Baileys has taken hot chocolate to the next level using simple ingredients already in your cupboards. This choctail is a perfect serve for the festive season.
Ingredients
25ml Baileys Original Irish Cream
25ml whole milk
25ml single cream
25g dark chocolate
15ml Smirnoff Vodka
To garnish
Chocolate sauce
Chocolate sprinkles
Method
Squeeze the chocolate sauce onto a small plate. Place your martini glass upside down and dip the rim in the chocolate sauce. On another plate, pour on some chocolate sprinkles and place the martini glass upside down to coat the chocolate rim. Chop/grate your 25g of dark chocolate into super small pieces. Add 25ml of whole milk and 25ml of single cream into a mug, mix together, and microwave for around 30 seconds until boiling. Make sure you watch over this so it doesn’t spill over. To the hot milk, add the chopped dark chocolate and stir until melted. Then add 15ml vodka and 25ml Baileys into your chocolate milk. Stir until fully combined. It doesn’t matter if your cocktail is still a little warm. Pour into your decorated martini glass and serve. If you have spare chocolate feel free to grate this over the top of the drink at the end for an extra treat.
Charles Dickens was an enthusiastic compounder of punches and cups, and this sangria-like recipe is said to have been one of his favourites, says Alice Lascelles. Don’t open special wine for this; cheap and fruity is best. And don’t feel you have to stick to lemon juice – it’s also good with a mix of freshly squeezed lemon, lime, pink grapefruit and/or orange juices (even better, in fact).
Ingredients
600ml cheap red wine
150ml sugar syrup
150ml triple sec
300ml lemon juice (or a mix of citrus juices)
600ml soda water
Method and garnish
Mix in a 3-litre bowl or jug, with a big block of ice. Garnish with cucumber (or borage, if you’ve got it to hand), lemon and orange wheels, and a light grating of nutmeg.
By the time the festive season comes round I’m heartily sick of mulled wine – I much prefer this hot punch with its apple and ginger kick, says Alice Lascelles. If you haven’t got apple brandy, you can use cognac instead. And the ginger liqueur isn’t essential either: it can be replaced with ginger cordial. If the apple juice you are using is on the sweeter side, you might find you need less honey, or even no honey at all.
Ingredients
230ml calvados/apple brandy (or cognac)
230ml ginger liqueur (or cordial)
1 litre cloudy apple juice
100ml lemon juice
20ml honey
320ml boiling water
1 clove-studded orange
6 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
a few orange and lemon wheels
Method and garnish
Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat (but don’t boil) for 10 minutes. Serve in mugs or sturdy punch glasses. Garnish with a clove-studded orange slice and a grating of fresh nutmeg.
The bar staff at the five-star Glenapp Castle in Scotland mix up an array of cocktails, including the Glenapp1870, which is served in a champagne flute.
Ingredients
35ml Hendrick’s Gin
20ml lemon juice
15ml sugar syrup
Champagne
Method
Add all ingredients except for the champagne to the shaker. Shake and strain into the glass and then top up with champagne. Serve in a chilled flute and garnish with a lemon twist and thyme.
A citrusy and bubbly delight from Grey Goose Vodka – ideal for the big countdown.
Ingredients
35ml Grey Goose vodka
15ml light agave syrup
25ml yellow grapefruit juice
25ml pineapple juice
Soda or ginger ale
Method
Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker before straining and top with soda or ice-cold ginger ale. For the garnish, peel a zingy grapefruit zest for a stylish finish.
As well as the Countdown above, vodka brand Grey Goose has a range of cocktail recipes available on its website. Another tipple to mix up on NYE is the Holiday Punch here.
Ingredients
45ml Grey Goose vodka
15ml pomegranate juice
30ml sweetened black tea
30ml martini & rossi prosecco
Mint and lime wedge (garnish)
Method
Combine ingredients in a rocks glass over ice and top with prosecco to finish.
A subtle, chocolatey twist on the classic Espresso Martini, replacing vodka with cacao-infused Copalli rum.
Ingredients
40ml Copalli Cacao Rum
15ml of sugar syrup
20ml coffee liqueur
20ml espresso
Chocolate shavings
Ice cubes
Method and garnish
Add all of the ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake. Fine-strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with three coffee beans or chocolate shavings
This classic cocktail is a great way to usher in the new year and the perfect balance for anyone who is maybe a little tired of sweet Christmas drinks. Watch a how-to video here.
Ingredients
A slug of Deanston Kentucky Cask
1 sugar cube
Splash water
Dash bitters
Ice cubes
Method
In a glass add a sugar cube, splash of water, dash of bitters and give it a good stir. Next go in with a cube or two of ice, followed by a good slug of Deanston Kentucky Cask Matured Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Finish with a squeeze of orange and garnish with orange rind.
