Christmas is one of those times of year when excessive drinking isn’t just acceptable, it’s encouraged. And if you’re fed up with your bog-standard beer, the festive season offers a dazzling array of alcoholic cocktails, chocolates and desserts to satisfy the drunken Santa hidden inside all of us.
These recipes are great for an impromptu Christmas party and most will take no-time at all to put together. Just grab the ingredients from your local supermarket and get your party off to a perfect start.
So here are some of the best, boozy Yuletide recipes…
The best Christmas beers revealed.
1. The ultimate boozy eggnog
This recipe from Jamie Oliver is an absolute winner if you’re looking for a warming, winter treat. It has heavy cream, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, eggs (obviously) and a very generous helping of either Bacardi dark rum or bourbon (or both if you’re nasty). Delicious.
2. Mulled wine cheesecake
Make your cheesecake more festive with this sweet and spicy mulled wine recipe from Sainsbury’s. For this tasty dessert, you’ll need dark chocolate digestives, cocoa powder, mascarpone, cinnamon, eggs, caster sugar and as much mulled wine as you can handle.
3. Stocking punch
This shareable punch is deliciously rich with spiced fruit caramel and yet it’s also zesty and refreshing. This recipe from Waitrose has one orange and one lemon, Bacardí Ochos Años, strong rooibos tea, pomegranate caramel and apple pressé.
4. Salted caramel martini
This recipe from undisputed cooking queen Nigella Lawson combines two simple things that everybody loves: salted caramel and martini. To make this get your hands on some butterscotch schnapps, vodka, dry white vermouth and salt for the glass rim.
5. Prosecco and tangerine sorbet
This fruity and refreshing Christmas dessert is the perfect end to any dinner party. For this recipe from Tesco, get your hands on some caster sugar, Prosecco, tangerine juice, berries, Crème de Cassis and a few sprigs of mint.
6. Cream liqueur brûlée
What’s great about these delicious, custardy classics is how easy they are to make (and tasty too!) You’ll need egg yolks, caster sugar, vanilla extract and double cream and Irish cream liqueur for this recipe.
7. Cointreau fizz cocktail
This Cointreau and blood orange cocktail - also from Sainsbury’s - is a nice, fizzy twist on the usual Christmassy drinks. You’ll need one blood orange, Cointreau, Prosecco, soda water and some fresh mint.
8. Cranberry and limoncello semifreddo
This tasty pudding is perfect for entertaining and best of all you can make it up to a month in advance and keep it in the freezer. To make this, get yourself some cranberries, mascarpone, vanilla custard, limoncello liqueur, lemon curd, Madeira cake and pistachios.
9. Jamaican rum truffles
These delicious and easy-to-make treats from chef Lorraine Pascale are perfect for parties or even giving as gifts. You’ll need whipping cream, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, butter, dark rum and cocoa powder.
10. Cranberry gin fizz
This Christmassy drink is great for sharing and would be the perfect centrepiece for any party. Get yourself some gin, thyme, cranberry juice, orange juice, tonic water and fresh cranberries to garnish.
11. Apricot and brandy Christmas cake
This boozy twist on a Christmas classic comes from Mary Berry – who famously enjoys a tipple every now and then. You’ll need dried apricots, currants, raisins, brandy, butter, muscovado sugar, plain flour, eggs and glacé cherries.
12. Spiced Christmas cup
This deliciously refreshing drink uses fresh blueberries and is very easy to make. Grab some blueberries, a cinnamon stick, star anise, caster sugar and a few bottles of bitter lemon.
13. Disaronno shimmer
Give your prosecco an amaretto and blackberry twist with this Disaronno cocktail. All you’ll need is Disaronno, prosecco and blackberries. Easy.
14. Jólabland
You know those random European Christmas traditions which sound bizarre on paper but actually go down a treat? Icelandic speciality Jólabland takes that to its natural conclusion. A mixture of Guinness and Fanta probably ought not to work, but try telling that to the Icelanders who have been using this recipe for years.
*And because we’re so good to you, here’s another cocktail recipe to get you through the Yuletide season.
The Garland
This drink, with notes of raisin and nut from the rum and the sherry, create a delicious Christmas pudding flavour with added ginger ale for that underlying spice. Get yourself some, Warninks, amontillado sherry, spiced rum, ginger ale and garnish with candied ginger.
(Images: iStock / Sainsbury’s / Waitrose / Tesco)