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Whether you’re going alcohol-free or embracing lockdown drinking, we’ve rounded up our favourite winter warmer cocktail-making kits and recipes as we head towards the festive season.
Winter cocktail-making kits and recipes: alcoholic
LANIQUE SPIRIT OF ROSE
A natural spirit made with thousands of handpicked, stem-distilled rose petals, expect aromas of delicate rose, ripe raspberry and cherry, and flavours reminiscent of Turkish delight and hints of white chocolate in Lanique Spirit of Rose. Three great recipes:
Lanique Rose Fizz
25ml of Lanique topped with your choice of festive fizz.
The Winter Rose
50ml Lanique with 25ml cognac, 50ml cloudy apple juice and 5ml vanilla syrup, heated together in a pan. Pouring into a brandy glass.
Turkish Delight Hot Chocolate
Stir 25ml of Lanique into your hot chocolate and top with whipped cream and a dusting of candied rose petals.
MR BLACK FESTIVE ESPRESSO MARTINI KIT
Mr Black Roasters and Distillers has teamed up with premium syrup brand MONIN to create a Festive Espresso Martini Kit. The kit includes three Christmas themed syrup flavours: caramel, gingerbread & roasted hazelnut – along with a 700ml bottle of Mr Black, a 750ml deluxe cocktail shaker and double spirit measure as well as Allpress Coffee Concentrate.
The kit, priced at £65, is perfect for dinner parties, and a great Christmas pudding alternative this festive season. Available to order online from the Mr Black website from 15 November.
NIO COCKTAILS CHRISTMAS COLLECTION
With five limited edition cocktails, NIO Cocktails Christmas Collection is the perfect way to toast the festive season in style. Mixes include the Christmas Margarita, Winter Sidecar, Apple Rum Punch, Spited Negroni and Christmas in Manhattan. Each cocktail comes as a single serve in a individual sleeve, meaning there’s zero waste when it comes to excess spirits, mixers and garnishes. Just tear off the corner of the sleeve and pour the drink in a glass over ice. Easy.
The NIO Cocktails limited edition Christmas Cocktails are available in a x6 box for £39.
SLINGSBY MARMALADE GIN
Slingsby Gin‘s marmalade flavour is our absolute favourite gin for the winter months: tart citrus and juniper leads into sweeter, rich marmalade notes, with a floral hint and lingering, orange peel finish.
Mulled Marmalade
25ml Marmalade Gin, 70ml cider, 20ml lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, cloves, nutmeg and star anise mixed in a pan, add a little water and heat until the desired flavour is reached.
Garnish with an orange wheel.
Fever-Tree’s Whisky Ginger
We love mixing this spicy Fever-Tree ginger ale with a generous shot of whisky, plenty of ice and a slice of orange to make the perfect Whisky Ginger.
Whisky Ginger
Mix 3 parts Fever-Tree Ginger Ale with 1 part Johnnie Walker Black Label Whiskey, in a high ball with plenty of ice.
Garnish with a slice of orange.
Glenfiddich “Winter Break” cocktail with Fire & Cane
Glenfiddich’s Fire & Cane marries smokey whisky with non-peated malts that have been maturing side-by-side in bourbon casks. Taking it one step further, the whisky is finished in Latin rum casks to produce a surprising and unexpected overlay of flavours with added caramel toffee sweetness.
Winter break cocktail
Mix 50ml Fire & Cane, 40ml red wine, 20ml red grape juice, 10ml cinnamon syrup, 10ml Benedictine liquor, 2 cloves, a cinnamon stick and orange peel in a small pan and heat at a low temperature for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to infuse.
Strain and serve in a winter mug.
GLENLIVET BONFIRE HOT TODDY
A classic warming winter recipe with a spiced ginger twist,
Bonfire Hot Toddy
Mix 50ml of The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve, 15ml lemon juice, 15 ml ginger syrup and 2 dashes Angostura Bitters into a mug.
Top with hot water and garnish with a lemon wedge (studded with cloves for extra flavour).
GREY GOOSE HOT CHOCOTINI
An ideal winter warmer for the festive season.
Grey Goose Hot Chocotini
Stir 30ml Grey Goose L’Orange Vodka, 100ml hot milk, 15g 70% dark chocolate, 20ml espresso and 10ml Monin gingerbread syrup in a mug and garnish with a toasted marshmallow.
THE COINTREAU MARGARITA KIT
Make margaritas like a pro with the Cointreau Margarita Kit. Each kit is filled with all the margarita-making essentials including 70cl bottles of Cointreau and VIVIR Tequila, Maldon sea salt, a Cointreau cocktail shaker, strainer, jigger, a lime squeezer, VIVIR bar mat and a enamel pin. Just stock up on limes and you’ll have everything you need.
QUARANTINI COCKTAIL KITS
Created by the award winning teams at The Sun Tavern and Discount Suit Company, these small batch pre-bottled cocktails will be sure to impress even the best bartenders. The Quarantini cocktail kits include eight classic cocktails: an Irish Old Fashioned, Toreador, Margarita, Rob Roy, Sazerac, Banana Daiquiri, Boulevardier and Penicillin in pre-bottled packs, ready to be stirred and served from the comfort of your kitchen.
Winter cocktail-making kits and recipes: non-alcoholic
ÆCORN APERITIFS
Æcorn Aperitifs is the world’s first range of premium alcohol-free aperitifs. Based on English sparkling wine grapes and aromatised with herbs, roots and bitters, there are three options to pick from. We love keeping it simple with 50ml Æcorn Bitter topped with soda for a more wholesome version of the classic Aperol spritz.
Read our interview with Claire Warner, the managing director of Æcorn Aperitifs, to find out how she developed our new favourite dinner tipple.
SEEDLIP SPICED TODDY
Looking for a non-alcoholic alternative to a hot toddy? Try
Seedlip‘s Spiced Toddy
Mix 50ml of Seedlip Spice 94, 15ml of lemon juice, 15ml Manuka honey, and top with a little hot water.
Want more non-alcoholic drinks inspiration? Read our round up here.
By Rosie
Main image: Lanique Spirit of Rose
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After graduating from Cambridge University with a triple First, Rosie decided to pursue a career in the fitness industry rather than follow the traditional path of her peers in investment banking. Unable to shake off the fast-paced routine she developed in her City job, she achieves balance by winding down in yoga sessions, escaping on fitness retreats, and going for extended brunches that somehow seem to wind up in a hidden gem of a cocktail bar.
