Christmas Cocktails

Christmas wouldn’t be complete without a winter warmup cocktail - the ones that remind you of the season and that you only enjoy at this time of year. Two of our favourites are given here but you can easily modify to make your cocktail a ‘mocktail'.

Please remember to drink responsibly!

Classic Mulled Wine

Ingredients

750ml bottle of good red wine

1 large cinnamon stick

2 star anise

4 cloves

2 strips lemon zest

4 tbsp caster sugar

Method

STEP 1: Put the red wine, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, lemon zest and sugar in a large pan. Cook on a low heat for roughly 10 minutes.

STEP 2: Remove from the heat and cool, leaving to infuse for about 30 minutes.

STEP 3: To serve, heat without boiling, stir in the sloe gin (if using, see tip below) and pour into mugs or heatproof glasses.

ADD SLOE GIN! For an extra punch, try stirring in 100ml of sloe gin, in the final step when warming your mulled wine.

TO DECORATE: Decorate with fresh cranberries, cinnamon sticks and slices of fresh oranges.