12 WHISKY HOLIDAY DRINKS TO SIP THIS CHRISTMAS
Whisky. It’s a wonderfully warming tipple. So it comes as no surprise that whisky has cemented itself in many family traditions across the world during the winter months as the star of a whole host of Christmas beverages.
New to whisky? Or looking for a new way to sip a dram during the holidays? We’ve put together a shortlist of some of the most delicious whisky cocktails to accompany your Christmas get-togethers.
Here are twelve of our favourite celebratory drinks to try out this festive period including some cosy winter whisky cocktails.
1. Apple Cinnamon Spritz
Look no further than the name of this one to start feeling festive and enjoy some Christmas cheer. For some, Christmas is all about bringing people together, and this is a wonderful whisky cocktail to enjoy as the nights draw in. Bubbles for celebration, apple cider for fruitiness, cinnamon for a taste of Christmas, and The Glenlivet 12 Year Old makes this a delightfully wintery whisky apple cocktail.
COCKTAIL RECIPE
FOR 1 SERVE
INGREDIENTS
Ingredients | Unit |
---|---|
The Glenlivet 12 Year Old Whisky
|
30 ml |
Apple Cider
|
50 ml |
Simple Syrup
|
25 ml |
Ground Cinnamon
|
1 Large Pinch |
Brut Sparkling Wine or Champagne
|
75 ml |
Apple Slices, Lemon Round, and Cinnamon Stick (for Garnish)
|
|
Ice Cubes
|
METHOD
- Pour the apple cider, The Glenlivet 12 Year Old whisky and simple syrup into the bottom of a wine glass.
- Sprinkle with the cinnamon, add ice, and stir to combine until well chilled.
- Top with sparkling wine, garnish with apple slices, lemon, and cinnamon stick, and serve immediately.
2. Ginger Hot Toddy
Gather all your winter clothing, light up the fire and enjoy a classic Bonfire Ginger Hot Toddy with kicks of ginger and clove, perfectly matched with citrusy, sweet tones. We’re imagining Christmas singalongs, thick socks and gloves and gossip aplenty whilst sipping on this truly warming drink. It’s a fiery whisky cocktail, certain to be enjoyed on those crisp, clear December evenings.
COCKTAIL RECIPE
FOR 1 SERVE
INGREDIENTS
Ingredients | Unit |
---|---|
The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve Whisky
|
50 ml |
Lemon Juice
|
15 ml |
Ginger Syrup
|
15 ml |
Angostura Bitters
|
2 dashes |
Hot Water
|
|
Lemon Wedge (for Garnish)
|
METHOD
- Combine ingredients within enamel mug.
- Top with hot water.
- Garnish Lemon Wedge (studded with cloves if possible).
3. Spiced Spey Coffee
Chocolate. Coffee. Whisky. Three Christmas staples all brought together into a beautiful whisky cocktail… with added unsweetened cream for good measure! You’ve got the sweet yet rich tones from the dark chocolate; and from the coffee, warmth and the feeling of being cosy in your front room. The Glenlivet 12 Year Old adds smooth, fruity notes bringing all the flavours in this recipe together. A scotch with The Glenlivet’s own spin on coffee cocktails, usually associated with Irish whisky.
COCKTAIL RECIPE
FOR 1 SERVE
INGREDIENTS
Ingredients | Unit |
---|---|
The Glenlivet 12 Year Old
|
40 ml |
Liquid Chocolate
|
15 ml |
Simple Syrup
|
10 ml |
Americano Coffee/strong Filter Coffee
|
75 ml |
Cayenne Pepper
|
1 small pinch(es) |
Lightly Whipped Double Cream
|
40 ml |
METHOD
- Warm a small wine glass with boiling water and then pour it out.
- Mix the chocolate, whisky, coffee, syrup and cayenne pepper together in a heated glass.
- Gently pour the cream over the back of a spoon to create a creamy layer.
- Garnish with chocolate shavings, adding another small pinch of cayenne pepper.
4. The Side Kick
Side Kick by name, main character by nature. The Side Kick is rightfully the one for those daring enough to play with flavours. Effortlessly suited to the winter months and Christmas parties, the Side Kick is a mix between a Sidecar and Cameron’s Kick. It’s short, it’s funky and it’s bold – and it looks the part, whether you’re hosting or dining on a table of many. The aged bitters that make up this whisky cocktail add tones of cinnamon and clove to an otherwise fruity Christmas beverage.
