5 Christmas Cocktail Recipes to Try This Festive Season

2. Pomegranate Mojito: A Fresh Christmas Cocktail for Parties

Not every Christmas cocktail needs to be creamy, spiced or heavy. A pomegranate mojito keeps the freshness of the classic drink while bringing in the deep red colour that makes it feel particularly suited to Christmas parties.

We like this one because it provides a useful contrast if the rest of the drinks menu is dominated by champagne, wine and richer after-dinner cocktails.

Ingredients

• Fresh mint leaves
• Fresh lime juice
• Lime wedges
• Simple syrup
• Pomegranate juice
• Pomegranate seeds
• White rum
• Crushed ice
• Soda water

Method

• Add mint, lime juice, simple syrup and lime wedges to a highball glass.
• Gently muddle the ingredients to release the mint and lime.
• Add pomegranate juice, rum and crushed ice.
• Stir thoroughly.
• Top with soda water.
• Garnish with mint, lime and pomegranate seeds.

Christmas Home Bar Ideas for Serving Festive Cocktails

When we style a home bar or drinks area, we normally treat it like any other part of the room rather than filling it with alcohol-related accessories.

• Use one framed cocktail print as the main wall feature.
• Keep your most attractive glassware visible.
• Add a small lamp rather than relying on overhead lighting.
• Use a tray to group bottles, glasses and bar tools together.
• Leave enough space to actually make the drinks.

For artwork designed around cocktails, bottles and evening entertaining, browse After Hours.

4. Christmas Passionfruit Martini With Cinnamon

The pornstar martini has become a modern classic, but the combination of passionfruit, vanilla and cinnamon makes it surprisingly easy to push in a more festive direction.

We prefer keeping the cinnamon fairly restrained. Too much can overpower the fruit, while a small amount gives the drink just enough warmth to distinguish it from the standard version.

Ingredients

• 50ml vanilla vodka
• 25ml passionfruit purée
• 15ml cinnamon syrup
• 5ml fresh lemon juice
• 1 slice fresh pineapple
• Ice

Method

• Muddle the pineapple in the base of a cocktail shaker.
• Add the vanilla vodka, passionfruit purée, cinnamon syrup and lemon juice.
• Add ice and shake thoroughly.
• Double strain into a chilled martini or coupe glass.
• Serve immediately.

If you are serving several cocktails at a Christmas party, this is the one we would choose for guests who prefer something bright and fruit-led rather than creamy or coffee-based.

Christmas Cocktail Party Ideas: Make the Drinks Part of the Room

One thing we have learned from styling interiors is that entertaining works better when the drinks area feels like part of the room rather than an improvised collection of bottles on the kitchen counter.

A sideboard, console table or drinks trolley can become a temporary home bar for the evening, particularly when it already sits beneath artwork.

• Group bottles and glassware on a tray.
• Keep garnishes together in small bowls.
• Prepare anything that can be chilled or measured in advance.
• Use a lamp or candlelight to make the drinks area feel more atmospheric.
• Hang framed drinks or cocktail art nearby to make the bar feel part of the interior.

Our Favourite Christmas Cocktails for the Festive Season

If we were choosing only two from this list, we would make the pomegranate mojito early in the evening and the white chocolate espresso martini after dinner.

The important thing is not to make Christmas drinks unnecessarily complicated. A familiar cocktail with one seasonal flavour usually works better than a recipe involving fifteen ingredients you will never use again.

And if cocktails are already part of the character of your kitchen, dining room or home bar, explore the After Hours cocktail and drinks wall art collection for framed art inspired by drinks, bars and evening entertaining.

You can also find more food, entertaining and lifestyle ideas in Westloft Magazine.

Please drink responsibly.