Christmas special: 17 festive cocktails to lighten up your house parties 

This Christmas, go overboard and try making a festive cocktail at home using the following recipes:

1. Our Inception
By Kailash Kamble, Bar Operations Manager, The St. Regis Mumbai
 

Ingredients: Grey goose vodka - 60 ml, fresh orange juice - 120 ml, black tea infusion -  60 ml, lime juice - 30 ml, sugar syrup - 20 ml and orange for garnish

Method: 
• Take a mixing glass and add fresh orange juice, lime juice and sugar syrup
• Add 60 ml Grey Goose vodka and shake it well
• Add ice and serve it in a hurricane glass and garnish it with orange

2. Rum Espresso
 

Ingredients: BACARDÍ Carta Blanca - 50 ml, strong coffee/shot of espresso - 25 ml, sugar syrup - 15 ml and coffee beans to garnish

Method:
• Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake with ice. 
• Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with 3 coffee beans.

3. Salted Caramel Butterbeer
By Shankar Varli, Bar Manager at Woodside Inn
 

Ingredients:
For the Butterbeer syrup: Brown sugar- 150 gm, lager - 500 ml, pumpkin - 200 gm, star anise - 03 gm, cinnamon - 03 gm, butter - 60 gm, nutmeg - 01 gm 
For Butter Scotch concoction: Sugar - 150 gm, butter - 30 gm, cream - 100 ml 
For assembly: Hot butterbeer - 90 ml, butterscotch - 30 ml, le 15 salted caramel hot chocolate mix - 30 gm, cafe rum - 30 ml, hot water - 60 ml 

Method:
• In a pan bring the Butterbeer syrup ingredients to a boil and keep aside.
• Similarly heat the butterscotch concoction ingredients and make the syrup.
• Now take an Irish Glass, add hot butterbeer, butterscotch syrup and heat in microwave for 1 minute.  
• Then add salted caramel hot chocolate mix and dissolve it,  top with water, rum and stir. Finish it with some whipped cream.
 
4.  Spirit Of Victory Cocktail
 

Ingredients: 1965 Spirit of Victory Premium Rum -  60ml, ginger beer - 90ml, lime juice - 15ml

Method:
• Pour all the ingredients in a glass full of ice and give the mixture a quick stir. 
• Garnish with a lime wedge and serve.

5. Warm & Cozy ButterBeer
By Kim Joy, Beverage Manager at Soufflé S’il Vous Plaît
 

Ingredients: Pale lager beer - 1.5l, dried allspice berries - 14gms, star anise - 10gms, cloves - 14gms, cinnamon - 10gms, ginger - 22gms, butter - 100gms, egg yolk - 5nos, castor sugar - 185gms

Method:
• In a saucepot combine the beer, ginger and spices and bring it to a gentle boil on medium heat. Then simmer it for 10 mins, and strain the beer mixture.
• Beat all the five egg yolks, adding sugar at regular intervals. Beat the mixture until thickened.
• Add the egg yolk mixture to the warm spiced beer and gently heat it. Gradually add the blocks of butter & allow them to melt. Remove from heat.
• Add Whisky/Cognac to the glass before serving.
• Garnish with grated nutmeg.

6. Smoke Lab Clover Club
By Olson Pereira, Master Mixologist at Smoke Lab Vodka

Ingredients: Smoke lab classic infused with dried ginger - 50ml, martini extra dry vermouth - 10ml, freshly squeezed lemon juice - 15ml, rich simple syrup - 7.5ml, pasteurized egg white - 15ml, fresh raspberries - 5

Method:
• Mix all the ingredients in a shaker. Muddle it well and then shake and fine strain the drink into a coupe glass. 
• Garnish with a skewered raspberry

7. Festive Martini 
 

Ingredients: Beefeater London dry gin - 45 ml, Lillet blanc or dry vermouth - 15 ml 

Method: 
• Combine all ingredients into a mixing tin/glass
• Add ice and stir to the desired level of dilution and temperature
• Garnish with a single sprig of spruce or a green olive if you’ve used the vermouth

8. Jingle Tingle
By Nilesh Patel, Beverage Head (West), Impresario Handmade Restaurants
 

Ingredients: Beefeater - 60 ml, orange marmalade - 2tbsp, orange juice  30 ml, sweet & sour - 30 ml, ginger ale to top up

Method:
• Shake all the ingredients together except for the Ginger Ale
• Top up with Ginger Ale

9. Heated Affair
By Cyprian Pereira, mixologist, The Game, Palacio 

Ingredients: Anejo Tequila - 60 ml, hot spiced apple cider - 120ml, heavy cream, freshly grated nutmeg and cinnamon stick to garnish

