Christmas time, mistletoe and wine.... or other tasty drinks. Below are my top five festive tipples - I hadn't realised until after I created this post, that all my favourite drinks are red. Bonus.
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| Fountain of Youth Made with Russian Standard Vodka |
I adore cocktails - I was a cocktail waitress for a little while, such a great skill to have in life! The above pictured cocktail is called Fountain of Youth - it's made by pouring 50mls of Vodka, 60mls of Pomegranate juice in to a cocktail shaker with thinly sliced ginger and ice, you then shake it vigorously and pour into a Martini glass (wipe a mint leaf around the rim of the glass first) and garnish with ginger. I used Russian Standard Gold Vodka in the recipe which is really good quality. If you know someone who loves their voddy, or someone who makes a lot of cocktails, it would make a great Christmas present (you can by it in an amazing gold presentation case).
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| Cranberry Gin, £3.80/100ml http://www.demijohn.co.uk/. |
Another delicious Christmas drink is Cranberry Gin. Home made in Cheshire, this unusual drink has a fantastically sharp and clean taste to it. It is nicely sweet and has a distinctive cranberry taste. Try it with tonic and a twist of lime or over crushed ice as an aperitif. There are a number of bottles you can choose to buy this tipple - it would make a great gift for a gin fan!
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| Camitz Sparkling Cosmo http://www.camitzvodka.com/ |
If you want to celebrate the festive season with something a little bit different, you should try Camitz Sparkling Vodka. It's 100% natural and made in Sweden. As with most bubbly drinks, the fizz only lasts for a few days, making it a fabulous tipple for parties (although after the fizz goes, it lasts just like normal vodka - so no binge drinking please!). It's great for making a twisted Cosmo... Add 50ml Cranberry juice, 15ml Cointreau,15ml fresh lime juice and ice to a cocktail shaker - shakey-shakey shake it - and then pour into a chilled Martini glass. Top with 50ml of Camitz Sparkling Vodka. Garnish with a lime wheel. Delicious.
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Pixley Berries Blackcurrant & Raspberry Cordial, £3.19 for 500ml Waitrose |
There's been a lot of colds and flu around lately, so if you want something to make you feel better, why not make a hot toddy? Warm (not boil) some apple juice in a pan with some cinnamon, add a little bit of rum and some Pixley cordial - it'll make you feel warm inside and tastes divine! I particularly like Pixley Berries Blackcurrant & Raspberry, it's lovely and sweet, and the high fruit content of the drink actually helps stave off colds too. I like to have the cordial (without the alcohol) to warm up when I come in from the cold.
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| Gordon's Gin |
It may be 'mother's ruin', but I adore gin. In winter, there isn't much more delicious a drink than sloe gin and tonic on ice, with a squeeze of fresh lime. I usually buy Gordon's, but I'd really like to make some - apparently you pick some sloe berries, put them in a bottle of regular gin and hey presto - if anyone has any information on how this works - how long it takes, how many berries to put in etc... I'd love to hear from you!
