Christmas cocktails for cozy holidays
Winter cocktails with alcohol
A nice glass of wine or sparkling champagne is an essential part of any festive occasion. If you want to try something a little more unusual this year, these spicy, simple winter cocktails are a good place to start.
Winter aperitif with gin
This winter cocktail with gin, cherries, limes and Prosecco is fruity and refreshing. A hint of cinnamon gives the drink that Christmas feeling and rounds it off perfectly.
Ingredients (for 1 glass):
- 5 cherries (fresh or from the jar)
- ¼ lime
- 40 ml gin
- 80 ml cherry juice
- 150 ml prosecco
- a pinch of cinnamon
- ice cubes
How it works:
- wash the lime and cut into wedges.
- place the ice cubes, cherries, cinnamon and lime in a wine glass.
- add the gin and cherry juice and top up with Prosecco.
- stir and enjoy.
Penicillin
Penicillin? You read that right! This Christmas cocktail is said to have an antibiotic effect due to its ingredients. This makes Penicillin the ideal drink for the cold season, when colds are on the rise. While alcohol obviously has no health benefits, ginger, honey and lemon are known for their anti-inflammatory properties. Penicillin also impresses with its smoky and tart note, which is softened by the sweetness of the honey and the citrus aromas.
Ingredients (for 1 glass):
- 50 ml blended Scotch whisky
- 10 ml single malt Scotch whisky
- 22.5 ml lemon juice
- 22.5 ml honey syrup
- 2 - 3 pieces of ginger (approx. 2 cm in size)
- ice cubes
How it works:
- chop the fresh ginger using a grater or garlic press and place in a cocktail shaker.
- pour the blended Scotch whisky, lemon juice and honey syrup into the shaker together with ice cubes and shake.
- pour into a chilled old-fashioned glass filled with ice cubes.
- float with single malt whisky (pour slowly and carefully over the back of a spoon into the glass).
Hot Toddy
Hot Toddy is a classic from the English-speaking world, which is said to have similar effects to the penicillin cocktail. However, this Christmas drink is served warm and is therefore particularly popular on cold and damp days.
By the way: The ingredients of the British hot toddy are reminiscent of the Christmas market classic grog.
Ingredients (for 2 glasses):
- 50 ml whisky
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ½ lemon juiced
- ½ lemon cut into slices
- 2 cloves
- 200 ml boiling water
How it works:
- mix the whisky, honey and lemon juice together and divide evenly between two cups or heat-resistant glass mugs.
- cut the cinnamon stick in half and place one half in each glass.
- pour boiling water into the glasses.
- put a clove in a slice of lemon and place in the glass.
Winter Cranberry Aperol Spritz
In recent years, Aperol Spritz has become an absolute summer favorite. But the deep orange liqueur can also be different: with spicy ingredients such as cranberry juice and rosemary, it gets a Christmassy twist and becomes an unusual winter drink.
Ingredients (for 1 glass):
- 45 ml Aperol
- 60 ml cranberry juice
- 90 ml Prosecco
- some soda water
- ice cubes
- slice of orange or orange peel
- some fresh cranberries
- sprig of rosemary
How it works:
- fill an Aperol glass with ice cubes.
- pour the Aperol and cranberry juice into the glass and stir gently.
- fill the glass with Prosecco, leaving a little space at the top.
- top up with soda water.
- garnish the cocktail with an orange slice or orange peel, fresh cranberries and rosemary.
Are you looking for more winter drinks to sweeten up your festive season? Discover our recipes for winter classics such as mulled wine, fire tongs punch or Irish Coffee.
Alcohol-free Christmas cocktails and drinks
Cocktails at Christmas are a must for you, but you want to avoid alcohol during the festive season? No problem, because you can get into the Christmas spirit without it! Our non-alcoholic drinks for Christmas range from sweet and fruity to rich and creamy and ensure full enjoyment - even without liqueurs, sparkling wine and the like.
Spicy apple punch
Warm punch is an absolute must in the cold season. This variation with apple juice provides variety and is particularly popular with children.
Ingredients (for 2 glasses):
- 0.5 l apple juice
- 100 ml orange juice
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 clove
- 1 star anise
How it works:
- slowly heat the apple juice, orange juice, cinnamon, cloves and star anise in a saucepan.
- make sure that the punch does not boil.
- as soon as the punch is warm, remove the pan from the heat and leave to infuse for about 30 minutes.
- pour the punch through a sieve.
- heat again briefly before serving and pour into a cup.
Our tip: Larger quantities of punch can be heated and kept warm in a mulled wine kettle.
Gingerbread Latte Macchiato
Gingerbread is as much a part of Christmas as the Christmas tree and presents. In addition to gingerbread spice, this wintry drink contains Christmas ingredients such as cocoa and cinnamon and therefore has the potential to become a coffee favorite for the dark season.
Ingredients (for 1 glass):
- 300 ml milk/oat drink
- 2 g ginger
- ¼ tsp gingerbread spice
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp baking cocoa
- 1 pinch of bourbon vanilla
- 10 g liquid honey
- 30 ml espresso
- 75 g whipped cream
- 1 tsp sugar
- some cinnamon powder and gingerbread
How it works:
- peel the ginger and cut into small pieces.
- put the milk, ginger, gingerbread spice, cinnamon, cocoa, vanilla and honey in a saucepan.
- stir and leave to infuse for about 15 minutes at a low temperature with the lid on.
- in the meantime, prepare an espresso shot.
- whip the cream with the sugar.
- pour the espresso into a latte macchiato glass and sieve the milk over it.
- decorate with cream topping. Sprinkle with cinnamon, crumble gingerbread over the top or stick it all into the cream.
Non-alcoholic winter sangria
Most people associate sangria with summer, sun and Spain. But with non-alcoholic wine and a few special ingredients, the punch is also a hit around Christmas time. This winter drink can easily be prepared in advance for several people, which is particularly practical for parties.
Ingredients (for 4 glasses):
- 1 orange
- 1 lemon
- 1 lime
- 1 apple
- 1 peach
- 4 sprigs of rosemary
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 100 g brown sugar
- 40 ml lemon juice
- 300 ml orange juice
- 1 bottle of non-alcoholic red wine
- 200 ml tonic water
- ice cubes
- garnish: lemon or peach wedges & rosemary sprigs
How it works:
- wash and thinly slice the orange, lemon and lime; wash, peel, core and dice the apple; wash, stone and slice the peach; wash the rosemary.
- place the rosemary, cinnamon and sliced fruit in a punch bowl and sprinkle with sugar. Add lemon juice, orange juice and non-alcoholic wine. Leave to infuse in the fridge for at least three hours.
- to serve, divide the ice cubes between four glasses, top up with sangria and tonic water and garnish with decorations.
Winter cocktails for your festive table
Turn the Christmas season into a feast for all the senses. With our Christmas cocktail recipes and our non-alcoholic, winter drinks, every day becomes a festive day!