If you’ve got friends visiting over Christmas or New Year, make sure you put winter cocktails on your drinks menu. But where do you buy the ingredients for such delicious concoctions, we hear you ask? We head straight for Clink*, a seamlessly navigable and expertly created one-stop-destination for the finest spirits. Its huge collection features a dizzying, and often exclusive, selection of rich heritage and award-winning spirits, giftable bundles and rare and exceptional vintages. It is, then, our first port of call when it comes to the fine art of seasonal Christmas party cocktail making.
If you find yourself in a quandary over which drink to have in winter, what to serve at your Christmas party or you’re simply in search of a comforting seasonal tipple, these are the recipes that we will be shaking up with gusto and drinking by the fireside, along with the brands to make them with. Clink*!
Hot Gin Old Fashioned
Hendrick’s Gin
Hendrick’s calls this, rather brilliantly, ‘A remarkable 'unscrooger' to warm the festive cabin of the heart.’ We can attest that it is also exceptionally good as a welcome to friends coming in from the cold, the herbal and warming properties making it just the thing for, as Hendrick’s suggests, ‘scandalous soireés’ or ‘moments of exquisite irrelevance’. We like the sound of either – almost as much as we loathe the idea of remaining ‘unscrooged’. We will, then, be partaking of this warm and easy-to-make tipple all through the Christmas season. Plus, we will never not be delighted by the prospect of taking our drinks in a tankard. Find the recipe here and shop Hendrick’s Gins here.
Hot Spiced Apple
Hendrick’s Gin
If you are not immediately won over by the idea of hot spiced apple, then you are made of steelier stuff than us. Made very simply using Hendrick’s gin (what else?), apple juice spiced with cloves, cardamom, star anise, juniper berries and orange apple and some grated nutmeg, what could possibly be a nicer delight to serve up in a teacup? As Hendrick’s themselves say, this is a winter winner for winter garden parties and the warming of carol singers. They go on to instruct, ‘Sup with misty breath from a flask in a fir forest, or warm the cockles of loved ones at a winter party, the hot spiced apple is served best with good cheer.’ Amen to that. Find the recipe here and shop Hendrick’s Gins here.
Spiced Hot Cider
Sailor Jerry
Ever wondered how sailors stay warm on the tempestuous high seas in winter? Why, the answer lies, almost certainly, with this cocktail. Lashings of it. Simply pour one part spiced rum, four parts apple cider, half a part lemon juice and two tablespoons of mulling spice into a saucepan, apply heat and then transfer to a trusty, ideally enamel, mug for a hand-, heart- and soul-warming thrill. Find the recipe here and shop Sailor Jerry here.
Monkey Toddy
Monkey Shoulder
The excellently named Monkey Shoulder was created specifically for the mixing of cocktails. It is, then, the ideal whiskey for the hot toddies with which winter is synonymous. Recipes abound for this seasonal classic, but we think that this super-simple rendition hits the spot with dash. Simply mix one and a half parts Monkey Shoulder whisky with two bar-spoons of either honey or sugar; add two and a half parts boiling water and, for the final flourish, one clove. One to bust out at the merest hint of a sniffle, or just when the mercury dips. Shop Monkey Shoulder here.
Irish Coffee
Tullamore D.E.W.
Irish coffee is one of those fail-safes that everyone loves – even those who like neither coffee nor whisky individually will happily sip on this creamy confection post-supper. Tullamore D.E.W. is an exemplary whisky for the job – just add four parts hot or cold Americano coffee (naturally at this time of year we’d plump for hot) to two parts Tullamore D.E.W., one part demerara sugar, two parts cream and some nutmeg. A dreamy way to conclude a winter repast. Find the recipe here and shop Tullamore D.E.W here.
Isle of Skye Speciality
Drambuie
Made from Scotch whisky, heather honey, herbs and spices, golden Drambuie, made on the Isle of Skye, is a beautiful whisky liqueur. This winter, why not try this Scots alternative to Irish coffee? Just mix 25 ml Drambuie with one teaspoon of brown sugar, some hot, strong coffee and whipping or double cream.
Drambuie’s name derives from Scots Gaelic 'An Dram Buidheach', which means 'the drink that satisfies' – it’s hard to argue with that. Find the recipe here and shop Drambuie here.
By Nancy Alsop
December 2021
Created in partnership with Clink*
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