COCKTAIL RECIPE
FOR 1 SERVE
INGREDIENTS
Ingredients | Unit |
---|---|
The Glenlivet Captain’s Reserve Whisky
|
50 ml |
Palo Cortado Sherry
|
10 ml |
Lemon Juice
|
20 ml |
Almond Orgeat
|
25 ml |
Barrel Aged Bitters
|
2 dashes |
METHOD
- Shake and strain into a coupette, grate nutmeg.
5. Auld Alliance
Strong, simple and ideal for those seeking great flavours. The Auld Alliance combines the sweetness of French wine with the boldness and intricacy of The Glenlivet 18 Year Old. It’s the sort of whisky we’d leave out for Santa so that once he returns home, he can celebrate his success with something strong, reflecting on the joy he’s brought around the world. Excuse the metaphor, but it’s that kind of celebratory whisky cocktail.
COCKTAIL RECIPE
FOR 1 SERVE
INGREDIENTS
Ingredients | Unit |
---|---|
The Glenlivet 18 Year Old Whisky
|
35 ml |
Sauternes
|
35 ml |
METHOD
- Pour The Glenlivet 18 and wine into a mixing glass full of ice.
- Stir to chill and slightly dilute.
- Strain into a chilled coupette and garnish with an orange twist expressed over the drink.
6. Celebracion
We know what you might be thinking. The Glenlivet Caribbean Reserve surely lends itself to the summer months, to be enjoyed as the sun sets. But we’d argue strongly that the Celebracion is fit for any celebration, including Christmas and the holidays. Rompope is much like egg-nog, traditionally enjoyed around the festive period in the UK, and adds a certain creaminess that mixes beautifully with our Caribbean Reserve.
COCKTAIL RECIPE
FOR 1 SERVE
INGREDIENTS
Ingredients | Unit |
---|---|
The Glenlivet Caribbean Reserve
|
20 ml |
Rompope
|
20 ml |
Cold Brew
|
80 ml |
Cinnamon (for Garnish)
|
METHOD
- Combine ingredients in a mug.
- Serve hot or chilled.
- Garnish with cinnamon.
7. Whisky Hot Chocolate
New to The Glenlivet’s whisky cocktail collection, the Whisky Hot Chocolate simply has to be one for whisky drinkers to sip on during the holidays. Much like the Ginger Hot Toddy, an authentic outdoor whisky-drinking experience feels like the right setting, but you might have other ideas. Perhaps a late evening Christmas Day treat, just as you start to doze off and relax into your arm chair.
COCKTAIL RECIPE
FOR 1 SERVE
INGREDIENTS
Ingredients | Unit |
---|---|
The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve Whisky
|
50 ml |
Milk of Choice
|
250 ml |
Cocoa Powder
|
1 tbsp |
Soft Brown Sugar
|
1 tsp |
Chocolate of Choice (Finely Chopped)
|
25 g |
Cinnamon (For Garnish)
|
Sprinkle |
METHOD
- Add the milk to a pan and gently heat (don’t allow to boil).
- Add cocoa powder, soft brown sugar and chocolate to the pan, and lightly whisk to dissolve into the milk.
- Remove the pan from the heat.
- Separately, add The Glenlivet Founders Reserve whisky to a heated mug.
- Add the hot chocolate mixture over the whisky and stir lightly.
- Garnish with squirty cream, extra finely chopped chocolate and cinnamon.
- Serve.
8. Claymore
Scotland meets Japan to form the Claymore, another of our suggestions to experiment with this Christmas. Umeshu, a Japanese liqueur made from infusing rice wine with Ume, makes for a sweet and sour experience when sipping on a Claymore. It’s the secrecy of the Umeshu flavour that makes it a perfect accompaniment to The Glenlivet 12 Year Old, adding our tones of honey and sweetness to give a well-rounded, fruity winter cocktail for sipping as you wrap up the year.
