9 Christmas cocktail recipes to impress your guests this festive season

Serve up a storm (Picture: Getty Images)

While parties and socialising are one of the most fun things about Christmas, hosting a standout soiree can be challenging.

One surefire way to impress everyone is with a signature cocktail or two that’ll taste great and help speed the merriment along.

You don’t need to be an expert mixologist to create something special either: with readily-available spirits and a few extra ingredients you can get from most shops (if you don’t already have them in stock) it’s easy.

We asked drinks brands to share their favourite seasonal serves that are sure to go off like a cracker – just make sure to imbibe responsibly to avoid the dreaded festive hangover.

French 75

Zhuzh up your standard glass of fizz (Picture: Supplied)

This one adds a literal twist to the classic glass of champagne, and you can make the gin and lemon part in batches ahead of time, topping guests’ glasses up with fizz as they arrive to save time in the kitchen.

Ingredients

• 25ml No. Ten gin
• 15ml lemon juice
• 5ml (2:1) sugar syrup
• Champagne
• Lemon for garnish

Method

In a shaker, add your gin, lemon juice and sugar syrup. Fill shaker with ice and give it a quick shake. Strain everything into a into champagne flute, top with your fizz, then garnish with a lemon twist.

Tiny Ten

Gin and grapefruit are always a winning combination (Picture: Supplied)

The Tiny Ten is a nice alternative for the G&T crowd, and coupette glasses look oh-so chic next to everyone’s festive outfits and your Insta-worthy Christmas decor.

Ingredients

• 15ml grapefruit syrup 
• 35ml No. Ten gin 
• 10ml fresh grapefruit juice 
• 50ml sparkling wine
• Coin shaped piece of grapefruit peel for garnish

Method

To a shaker, add your syrup, grapefruit juice, gin and ice, then stir. Strain into a coupette glass and top with cold sparkling wine of your preference, before garnishing with a coin shaped piece of peel.

Midnight Maple

Make the bitters before everyone arrives and you’ll have more time with guests (Picture: Supplied)

This warming recipe is by Kate McGraw, Johnnie Walker Brand Ambassador for Australia, and should be served in a Nick and Nora martini glass (although any martini glass you have should do the trick too).

Homemade bitters may seem like a faff on the surface, but it’s surprisingly easy, and uses up many of those ingredients you’ll already have during the Christmas period.

Ingredients

• 50ml Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky
• 10ml maple syrup 
• 4 dashes Christmas pudding bitters
  • 1 bottle Angostura Bitters
  • 100g raisins or dried apricots
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • Knob of ginger) 
• Slice of Orange to garnish

Method

To make the Christmas pudding bitters, combine the bottle of Angostura Bitters with the dried fruit, cinnamon sticks and ginger. Infuse for up to 24 hours, strain and serve.

Next, add all your ingredients into the glass with ice and stir for 30 seconds to combine. Finish off by garnishing with a slice of orange

Apfel of my Eye

Get your best mugs out for this one (Picture: Supplied)

This winter warmer is a creation of Swiss Johnnie Walker Brand Ambassador, Andy Walsh, and makes a wonderful change from mulled wine if you fancy doing something different. Better still, it can be served in mugs, saving your glasses for later on in the evening.

Ingredients

• 50ml Johnnie Walker Black whisky
• 20 raisins
• 15ml vanilla syrup  
• 150ml cloudy apple juice  
• 20ml fresh lime juice  
• Cinnamon stick and apple slices for garnish

Method

If possible, infuse your whisky the day before, adding your raisins to a 75cl bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label and leaving to combine for at least 12 hours (don’t forget to remove the raisins before drinking).

When it’s time for celebrations to begin, gently heat all the ingredients together in a pan until warm, then pour into a metal cup or glass with handle and garnish with a cinnamon stick and an apple slice.

Biscoff It’s Christmas

From Manahatta bar, this one’s slightly more labour intensive but extra impressive – especially if those you’re hosting like Biscoff.

Ingredients

• 15ml Ketel One vodka
• 15ml Bailey’s Chocolate Luxe Irish Cream
• 15ml Shanky’s Whip Black Liqueur
• 15ml milk
• 50ml double cream
• 30ml homemade Biscoff syrup
  • 40g Lotus Biscoff caramel biscuits
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 100ml boiling water

Method

Start off by making your syrup by adding the ingredients to a heat-proof mixing jug and stirring until the biscuit has fully dissolved. Once this has cooled, repeatedly pass through a sieve until no solids are left and store in the fridge for use within three days.

As guests arrive, shake up your syrup with the rest of the ingredients and some ice for between 10 and 15 seconds to emulsify. Open the shaker and double strain using a hawthorne and a fine strainer, then garnish with a mini caramel stroopwaffel (or whatever else you have available) and enjoy.

Orchard Vodka Mule

This one’s nice and easy (Picture: Supplied)

This one comes from Dutch Barn, and is a simple serve that can go in any wine glass or a short glass if you’d prefer.

Ingredients

• 50ml Dutch Barn Orchard vodka 
• 100ml dry ginger ale
• Cubed ice
• 2 dashes orange bitters
• 1 half moon orange slice
• 2 fresh sprigs of thyme

Method

Build ingredients over ice, stir and serve.

Boxing Day Bramble

Simple yet effective (Picture: Getty)

Not solely for Boxing Day, this makes use of cranberry sauce so nothing goes to waste.

Ingredients

• 50ml Whitley Neill Distiller’s Cut London Dry Gin 
• 30ml lemon juice 
• 15ml Chambord 
• 1 tablespoon cranberry sauce 
• Raspberries, mint and icing sugar for garnish

Method

Stir all the ingredients together to dissolve the cranberry sauce, then shake with ice and strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. Top with soda for some extra sparkle, and garnish with fresh raspberries, a mint spring and a dusting of icing sugar.

Stolen Christmas

The cocktail that slayed Christmas (Picture: Supplied)

You won’t be feeling Grinchy after this one from Stolen X, which contains whiskey, melon liqueur and zingy lemon.

Ingredients

• 35ml Stolen X whiskey
• 10ml Midori 
• 10ml lemon juice 
• Lemonade
• Candy canes for garnish (ideally black and white)

Method

Mix the whiskey, Midori and lemon juice into a shaker and shake with ice. Next, pour over ice into a glass, top with lemonade and garnish with a black and white candy cane.

Spiced Painkiller

Need a hit of warmth? (Picture: Supplied)

With rum and coconut, this feels like more of a tropical dessert, but thanks to some Christmas citrus and hot coffee, it’s a perfect winter crowdpleaser. You can also make this in a punch bowl or even a slow cooker if you’d prefer.

Ingredients

• 50ml Pusser’s Spiced Rum
• 25ml cream of coconut 
• 25ml orange juice 
• 50ml coffee
• A dash of orange bitters
• Cinnamon and cocoa powder for garnish

Method

Mix the rum, cream of coconut, orange juice and orange bitters into a shaker. Add the hot coffee and shake, making sure to protect your hands, then pour into a mug or heat-resistant glass.

Garnish with cinnamon and cocoa powder and enjoy.

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