Drinks for the Christmas table

13 recipes

• GløggA warm, spiced red wine punch with port and rum: the very scent of a Scandinavian Christmas in a glass.

  The arrival drink that does the work itself: you can smell it in the hall, and it warms people before their coats are off. Make it the day before, as it only gets better for steeping, and reheat it gently; if it boils, the alcohol goes and the flavour with it. One batch makes ten mugs, so count a mug per guest. Alcohol-free: the same spiced base, raisins and almonds, with blackcurrant or grape juice in place of the wine, port and rum.

• Hot Whisky ToddyA steaming, honey-sweet toddy of Scotch whisky and freshly squeezed lemon: perfect for cold evenings.

  For the ones who came by bike. Whisky, honey and lemon, hot enough to thaw the fingers. Mix the honey and lemon juice in a small jug ahead, and each glass is just whisky, a splash from the jug and boiling water. Alcohol-free: leave out the whisky and add a few slices of fresh ginger. Hot honey and lemon with ginger is a drink in its own right.

• Sherry CobblerA fresh, fruity classic of nutty sherry, crushed ice and fresh berries.

  Low in alcohol and high in orange: the one that can stand beside the food all the way through. A bottle of amontillado pours eight glasses. Crush the ice in a freezer bag with a rolling pin in the morning, and cut the fruit at the same time. Alcohol-free: the same fruit and the same heap of crushed ice, with cold, strong black tea in place of the sherry. The tannins do the sherry’s job.

• Port Old FashionedA rich, full Old Fashioned in which tawny port gives the bourbon a soft, nutty sweetness.

  Port in place of sugar: dark, calm and built straight in the glass. Three ingredients, no equipment. For a crowd, mix the bourbon, port, maple syrup and bitters in a bottle the day before, scaled to the guests, and pour just under 100 ml over a large ice cube per glass. Alcohol-free: cloudy apple juice stirred cold with maple syrup and an orange twist, plus two dashes of bitters if a few drops don’t count.

• GodfatherStraightforward, strong and a little sweet: stirred whisky meets the soft marzipan of amaretto.

  Two ingredients, thirty seconds: the one you make while you are busy with something else. It cannot get any easier, so don’t batch it; the bottle and a jigger beside the ice are the whole set-up. Alcohol-free: 25 ml of orgeat topped with soda and a squeeze of lemon. The almond is what the amaretto brings.

• Widow's KissA rich, herbal after-dinner drink of apple brandy, yellow Chartreuse and Bénédictine with a touch of bitters.

  Apple brandy, Chartreuse and Bénédictine: spiced and monastery-dark, the most December drink we have. Stir it ahead: mix the ingredients for every glass, add a fifth as much water for the dilution, and keep the bottle in the freezer so it pours straight into cold glasses. Alcohol-free: there is no good version. Serve a cold spiced apple juice instead (a cinnamon stick, cloves and orange peel steeped for an hour, strained and chilled), and let the scent do the rest.

• Normandy CocktailApple brandy meets elderflower and citrus in a light, floral highball with a hint of tonic bitterness.

  Apple brandy again, but lighter and with elderflower: a break from the heavy things halfway through the meal. It is made glass by glass, but it takes half a minute, and the tonic only has to be cold. Alcohol-free: cloudy apple juice, a splash of elderflower cordial and tonic in the same glass. Or our Cucumber & elderflower cooler, which fills the same place on the table.

• Spiced Chai Gin SourA creamy gin sour spiced with homemade chai syrup, fresh lemon and a silky egg-white foam.

  Cinnamon syrup and chai in a sour: it tastes of Christmas without tasting of Christmas sweets. The syrup is the day-before job; it keeps for two weeks in the fridge, and then the rest is an ordinary sour. Shake two at a time at most, or the foam falls. Alcohol-free: swap the gin for 60 ml of strong, cold chai. The lemon, syrup and egg white stay the same, and the foam is just as high.

• Porto FlipA creamy after-dinner cocktail of cognac, tawny port and a velvety egg yolk.

  Egg yolk, cognac and port shaken to velvet: dessert in a glass, and older than most Christmas traditions. Shake them two at a time and serve at once; it needs its foam. Alcohol-free: none worth drinking. Pour a Lumumba without the cognac instead; it is every bit as much a dessert.

• Brandy AlexanderA creamy classic with cognac, chocolate and cream — soft, rich and a little cheeky in the evening.

  Cream and cacao in a coupe. Serve it instead of the pudding, if you dare. Cream does not foam well in big batches, so shake two at a time, and keep the coupes in the fridge from the morning. Alcohol-free: ice-cold chocolate milk shaken with cream and ice, nutmeg grated over. A cold hot chocolate nobody will complain about.

• LumumbaWarm chocolate milk meets cognac in one of Europe's most nostalgic comfort drinks.

  Hot chocolate with cognac in it. Everyone knows it from the Christmas market, and almost nobody makes it at home. Do. Heat the chocolate milk for everyone in one pan, 200 ml per mug, and add the cognac mug by mug. Alcohol-free: it is alcohol-free until you pour the cognac in, so skip it in the mugs going home by car.

• Irish CoffeeA warm, sweet coffee drink with Irish whiskey under a thick, cold layer of lightly whipped cream.

  For when the coffee is on anyway. The cream has to float: pour it over the back of a spoon. Whip the cream until just thick, in one go for everyone; it keeps for half an hour in the fridge. Warm the glasses with boiling water, and make four at a time. Alcohol-free: without the whiskey it is a good cup of coffee under a layer of cold cream, and still a fine way to finish.

• CarajilloEspresso and Licor 43 shaken together into a creamy, coffee-dark drink with vanilla and citrus sweetness.

  Espresso and Licor 43: shorter than an Irish coffee and rather more awake. Brew the espresso just before; the foam comes from shaking the hot coffee hard with ice, so keep to two per shake. Alcohol-free: espresso shaken hard with ice and 15 ml of vanilla syrup. The same foam and the same wake-up, no liqueur.