Top 5 Christmas Drink Ideas

Christmas is the perfect time to engage in a spot of tipple, and Christmas-based drinks have come a long way in making the drinking experience more enjoyable than ever. Here are five drinks that will make the long, dark, cold night of Christmas warmer and happier.

5: The Classic Snowball:

For this classic Christmas drink, you will need equal parts advocaat and sparkling lemonade, with ice. Simply mix the two in a tall, ice-filled glass, stirring the mixture gently until the glass turns cold. You may garnish this drink with a maraschino cherry, which goes perfectly with the sugary brandy taste of advocaat and the sweet tanginess of the lemonade. Due to the drink’s smooth, yoghurt-like consistency and its general refreshing nature, it is perfectly paired with a side of fruit, like apples, strawberries, oranges, and pears.

4: Eggnog

An enduring Christmas classic, eggnog can be found in households worldwide, and its fame has culminated in the drink being sold pre-made in many places. However, making eggnog of your own is easy, and gives you the power to customise its contents to your liking. To make a basic batch of eggnog, you will need 50 g of caster sugar, 4 egg yolks, a teaspoon of vanilla essence, 400 g of condensed milk, and 100 ml of brandy.

First, mix the sugar in a saucepan with 75 ml of water, over heat, until the sugar has dissolved. Once this is done, chill the water. Then, beat the yolks and vanilla essence together, later mixing in the condensed milk, brandy, and the chilled sugar water. Pour this mixture inside a jug, and chill for at least two hours, ensuring to consume all of the contents within 24 hours. You may scale up your production by multiplying the ingredients proportionally, making this recipe ideal for large and small gatherings alike.

3: Mulled wine:

There is nothing quite as comforting on a dreary Christmas night than a warm glass of aromatic and sweet mulled wine. Mulled wine, unlike the name suggests, does not always have to be alcoholic: replacing the wine with equal parts cranberry juice, apple juice, and sparkling water should produce a similar result without changing the taste drastically. However, if you wish to make the recipe with wine, red or rosé wine works best.

For this drink, you will need 750 ml of wine, one large cinnamon stick, two units of star anise, four cloves, two strips of lemon zest, and four tablespoons of caster sugar. Simply combine all the ingredients in a large pan, simmering them on low heat for around ten minutes. Once ten minutes have passed, turn off the heat and let the wine sit among the spices for around half an hour. Reheat when you plan on serving the wine.

2: Christmas punch:

Christmas cannot be called Christmas without a fruity, strong-smelling drink, which is best delivered in a Christmas punch. For this drink, you will need:

• Red grapes
• One sliced clementine
• One sliced ball stem ginger
• Three sprigs of rosemary
• A litre of cloudy apple juice
• 750 ml prosecco
• 250 ml sloe gin
• 50 ml Jägermeister
• Ice

Method:

First, you will want to freeze the grapes for around half a day before serving. At the same time, chill the prosecco and the juice. On the day that you do serve, put the frozen grapes and a lot of ice into a large punch bowl, pouring the remaining ingredients into the bowl. Stir the bowl to mix the ingredients for around 1-2 minutes to ensure uniform consistency. Being a fruity drink, the punch goes extremely well with confectionery like cakes and pastries, which enhance the fruity taste of the punch with their ample sugar content.

1: Peppermint hot chocolate

Alcohol does not have to feature in an excellent Christmas drink, and the peppermint hot chocolate is testament to that fact. To make this thick, delicious drink, you will need 200g of plain chocolate chunks, 600 ml of milk, 150 ml of double cream, sugar, and peppermint candy canes.

In a saucepan, use low heat to combine the chocolate and the milk into a creamy, smooth mixture. Continue heating until steam emerges, by which point you will want to remove the mixture from the heat and stir the cream in. Gradually add and mix sugar in with a teaspoon, until the chocolate has reached the desired sweetness. Every time you serve the drink, add a peppermint candy cane on the side, which dissolves delicious, refreshing peppermint to the sultry chocolate.