Who gets as excited for Christmas as I do? There is nothing better than planning a great celebration full of love and family, really appreciating who is around our trees, not what is under it.
If you are planning a Christmas at home why not start to get cocktail creative.
Bar Carts
Let’s start with the bar, maybe there is a corner of your room or a stand you have that would make the perfect mini bar display or bar.
Or this could be the year you actually buy a bar cart... and I have found some great examples here to suit all budgets
Start with some festive decorations and keep them retro or elegant. Add a bowl filled with pine cones and pot-pourri to give your room a gorgeous warm Christmas scent.
You can make your own with things like dried fruit, orange slices, cinammon sticks and dried seed heads, sprinkled with some essential oils and spices such as ginger and frankincense.
You can find a recipe to make your own pot-pourri here...
Cocktail Bar Essentials
In order to have a well stocked bar, here are the drinks a great mixologist I know has recommended in order to be able to offer a great range of cocktails...
Vodka, Gin, White Rum, Tequila, Triple Sec, Bourbon, Sweet Vermouth, Dry Vermouth and Angostura Bitters will give you a great start on your mixology adventures.
Cocktail Bar Equipment
To get started on the cocktail road to success here are the basic tools that you need...
A cocktail shaker and mixing glass for cocktails that aren’t made in a shaker such as a Manhattan.
A measure... this helps to make sure the drinks are done properly and not too much of any one drink is added.
A long handled spoon for stirring the cocktails.
A muddler for crushing fruits for specific drinks such as a Mojito.
A knife for cutting up the fruit.
An ice bucket, tongs and scoop are nice to have but not an essential.
A cocktail strainer and of course your collection of beautiful glassware.
Cocktail Glassware
The glasses you serve your cocktails in are so important.
Take a look at the cocktails you think you would like this Christmas and think about which glasses you will use.
The martini style glasses are always popular and then of course the classic french style glassware which is hugely popular at the moment.
Short, cut glass tumblers are ideal for Negronis ( my favourite!) and Whisky based cocktails and the taller hi ball glasses are perfect for long drinks such as Pina Colada’s and Mojito’s etc.
Cocktail Garnishes
Get ready to impress with your carefully thought out garnishes.
Adding sugar or salt to the rim of the glasses is always guaranteed to impress your guests. You could even try colouring the sugar or dipping the top of the glass in chocolate.
Twists of peel are pretty in cocktails, such as limes, lemons and oranges and you don’t need anything fancy, just a vegetable peeler.
Herbs and flowers are great to use as they are so pretty. Just make sure they are clean. You could even try freezing petals in ice cubes.
Flowers which are safe and edible are pansies, marigolds, violets, hibiscus and snap dragons.
There are so many herbs and peppercorns you can use too in savoury drinks such as
rosemary, thyme, pink peppercorns, mint and coriander.
Fruits and vegetables for your cocktails are popular with so many drinks. A long Bloody Mary with a stick of celery is a perfect combination. Try adding in some chillies for an extra kick!
Italian Cocktails
And of course, as I love all things Italian! let’s not forget the Aperol Spritz. This is becoming a popular refreshing drink, originating in Italy as just an appertivo, it is now becoming increasingly asked for in all bars at any time of night.
One of my new Italian favourites is the Hugo Spritz which I actually love.
And last but definitely not least, the classic Italian Negroni, another delicious drink!
This can be mixed with gin for a perfect after dinner drink but if you want to make the spritz version just swap the gin for Prosecco and it makes a perfect aperitivo.
The recipes for all of these are in the images below.
Christmas Cocktails
Mulled Wine
Christmas Cranberry Cocktail
Merry Margarita
Baileys Inspired Cocktails
Espresso Martinis
The Grinch Cocktail
Eggnog
Christmas Mimosa
Moscow Mule
Christmas Aperol Spritz
Hugo Spritz
Negroni
These are just a few to try. There are loads of recipes online and hundreds of books available full of recipes to have fun with.
Mocktails
Of course, you might have guests that don’t enjoy alcohol or are driving so always have plenty of options for them to choose from.
Any children you have at your gatherings will love feeling grown up drinking their mocktails and you can make it really fun by letting them make their own.
I hope that with these ideas and all my ideas from my other Christmas blog posts you will have a really great Christmas with lots of fun and laughter and look forward to 2024 with hope and love in your hearts.
Merry Christmas to you all xx
Check out my blog with tips on decorating for a gorgeous family Christmas on the link below
Komentáře