6 easy to make festive cocktails to try at home this Christmas

Get into the festive spirit with these Christmas cocktails.

Published 18th Dec 2020
Updated 21 st Sep 2023

As it's set to be a festive season of Zoom drinks and cocktails at home, we've compiled a few of our favourite recipes that are quick, easy and delicious.

Whether you're a gin lover, whisky fan or are getting into rum then these festive cocktails will help everyone get into the festive spirit.

Hot buttered Matugga rum

festive cocktails

This winter warmer is an ideal for festive cocktails as it uses a spiced rum made in Livingston.

Ingredients

  • 50ml Matugga spiced rum
  • 1 tbp unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • Dash ground cinnamon
  • Dash of ground allspice
  • Splash vanilla extract
  • 150ml hot water

Method

Place the butter, brown sugar and spices into your favourite mug and mix well.

Add the 50ml rum.

Top with 150ml hot water.

Stir well until combined.

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Enjoy!

Johnnie Walker winter apple highball

festive cocktails

The perfect tipple to enjoy throughout the festive season, as it is refreshing and simple to make.

Ingredients

  • 25ml Johnnie Walker Black Label
  • 25ml Dry Vermouth
  • 50ml Apple juice
  • 10ml Honey Water (1:1)
  • Soda

Add 25ml Johnnie Walker Black Label, 25ml Dry Vermouth and 50ml apple juice to a tall glass over ice.

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Combine equal parts honey and water and add to the glass, topping with soda.

Stir gently to bring all the ingredients up through the drink, and garnish with a thin slice of apple or star anise for an extra festive flair.

Wemyss Malts Three Wise ‘Spice’ Kings Old Fashioned

festive cocktails

Ingredients

  • 50ml of Spice King whisky
  • Homemade ginger syrup – details of how to make are in the instructions below
  • 100g of fresh ginger
  • 250g brown sugar
  • 250ml of boiling water
  • 2 dashes of cranberry bitters
  • Garnish
  • Sliced lemon zest
  • Pair with a mince pie

To make the ginger syrup

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Grate 100g of ginger into 250ml of freshly boiled water.

Add 250g of brown sugar and heat until sugar dissolves.

Allow to cool and strain into bottle or jar.

To make the Three Wise ‘Spice’ Kings Old Fashioned

Add the Spice King whisky, 10ml of the homemade ginger syrup and the bitters into mixing glass and stir well with ice.

Serve in rocks glass with one large cube of ice, lemon zest garnish and a mince pie to pair with this spicy and aromatic cocktail.

Pickering’s Stocking Thriller cocktail

Ingredients

50ml Pickering’s Clementine Gin

2 tsp Orange Marmalade

25ml Fresh Lemon Juice

15ml Simple Syrup

100ml Fiery Ginger Beer

Orange Twist and Star Anise

Method

Mix the marmalade in the gin until dissolved.

Add everything except ginger beer into an ice filled shaker and shake hard for 15-20 seconds.

Strain into a chilled, ice filled rocks glass, top with ginger beer and garnish with orange twist and star anise.

M&S Straiton Up cocktail 

festive cocktails

The ‘Straiton Up’ is a contemporary twist on a classic sours cocktail.

To celebrate the launch of the largest standalone M&S Food store in Scotland, the team collaborated up with its local gin supplier Old Curiosity to create this bespoke cocktail recipe.

Ingredients

  • 50ml M&S Christmas Gin
  • 25 ml fresh lemon juice
  • 12.5ml sugar syrup
  • 1 egg white
  • 100ml M&S Sparkling Scottish Mountain Water

Method

Pour all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously until chilled.

Strain the liquid into a rocks glass over cubed ice and top with sparkling mineral water.

Garnish with orange slice and a light dusting of M&S Ground Nutmeg.

Merry berry fizz

Merry berry fizz

Picture: Merrydown cider

Expert mixologist, Pritesh Mody, is championing cider as the drink to add some sparkle to your celebrations with this merry berry fizz.

Ingredients

  • 50ML Creme de Mure liqueur (or make your own)
  • 125ML Merrydown dry cider
  • Lemon twist
  • LIQUEUR RECIPE
  • 700G Blackberries
  • 4 black peppercorns
  • 700ml vodka
  • Juice and zest of 1 lemon
  • 700G Sugar

For the syrup

Put the blackberries and lemon zest into a pan and add just enough water to cover.

Bring to the boil and simmer until the berries are soft.

Mash thoroughly and strain, ideally through a muslin cloth.

Pour this juice back into the pan and add the lemon juice and sugar.

Bring to the boil until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid has reduced by about 25%.

Switch off the heat, stir in the vodka and cover until cooled.

Pour into sterilised bottles and keep in the fridge. Use within 8 weeks.

For the Merry Berry fizz

Add the liqueur into a champagne flute then top with the cider.

Garnish with a twist of lemon.

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Known for cake making, experimental jam recipes, Champagne, whisky and gin drinking (and the inability to cook Gnocchi), Rosalind is the Food and Drink Editor and whisky writer for The Scotsman, as well as hosting Scran, The Scotsman's food and drink podcast.
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