The tree is up, the oven is on, and someone has just asked what they can drink. This is the moment festive gin cocktails were made for. A good Christmas serve does half the hosting for you, turning a quiet kitchen into a party and a cold afternoon into an occasion. Below are five festive gin cocktails and warming serves built around Stirling spirits, from a bright spiced clementine G and T to a mulled gin that fills the whole house with Christmas. Pour one, pour all five, and let the season take care of itself.
Gin earns its place at Christmas because it plays so well with the flavours of the season. The citrus, spice and herbal notes that make a cracking G and T in July turn positively festive alongside clementine, cinnamon, cranberry and clove. Stirling Gin, built around local botanicals, has the backbone to stand up to all of them without getting lost. That makes it the ideal base when you want a drink that tastes of the holidays rather than just another cold tonic.
1. The Spiced Clementine G and T
The G and T everyone knows, dressed for December. Fill a glass with ice, pour a measure of Stirling Gin, and top with a good tonic. Squeeze in a wedge of clementine, drop the peel in, and add a single clove and a thin slice of fresh ginger. It is the easiest of our festive gin cocktails and still the one people reach for first. Bright, aromatic and ready in under a minute.
2. Mulled Stirling Gin
Forget mulled wine for a year. Gently warm a bottle of cloudy apple juice with cinnamon, star anise, a few cloves and a strip of orange peel, but never let it boil. Take it off the heat and stir in a generous measure of Stirling Gin per serving. Ladle into heatproof glasses with a slice of orange. It smells like Christmas morning and keeps a crowd happy for hours.
3. The Winter Bramble
A darker, richer take on the Bramble for the cold months. Shake a measure of Stirling Gin with the juice of half a lemon and a small spoon of sugar, then pour over crushed ice. Drizzle a blackberry or bramble liqueur over the top so it bleeds down through the glass, and finish with a few fresh or frozen berries. Deep purple, tart and sweet, it looks as good as it tastes on a festive table.
4. Scottish Spiced Rum Hot Toddy
When the gin crowd wants something to wrap their hands around, reach for the rum. Add a measure of our Scottish spiced rum to a mug with a spoon of honey and a good squeeze of lemon, then top with hot water. Stir, garnish with a cinnamon stick and a lemon wheel studded with cloves, and breathe in. It is comfort in a glass and a lovely contrast to the sharper gin serves.
5. The Cranberry Gin Fizz
The one to hand round when guests arrive. Pour a measure of Stirling Gin and a splash of cranberry juice into a flute, add a squeeze of lime, and top with chilled sparkling wine. Drop in a few cranberries so they bob like tiny baubles. Festive, celebratory and endlessly drinkable, it is the serve that gets the night started.
Make them ahead so you can enjoy the party
The best host is a relaxed one, and most of these festive gin cocktails scale up beautifully. Batch the spiced clementine mix or the cranberry base in a jug earlier in the day, keep it chilled, and top with tonic or sparkling wine only as you pour, so nothing goes flat. Warm serves like the mulled gin and the hot toddy can sit gently on the lowest heat, ready to ladle out the moment the carol singers appear at the door. Do the work before the guests arrive and you get to actually drink one yourself.
Plan your festive pour
The secret to stress-free hosting is knowing how much to buy before the guests arrive. If you are catering for a crowd this Christmas, our party and cocktail calculator works out exactly how many bottles and measures you need, so nobody runs dry mid-toast. Not sure which serve suits your guests? The cocktail finder matches spirits to tastes in a couple of taps.
Everything above starts with the right bottle. Stock up from the Stirling Gin range for the gin serves, and add a bottle of Scottish spiced rum for the toddies. Lay them in now, and you will be ready for every knock at the door between the first of December and Hogmanay.
Shop the Stirling Gin range and spiced rum, and raise a glass to a very merry Christmas.
