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Christmas Drinks

OPH Good Housekeeping

Christmas drinks....

Good housekeeping involves - amongst other things - making sure the Christmas party or the "Christmas shelf" is stocked with the traditional festive drinks.....

For any party the drinks list is an essential ingredient in ensuring your party goes with a bang. Here are some great ideas to get you started.

Laithwaites - Specialists in great value wine.

Port

A fortified wine, port has become firmly established in recent times as an ideal Christmas tipple. Served at room temperature it can be used as a great accompaniment to blue cheeses as well as cheddar and Gloucester varieties.

Ideally port should be served after your main course and compliments desserts based on strawberries, raspberries, currents etc very well indeed.

Serving Port should be served in a traditional port glass at room temperature. Your glass should only be filled halfway as it is said that this helps enhance its aroma.

Sherry

Imported to Britain more than 400 years, sherry and its unique aroma and flavorings makes it an ideal choice for those cold Christmas evenings.

Dry sherry is an excellent accompaniment to fish dishes such as salmon, and the rich, darker varieties with Christmas pudding and cheeses.

Serving As with white wine you should serve your sherry chilled. You can serve it in traditional sherry glasses or even in wine glasses. Formally known as an aperitif, many more people are enjoying its qualities during their main course.

Mulled wine

Personally my festive drink of choice. Basically its heated wine which is then “Mulled” by adding spices to it. An excellent drink for those cold Christmas nights, the secret to its success is that it’s easy and simple to make and has no correct method in doing so, which means it’s easy to experiment with and difficult to ruin. A simple recipe can be found below:

Ingredients

  • 300ml water
  • 100g brown sugar
  • 4 cloves
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 lemon, thinly sliced
  • 1 bottle red wine
  • 1 orange, thinly sliced
  • 100ml brandy
  • 100ml port
  • Directions

  • Place into a pan the water, sugar and the spices and bring to the boil. Take it of the hob and add in the lemons stirring as you do so. Let it stand for 10 minutes
  • Place the pan back on the hob and add the wine, port and brandy and heat again, but what ever you do don’t let it boil as the alcohol will start to evaporate
  • Strain into a heated bowl. Add the orange slices and any other fruit if you like and serve hot.
  • Serving This Christmas drink must be served hot, and can be done so in either wine glasses or mugs.

    ChateauOnline-Europes leading online wine merchant

    Advocaat

    A Dutch drink made of un-pasteurised egg yolks, vanilla, grape brandy, and aromatic spices. Its rich creamy texture along with its fortified wine like kick makes it an ideal Christmas beverage. As it’s a liqueur it’s an excellent base for making cocktails such as Snowball (by adding soda water).

    Serving Served at room temperature, with ice added, Advocaat can be served either as a cocktail, in cocktail glass or on its own in any appropriate glass.

    Drambuie

    Drambuie is made from a blend of Scotch Whiskey, honey, and aromatic spices. This mixture gives it a rich, smooth and warm taste. This taste goes hand in hand with all that Christmas encompasses and can also be used in the making of cocktails.

    Serving Drambuie is served at room temperature either as part of a cocktail or on its own; again you may add ice to it or drink it neat.

    Brandy

    Brandy was first mass produced in the early 16th Century and is made using a variety of fruits such as grapes. No Christmas drinks cabinet would be complete without Brandy, its smooth yet warm tones and aroma makes any Christmas complete.

    Serving This Christmas drink should be served in a large bulbous shaped brandy snifter, and should be heated slightly or served at room temperature. If you don’t have anything to heat it with, by serving it in a snifter the drinker will be able to heat it in their hand. Heating the brandy allows its rich aroma to scent the air.

    Irish cream liqueur

    Another excellent winter warmer, sweet and smooth, Irish cream liqueur is a perfect after dinner tipple and can be enjoyed in a relaxed and laid back manner. The simple recipe below provides a fun and easy way to produce your own Irish cream or you can purchase your own ready made brand which are on the market.

    Ingredients

  • 300 ml Irish whiskey
  • 400 ml of sweetened condensed milk
  • 475 ml whipping cream
  • 30 ml chocolate syrup
  • 5 g instant coffee
  • 5 ml vanilla extract
  • 3 ml almond extract
  • Directions Combine and place the ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth. Serve over ice. Store tightly covered in refrigerator. Stir before serving.

    Serving Irish cream can be served in traditional glasses or any fancy tumbler. It should be served chilled and over ice.

    We are adding Christmas drinks all the time, so don't forget to click on and check them out.

    Thanks for checking out our OPH Good Housekeeping Christmas drinks. Why not check out our Christmas shopping tips page?

    From Christmas drinks, to Party Time Christmas Party Tips Home


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