Basically a Bartender

12 Cocktails of Christmas

If you’ve ever tried to look up cocktail suggestions or a cocktail recipe, and you find a blog, then you’ll understand you have to scroll ENDLESSLY just to find the recipe, past the story behind the drink. And hey, I respect that people want to write and share things, why else would I be doing this? But, if you’re anything like me, you just really want the recipe(s), so here:

Day #1 – Jingle Juice

Glass: Punch bowl and rocks glasses
Method: Build

Ingredients:
– 1 bottle of Vanilla Vodka
– 1 bottle of Cranberry Juice
– 1 bottle of Champagne / Prosecco

Garnish: Strawberries and Mint, or Cranberries and Rosemary

Day #2 – Mistletoe Mule

Glass: Copper Mug
Method: Build

Ingredients:
– 40ml Vodka
– 20ml (1/2 Lime) Fresh Lime Juice
– Fill with Ginger Beer

Garnish: Mint Sprig and Candy Canes, and optional, Pomegranate Seeds

Day #3: Santa Clausmopolitan

Glass: Cocktail Glass
Method: Shake and Fine Strain

Ingredients:
– 50ml Cranberry Juice
– 40ml Vodka
– 20ml (1/2 Lime) Fresh Lime Juice
– 10ml Cointreau

Garnish: Orange Zest or Twist

Day #4: Peppermint Mimosa and Cranberry Mimosa

Glass: Champagne Flute
Method: Build

Ingredients:
– 30ml Peppermint / 30ml Cranberry
– Fill with Champagne / Prosecco

Garnish: Chocolate Syrup and Crushed Candy Cane Rim / Grenadine and Sugar Rim

Day #5: Gingerbread Cookie Cocktail

Glass: Cocktail Glass
Method: Shake and Fine Strain

Ingredients:
– 30ml Vanilla Vodka
– 30ml Heavy Cream
– 30ml Gingerbread Syrup (see how to in the full post)
– 15ml Kahlúa

Garnish: Orange Wedge and Brown Sugar Rim, and Gingerbread Cookie

Day #6: Very Merry Ornamentini

Glass: Cocktail Glass and Glass Bauble
Method: Shake and Fine Strain

Ingredients:
– 60ml Vodka
– 30ml Cointreau
– 30ml Cranberry Juice
– 30ml (1/2 Large Orange) Fresh Orange Juice
– 30ml Grenadine

Garnish: Strawberry and Mint Sprig

Day #7: Peppermint Espresso Martini

Glass: Cocktail Glass
Method: Shake and Fine Strain

Ingredients:
– 40ml Vodka
– 20ml Crème de Menthe
– 20ml Kahlúa
– 20ml Espresso
– (Optional) 20ml Irish Cream

Garnish: Sugar Syrup and Crushed Candy Cane Rim, and 3 Coffee Beans

Day #8: Apple Cider Old Fashioned

Glass: Irish Coffee Mug
Method: Soak, Muddle, Build and Stir

Ingredients:
– 4 dashes Angostura Bitters
– Heaped barspoon of Brown Sugar
– 60ml Fireball Cinnamon Whisky
– Top with Apple Cider of choice

Garnish: Apple Slice, Orange Slice and a Cinnamon Stick

Day #9: S’mores Martini

Glass: Cocktail Glass
Method: Shake and Fine Strain

– 45ml Vanilla Vodka
– 30ml Irish Cream
– 30ml Heavy Cream
– 30ml Chocolate Syrup
– 15ml Drambuie

Garnish: Mini S’mores Biscuit and S’mores Rim

Day #10: Grasshopper

Glass: Cocktail Glass
Method: Shake and Fine Strain

– 40ml Crème de Menthe
– 40ml White Crème de Cacao
– 30ml Heavy Cream (or Milk)

Garnish: Whipped Cream and Crushed Candy Canes

Day #11: Gin Bauble Smash

Glass: Rocks Glass and Glass Bauble
Method: Shake and Fine Strain

– 50ml Australian Christmas Gin
– 25ml (1/2 Small Lemon) Fresh Lemon Juice
– 15ml Fino Sherry or Dry Vermouth
– 10ml Sugar Syrup

Garnish: Strawberries, Blueberries, Orange Slice, Mint Sprig and Icing Sugar

Day #12: Santa Hat Shots

Glass: Shot Glass
Method: Build and Stir

– Strawberry Jelly
– 1/2 cup Vodka

Garnish: Whipped Cream and Strawberry

12 Cocktails of Chrismtas – Day #12: Santa Hat Shots

Last day! I thought for the last day around Christmas, with everyone rushed and in a stress, why not go for something nice and easy? These little jelly shots make the best Santa Hats! Not much more to say, but Merry Christmas everyone and I hope you’ve all enjoyed my 12 Cocktails of Christmas!

