4 Christmas cocktails to liven up party season
Christmas whisky shouldn’t just be served on the rocks – distillery Ad Gefrin share four ways you can mix it up for easy cocktail recipes with real festive flair.
MULLED WHISKY
Serves: 2
It’s that time of year where everything tastes better warmed up. But while we’re used to spying mulled wines and ciders on drinks menus now, Ad Gefrin are ahead of the curve in giving us this blessed concoction. So, if you fancy something a little, well, fancier than a hot toddy, this festive serve is ideal for these cold, winter nights.
What you’ll need:
- 60ml Tácnbora
- 40ml Kitty’s ginger wine
- 30ml Honey syrup (which is 50% honey, 50% boiling water)
- 150ml Cloudy apple juice
- 100ml Boiling water
- 1 Cinnamon stick
What you do:
In a medium saucepan, combine the ginger wine with the cloudy apple juice, boiling water and honey syrup and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add in your whisky and stir on a low heat for a couple of minutes. Strain, pour into a glass mug and garnish with a cinnamon stick.
TÁCNBORA SMASH
Serves: 2
The cocktails known as ‘Smashes’ were originally made with brandy, until the late 1800s when an outbreak of phylloxera – an aphid that attacks vine roots – decimated the crops in the Cognac region of France. So, discerning distillers in England reached for the next best thing: Scotch whisky. The rest, as they say, is history…
What you’ll need:
- 6 Lemon wedges, muddled
- 100ml Tácnbora
- 30ml Gomme
- Mint leaves
- Ice cubes
What you do:
Start by muddling the lemon wedges in a cocktail shaker. Add your whisky, gomme, mint leaves and ice and then shake until the mixture is well chilled. Double-strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice and garnish with a sprig of mint.
THE BRÉMELBERIE
Serves: 2
The Brémelberie (which is Old English for ‘blackberry’) sits on the lighter side of the whisky flavour spectrum. The reason this concoction works so well with Tácnbora is that one of the cocktail’s dominant notes – orange peel – can also be found in the whisky itself, creating a strong pop of flavour. Combine that with the blackberries and you’ve got yourself a classic, Christmassy pairing.
What you’ll need:
- 70ml Tácnbora
- 20ml Crème de Mure
- 50ml Orange juice
- 4 Fresh blackberries
- 30ml Honey syrup
- Crushed ice
What you do:
Shake the whisky, orange juice and honey syrup in a cocktail shaker with a good handful of cubed ice, then strain into a rocks glass full of ice. Drizzle the crème de mure over the top so it ‘bleeds’ into the drink and garnish with extra blackberries.
WHISKY SOUR
Serves: 2
This classic whisky serve will impress connoisseurs as much as newbies. While traditional recipes will usually use bourbon, the light flavour profile of the Tácnbora lends itself well to this mix. A complex yet subtle serve for only the most sophisticated.
What you’ll need:
- 100ml Tácnbora
- 30ml Lemon juice
- 20ml Gomme
- 2 Egg whites
- Crushed ice
What you do:
Shake all the ingredients hard with the crushed ice in a cocktail shaker. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass and serve. Can be garnished with a slice of lemon or orange.
Ad Gefrin will be opening their doors as a world-class Anglo-Saxon museum, visitor destination and English whisky distillery in Spring 2023.
To find out more, to shop their spirits and discover what Tácnbora is all about for yourself, visit their website and follow Ad Gefrin on Facebook and Instagram
Ad Gefrin, South Road, Wooler, Northumberland NE71 6NJ
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