Susie & Peter / Writing / Festive cocktails

Festive cocktails

(by Peter Richards MW & Susie Barrie MW)

Last Christmas we appeared on a Food Network series called 12 Chefs of Christmas.

We thought we’d take the opportunity to provide a few more details on a couple of festive cocktail recipes we devised for the series.

So if the idea of a winter bellini, a white wine sangria or a Boxing Day Mocktail or Bloody Mary piques your interest, read on…

Peter’s festive white wine sangria (the Navidangria)

Ingredients

  • 1 bottle (750ml) white wine
  • 300 ml white grape juice
  • glug of (clear) lemonade
  • splash Limoncello
  • splash Cointreau
  • splash Spanish brandy
  • 50 ml (or to taste) of sweet Spanish Moscatel wine eg Torres Floralis Moscatel

Method

Chill the white wine and grape juice beforehand. Pour the bottle of white wine and the grape juice into a big jug. Add the lemonade, Limoncello and Cointreau. Then add the sweet Moscatel, tasting as you go. Don’t make it too sweet! Serve over an ice cube and a slice of orange.

 

Susie’s Boxing Day Mocktail

For each person, put an ice cube (with tangerine zest frozen into it) into the bottom of a tall glass. Pour on the juice of 3 tangerines (approx. 40ml), 25ml cranberry juice and top up with ginger beer. Finish with a disk of tangerine and a sprinkling of cinnamon.

Alternatives

  • Use Elderflower fizz or fizzy apple juice instead of ginger beer
  • Add Ginger and lemongrass cordial for a sweeter, spicier drink.

 

Peter’s Boxing Day Bloody Mary

Ingredients

  • 200 ml vodka
  • 750 ml tomato juice (Tom’s spicy tomato juice)
  • Tabasco
  • Worcesteshire sauce
  • Harvey’s Bristol Cream
  • King’s Ginger liqueur
  • Sugar syrup
  • Pinch celery salt
  • Ice cube to serve
  • Celery stick to stir, nothing else

Method

In a large jug, pour in vodka followed by the tomato juice. Add splashes of Tabasco and Worcesteshire sauce to taste. Add Harvey’s Bristol cream and King’s ginger liqueur followed by sugar syrup. Pinch of celery salt. Stir it all up using a celery stick. Pour in a tumbler over a glass of ice. Drink with spicy Asian turkey salad.

 

Susie’s winter Bellini

Roughly chop 2 x chilled tinned peach halves and puree thoroughly in a blender. Add the chilled juice of 2 tangerines, 25ml sugar syrup, 2 drops of orange flower water and stir.

Pour into four champagne flutes and top up with chilled prosecco, stirring carefully as you go. Approx 1 part puree to 2 or 3 parts prosecco.