What You’ll Need:

Glass: Shot Glass (and bowl to make jelly)

Ingredients:

Strawberry (or any red) jelly
Vodka

Garnish: Whipped Cream and Strawberries

Making the Drink:

Make the jelly as per the packet, and replace 1/2 the cold water measurement with Vodka.

Make jelly and pour into shot glasses to set
Once set, use a spurt of whipped cream for the base of the Santa hat
Cut the top off a strawberry and place upside down
Gently use on more dash of whipped cream for the ball on top
Serve and enjoy

Feeling Fancy?

These shots are really cute and simple, but if you’re wanting something a little extra, get some green jelly and make more jelly shots, then mix the whipped cream and a bit of red food dye, and voila! Elf Hat Shots to match!

12 Cocktails of Christmas – Day #11: Gin Bauble Smash

This cocktail recipe is another that isn’t my own, and the recipe credit goes to Four Pillars. Their Australian Christmas Gin features as the star of this recipe, so if you can get your hands on some I highly recommend! It sells out fast every year so as soon as it’s out, get buying, Four Pillars has been named the best Gin in the world! Their version of this drink is called the Christmas Cobbler, but I thought I would incorporate the bauble, and use a spin on another cocktail name, the Gin Basil Smash.

What You’ll Need:

Glass: Rocks Glass and Glass Bauble

Ingredients:

Australian Christmas Gin
Fresh Lemon Juice
Fino Sherry or Dry Vermouth
Sugar Syrup

Garnish: Orange Slice, Strawberries, Blueberries, Mint Sprig and Icing Sugar

Making the Drink:

This is another pretty simple one!

Add 50ml Australian Christmas Gin to shaker
Add 25ml (1/2 Small Lemon) Fresh Lemon Juice
Add 15ml Fino Sherry or Dry Vermouth
Add 10ml Sugar Syrup
Fill the shaker with ice
Shake for 20 seconds
Using funnel, strain into glass bauble (Gently! I found out the hard way they’re very delicate!)
Fill rocks glass with ice and sit bauble to chill
Pour into rocks glass when ready to drink
Garnish with orange slice, berries, a mint sprig, and dusting of icing sugar
Serve and enjoy

Feeling Fancy?

This is another drink that doesn’t need much more elegance as it’s already got a perfected garnish and refreshing taste. If you want to change this up more with this cocktail, use crushed ice rather than whole, as it will add another level of texture and ‘fancy’ to this drink.

12 Cocktails of Christmas – Day #10: Grasshopper

A Grasshopper is a classic cocktail, and this time there’s no spin or twist. This creamy, minty cocktail SCREAMS Christmas to me, and there’s no better but simpler way to go!

What You’ll Need:

Glass: Cocktail Glass

Ingredients:

Crème de Menthe
White Crème de Cacao
Heavy Cream (or Milk)

Garnish: Whipped cream and crushed candy canes

Making the Drink:

I said there was no twist, and except that traditionally this cocktail has no garnish, this is as classic as it gets!

Add 40ml Crème de Menthe to shaker
Add 40ml White Crème de Cacao
Add 30ml Heavy Cream (or Milk)
Fill the shaker with ice
Shake for 20 seconds
Strain
Garnish with whipped cream and crushed candy canes
Serve and enjoy

Feeling Fancy?

If you want to take this classic a step further, a good way to start is the garnish. Use chocolate syrup to pattern the glass (see S’mores Martini post for how), then get a flake or a mint aero chocolate bar and grate over the top of the whipped cream and candy canes, and gently place a mint sprig in the whipped cream.

12 Cocktails of Christmas – Day #9: Smores Martini

S’mores may not just be a Christmas time thing, but indulgence certainly is, and with a mix of marshmallows and chocolate and cream, that’s definitely what this is! Despite all those ingredients, the drink itself isn’t too sweet it’ll leave you feeling on a sugar crash, so that’s always a bonus!

