Raise a glass: Douglas Blyde
(Picture: Natasha Pszenicki)“Christmas isn’t just a day. It’s a frame of mind.”
So said Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street; it’s an idea worth hanging onto as party season runs on. It’s a time to experiment, too, to use usually-overlooked ingredients to new effect. Take cranberry sauce and pomegranates at Christmas; one expects to encounter them at Christmas — though not neccesarily in cocktail form. Here, then, is a duo of thoughtful serves which combine these ingredients to appetising effect, followed by another unconventional offering: a vegan milk punch. Their preparation will remove you from the inlaws, in-fights, food and films for a few moments while making you appear as positive and fully festive as Kringle. Have one for us.
Amarula Gin Cranberry Gimlet
“When was the last time you tasted something for the first time?” is the official tagline of Amarula African gin — it being the only gin made from hand-picked, washed, de-stoned, pulped and cooled Marula fruits, combined with grains of paradise and orange blossom. Being high in vitamin C, calcium, magnesium and potassium, the antioxidant-rich marula fruit also brings a sweet and sour aspect to this refined take on a Gimlet. Raise a glass to the elephants it helps protect, too, with £1 raised from each litre of the gin contributing to the Amarula Trust, which seeks to protect these graceful animals which are traditionally drawn by the scent of ripe Marula fruits, alerting local communities that the harvesting season, which runs across March and April, has begun.
Ingredients
- 50ml Amarula gin (£25, Master of Malt)
- 15ml Fresh lime juice
- 15ml Sugar syrup (simmer equal parts water and sugar until dissolved then cool)
- 2 tsp Cranberry sauce
- Prosecco to top
- Raspberries and cranberries to garnish
Method
- Shake all ingredients, except sparkling wine, with ice
- Double strain into a coupe
- Top up with Prosecco or the English equivalent, Boco House Coren (£26, House Coren)
- Garnish with a raspberry and cranberry spear. Gesondheid!
Las Coloradas
Come Christmas, northern Mexico can be so cool it snows while the conditions are balmy in the south on the pink sand beach of Las Colaradas in the Yucatán Peninsula which inspires this drink. Oranges and pomegranates are a popular combination in Mexican salads, too, bringing sweetness and acidity — attributes which are woven closer together by the complex, aged-then-filtered Maestro Dobel Diamante tequila.
Ingredients
- 35ml Maestro Dobel Diamante (£42, waitrose.com)
- 25ml Pomegranate liqueur (£22.80, Master of Malt)
- 25ml Fresh orange juice
- 5ml Agave syrup
Method:
- Shake all ingredients with ice
- Strain into a martini glass rimmed with salt ¡Salud!
Oatnog
Likely dating to the thirteenth century, the traditional eggnog features egg yolks and whipped egg whites. However, the current egg shortage is predicted to last beyond the 12 days of Christmas, and hence my recommendation for this utterly delicious, vegan take on the much-loved, rum-pepped classic which replaces dairy with oats, and dispenses with eggs altogether. Serve warm or over ice, dusted with cinnamon, nutmeg or both. For every bottle of Oatnog (£20, Black Lines Drinks) sold, the makers are donating five meals to Londoners in need via The Felix Project. Cheers!
