Festive cocktail recipes to 'elevate' your offering

Double Dutch seasonal favourites 

Award-winning mixers brand, Double Dutch, shared three serves to “elevate the festivities” for operators, all crafted using seasonal “favourites” such as cranberry and ginger.

Raissa and Joyce de Haas Co-Founders of Double Dutch said: "Festive cocktails can be a game-changer for pubs and bars, elevating the customer experience and driving increased profitability.

"They offer a pathway to premium offerings, new liquids, and make the menu more experiential while also giving drinks teams the opportunity to be creative with ingredients and presentation.

"To craft these recipes effectively, prioritise top-quality ingredients, play around with creative presentation and a touch of innovation to ensure your venue shines during the festive season.

"Moreover, the co-founders added consumers are continuously trying to find ways to get into the "party spirit" throughout the Christmas period, whether it be through cocktails or alcohol-free serves.

They continued: "There's been an increase in people looking for low-alcohol or alcohol-free serves, and festive non-alcoholic cocktails can still be flavoursome and fun thanks to the huge variety of incredible alcohol-free liquids on the market now." 

Cranberry Kisses​

Ingredients:​

• 50ml dry gin 
• 150ml Double Dutch Cranberry & Ginger Tonic
• Orange slice, cinnamon stick and Star Anise

Method: ​

• Pour 50ml dry gin into an ice-filled tumbler
• Top with Double Dutch Cranberry & Ginger Tonic 
• Stir gently to combine
• Garnish with an orange slice, cinnamon stick and star anise

Alcohol free Winter Tonic​

Ingredients: ​

• 50ml Apple Juice 
• Double Dutch Cranberry & Ginger Tonic 
• Apple slice, star anise and cinnamon stick

Method:​

• Pour 50ml fresh apple juice into an ice filled wine glass
• Top with Double Dutch Cranberry & Ginger Tonic 
• Stir gently to combine
• Garnish with an apple slice, star anise and cinnamon stick

Ginger Spice​

Ingredients:​

• 50ml spiced rum 
• Double Dutch Cranberry & Ginger Tonic
• Ginger and fresh cranberries

Method: ​

• Pour 50ml spiced rum into an ice-filled glass
• Top with Double Dutch Cranberry & Ginger Tonic 
• Stir gently to combine
• Garnish with a slice of ginger & fresh cranberries

Franklin & Sons Spiced Forest​

Focusing on flavour infusions and expressions, Franklin & Sons, the headline sponsor for the Top 50 Cocktail Bars List​, recently launched a range of flavoured sodas taking inspiration from distillers, including a Mandarin & Ginger variant perfect for creating this non-alcoholic festive tipple.

Ingredients:​

• 60ml Everleaf Forest
• 30ml Spiced Cordial
• 10ml Lemon Juice
• Franklin & Sons Mandarin & Ginger Soda

Method:​

• Simply pour all the ingredients into a wine glass and give the mixture a gentle stir using a bar spoon
• Add an ice block or cube to the glass 
• Serve garnished with candied orange peels

Kyrö's festive treats ​

Finnish spirits brand Kyrö Distillery Company also detailed a variety of traditional cocktail recipes from Finland, some of which can be served hot or cold.

Kyrö Eggnog ​

Ingredients (makes 4-6 portions):​

• 300ml milk
• 100ml cream
• 1 vanilla stick
• 3 egg yolks
• 2-3 tbsp of sugar
• Kyrö Dairy Cream Liqueur

Method:​

• Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl with sugar until the mixture is pale yellow and thick
• Mix the milk, cream and vanilla in a pot and heat up
• Combine the heated creamy liquid slowly with the egg and sugar mix, stirring all the time
• Pour 40ml of Kyrö Dairy Cream into a glass, add 100ml of eggnog mixture and serve hot or cold, garnished with a sprinkle of cinnamon

This mixture can be stored in the fridge for up to three days​

Kyrö Glogi​

Ingredients:​

• 20 Crushed Green Cardamom Pods
• 10 Cloves
• 1-3 Star Anise
• 10 Allspice Berries
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 100g frozen blueberries
• 50g dry cranberries (optional)
• 100g Sugar (optional)
• 50ml Cranberry juice
• 50ml Grape juice
• 100-200 ml Kyrö Gin
• Rosemary

Method:​

• Cook the spices in a pot then pour in the cranberry juice, grape juice and berries
• Bring to a very calm simmer and taste, adding more sugar if needed
• Lower the heat to a very low temperature and let the mixture infuse for 30 minutes
• Take it off the heat and add the Kyrö Gin
• Serve garnished with a sprig of rosemary

Kyrö Cherry Ryeball​

Ingredients:​

• 50ml Kyrö Malt Rye Whisky
• 150ml Cherry Soda
• 2 tsp Cherry Syrup

Method:​

• Fill a highball glass with ice, pour the whisky and then top with cherry soda
• Add the cherry syrup and stir gently
• Serve garnished with a Maraschino cherry on cocktail stick

Schweppes The Wild​

Soft drinks brand Schweppes has crafted a long and refreshing serve using chocolatey sherry and spicy ginger ale alongside golden rum, resulting in a quenching a moreish concoction.

Ingredients:​

• 35ml Golden Rum
• 10ml PX Sherry
• Top with Scweppes 1783 Ginger Ale
• Lemon slice to garnish

Method:​

• Pour 35ml of golden rum into a long glass filled with ice
• Add 10ml PX Sherry
• Top with Schweppes 1783 Ginger Ale
• Add more ice if needed
• Garnish with a lemon slice

Schweppes Holiday Highball​

The Schweppes Holiday Highball Christmas serve combines gin, gingerbread syrup, mandarin orange juice and Schweppes Tonic to help venues excite consumers during the festive period. Simply combine ingredients and top with Schweppes Tonic Water and serve with an orange peel garnish.  

Ingredients:​

• Gin 40ml
• Gingerbread Syrup 15ml
• Orange Juice (Mandarin Juice) – 20ml
• Schweppes Tonic - Topped
• Orange peel to garnish

The Monkey 47 Schwarzendorff Martini​

A simple and zingy serve, The Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin’s Schwarzendorff Martini offers a neat twist on the classic cocktail.

Ingredients: ​

• 45ml Monkey 47
• 45ml medium-dry Riesling
• 2 dashes of orange bitters
• Lemon zest to garnish
• Pinch of cinnamon to garnish

Method:​

• Fill a mixing glass with ice
• Pour in all of the wet ingredients
• Stir until chilled and the desired dilution achieved
• Single strain into a chilled coupette glass
• Garnish with a twist of lemon zest
• Add a small pinch of cinnamon

Read the previous Drinks Masterclass delving into improving your wine offering here​.

• If you have any drinks recipes or top tips to share as part of The Morning Advertiser's Drinks Masterclass series please contact rebecca.weller@wrbm.com​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​. The next masterclass will be published on Monday 20 November. ​​