What You’ll Need:

Glass: Cocktail Glass

Ingredients:

Chocolate Syrup
Heavy Cream
Drambuie
Vanilla Vodka
Irish Cream

Garnish: Melted Marshmallow (or Marshmallow Fluff) and Crushed Graham Cracker Rim, and S’mores

Making the Drink:

When rimming the drink, just make sure to be quick if using melted marshmallows, or it’ll set before you can add the crushed crackers.

On separate plates, lay out the marshmallow fluff/melted marshmallows and crushed graham crackers and rim the cocktail glass
Add 45ml Vanilla Vodka to shaker
Add 30ml Heavy Cream
Add 30ml Irish Cream
Add 30ml Chocolate Syrup
Add 15ml Drambuie
Fill the shaker with ice
Shake for 20 seconds
Strain
Garnish further by making a mini s’more with toasted marshmallows
Serve and enjoy

Feeling Fancy?

If you want this cocktail to be taken to the next level, after rimming the cocktail glass with the marshmallow and crushed graham crackers, get the chocolate syrup and starting from the bottom of the glass on the inside, make a pattern by using the syrup and turning the glass at the same time, to create a sort of spiral inside the glass.

12 Cocktails of Christmas – Day #8: Apple Cider Old Fashioned

This one can be served warm or cold, making it the perfect go to for any occasion. I initially created this drink with only serving it cold in mind, but it’s almost nicer warmed up! And who doesn’t love a warm, apple, cinnamon drink on a Christmas night?

What You’ll Need:

Glass: Irish Coffee Mug

Ingredients:

Angostura Bitters
Fireball Whisky
Apple Cider
Brown Sugar

Garnish: Cinnamon stick, apple slice, orange slice

Making the Drink:

If you do decide to warm this drink, just don’t boil it!

Add 1 heaped barspoon of brown sugar to the Irish coffee mug
Add 4 dashes of Angostura Bitters to soak the sugar
Add 60ml Fireball
Gently muddle
Fill with Apple Cider
From here, garnish, serve and enjoy, or if warming, pour into pot
Simmer on a very low-low heat just until preferred drinking temperature
Carefully pour back into Irish coffee mug
Garnish with a cinnamon stick, apple slice and orange slice
Serve and enjoy

Feeling Fancy?

If this simple combination of a classic cocktail and cider doesn’t just do it for you, try using this as a base recipe to create a mulled cider. Most basic mulled drinks need the drink, spices, and a sweetener, so use the whisky and apple cider, cinnamon, and brown sugar, then maybe extend to other spices like star anise and add oranges and apples to the pot when mulling for a more intense flavour palette.

12 Cocktails of Christmas – Day #7: Peppermint Espresso Martini

The colour of this one didn’t work so well with the added Irish Cream, but still tasty and would look great without it! Everyone needs coffee at Christmas time, and what better way than through booze to get it, AND with a Christmassy peppermint flavour?

What You’ll Need:

Glass: Cocktail Glass

Ingredients:

Vodka
Espresso
Kahlúa
Crème de Menthe
Irish Cream (optional)

Garnish: Sugar syrup and crushed candy cane rim and 3 coffee beans

Making the Drink:

While I wasn’t very happy with the colour turn out of this, without the Irish Cream as the optional extra this would’ve worked really well!

Rim the cocktail glass in sugar syrup, then crushed candy canes
Add 40ml Vodka to shaker
Add 20ml Espresso
Add 20ml Kahlúa
Add 20ml Crème de Menthe
(Optionally,) add 20ml Irish Cream
Fill shaker with ice
Shake for 20 seconds
Strain
Garnish with 3 coffee beans
Serve and enjoy

Feeling Fancy?

To add a touch more elegance to this cocktail, when shaking, add a small amount, maybe 6-8, of coffee beans to the shaker. The ice will break them up, so it’s important to fine strain them all out, but this will add to the roast coffee aroma and enhance flavours as well!

12 Cocktails of Christmas – Day #6: Very Merry Ornamentini

Day #6 I saw a cocktail named this and had to steal it! But the recipe, like all the drinks except Day #11 is my own. You can really taste the alcohol coming through in this one (which made it a crowd favourite!).

What You’ll Need:

Glass: Cocktail Glass and Glass Bauble

Ingredients:

Vodka
Cointreau
Grenadine
Fresh Orange Juice
Cranberry Juice

Garnish: Strawberry and Mint Sprig

Making the Drink:

This was a really fun one to experiment with!