Method: 
• To make hot spiced apple cider, heat organic apple juice in a small saucepan over low heat. Add winter spices like cloves, cinnamon sticks, allspice, orange peel as desired. Cook for about 15 minutes and strain before using.
• Now add tequila and top with heavy cream
• Garnish with nutmeg and cinnamon stick

10. Drop It Like It's Hot
By Angad Singh Gandhi, Glenfiddich India brand ambassador
 

Ingredients: Glenfiddich 12-year-old - 50ml, cornhusk syrup or honey cinnamon syrup - 7ml, angostura bitters or chocolate bitters - 2-3 dashes, cacao

Method:
• To make a corn husk syrup, heat the husk in warm water with some honey and add a bit of cacao just for the aroma. cook for 15- 20 mins or
• Make honey cinnamon syrup by heating 1:1 ratio honey and water on a low sim with added cinnamon sticks for 5 mins
• Now stir ingredients over ice and serve with a big block of ice in a rock glass. garnish with orange peel.

11. Foo Filbert
 

Ingredients: Jameson - 30ml, hazelnut syrup - 12.5ml, homemade Kahlua - 22.5ml, heavy fresh cream - 3 spoon

Method: 
• Add Jameson, Kahlua, heavy cream, hazelnut syrup and ice to a shaker.
• Shake all the ingredients for 3 seconds
• Remove the ice and dry shake again to get a smooth and silky texture
• Fine strained the cocktail in a pre-chilled glass

12. Mistletoe Mule
By Angela Lawitlangpui, mixologist, The Smoked Vine, Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, Nashik
 

Ingredients: Dry red wine (Shiraz or Merlot) - 3 bottles, sugar - 200 gm, cinnamon - 1 stick, star anise - 6, clove - 6, nutmeg - 1 pinch, orange - 1 twisted peel, lime - 1 twisted peel, lemon - 1 twisted peel, spiced dark rum - 200ml and applewood chips - 3-4 nos

Method:
• On a slow flame, boil just one bottle of wine with sugar, spices, and fruit peels. Bring to boil.
• Allow this to reduce to a thick syrup-like consistency. Adjust the sweetness to suit your taste.
• Add in the remaining two bottles to this syrupy concoction and let it simmer for one hour.
• Add spiced dark rum to the mulled wine and infuse it with smoke from applewood chips just before serving for that extra winter warmth and spice.
• Store in glass bottles.

13. Mulled hot chocolate
By Gautam Rathod, House Of Mandarin & The Sassy Spoon
 

Ingredients: Belgian chocolate sauce - 50 ml, robust red wine - 60 ml, mulled wine - 120 ml

Method: 
• Add all ingredients in a mixing glass
• Mix it thoroughly and put it in an Irish coffee glass
• Microwave for 20 seconds
• Give it a gentle stir and serve with a long cinnamon stick as a garnish

14. OT&T
By Darell Mascarenhas, mixologist, Recca
 

Ingredients: Gin - 60 ml, orange bitters - 3 drops, clear orange juice - 30 ml, clear orange juice ice cubes - 6 to 8 cubes, tonic water, dehydrated orange slice and edible flower 

Method: 
• Mix all the ingredients and add them to a glass
• Top it up with tonic water
• Garnish with a dehydrated orange slice and edible flower 

15. Smoked Cinnamon Spice
By Hemant Bagdi, mixologist,  Taj Lake Palace

Ingredients: Old Monk - 45 ml, sweet vermouth - 15 ml, lime juice - 15 ml, sugar syrup -  10 ml

Method:
• Muddle two sticks of cinnamon, add the sugar syrup and lime juice. Now add the spirits and mix well. 
• Add 5-8 cubes of ice. 
• Burn a cinnamon stick over the drink for fragrance and smoke the drink under a glass gloche with a smoking gun, using hickory wood chips. 
• Served in an Old fashioned glass.

16. Rudolf
By Jewallan D Souza, Bar Supervisor, See-Saw

Ingredients: Rum - 60ml, pomegranate - 15ml, strawberry fresh - 15ml, lime juice - 10ml, spice syrup - 5ml, thyme leaves 

Method:
• Mix all your ingredients in a cocktail shaker and fine strain 
• Glass Martini 
• Garnish Strawberry, Thyme

17. From The House Of Santa
By Bhagvat Birajdar, Mixologist, Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre
 

Ingredients: Gin - 60ml, orange liqueur - 10ml, lime juice - 15ml, a dash of house-crafted herb bitters, fresh strawberry and whipped cream 

Method: 
• In a shaker muddle fresh strawberries
• Add gin, orange liqueur, lime juice and a lot of ice to the shaker 
• After giving it a shake, strain the drink in an old fashioned glass 
• Add a dash of house-crafted herbed bitters
• Top up with freshly whipped cream
• Garnish with strawberry slices