Looking for some cracking Christmas cocktails or seasonal serves?! Look no further….

Welsh Hackney Homebrew*

Made with Welsh tea-soaked fruit, citrus, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon, GŴYR Bara Brith Gin is one of the most transportive gins I’ve tasted and works wonderfully in this warm, sweet and spicy serve.

40ml GŴYR Bara Brith Gin
20ml sweet vermouth
10ml sugar syrup
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
Fresh nutmeg
Orange zest to garnish

In a saucepan, combine your gin, vermouth and sugar syrup. Simmer on a low heat. Break the cinnamon and add to the pan. Add 20 grates of fresh nutmeg, followed by the star anise. Sieve into your serving vessel, then grate over orange zest and serve with a slice of homemade Bara Brith (Welsh tea loaf) slathered with butter!

*original recipe devised by Cocktail Kate for Craft Gin Club

Champagne Rhubarb

There’s no better time to crack open a bottle of fizz than during the festive season, but if you want to make yours extra special why not add a drop of gin too? This one brings both earthy sweetness and a little warming spice.

30ml Edinburgh Rhubarb & Ginger Gin
Champagne
Brown sugar cube (optional)

Simply pour the gin into your flute glass and top up with champagne. For a sweeter serve either replace the gin with Edinburgh’s Rhubarb & Ginger Liqueur, or pop a brown sugar cube in your glass.

Cacao Negroni

A chocolate orange at the bottom of your stocking is so much better than a satsuma. But a Cacao Negroni is even better than a chocolate orange!

25ml Sipsmith Orange & Cacao Gin
25ml Campari
25ml Antica Formula Vermouth
A few drops of Hotel Chocolat Cocoa Bitters
Simple sugar syrup
Dark chocolate (melted)
Orange peel to garnish

First dip your glass in melted chocolate and pop it in the fridge/freezer to set. Mix the gin, Campari & vermouth over very cold ice until blended. Strain into your glass over a large ice cube, add a few drops of cocoa bitters and garnish with an orange twist.

The Ruin

Five-times distilled from malted barley – lending the spirit a distinctive nose – The Gael Gin features juniper, orange and lemon peel, cardamom, coriander and Scottish heather and works wonderfully with maple syrup in this cracking cocktail.

60ml The Gael Gin
10ml maple syrup
2 dashes of angostura bitters
2 dashes of orange bitters

Stir all ingredients with ice, strain onto a large ice cube and garnish with an orange twist and dark chocolate.

True English Blackthorn

Hayman’s Spiced Sloe Gin is a limited-edition release created by combining their True English Sloe Gin with warming spices including cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and star anise. With rich, red fruit, notes of marzipan and festive spices, this is undoubtedly the perfect winter warmer!

45ml Hayman’s Spiced Sloe Gin
30ml Hayman’s London Dry Gin
20ml Antica Formula Vermouth
3 dashes angostura bitters

Shake all the ingredients together with ice and fine strain into a chilled martini glass.

Lemon Meringue Pie Gin Sour

Fancy something sweet but not a fan of Christmas pudding? How about Lemon Meringue Pie… Gin! With biscuits. Because everything is better with biscuits!

50ml Corner 53 LMP Gin
20ml lemon juice
12.5ml sugar syrup
1 egg white
4-5 drops Bitter Union Lemon, Hops & Herbs bitters
Shortbread biscuits

Crush a couple of shortbread biscuits, rim a glass with sugar syrup, dip in the crushed biscuits and pop in the freezer to chill. Meanwhile, dry shake all the ingredients together before adding ice and shaking again. Strain into your chilled glass and garnish with a slice of lemon or a shortbread biscuit. Or better yet, both!

Aged Champagne Cocktail

I can’t take credit for this one but I can highly recommend it! This is what happens when you’re doing a Ginvent tasting and mention to Gin Foundry‘s Olivier Ward that you have an open bottle of champagne to hand!

30ml Hart & Dart Gin
Champagne
Angostura bitters
Brown sugar cube

Coat the sugar cube with bitters and drop into a flute glass. Pour the gin over the sugar cube and top up with champagne.

If this isn’t enough for you there’s even more here! Wishing you all a very merry gin-soaked season!