Three festive cocktails

You probably don’t need an excuse to have a drink at Christmas. But with a full drinks cabinet, it’s the perfect time to show off your mixology skills.

Of course, anyone can pour a glass of Baileys, or add some tonic to a generous portion of gin, but we like to think that readers of JOE are capable of something a little more complex.

With that in mind, we’ve had a word with the top bartenders at The Ice Bar of The Four Seasons Hotel in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, and they’ve given us the recipes for three of their more popular seasonal drinks.

Yes, they’re fancy, but they’re also guaranteed to impress.

Nuts for Christmas

Ingredients:
1½ measures of Baileys
¾ measure of Frangelico
¾ measure of hazelnut syrup
A dash of cream

Method: Shake all the ingredients together and pour into a pilsner glass. Garnish with a swirl of maple syrup.

Mistletoe Mojito

Ingredients:
1½ measure of Bacardi
4 lime wedges
8 mint leaves
1 spoon of brown sugar
1 measure of cranberry juice
A dash of cranberry schnapps

Method: Muddle the limes, sugar and mit. Add the Bacardi, schnapps and cranberry juice. Serve in a mojito glass and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Eggnog Martini

1 measure of Hennessy
1 measure of vanilla vodka
½ a measure of cream
1 measure of advocate
¾ of a measure of vanilla syrup

Method: Shake all ingredients and strain into a Martini glass.

(Drink recipes courtesy of Paul Malone and Goran Jandric at the Ice Bar, Four Seasons Hotel, Ballsbridge, D4)