The ultimate vegan Christmas drinks recipes to get you in the festive spirit
- Posted by
- Alessia Armenise
- Published
Mince pies might represent the Christmas spirit but a boozy eggnog is what keeps us going, from party to party…
Christmas food is great but, let’s be honest, you might need something stronger to survive Christmas, those intense family dinners and, maybe, your in-laws. Here are all the vegan drinks we are going to sip next to the Christmas tree.
Barentsz Jasmine Gin Negroni
What you’ll need
- 30ml Barentsz gin
- 30ml Campari
- 30ml sweet vermouth
- orange peel to garnish
What to do
- Add all the ingredients into a mixing glass with ice and stir until chilled.
- Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice cubes.
- Garnish with an orange peel.
Recipe and picture by Barentsz.
Ruby Rednose
What you’ll need
- Rocks glass – stemless pinot noir
- 50ml Ramsbury Vodka
- 20ml Lemon juice
- 15ml Sugar syrup
- 20ml vegan port/red wine float
What to do
- Add all ingredients (except Port) to a cocktails shaker.
- Shake with Ice.
- Strain over ice in to glass.
- Pour Ruby Port slowly over the back of the spoon to float.
- Garnish with cinnamon stick.
Recipe and picture by Ramsbury.
Baileys Almande Apricot Flip
What you’ll need
- 50 ml apricot & cardamom syrup
- 50 ml Baileys Almande (0.8 units)
- 10 ml agave syrup
- 50 ml coconut milk
What to do
- In the glass, add both syrups.
- Fill the glass with ice.
- Pour over the Baileys Almande and coconut milk.
- Stir until blended together.
- Top with ice.
- Grate nutmeg over the top of the glass.
For the apricot and cardamom Syrup:
What you’ll need
- 100 g apricot jam
- 50 g hot water
- 2 cardamom pods
What to do
- In a mixing jug, crush two cardamom pods.
- Weigh in the jam.
- Pour over the hot water.
- Stir until smooth.
Recipe and picture by Baileys.
Don Papa Punch
What you’ll need
- 1 cup Don Papa Rum
- 1 oz aromatic bitters
- 1 cup grenadine syrup
- 1 oz teaspoon fresh nutmeg
- 1 cup fresh lime juice
- 1 cup pomegranate juice
- 1/2 cup water
- 20 fresh mint leaves
- Oranges and limes slices
What to do
- In a punch bowl, mix all ingredients together and allow to rest for two hours.
- Serve over ice and garnish with a cherry.
Recipe and picture by Don Papa.
Mulled Estate Cider
What you’ll need
- 200ml Ramsbury Estate Gin
- 9 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- 1 orange, sliced into thin wedges, spiked with 6-8 cloves
- 1 lemon, sliced into wedges, spiked with 6-8 cloves
- 50ml orange liqueur
- 5 tbsp Agave
- 650ml apple cider
- 4 cinnamon stick
- Freshly grated nutmeg and clove studded citrus wedge
What to do
- Heat all of the ingredients in a large saucepan over a low heat until warmed through.
- Pour between 4 latte glasses or other heatproof glasses.
- Garnish with the clove studded lemon and clementine wedge.
- Finish with a little freshly grated nutmeg and clove studded citrus wedge.
Recipe and picture by Ramsbury.
Speyside Coffee
What you’ll need
- 30ml The Glenlivet Nàdurra Peated Whisky Cask Finish
- 30ml Drambuie
- 50ml Fresh Coffee
- Dash of Simple Syrup
- Twist of orange zest
What to do
- Build up all ingredients together and stir.
- Heat ingredients together, either in a coffee machine or a saucepan over medium heat for several minutes – do not allow to boil.
- Pour into an Irish coffee glass.
- Garnish with a twist of orange zest.
Recipe courtesy of the Holborn Dining Room, Rosewood Hotel.
Antep Fistik
What you’ll need
35ml Bourbon Whiskey
10ml Grand Marnier
20ml homemade pistachio syrup 5ml PX Sherry
15ml Lime juice
What to do
Shake all ingredients together and pour into a glass over crushed ice. Garnish with edible flowers, lokum and pistachio crisp
Recipe courtesy of Rüya London.
Real Kombucha Royal Bellini
What you’ll need
- 120ml Royal Flush Real Kombucha
- 10ml Real Peach Syrup
- Edible flowers
What to do
- Pour 120ml of Royal Flush Real Kombucha into the champagne glass.
- Add the peach syrup and stir.
- Garnish with an edible flower on top
- Serve as an ideal non-alcoholic option.
Recipe courtesy of Real Kombucha.
Clementine Margarita
What you’ll need
- 50ml Don Julio Reposado tequila
- 12.5ml Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge
- 12.5ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 12.5ml pink grapefruit juice
- 2 large bar spoons of homemade clementine marmalade
What to do
- Shaken and strained into a chilled glass, garnish with a dehydrated clementine slice.
Recipe courtesy of Don Julio, photography Jade Nina Sarkhel.
Oranje Espresso Martini
What you’ll need
50ml Ketel One Oranje
25ml Mr Black Spirits: Cold Press Coffee Liqueur
35ml Cold-brew coffee concentrate
One dash orange bitters
What to do
Shake all ingredients vigorously and fine strain into a chilled coupe
Garnish with three coffee beans for health, wealth and happiness, or a lemon twist
Recipe courtesy of Ketel One, photography Jade Nina Sarkhel.
