Best ever Christmas cocktails

The olive Christmas cocktail

The ultimate Christmas cocktail from the olive magazine team. Make this easy spiced cocktail recipe with tequila and elderflower for a festive drink to serve friends and family over the Christmas season. Look for vintage bottles and add a pretty ribbon and label to complete the look. Click here for more exciting edible Christmas gifts...

Christmas godfather cocktail

This is a festive spin on a retro 70s drink that makes an ideal dessert cocktail for Christmas.

Christmas martini cocktail with gingerbread

Shake up your winter drinks party in more ways than one with this gingerbread and espresso martini cocktail. Velvety smooth coffee and festive spice syrup make this the perfect after-dinner warmer. Check out our best ever Christmas dessert recipes to indulge in this Christmas... 

Christmas mocktail with orange and rosemary

If you love starting Christmas Day with a Buck's Fizz, but fancy something non alcoholic this year, try this orange and rosemary fizz. The cinnamon and pomegranate makes it taste like Christmas in a glass. Looking for Christmas day recipes? Check out our must make trimmings recipes here...

Easy dirty gin martini cocktail

This easy Christmas cocktail makes the perfect gift to bring to a festive party – keep chilled in the fridge for emergencies.

Negroni cocktial recipe with rum

Rum makes this drink a little gentler than a classic gin negroni. Decant into a hip flask for sipping on wintry walks

Spanish bloody mary

Swapping vodka for amontillado sherry makes a lower-ABV, super-savoury take on this brunch classic. Garnish with a gilda – a classic pinto snack.

Sherry cocktail recipe

Want a simple Christmas cocktail recipe to serve over the festive season? Impress friends and family with our easy-drinking sherry sour. More cocktail recipes here.

Bourbon cocktail recipe

Cosy up by the fire and make this campfire cocktail recipe with bourbon and marshmallows for a warming drink over the festive season. It comes from the brilliant team at whisky bar Black Rock just off Finsbury Square, London EC2 and is topped with a toasted marshmallow. We’re sold. Check out other Bonfire Night-inspired cocktails...

Mulled wine recipe with elderflower

Want a change to mulled wine at your Christmas drinks party? Try a frosty twist on a classic with this chilled, mulled elderflower wine. Sweet vanilla pods, cloudy apple juice and elderflower cordial simmer with fresh lemon juice for a festive infusion.

Festive chai white russian

Ramp up the festive spirit in a classic white Russian with the warming spices of chai. This coffee cocktail is the perfect Christmas drink.

Christmas gin cocktail

Jazz up your Christmas morning with this classic champagne cocktail. It's simple to make but looks stunning, perfect for the party season. Check out more of our champagne cocktail recipes here.

Christmas mojito

Marmalade mojitos make a deliciously jammy cocktail, made to look really delicious with mandarin slices and star anise. Try this five-minute cocktail recipe for an easy refresher at Christmas.

Negroni sbagliato

Our negroni sbagliato makes a great festive fizz. Swapping gin for prosecco makes for a lighter negroni and softens the bitterness. This is an ideal aperitif over the festive season for those who find a classic negroni a bit much.

Winter-spiced pear cocktail

This light and spicy cocktail is a delicate early-evening treat. It's warm, silky and the pear syrup has intense in flavour. If you're hosting a Christmas drinks party, these will get your guests right into the festive spirit.

Champagne cocktail with Cointreau

A great sparkling Christmas party cocktail. After you have decorated the Champagne flutes, chill them by putting in the freezer for a short while or filling with ice for a few minutes.

Christmas cake martini

All the flavours of a traditional Christmas cake in liquid form. This is bound to impress your guests over the festive season. Click the link for all of our Christmas baking recipes to pair it with.

Aperol mimosa

This mimosa is fizzy, fruity and has a slight bitter note. It's a great alternative to Buck's Fizz, it's made using only three ingredients and would make a great drink to see the year out with. Check out our best ever Christmass breakfast recipes to have alongside your morning mimosa here.

Festive martini with sake

Swap vermouth for sake in this Japanese-inspired take on the classic cocktail – perfect for a New Year's Eve soirée.

Christmas negroni cocktail with rhubarb and ginger

This update on the classic negroni using rhubarb and ginger is a great shout for Christmas time. It comes from Black Dice, a 1960s rock 'n' roll inspired bar tucked away beneath Moroccan restaurant MOMO in Mayfair.

Christmas chocolate porter flip

We've revived and updated a classic dating back to the 17th century with our recipe for a chocolate porter flip. Serve this hot or cold for an easy festive drink. Check out our indulgent chocolate recipes here...

Festive Pimms cocktail

Looking for a festive cocktail recipe to kick things off this Christmas? You'll need frothy egg white, sugar, chilled pomegranate juice, Pimms, lemons and ginger beer for this beauty.

Easy mulled beer

What’s more warming on a winter’s day than the glow of an English pub? Recreate that feeling, and better it, by brewing up this mulled beer recipe with cinnamon, cloves and clementine for an easy Christmas drink.

Christmas margarita

This twist on a classic margarita is the perfect thing to serve at a festive drinks party. The recipe comes from Spice Market, a South-east Asian restaurant in the W Hotel, Leicester Square, that serves stylish interpretations of street food.

Hot spiced cider

Cosy up with this soul-warming winter cocktail, perfect after a crisp winter walk over the festive period. The addition of dark rum, brown sugar and cinnamon sticks provide sweet depth to this warm spiced cocktail.

Blood orange Campari cocktails

Bitter Campari and sweet blood orange combine in festive harmony to make this refreshing aperitif. Campari usually lends its beautiful red colour to the devilishly potent negroni, this lighter cocktail is perfect for those needing a calmer night amidst the busy social season.

Pear-drop bellini cocktails

Like pear drop sweets? Then you'll love this fun way to serve fizz. Great for Christmas time, all it involves is eight pear drops and a bottle of Cava. Simple!

Ron de replay rum cocktail recipe

Want an easy yet impressive cocktail recipe?  This cocktail will be sure to impressive festive guests over the winter season, we use Ron Zacapa rum from Guatemala to heat things up a bit.

White Russian cocktails

Round off a Christmas dinner party huddled round the fire with these indulgent cocktails. The perfect sweet finale when you’re too full for a pud. Check out our best ever dinner party mains here.

Champagne cocktail with fraise de bois

Want a really beautiful split-coloured Champagne cocktail? Check out this festive drink invented by the legendary Salvatore Calabrese. If you can’t find the fraise de bois you could use another liqueur such as crème de cassis.

Festive orange martinis with cardamon

Want an inventive martini recipe? Martinis are one of our favourite mixed alcoholic drinks. We've added marmalade and lemon juice to this cocktail recipe for an extra kick to your festive cocktails.

Christmas morning cocktail

Can’t wait until sundown for a cocktail? Start your Christmas morning right with our clementine fizz. It’s ready in just 10 minutes, more time-efficient than a bowl of porridge!

How to use forgotten bottles from the drinks cupboard over Christmas

Baileys white Russian cocktail recipe

Mix 3 tbsp Baileys, 1 tbsp Kahlúa and 2 tbsp vodka with 4 tbsp whole milk, then serve over ice in a short glass.

Cherry sling cocktail recipe

Pour 2 tbsp gin, 1 tbsp cherry brandy and ½ tbsp lemon juice over ice in a tall glass.

Finish with soda and a maraschino cherry.

Sancho panza cocktail recipe

Stir 3 tbsp cream sherry, 1½ tbsp Campari and a dash of Angostura bitters in a short glass with ice.