Gustav Temple provides festive concoctions to get one through the holiday period.
People often refer to Christmas as a ‘boozy’ or ‘over-indulgent’ period, then those same people, come the first of January, go all holly-and-ivier-than-thou, self-righteously placing a palm over their wine glass when offered a top up.
What they don’t comprehend is that Christmas is in fact a risky time for the more refined drinker. Once the obligatory brace of buck’s fizzes have been quaffed at nine am on 25th December, there then opens up an enormous dried-up lacuna until the ‘special’ bottle of red wine is uncorked when luncheon is served, usually around three pm. The off-licences are closed and the only place one may purchase anything to drink is the garage, and we all know that garages put the same stuff in their bottles of wine as they do into their petrol pumps.
Reader, here is the solution. Locate the various uncles, aunts and stray relatives of unknown origin under piles of wrapping paper, wave a bottle of one of the ingredients on this page and whisper the magic words, “Christmas cocktail, anyone?” I guarantee that most of them will bite your hand off, and then it is time truly to display your powers of mixology, which you are about to learn by reading this article.
What is the secret of a good Christmas cocktail? You could offer your guests a Negroni or a French 75, but if they are not regular cocktail drinkers, they will shake their heads in confusion and fear of the sophisticated life. Those who are not accusomed to quaffing cocktails regularly consider them gateway drugs to an entirely decadent and irresponsible life, and assume that special clothing is required such as white dinner jackets, black bow ties and red carnations. Which of course they are.
So your approach must be subtle and cunning. Offer your bewildered bloodline a cocktail that they have never heard of, and which has the festive aura of a Warninks Avocaat or an egg-nog, but without the ghastly colour and the flavour of a melted scented candle. The cocktail recipes that follow are designed with Christmas in mind, but I can guarantee that many of them will retain their rightful place on your list of favourite cocktails for the rest of the year. Then you can meet up with Uncle Ron and Auntie Sheila in the new year, all dressed in cocktail outfits, and wink at each other over glasses that will never be empty again.
Altamura Distilleries Premium Vodka
ABV 43% £32.50 for 70cl.
Now then, where does vodka usually come from? Russia, Poland, Finland, Sweden… but Italy? Yes, sir, it does now. A tasty diversion from more mainstream vodka choices, Altamura vodka is crafted from 100% Altamura wheat, a heritage grain cultivated in Italy’s Puglia region. Distilled using a meticulous process that preserves the distinct flavours of the wheat, this exceptional vodka showcases the subtle aniseed, pepper and lemon zest flavour derived from Altamura wheat, along with the essence of the Italian landscape. The citrussy sharpness is reminiscent of Stolichnaya but with a more rounded flavour profile.
The Altamura Martini
60ml Altamura Vodka
20ml Carpano Dry Vermouth
2 dashes orange bitters
Shake ingredients over ice and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with lemon peel.
Jaisalmer Gold Indian Craft Gin
ABV 43% £40 for 70cl.
Jaisalmer Gold Indian Craft Gin is produced by Radico Khaitan, the largest Indian beverage alcohol company. It is infused with 18 handpicked botanicals, of which 14 have been sourced from India including Coriander from Jaisalmer, Saffron from Kashmir, Nagpur Orange Peel, Darjeeling Green Tea, Gandharaj Lemon Peel from Eastern India, Nutmeg from Karnataka and Cinnamon from Kerala. Other botanicals include Juniper Berries, Angelica Root, Carraway and Cubeb Pepper.
The liquid is then enhanced by Gold filtration. This unique production process passes the Gin slowly through a filter made of intertwined golden silk filament, enriching the Gin with gold ions and providing a clean and smooth tasting experience and balanced taste. When you sip Jaisalmer Gold Indian Craft Gin neat, you will view the world as if looking through a golden silk tapestry strung across a balony overlooking the Ganges. And when you add it to the cocktail below, you will feel as though you are actually there, rather than staring at the pages of the Radio Times in horror at the Christmas television schedules.
Jaisalmer Gold Gin Mule
60ml Jaisalmer Gold Indian Craft Gin
2 Slices Root Ginger
15ml Lime Juice
7.5ml Sugar Syrup
12 Mint Leaves
Ginger Beer
Muddle the ginger in the base of a cocktail shaker. Add the gin, lime juice, sugar syrup and mint leaves. Shake over ice and fine strain into a highball glass, and top up with ice and ginger beer.
ADRIATICO Roasted Amaretto
ABV: 46% £37.00 for 70cl.
Adriatico is a new version of the almond-based liqueur usually known as Amaretto. Inspired by an old Italian tiramisu recipe, Adriatico is made from a unique Apulian variety of almond called Filippo Cea from Puglia in southeastern Italy. The almonds are roasted before being macerated and distilled, then blended with cinnamon, cocoa, cane sugar and coffee. A pinch of sea salt is added, taken from the salt flats next to the Adriatic Sea from which Adriatico takes its name.
Adriatico would make an ideal substitute for the grandmother who normally favours a small post-prandial Baileys, as it has the sweetness she likes but none of the alcohol content that makes her go a bit weird and start talking about the war again. Anyway, sorry, grandma, but we need all the Adriatico for our Roasted Amaretto Sours.
Warning – this cocktail does contain egg whites so is not suitable for those of us who cannot be bothered to go around separating the egg yolks from the whites over a bowl and making a mess everywhere. Oh and probably vegans. However, a simple solution has been presented to the world in the form of the pre-separated egg whites in a bottle, the most popular brand being Giffards. Keep a bottle of this in your cocktail cabinet, but don’t try making a Californian omelette with it.
Roasted Amaretto Sour
50ml Adriatico Roasted Amaretto
50ml Fresh Lemon Juice
50ml Fresh Orange Juice
1 Egg White
Dry shake all the ingredients. Add ice to the shaker and shake again. Strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with lemon zest.
Torabhaig Cnoc Na Moine Single Malt Whisky
ABV: 46% £56.00 for 70cl.
A heavily peated single malt from Torabhaig on the Isle of Skye, aged in bourbon, American oak Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. Although the Isle of Skye already had famous distilleries such as Talisker, Torabhaig is the first new one to be built there in 190 years. Torabhaig released its first single malts in February 2021, the Legacy Series 2017, which included Cnoc Na Moine. A further three expressions in the Legacy Series will be released in 2028, when a single malt that has been aged for ten years is ready. The first official release from the distillery to be aged in sherry casks brings to the deep smokiness at its base a bright fruitiness and dark spiciness, making it ideal for Christmas.
Cocktail Recipe
You didn’t seriously believe we were going to suggest you put a fine single malt into a cocktail, did you? Cnoc Na Moine should be sipped neat, with a splash of water if required, by a crackling fire on Christmas Day. And every other day of the year, when its flavours of poached fruits, leathery oak and wooded spice give way to a finish of tobacco, dried leaves and bonfire smoke.
