With December being 8 days away, there is no better time than to prepare yourself for what’s to come. Spending money, drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, and eating until your organs feel one bite from exploding. With that, lets add to it by showing you all some new Christmas drinks! You probably may have heard some of these before, but it’s nice to have a memory refresh before another round of the busiest time of the year.
Each of these recipes has been taken from online, and I’ve tagged each one in case my instructions aren’t clear so you can look at theirs!
Vodka:
2oz (57ml) vodka
1oz (28ml) cranberry juice
1oz (28ml) cosmopolitan mix (or cranberry and sweetened lime juice)
5oz (142ml) Ginger beer
1 lime wedge
Cranberries rosemary and lime circle for garnish
Fill your mixer with ice. Measure vodka and pour into the mixer glass. Pour in cosmopolitan mix (if you don’t have any, mix cranberry juice and sweetened lime juice as a substitute!). Top off with ginger beer and stir. Garnish with cranberries, rosemary sprigs and lime juice!
30oz (850ml) vodka
5oz (142ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
10oz (284ml) rosemary simple syrup
1L of club soda (seltzer)
½ bag of fresh cranberries (frozen are also okay)
10 sprigs of rosemary
Pour in vodka, lemon juice, and simple syrup into a pitcher filled with ice, stir to combine. When ready to serve, pour the drink mix into an ice filled rocks glass to about ¾ full. Top each drink with club soda and a few cranberries for garnish. Add a sprig of rosemary to each drink as a stirrer. To make sure the drinks are cold for when guests arrive (if making in advance) keep the pitcher in the fridge. Serve!
Rudolph’s tipsy spritzer (serves 10):
2 ½ cups (590ml) of orange juice, chilled
2 ½ cups (590ml) of cranberry juice, chilled
2 cups (473ml) of ginger ale, 7up or sprite
2 cups (473ml) vodka
½ cup (118ml) of maraschino cherry juice, chilled
Juice of one large lemon
Cranberries
Maraschino cherries
Rosemary sprigs
In a large pitcher or punch bowl, combine all the liquid ingredients and stir well. Serve over ice and garnish with cranberries or maraschino cherries and add a rosemary sprig.
TIP: You could use a cherry 7up to omit the cherry juice!
Mistletoe shots (serves 12):
Lime wedge to rim glasses
Red sanding sugar for rimming
1 cup (236ml) of water
Two 3oz (85g) packets of lime jelly mix
8oz (227ml) vodka, chilled
Whipped cream for garnish
Mint leaves for garnish
Cranberries to garnish (or red hots)
Rim each shot glass with a lime wedge and dip the edge into red sanding sugar. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Once boiling, stir in a packet of jelly mix (or make according to packet!) until dissolved. Turn off the heat. Pour in the vodka and mix until thoroughly combined. Pour into a large measuring cup, small pitcher, or another glass so it’s easier to pour into the shot glasses. Pour the mix into each shot glass. Place into the fridge until the jelly sets, roughly two hours. Garnish with whipped cream, mint leaves and cranberries. Serve!
Wine:
Glühwein, a German recipe (serves 6):
3 star anise
3 cinnamon sticks
5 cardamom pods
6 cloves
2/3 of a cup (158ml) of orange juice
1/3 of a cup (43g) of sugar
750ml (26oz) bottle of dry red wine (merlot or pinot noir are best)
1 orange cut into slices
Cranberries and orange peel for garnish
Place the spices in a pot with the sugar. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until the sugar is dissolved and the flavours of the spices are released. Add a few tablespoons of water if the mixture starts bubbling up and thickening. Reduce the heat to low and add wine and orange slices, then cover. Simmer on low until its hot. Be careful not to boil it, as the alcohol will evaporate! Serve in mugs, as the contents are hot!
Bubbly:
Grinch punch (serves 6):
Lime sherbet
1 bottle of champagne or prosecco (whichever you prefer)
One 2L bottle of orange lemonade (preferably sugar free)
1 fresh lime to garnish
¼ cup (32g) of Sugar to rim
2 fresh limes to garnish
Wet the rim of your glass with a lime wedge and dip into a bowl of the sugar. Add 2 tablespoons of the lime sherbet into each glass. Add equal parts of champagne (or prosecco) with the orange lemonade. Squeeze one wedge of lime into the drink and another wedge to garnish.
Cranberry mimosa (serves 2):
4oz (114ml) cranberry juice
8oz (227ml) of champagne
Granulated sugar for garnish
Fresh cranberries, for garnish
Rim two champagne glasses with a bit of water and then dip into the granulated sugar. Pour ¼ cup (57ml) of cranberry juice into each champagne glass, then top with ½ cup (113ml) of champagne. Top with a few froze cranberries and serve!
Cider:
Hot spiced apple cider (serves 4):
4 cups (947ml) of apple cider
1 apple, cut into slices
1 orange, cut into slices
3 cinnamon sticks
2 slices of fresh ginger
1 teaspoon of allspice
Add all the ingredients into a large pot. Bring to a simmer, and cover. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, then serve.
Mixed:
Jingle juice (serves 15):
4 cups (947ml) of cranberry apple juice
Two 750ml (53oz) bottes of red Moscato
One 750ml (26oz) bottle of prosecco
½ cup (118ml) vodka
2 cups (256g) of frozen cranberries
1/3 cup of mint leaves
½ cup (64g) of granulated sugar, for rimming the glass
2 limes, sliced into circles
Wet rim the glass using a wedge of lime. Dip into the sugar until coated. Combine all the ingredients into a punch bowl, stir together thoroughly and serve!
2 chopped green apples
2 cups (256g) of fresh cranberries
½ cup (64g) of granulated sugar
1 bunch of rosemary
1 bottle of Moscato
1 bottle of sparkling apple cider
Chop both green apples into small pieces. Add all but a few pieces of the green apple to the drink pitcher or bowl. Other pieces should go towards the garnish. Rise most of the cranberries and roll in a handful of sugar. Set aside to use for the garnish. Add all except a few of the cranberries into your pitcher or bowl. Use a wooden spoon to crush the fruit lightly at the bottom of the pitcher. Pour in the Moscato and sparking apple cider and add rosemary to garnish. Rim your champagne glasses with sugar and fill with the sangria. Top with the sugared cranberry pieces and apple pieces on top of the cocktail. Add a piece of rosemary if desired. Serve!
3oz (85ml) Eggnog
1oz (25ml) Kahula Liquor
1oz (25ml) Peppermint Vodka
Ice
Fill a glass halfway with ice cubes. Pour the ingredients into a shaker and shake to combine. Pour the mixture over the ice cubes, ad stir to mix. Serve!
Amaretto Eggnog (my friend recommended this!):
6oz (170ml) Eggnog
2oz (57ml) amaretto
Nutmeg to taste
Whipped cream
Mix the eggnog and amaretto in a microwavable bowl (or cup) and microwave until warm. Add nutmeg to taste and stir. Top with whipped cream and serve!
Popo's thoughts 