Christmas Cocktails
Winter Pimm’s punch
Ingredients
500ml Pimm’s
500ml brandy
1½ l apple juice
ice
2 cinnamon sticks
apple, sliced
orange, sliced
Method
Combine the Pimm’s and brandy with the apple juice in a jug filled with ice, cinnamon sticks and a sliced apple and orange.
Drivers’ punch
Ingredients
100g cranberries
100ml/3½fl oz cranberry juice
500ml blood orange juice (Sanguinello)
juice of 1 lime
thin wedges of lime
thin wedges of orange
mint sprigs
600ml Appletise, sparkling apple juice drink
Method
Put the cranberries into a medium size, rigid freezer container, cover with water (by about 2.5cm), freeze until solid.
Mix the cranberry juice in a large jug (about 1.5 litre) with the orange and lime juices.
To serve, smash the sheet of frozen cranberries into shards and put in the bottom of eight highball glasses. Put a wedge of lime and orange and a mint sprig in each glass, then pour in the mixed fruit juices and top up with Appletise.
Angel’s kiss
Ingredients
400ml Tia Maria, chilled
16 tbsp (approx 250ml) double cream
cocoa, for dusting
Method
Pour the Tia Maria into small cocktail or liqueur glasses. Carefully pour the cream into the glasses over the back of a teaspoon so it floats on the surface of the Tia Maria and makes a separate layer. Dust the cream with cocoa by shaking it through a tea strainer, and serve.
Peppermint hot chocolate
Ingredients
200g bar plain chocolate, broken into chunks
600ml milk
150ml pot single or double cream
sugar, to taste
6 peppermint candy canes, to serve
Method
Put the chocolate in a pan with the milk. Gently heat, stirring until all the chocolate has melted. Continue heating until the milk is steaming, then remove from the heat and stir in the cream. Divide the hot chocolate between 6 mugs, add sugar to taste and hang a candy cane on the edge of each. Pass the mugs round and let everyone stir their hot chocolate with their candy cane – letting as much of the sweet peppermint dissolve as they fancy.
