Festive Holiday Cocktails

It's that time of year again — time for parties, friends and family, and great food and drink. If you're going to be throwing a party this holiday season, here are a few festive cocktails to make the most of your event. If you will be serving wine at your party, watch our Wine Question video on holiday parties and wine to learn about wine selection, serving and safety.

Poinsettia

1 oz Cointreau

1 oz Cranberry juice

4 oz Piper‐Heidsieck Champagne

Pour cranberry and Cointreau into champagne flute and fill with champagne. Garnish with a holly leaf.

Cointreau Bubbles

2 oz Cointreau

Fresh lime or lime juice

Sparkling water or tonic

Muddle the lime in the glass, add Cointreau and top up with sparkling water. Garnish with small slices of lime. Serves 1.

Cointreaupolitan

1 ½ oz Cointreau

2 ½ oz cranberry juice

1 oz lemon juice

Shake and strain with ice into a chilled martini glass. Serves 1.

Metaxa Suntonic

2 or 3 ice cubes in a tall glass

1 ½ oz Metaxa 5 Stars

2 oz cold tonic water

Combine in a tall glass and garnish with orange or lemon slice. Serves 1.

Rum Punch

4 oz Lime Juice

1 oz Angostura Bitters

12 oz Grenadine Syrup

19 oz Mount Gay Eclipse Rum

13 oz Simple Syrup

1 tsp Nutmeg

18 oz Water

Mix the lime juice, water and sugar syrup. Combine the mixture with grenadine syrup and Mount Gay Rum. Add the Angostura Bitters and stir well. Sprinkle with grated nutmeg and garnish with a cherry. Serves 8.

Mount Gay Eggnog

1 large grade AA egg, separated

2 tsp superfine sugar

1 oz heavy cream

1/2 tsp pure almond extract

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 oz Mount Gay Eclipse Rum

Separate the egg into two bowls. Beat the yolk until stiff. Beat the white with 1 tsp. sugar until peaks form. Slowly fold the white and yolk together.

Separately, beat the cream with the almond, vanilla, and 1 tsp. sugar in a bowl until stiff. SLOWLY fold in the cream with the egg mixture. Add Mt. Gay Eclipse and stir gently. Refrigerate overnight, or serve immediately over ice in a punch glass or martini glass. Garnish with grated nutmeg and cinnamon. Serves 1.

Mount Gay Spice Night

1 ½ oz Mount Gay Eclipse Gold Rum

1 ½ oz Scented Apple Juice*

½ oz Fresh Carrot Juice

¼ oz fresh Lemon Juice

¼ oz Maple Syrup

1 tsp Fresh Ginger Juice

3 Whole Allspice Pods

Place all ingredients in cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with whole allspice pods (they will float atop cocktail.)

*Scented Apple Juice : Overnight, combine 3 to 4 whole allspice pods with one cracked cinnamon stick to 2 cups of apple juice. Refrigerate. Serves 1.

Sidecar

1 oz Cointreau

1/2 oz Lemon Juice

2 oz Remy Martin VSOP cognac

Shake with ice and strain into a sugar rimmed Martini glass. Serves 1.

Rémy Martin VSOP Juicy Toddy

1.5 oz Rémy Martin V.S.O.P

1 oz Cointreau

Splash of Pineapple Juice

Splash of Cranberry Juice

Combine in a tall glass and garnish with cranberry. Serves 1.

Rémy Martin Centaur Spice

As a long drink, Centaur Spice is one of the freshest and most refreshing around. The tang of the fruit and the spice of the Angostura Bitters perfectly complement each other, bringing out the flavours of the V.S.O.P.

40 ml Rémy Martin V.S.O.P

A few drops of Angostura Bitters

Zest of orange (in the glass)

Ginger Ale

Put the V.S.O.P into a long drink glass. Put the Ginger Ale into the soda siphon and squirt the contents into a Collins glass with ice cube. Add a few drops of Angostura Bitters. Garnish with the orange zest and stir. Serves 1.