Aviation American Gin is crafted in small batches in Portland, Oregon, and takes its name from the Aviation cocktail, which was created in the 1900s. Aviation gin is used for this Cosmo party recipe.
Ingredients
45ml Aviation American Gin
20ml sweet vermouth
10ml maraschino liqueur
Dash bitters
Method
Combine all the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir, then strain into a martini glass. Top with dashes of bitters and garnish with lemon peel and maraschino cherry.
Guaranteed to impress, this beautiful aperitif comes with its own slice of history and guests will be charmed in its retelling. It was invented in 1969 by Joe Gilmore, head bartender of the American Bar at the Savoy to celebrate the Apollo 11 mission. Unable to serve the astronauts himself, Gilmore sent a flask over to Houston and it was the first cocktail Neil Armstrong tasted on his return.
Ingredients
35ml Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge
3 dashes grapefruit bitters
3 dashes orange blossom water
1 sugar cube
Champagne Brut
Method
Stir Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge with orange blossom and grapefruit bitters in a mixing glass. Place the sugar cube at the bottom of a chilled champagne flute. Pour the mixing glass mixture over the sugar and top up with champagne.
A flaming tipple featuring Metaxa 12 Stars, Cointreau, amaretto and walnut bitter. This twist on the classic Blue Blazer brings with it delicious hints of sweet liqueur and citrus making it a true showstopper for the new year party.
Ingredients
50ml Metaxa 12 Stars
20ml Cointreau
30ml water
20ml amaretto
Dash black walnut bitter
Method
Add the Metaxa 12 Stars, amaretto and bitters to a shaker and roll, add water and syrup. Garnish with orange zest and a burned cinnamon stick on the side.
16. ‘Honey have you seen my Ruby!’ by The King of Soho
This cocktail recipe is made using Variorum gin – a pink berry edition of the original King of Soho London Dry Gin.
Ingredients
50ml King of Soho Variorum
25ml honey water (mix two parts honey to one part water)
25ml lime juice
30ml ruby port to float
Method
Shake pink gin, honey and lime juice with plenty of ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Finish with a ruby port float by pouring slowly over a teaspoon at the side of the glass.
Ross Painter, head of drink development at the Umbrella Project, has put together this mulled wine recipe for the Sun Tavern in east London. “Making a mulled wine at home can be fairly simple – heat wine, add winter spices and a bit of sugar,” he said. “But making a truly delicious one can be a little more challenging.”
Ingredients
4 bottles (2800ml) Malbec/Cab Sav red wine
1lt orange juice
2lt water
600g caster sugar
2 vanilla pods
2 cinnamon sticks
15 cloves
2 star anise
Grated nutmeg
Method
Add all the ingredients into a 6lt/200oz pot and put on the lid. Turn hob on to the lowest temperature. After ten minutes, check the temperature, it should be between 50C and 60C (122 to 140F). After one hour remove the spices by carefully transferring the liquid through a sieve to another pot. Return to heat, when serving, replacing the lid after. Keep an eye on the heat, if you are using gas the lowest setting on the smallest burner may still be too hot. Simply have the pot half on half and off the heat to reach the correct temperature. To garnish simply grate some nutmeg over the top and serve.
Diablesse Rum, an independent female-owned British rum brand, has three distinct, small-batch expressions: Caribbean Golden Rum, Clementine Spiced Rum, and Coconut & Hibiscus Rum. The brand has created a number of winter warmers, including the Hot Hot Chocolate.
Ingredients
35ml Diablesse Clementine Spiced Rum
Your favourite hot chocolate
10ml Ancho Reyes Liqueur
Pinch of sea salt
Method
Combine all the ingredients and add whipped cream, toasted marshmallows and chilli flakes.
Like all mezcal, Dangerous Don Con Mandarina should be sipped. It can be enjoyed simply on its own, mixed with a dash of tonic, or as a cocktail like the Mandarina Martini, which has been created by Dangerous Don founder Thea Cumming.
Ingredients
45ml Dangerous Don Con Mandarina
20ml white vermouth (full body is better)
10-15ml Italicus liqueur (as you like it)
Method
Stir all the ingredients in a mixing glass, serve in a martini glass and garnish with a pickled onion.
Bringing together two timeless classics, Jaffa Cake Gin is distilled with oranges, fresh orange peel, cocoa powder and real Jaffa Cakes. The result is just as you’d expect – full-on Jaffa Cake tastiness built around a distinctive base of crisp juniper – perfect for gin lovers with a sweet tooth. Enjoy a Jaffa Cake-inspired gin hot chocolate on NYE.
Ingredients
25ml Jaffa Cake Gin
25g dark chocolate
150ml semi-skimmed milk
10g caster sugar
Orange zest
Method
Slowly melt the chocolate. Add the milk and sugar, and stir until dissolved. Grate in orange zest, then add the Jaffa Cake Gin and serve, garnished with a Jaffa Cake.
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