A perfect use of your time in the kitchen during the frostier months of the year is making something to warm yourself up- a delightful warming cocktail. There are plenty of delicious options to suit all tastes and preferences, with both cold and hot selections that are filled with festive flavours, so you can enjoy a taste of the holiday season.
Apply honey to the rim of a tumbler and use it to stick gold glitter around it for a decorative festive flourish.
Fill your glass with crushed ice.
Add to a cocktail shaker- 25ml bourbon, 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 1 tbsp fresh orange juice and ½ tbsp sugar syrup.
Shake and strain into your glass. Serve with an orange slice and short straw.
Cold brew martini
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add 30ml of vodka, 60ml of Kahlúa or a similar coffee liqueur, and 90ml of cold brew coffee.
Shake firmly for at least ten seconds or until a nice foam has formed.
Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with coffee beans.
Hot toddy
Combine 50ml of whisky and 3 tsp of honey by whisking them together.
Split it between two glasses, adding half of a cinnamon stick to each.
Top up both glasses with 200ml boiling water.
Add fresh lemon juice to taste, then finish with a slice of lemon that has been studded with a clove.
Mulled pear & cranberry punch
In your largest saucepan, combine 1 litre of pear cider, 1 litre of pear or cloudy apple juice, 1 litre of cranberry juice, a handful of fresh or dried cranberries, 150ml of sloe gin, 2 cinnamon sticks and 2 vanilla pods scored lengthways.
Heat until just below simmering point, then ladle into glasses.
