christmas cocktails

… we all love a tipple at Christmas don’t we and I think it’s the perfect time of year to get a little festively creative with our cocktails.  It’s time to jazz up our regular snifter with a flush of sparkle and a dash of cinnamon… quite frankly we now live in a world where it’s no longer de-rigueur to offer granny her regular glass of sherry and when your neighbours pop by for a little festive cheer a warm glass of cream liquor simply won’t do i’m afraid.  No, this year, one simply must offer a drink with a little flourish.  Of course i’m not expecting you to spend a fortune by serving flaked gold in every cocktail which is lucky because the good people at Aldi have the perfect selection of conveniently inexpensive booze on offer and i’m fortunate enough to have been asked to create a couple of cocktails inspired by their range and share them with you… well, someone’s got to do it…

… it always makes me giggle when supermarkets recreate their own versions of classic labels and then name them something that sounds very similar… they do it with all sorts of products from perfume to toothpaste and they are usually very clever with the packaging which can look all but identical but the names do make me laugh… Macardi instead of Bacardi… Flailey’s instead of Bailey’s … well its not quite like that but you get the picture…

Irish cream espresso martini
the drink of the moment, the espresso martini is given a special festive twist by the addition of one of the most popular drinks of the season… as above, the Aldi version isn’t called Flailey’s it’s called Ballycastle but you know what you’re dealing with here.  This cocktail packs a punch but it takes seconds to make – which is properly extremely dangerous – but you’ll look like a professional when you serve it.  You need a cocktail shaker for this but I would highly recommend investing in one as it really does make all the difference…

makes 2 glasses
50ml freshly made espresso
50ml Ballycastle Irish cream liquor
50ml Tamova Vodka – this is Aldi’s award winning vodka
ice
ground cinnamon

fill your cocktail shaker with ice then pour over all the liquids.  Shake until thoroughly combined and pour into martini glasses. Dust the top with a little cinnamon

mulled cranberry cider
whilst I love the aroma of mulled wine I’m actually not a huge fan of it.  I find most people make it headache-inducingly sweet and one glass leaves your whole mouth lined with a deeply unhappy sensation… I much prefer mulled cider which doesn’t get served anywhere near enough over the festive period so i’d like to take this opportunity to start a mulled cider revival… it’s so much lighter that mulled wine yet it still has all that wonderful rich, deep aroma and of course all those gorgeous christmas spices… Aldi had a great offer on their Orchard cider so it was an easy win for me too!

makes enough for 6 people
2lt cider
1lt cranberry juice
150ml vodka
the juice and zest of 2 oranges
7 cloves
4 whole star anise
2 sticks of cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
3 tablespoon honey
slices of fig and caster sugar for serving

place all the ingredients into a large saucepan and gently bring to the heat.  Let is simmer for at least 20 minutes before serving warm

i’ve served mine in mason jar glasses with the rim wiped with orange juice and then dipped in sugar and a sliced fig

drink and of course, enjoy!