bells on COCKTAILS ood libations

CHRISTMAS SPIRITS

Stir it, muddle it, shake it like a Polaroid picture; for our Bristmas issue we’ve collated ten of our favourite wintry cocktail recipes from Bristol’s best mixologists, to make your Yuletide swing like a pendulum do

By Ursula Cole

Remember the bad old Christmases past, when festive drinking was limited to breaking out the Bristol Cream? Maybe a Snowball down the local, if you were lucky, while the turkey dried out to the texture of cardboard; or a glass of Cinzano Bianco to wash down the cheesy footballs when the neighbours popped round. At least

‘popping round’ was a thing; maybe those days weren’t so bad after all.

Today, however, we live in more enlightened times, when the Christmas drinks selection is wide open, with the kind of cocktail recipes that would have blown Leonard Rossiter and

Joan Collins’ socks off ( just look up

‘Cinzano Bianco ad’ on YouTube, if you’re obscenely young).

MANANNAN

MAC

By Psychopomp his is a gin twist on a retro festive whisky favourite.

Christmas ay should be more about the drinking than the making, so here’s something super simple. 0ml gin 0ml tones ginger wine

Ice emon peel our both li uids into a glass, over ice. tir and garnish with lemon zest, and a maraschino cherry, if you have one to hand. By Bocabar erving gin hot brings out the botanical notes that are suppressed when cold, and the waft of heated spices con ures up festive thoughts of Christmas. 0cl ’Clock damson gin 2 star anise 10 cloves 1 ml on ivant tonic syrup o garnish cinnamon stick, orange zest, uniper berries o make the infusion, add the star anise and cloves to the gin, and infuse for 2 hours before straining into an empty bottle. o make the cocktail, put 0ml of the gin infusion and the syrup in a handled glass, and top up with hot water from the kettle. tir briefl y with a cinnamon stick and fi nish with the orange peel and uniper berries. LE COQUETIER By Kinkajou ith strong rench infl uences, this celebratory drink will take you back to the 1 th century, when apothecaries served brandy with bitters in eggcups ust possibly where the cocktail was created

i cognac, enedictine, champagne cordial and citric

HOT DAMSON G&T acid; add sweet tonic to taste, and garnish with rosemary. I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S NOT BAILEYS By The Milk Thistle f ever there was a time for rich, indulgent cocktails, it’s Christmas. e wanted to create a vegan alternative to aileys, that’s still as rich, creamy and delicious. 0ml white rum 0g coconut cream 2 g oat cream g Canadian maple syrup 1 tsp vanilla essence Ice

hake up all the ingredients and pour over ice to serve.

THE TATTLETALE By Hyde & Co “A New York classic, from Sam Ross at Attaboy.”

1 bar spoon honey 2 dashes orange bitters 2 dashes angostura bitters ml lenfi ddich 1 whisky 15ml Ardbeg whisky Orange and lemon peel

Stir with ice and serve in a tumbler with cubed ice or an ice block, and fi nish with a twist of orange and lemon peel.

THE DRUNKEN SRI LANKAN By The Coconut Tree Our pals at TCT have given up the secret recipe they serve in their adorable china Ruby . Ruby is a real orphaned elephant in Sri Lanka, and every time a customer purchases a TCT ‘cocotail’ made with Ceylon arrack, it contributes towards her care and support in the orphanage; when she’s old enough she’ll be released back into the wild.

40ml Ceylon arrack (whisky-style syrup made from coconut fl ower nectar; can be bought online 20 ml cointreau 20 ml turmeric and ginger syrup (buy or make a ginger syrup, add turmeric to taste A squeeze of fresh lime juice Ginger beer

Shake ingredients well; pour into a vessel with cubed ice and fi nish with a top of the range ginger beer. CHRISTMAS IN HAWAII By Loose Cannon “Creamy, heartwarming but still fresh, and will maybe remind you of the summer a little bit.”

45ml Plantation pineapple rum (or other dark rum 1 ml cointreau or other orange li ueur 15ml Bristol Syrup Co orgeat (sugar syrup is a good substitute; one part water/almond milk mi ed with one part sugar 15ml fresh lime juice 25ml spiced coconut, or coconut cream 50ml pineapple juice 1 bunch of fresh mint leaves

Shake all ingredients with crushed and cubed ice. Fine-strain into a coupe glass, and if you want to be extra-fancy, garnish with small pineapple sprigs pegged to the glass, and sprinkle gold rocks over the foam.

MULLED APPLE WITH DAMSON GIN By Six O’Clock Gin “Very simple to make,” they promise. Simmer apple juice with a mulling bag (or A bottle of 6 O’Clock damson gin peel). When it’s warm, add a good slug of Cloudy apple juice gin and serve in a heatproof glass with a A mulling bag wedge of apple to garnish.

CHESTNUTS BY THE FIRE By The Bartender “Get the logs and the at ing Cole on Vodka Chestnut liqueur Chocolate liquer Single cream Chocolate powder

Shake vodka with chestnut and chocolate liqueur and cream; strain into a chilled cocktail glass and dust with chocolate. use cinnamon, star anise, cloves and citrus GRANDMA’S CHRISTMAS CAKE By Avon Gorge Hotel Who can resist a cocktail with a name like that?

25ml Makers Mark bourbon 20ml Dissaranno (amaretto) 10ml Cherry Heering liqueur 40ml egg white Half a fresh squashed lemon 20ml sugar syrup.

Shake with ice and then strain back into shaker. Dry shake and pour into a rocks glass over ice.

THE WICKER MAN By The Milk Thistle Glenmorangie whisky Cocchi Rosa (dry vermouth) Juice of lemon Sprig of lavender

hake the fi rst three ingredients and pour over ice. Stick in a sprig of lavender, and – here comes the fun bit set fi re to it