Add 60ml Vodka to shaker
Add 30ml Cointreau
Add 30ml Grenadine
Add 30ml (1/2 Large Orange) Fresh Orange Juice
Add 30ml Cranberry Juice
Fill shaker with ice
Shake for 20 seconds
Using funnel, strain into glass bauble (Gently! I found out the hard way they’re very delicate!)
Pour into cocktail glass when ready to drink
Garnish with a mint sprig and strawberry
Serve and enjoy

Feeling Fancy?

This drink is already big on the visuals! To enhance the enjoyment, prepare these before your guests arrive, and leave the drinks in the baubles, then fill the cocktail glasses with ice and let the baubles sit on top to chill, and serve when ready.

12 Cocktails of Christmas – Day #5: Gingerbread Cookie Cocktail

Day #5 has to be one of my favourites so far. Although a bit sweet for my usual taste, the drink actually tastes like a gingerbread cookie and leaves such a nice aftertaste! The orange and brown sugar rim adds a whole new level of delicious to this drink too, if you only try one of the twelve drinks, make this one it!

What You’ll Need:

Glass: Cocktail Glass

Ingredients:

Vanilla Vodka
Kahlúa
Heavy Cream
Gingerbread Syrup

Garnish: Orange and Brown Sugar Rim, Gingerbread Cookie

Making the Drink:

Before making this drink, you need gingerbread syrup, which can be bought as a coffee syrup, or to make it yourself:

1 cup of Sugar
1 cup of Water
2 tablespoons of molasses
1 inch of fresh ginger root (peeled and sliced)
2 cinnamon sticks
5-6 whole cloves

Mix all ingredients over a medium-high heat and continue to stir until sugar is dissolved. Let cool for an hour and strain the syrup into a bottle, discarding the cinnamon sticks and ginger root and cloves. Refrigerate.

Now, onto the drink:

Place brown sugar on a plate
Cut an orange wedge and run this around the edge of the cocktail glass
Roll glass in brown sugar to rim
Add 30ml Vanilla Vodka to shaker
Add 30ml Heavy Cream
Add 30ml Gingerbread Syrup
Add 15ml Kahlúa
Fill the shaker with ice
Shake for 20 seconds
Strain into cocktail glass
Garnish with a gingerbread cookie
Serve and enjoy

Feeling Fancy?

The Gingerbread Cookie Cocktail is already pretty fancy, but to add another level, you could always bake your own gingerbread cookies and crush some in with the brown sugar when you rim the glass for an extra hit of fresh gingerbread!

12 Cocktails of Christmas – Day #4: Mimosas

Day #4 I couldn’t choose between which Mimosa recipe to include, so you get both! I will mention now, I found the quality of Champagne / Prosecco you use will make quite a difference to taste, so if you’re making these for friends and family at a gathering, just keep that in mind!

What You’ll Need:

Glass: Champagne Flute

Ingredients:

Champagne / Prosecco for both
Crème de Menthe (Peppermint Mimosa)
Cranberry Juice (Cranberry Mimosa)

Garnish: Chocolate Syrup and Crushed Candy Cane Rim (Peppermint), Grenadine and Sugar Rim (Cranberry)

Making the Drinks:

These are both incredibly simple:

On a plate, pour chocolate syrup, and crushed candy canes on another
Rim the champagne flute by rolling the top outside of the glass in the chocolate syrup, then the crushed candy canes to stick them
For the Cranberry Mimosa, repeat with Grenadine and sugar
Add 30ml Crème de Menthe / Cranberry Juice to the rimmed champagne flutes
Fill with Prosecco / Champagne
Serve and enjoy

Feeling Fancy?

While there’s not lots you could do with Mimosas as they are already so simple, adding a whole candy cane to the Peppermint Mimosa would be a nice addition. For the Cranberry Mimosa, you could create a sugared cranberry and rosemary garnish skewer. To make sugared cranberries, combine 1/2 a cup of sugar and 1/2 a cup of water in a saucepan and stir to dissolve sugar, then add in cranberries to coat them. Roll the cranberries in sugar and coat well then let them sit for about an hour. To create the skewer, take a garnish stick (or long toothpick), and slide 2-3 cranberries on, then some rosemary on the end.