The db team’s favourite Christmas tipples

As we approach Christmas and search for those last stocking fillers, the drinks business editorial team has compiled its favourite drinks to sup during the festive period.

Patrick Schmitt MW — editor-in-chief

Probably a whisky Mac. No point being fussy about components – any blended Scotch will do and Stones or Crabbies for the ginger hit. Needs consuming on an empty stomach for maximum effect – goes with nothing in any case.

Don’t overdo it, as I may have once done on Isle of Skye after an excellent dinner at The Three Chimneys — although it was the breakfast kippers that eventually broke the proverbial camel’s back.

Smoky or fishy breakfasts aside, this is a fierce and wonderful drink and high-risk concoction.

Sarah Neish – editor

I love a G&T with clementine tonic at Christmas, served in a balloon glass with a wheel of orange and more ice than seems sensible.

Stepping outside a toasty house into the fresh air of the garden and watching your cold breath fog the glass while the sounds of Christmas ring out from indoors is a must-have moment of privacy. Until you realise the pigs-in-blankets are burning….

James Evison – digital commercial editor

The classic snowball is a go-to favourite, specifically one packaged in small green bottles from UK retailer Sainsbury’s. I wasn’t really a fan, but my mother-in-law kept pushing it, and eventually I succumbed to the thick, fizzy, sickly sweet charms of eggs, brandy, sugar, lemon and lime.

Honourable mention also goes to Delirium’s Christmas beer, which is a malty, rich wonderful ale that comes in at a punchy 10%. The perfect beer to either get you up and running in the morning, or to sip at the end of a gluttonous Christmas evening.

Arabella Mileham — retail editor

Not an old favourite, but a new entrant in my repertoire this year is a hot buttered rum, a smooth, rich and spice laden concoction with a deeply warming effect.

It has toffee notes, lovely warmth from the rum, cinnamon and allspice with a dash of fresh orange zest to zip things up, all wrapped up in glowy buttery goodness.

I dread to think of the calories involved, but after a cold winter walk, this is a cracker.

Jessica Mason – beer editor

“A Baileys, please”, “One small Baileys”. Any Alan Partridge fans out there?

Baileys at Christmas is about as ubiquitous as a half eaten tin of Quality Street (minus the purple ones) and a festive copy of the Radio Times annotated with circles around all the four star films.

Yes, there are so many better drinks. All the impressive ones will be on the Christmas table, often strewn with barrel-aged beers, bottles of wine and later on a sherry or a Port or two. But really, when it comes to comfort , nostalgia and symbolic festive kitschiness, Baileys over ice is where it’s at.

In the build up to the 25th, it’s as significant as your first mince pie of the season. Your brain just goes: “Right. I’ve had a Baileys. NOW it’s Christmas.”

Eloise Feilden – asia editor

“Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house/ Not a creature was drinking, not even a mouse”. Had Clement Clarke Moore written a poem about my family on Christmas eve, these would have been his opening lines…

In tribute to my soberingly sober relatives (I was clearly switched at birth), I’m giving a shout out to one of my favourite alcohol-free spirits, Gimber. Ginger-based, its hearty burn can be likened to that of a good glass of Scotch.

Louis Thomas – staff writer

Not hugely nostalgic as I’ve only been drinking it in the last month, but I opt for a Mandarine Napoléon with tonic (Schweppes, Fever-Tree, I don’t mind, so long as it’s flavoured with quinine and nothing silly) over ice, maybe with a slice of clementine or some such if feeling decadent.

It makes for a much more appealing (or a-peel-ing if you want to go down that route) alternative to the satsuma I usually leave at the bottom of the stocking. Excellent paired with any number of Napoleonic war films I may watch over the Christmas period.

Michael Huband – commercial content writer

For me it’s neat brandy from a crystal glass. Christmas season always began with a get-together in early December, where grandad would coerce us into a post-dinner brandy.

The fiery hit of cheap spirits has a nostalgic charm, though these days I raise a glass of rather higher quality.

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