COCKTAIL RECIPE
FOR 1 SERVE
INGREDIENTS
Ingredients | Unit |
---|---|
The Glenlivet 12 Year Old Whisky
|
40 ml |
Umeshu Plum Sake
|
20 ml |
Ripe Plum for Garnish
|
METHOD
- Stir ingredients with ice in a mixing glass.
- Strain over ice in a rocks glass.
- Garnish with slices of ripe plum.
9. The Glenlivet Royale
If there is a new whisky drink you want to try out for Christmas Eve, this is it. There’s something quite blockbuster about The Glenlivet Royale, making it the perfect whisky cocktail to sip around the dinner table for your annual Christmas celebrations. Suited to big parties and celebrations, this simple but epic ‘royale’ combines our single malt with Champagne, and that’s when you know the party has started. Elegance embodied in a cocktail.
COCKTAIL RECIPE
FOR 1 SERVE
INGREDIENTS
Ingredients | Unit |
---|---|
The Glenlivet 12 Year Old
|
35 ml |
Lemon Juice
|
15 ml |
Honey Water
|
15 ml |
Champagne
|
80 ml |
Lemon Twist
|
METHOD
- Pour The Glenlivet 12, lemon juice and honey water into a chilled flute.
- Top with champagne, stir and garnish with a lemon twist.
10. Golden Storm
The zing and punch of ginger itself is quite a warming, festive feeling and flavour. Match that with The Glenlivet’s Founder’s Reserve and you have a Golden Storm, best appreciated on those colder nights in winter. It’s simple, it’s fiery and it’s a whisky drinkers’ heaven – which might account for the name. Or more likely, it’s the gleaming colour of the cocktail, so elegant to look at.
COCKTAIL RECIPE
FOR 1 SERVE
INGREDIENTS
Ingredients | Unit |
---|---|
The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve
|
50 ml |
Lemon Juice
|
20 ml |
Golden Ginger Syrup
|
25 ml |
Soda Water
|
120 ml |
|
|
Ginger Root (for the Syrup)
|
1 tsp |
METHOD
- Stir together The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve, lemon juice and golden ginger syrup in a tall glass with cubed ice.
- Top up with soda water.
- Garnish with a sliced ginger and pieces of crystallised ginger.
11. Elderflower and Peach New Fashioned
When time is of the essence, as it often is over the holidays, the Elderflower and Peach New Fashioned presents the unique opportunity to whip up an unforgettable whisky cocktail in very little time. Spending all your holidays wrapping presents, catching up with old friends or cooking – no problem. The New Fashioned is a new take on an old classic, and one that you should definitely make a part of your Christmas tradition.
COCKTAIL RECIPE
FOR 1 SERVE
INGREDIENTS
Ingredients | Unit |
---|---|
The Glenlivet 12 Year Old Whisky
|
50 ml |
Elderflower Cordial
|
10 ml |
Peach Bitters
|
3 dashes |
METHOD
- Add ingredients to mixing glass.
- Stir down over ice.
- Serve over ice in a rocks glass.
- Garnish with peach slice.
12. Salted Caramel Single Malt
What is Christmas without the taste of caramel, seriously? Often found in your Christmas chocolate or biscuit selection, caramel or more recently salted caramel, plays a big role in the Christmas menu. Enjoy this drink with a slice of lemon to cut through its sugary sweetness. Christmas is often made up of rich food, and it feels like the Salted Caramel Single Malt was made to provide a bit of balance to that often overwhelming diet.
COCKTAIL RECIPE
FOR 1 SERVE
INGREDIENTS
Ingredients | Unit |
---|---|
The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve
|
50 ml |
Salted Caramel Syrup
|
7 ml |
Amaro Nardini
|
1 Teaspoon |
Angostura Bitters
|
2 Dashes |
Salt
|
1 Pinch |
Lemon and Orange Peel (for Garnish)
|
METHOD
- Stir ingredients together over ice.
- Garnish with a lemon and orange twist.
Ultimately, any whisky cocktail can be a Christmas beverage if you serve it up in December so go with the flavours you love and you’re sure to be full of festive cheer. If you are looking for more ways to incorporate The Glenlivet into your special occasions, take a look at our New Year’s Eve cocktail recipes and Burns Night menu ideas, complete with drinks suggestions for each course.