5 Christmas Cocktails from Around the World!

5 Christmas Cocktails from Around the World!

Do your Christmas beverages always extend to the same list of family favourites, year after year? Maybe this is the year you add some new festive drinks to your repertoire? Push aside the famous whiskey cream (yes you know which one), Aunt Mabel’s favourite snowball, old faithful mulled wine and that weird melon liqueur that only comes out once a year and brings in some exciting new ingredients to make some yummy Christmas cocktails from around the world.

Cola de Moro

This drink is from Chile and translated, its name means monkey’s tail. There’s probably a story there! This Christmas drink resembles the eggnog that is so popular in the USA and Canada but the Chilean drink is served cold (apologies for the pun). The basis of the drink is aguardiente which is a liqueur of 45%+ proof made like Italian Grappa with the addition of aromatic herbs or spices. In the UK, you can use rum or brandy.

Sorrel Punch

Many of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean celebrate Christmas with a festive punch. For example, Guatemalans and Mexicans like a fruity punch, and Puerto Ricans enjoy a version of eggnog. Despite the name, this punch from Jamaica is not based on the green, slightly bitter herb we know in Britain. Sorrel is a variety of hibiscus flower. To make the punch, the sorrel is mixed with rum (naturellement), sugar, fresh ginger, and lime juice.

Creole Royale

If you want a very special Christmas cocktail and you don’t mind searching out the special ingredient the Creole Royale from Martinique will certainly wow your guests. The basis of the drink is Creole Shrubb which is a rum made from sugar cane rather than molasses. It can be purchased in the UK from a good number of drinks retailers. The other main ingredient is champagne. Really push the boat out and use Cristal Champagne to make Creole Royales for a Christmas to remember.

Wassail

When you still have a hankering for something mulled and warming, but are bored of the old gluhwein, go back in time to ye merry olde England for some good ole wassailing. Wassail has been a tradition in Christmas celebrations since the Middle Ages and is essentially a mulled drink spiced up with cinnamon, cloves or nutmeg. Beer can be used as the base, but cider is more common.

Tom and Jerry

Want to make a splash at a big bash? The Tom and Jerry cocktail (nothing to do with the cartoon cat and mouse) is an English drink that was invented in the 1820s. There is some major effort involved with this cocktail, so it is best made when you’re entertaining a crowd. Despite the age of origin, it has the trendy look of something that you take out from a high street coffee shop (as long as you can whip your cream topping into a frenzy). It’s decadent, it’s creamy, it’s happy Christmas in a glass.

Which Christmas cocktail would you want to try?

Let me know, til then–cheers m’deres!