then serve the drink in champagne glasses, adorning the glasses with a cinnamon or sugar rim.

Last month, it was announced that Meghan and Prince Harry and their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, are to spend their first Christmas as a family with the duchess’ mother, Doria Ragland.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrive to attend the Christmas Day church service at Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate on 25 December 2018 (Getty Images)

The royal couple have spent their past two Christmases with other members of the royal family on the Queen’s Sandringham Estate, where they attend the Christmas morning service at St Mary Magdalene church.

“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are looking forward to extended family time towards the end of this month,” a spokesperson for the Sussexes said.

“Having spent the last two Christmases at Sandringham, their Royal Highnesses will spend the holiday this year, as a new family, with the duchess’s mother, Doria Ragland.”

The spokesperson added that this decision “is in line with precedent set previously by other members of the royal family, and has the support of Her Majesty The Queen”.

They also stated that further details regarding the royal couple’s Christmas schedule will not be provided at this time “for security reasons”.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have also on occasion spent their Christmases with the duchess’ parents, the Middletons, rather than the royal family.

To discover more Christmas cocktail recipes, click here.