3 Must try Christmas Cocktails

Christmas is fun and as kids we looked forward to Christmas holidays. While mom made treats for us that included cakes, cookies and mom’s long list of palaharams (achappan, kozhalappam, madhuraseva, murukku, diamond cuts, cutlets, fried chicken and ice cream) for dad and friends Christmas was booze. I wasn’t a fan of drinking and I guess that’s because I associated drinking with drinking heavily. But over the years I have learned to enjoy my drinks gracefully. We love having friends over and we make it a point to try something new every time. So this time, we had a small pre- Christmas gathering. I call it the Xmas pethrutha. Pethrutha is the first Sunday of lent before easter abstinence begins. We do something similar for Christmas too. We have a party and fill ourselves with meat and drinks and abstain from the same for next 25 days until Christmas. And in this period I also refrain from posting non- vegetarian recipes. So I thought I would try these holiday punches for the party and share these recipes just in time before the advent starts. Yesterday the spread was massive. We had turkish koftes with salad, flat bread and mint- cilantro chutney. My hubby did a tandoori head of goat. I did some mutton spring rolls and Monisha our friend did bbq chicken legs and tandoori chicken legs along with some achari tikka on skewers. We had to drink to wash our food down. And for dessert we had white chocolate, green tea and pepper mint panacotta.

We felt Christmassy and December has not even started. I used all the booze we had and made these cocktails. They are easy and so Christmassy and I the passion fruit punch and green tea cocktail is my creation. Hope you will like these and have them for the holidays. And when you try them, do write to me on how they turned out to be.

Ingredients for Rum Punch

Rum- 1 pint

Brandy- 1 pint

Caster Sugar- 4 tbsp

Hot Water- 450 ml

Orange slices- 2 per glass

Directions

Mix the rum, brandy and caster sugar in a punch bowl. Dissolve the sugar thoroughly and pour in the hot water. This is a warm cocktail and water should be hot. Add the orange slices and the cocktail is ready to serve. The hot water brings out the orange flavour and so if you prepared this drink in a mason jar and keep it untouched with the lid on, it will taste citrussy and flavorsome by 3 hours.

Ingredients for Green Tea Cocktail

Green tea leaves- 2tsp

Sugar- 5 tbsp

Water- 3 cups

Vodka- 1 pint

Orange Juice- 1 orange

Tutti Frutti/Gummi bears- 2 tbsp ( 8 gummi bears for 2 glasses)

 

Directions

Prepare the green tea by boiling the tea leaves and sugar in 3 cups of water. Strain the tea and let it cool. Add the vodka and squeezed orange juice to the green tea. And finally add the gummy bears or tutti frutti to the cocktail. I made these in glass bottles because I wanted to keep them closed for some time and that way the tutti frutti or gummi bears absorb the alcohol giving the cocktail a different feel.

Ingredients for Passion fruit Punch

Passion fruit juice- 1/4 cup

Sugar- 1/4 cup

Water- 1 cup

Guava juice- 2 cups

Vodka- 1 pint

Rum- 1/2 pint

Pomegranate- to decorate

Ice cubes- lots

Directions

Use fresh passion fruit juice for this cocktail. Add 1/4 cup sugar to 1/4 cup passion fruit syrup and run it in a mixer with 1 cup water. Strain the juice and discard the seeds. Mix this juice with the guava juice, vodka and rum and chill the cocktail until you are ready to serve. Serve the cocktails with some ice cubes and garnish with some pomegranate. I love using tender coconut strips for garnish. If I plan to use tender coconut, I add tender coconut water to the cocktail instead of guava juice.

 

This post marks the end of our celebrations, you can now expect vegetarian posts till Christmas and this applies for toddler series as well. I will however collate the recipe list for Christmas and share them after 21st. Stay tuned for the toddler posts and do write to me your feedback on the cocktails if you happen to try them.