Mulled Winter Margarita
What you’ll need
- 200ml Don Julio Blanco tequila
- 200ml Merlot
- 80ml mulled spice syrup
- 100ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 orange for the twist
What to do
- Fill a large jug with ice.
- Add all ingredients to the jug and stir.
- Serve in tumblers and garnish with orange peel (with minimum pith), twisting the peel over the top of the drink to release the oils.
Recipe courtesy of Don Julio, photography Jade Nina Sarkhel.
Hot Toddy
What you’ll need
- 40 ml Bulleit Rye
- 4-5 cloves
- 1 lemon twist
- 7 ml lemon juice
- 1 tsp demerara or fine brown sugar
- Hot water
What to do
- To begin, fill up glass or mug with fresh boiling water and let stand.
- While mug is warming up, cut a lemon twist and stud it with cloves.
- Next, throw out the water in the mug and add fresh boiling water.
- Add 1 tsp spoon of demerara or fine brown sugar and stir to dissolve.
- Add lemon and clove garnish, 7 ml lemon juice and stir.
- Finally, add 40 ml of Bulleit Rye or Bourbon and stir a final time.
Recipe courtesy of Bulleit, photography Jade Nina Sarkhel.
Fig and Vanilla Margarita
What you’ll need
- 40ml Don Julio Reposado tequila
- 30ml Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge
- 20ml lime juice
- 15ml fig and vanilla syrup
- 1 star anise (muddled)
What to do
- Shaken and strained into a chilled glass, garnish with star anise.
Recipe courtesy of Don Julio, photography Jade Nina Sarkhel.
Nuked Negroni
What you’ll need
- 1 grapefruit
- 300ml gin
- 300ml sweet vermouth
- 300ml campari
- 6 blackberries
- 1 sprig rosemary
What to do
- Peel a strip of zest from the grapefruit and add to a microwave-safe bowl with the other ingredients.
- Cover then blast in the microwave for three minutes on full-heat, allow to cool, strain, bottle and refrigerate.
- Pour over ice into a rocks glass to serve with a grapefruit garnish.
Recipe courtesy of Ryan Chetiyawardana, photography by Jennifer Pallian.
Pour Le Meilleur et pour le Pear
What you’ll need
- 40ml Don Julio Blanco tequila
- 30ml Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge
- 20ml freshly squeezed lime juice
- 10ml Merlet Pear Liqueur
- 1⁄2 Juicy pear
- 5ml to 10ml of agave syrup depending on the pear
- 2 cardamom pods
What to do
- Shaken and strained into a chilled glass, garnish with a pear fan.
Recipe courtesy of Don Julio, photography Jade Nina Sarkhel.
Strawberry and Black Pepper Gin&Tonic
What you’ll need
- Strawberries
- Mint
- Bullards’ Strawberry and Black Pepper Gin
- Ice
- Prosecco (optional)
What to do
- Mix the gin with standard Indian tonic water or elderflower tonic to make it slightly sweeter.
- Garnish with fresh strawberries and mint.
- Top it up with prosecco for a delightful aperitif (optional).
Recipe courtesy of Bullards, photography by Heist Films.
Vegan Eggnog
What you’ll need
- 415 ml coconut milk
- 120 ml cashew milk
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
What to do
- Place all ingredients into a Vitamix container, or a similar blender, in the order listed and secure lid.
- Select Variable 1 if using Vitamix. Turn machine on and slowly increase speed to Variable 5. Blend for 30 seconds.
- Chill the eggnog thoroughly to allow flavours to combine. Stir before serving adding a sprinkle of ground nutmeg on top immediately before serving.
- Add 2 oz of brandy, cognac or bourbon for a spiked version. Soy milk can be substituted for the coconut milk for another vegan variation of this recipe.
Recipe courtesy of Vitamix.
Sparkling Mulled Wine
What you’ll need
- 350 ml vegan friendly Brandy or Cognac
- 450 ml vegan friendly Ruby port, such as Rozes
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 orange, peeled
- 5 cloves
- 1 vanilla pod, cut lengthwise, seeds scraped out
- 1 star anise
- 3 bottles vegan friendly sparkling red wine (ideally a sparkling shiraz)
- 20 cherries for decoration
What to do
- Mix all the base ingredients together.
- Macerate for 1 day in a large bowl or container.
- Strain in a sieve then keep in a glass bottle or jug.
- Pour 40 ml of the base mix into a champagne flute.
- Top with 100 ml of wine and finish with a cherry or two.
Recipe courtesy of Le Cordon Bleu school, photography Gaby Dyson.
Alpine Spritz
What you’ll need
- 45 ml White Port
- 25 ml Rosemary Syrup
- 7.5 ml Chase Sloe and Mulberry Gin
- ½ 330 ml Tonic Water
- Sprig of Rosemary
What to do
- Combine white port, rosemary syrup and Chase sloe and mulberry in a Collins glass.
- Add ice and top with ½ 330ml bottle of Tonic Water.
- Garnish with a sprig of rosemary – for extra theatre lightly toast the rosemary with a blowtorch.
For the Rosemary Syrup
- 250 ml boiling water
- 250 ml Demerara Sugar
- 5 Sprigs Rosemary
What to do
- Combine all ingredients and stir to dissolve sugar.
- Infuse for 24 hours and strain out rosemary before use.
Recipe and picture courtesy of The Alchemist.