Lobby Lounge @ Prince Hotel
Yvonne Choy, the assistant manager has created five special cocktails for the holidays. She says cocktails are quite popular at this time of year, especially as after-dinner drinks, so she prefers to make them a little sweet. Crackling Fire is a melon-flavoured cocktail while Candle Glow is a sweet grapefruit mix. A sugary concoction of citrus and peach is called Twinkling Light and Joyful Heart is a sweet pina colada type drink. Finally, Santa comes to mind with Christmas Memory, a tea-based apple mix. The last two are non-alcoholic and fruit-based.

M1NT
This uber-cool venue has just the one cocktail made for the Christmas season, but what a cocktail! General manager Danielo Hoti is responsible for the heady mix of fresh fruits and Cachaça which he simply calls Christmas Special. “I wanted a spirit that was different. Cachaça isn’t really used for many other drinks so I decided to use it. And the drink is red, to go with the Christmas spirit,” says Hoti. Unfortunately not all of us will be able to sip the drink at M1NT itself, so he gave us the recipe for you to try at home.

Solas
In time for the holiday season, Solas are introducing a new cocktail menu created by James Pollard and Alex Chattè of Liquid Experience, a cocktail concepts company. They work with flame-grilled fruit for fresh, innovative flavours in the cocktails. “When you burn the fruit it basically changes the chemical structure of the fruit, allowing the sugars to change and it alters the taste,” says Pollard. Some of the cocktails, like the Grilled Peach Manhattan, incorporate this smoky taste into the mix while others highlight the taste of the fruit, like the Plum Rum and Honey Crush and the Rock Melon Lemongrass Martini. Our favourite is Raspberry Peach Collins, which uses a red-fruits tea for an unexpected kick at the end.

drop

The exclusive club has a winter cocktails menu specially designed by Franklin Tong to heat up those cold winter evenings. Autumn Punch is a tropical mix of mango and passion fruit with champagne and vodka for that all-important oomph. Ice Wine Martini is a nice twist on the old classic, with vodka and white wine complementing each other. Our favourite, however, has to be the rich and deliciously sweet Banana Pudding – you can barely taste the alcohol but the blend of flavours is thoroughly satisfying. Give it a go when you swing by drop, or try following the recipe.

Fourth Floor Restaurant and Bar @ Harvey Nichols

Harvey Nicks has hired mixologist Mark Tarrant to create a new menu of cocktails to suit the moods of different times of day. Tarrant has created a cocktail with a special blend of spices traditionally used in Christmas food and desserts. Try it out at the Harvey Nicks bar, or follow the recipe to give it a spin at home.

Christmas Pudding
30ml Drambuie
150ml Guinness
30ml Southern Comfort
Combine ingredients and serve in a red wine glass.

Cherry says: This drink isn’t for everyone – Guinness is a love it or hate it drink.
bc says: Normally, we don’t go for Guinness, but we loved this rich, almost fruity mix. A nice blend of flavours, although a little on the heavy side.

Hollytini
2 parts vodka or gin
1 part dry martini
1/2 part crème de menthe
Either mix in a cocktail shaker with ice or simply serve on ice in a martini glass.

Jayson says: This is your regular martini with a bit of mint thrown in. It’s a little sweeter, but just as strong.
bc says: We like martinis, and this one was strong but too minty for us. However, mint is a popular taste at Christmas time, so go for it and the colour – bright green – is just awesome.

Christmas Champagne Cocktail
3/5th glass of chilled Brut champagne, Spanish cava or Australian sparkling wine
1/5th glass Cointreau
1/5th glass Absolut mandarin vodka
1 sugar lump
Mix all the ingredients together. Serve in a champagne flute and decorate with either a slice of orange or a few segments of tangerine.

Jayson says: A little bit of juice to top it up might make it a bit sweeter, and add more colour to the drink.
bc says: This is so easily drinkable, even without the juice top-up you could easily suddenly realise after about five that you’ve had too much. Uh-oh.

Candy Cane Martini
45 ml vanilla vodka
15 ml peppermint schnapps
30ml club soda
Crushed candy canes for garnish
Rim a martini glass with crushed candy canes. Mix vodka, schnapps, and club soda with ice in a cocktail shaker; strain into a prepared glass.

Jayson says: Try garnishing with something more colourful, since it’s a clear drink.
bc says: We loved, loved, loved this. It really did taste like candy canes – with a naughty kick!

Ginger Snap
60ml Advocaat liqueur
90ml good quality ginger ale
Mix Advocaat and ginger ale in a highball glass filled with ice. Garnish with a stemmed maraschino cherry.

Cherry says: This is a twist on the classic Snowball, instead of soda or lemonade we are using ginger ale or ginger beer which gives it a more Christmas-y feel.
bc says: We were a bit dubious about the whole egg-based liqueur, but once we had a sip we couldn’t get enough, your guests will be snapping this up.

Raspberry Snowdrift
15 ml banana liqueur
15 ml vodka
15 ml raspberry liqueur
60ml of half and half (half milk and half cream)
Dash of grenadine syrup
Sugar-infused raspberries for garnish
Blend everything together and pour into a martini glass. Add some grenadine syrup for a final flourish and to sweeten slightly. Finish with a garnish of sugar-infused raspberries.

Cherry says: This is the perfect dessert drink, a great way to finish the meal.
bc says: It tasted like ice cream and we wanted more. It’s easy to make and yummy, what more could you ask for?