Christmas Cocktails: Six Drinks for an Australian Christmas

An Australian Christmas is hot, long and usually outside. The drinks should match: cold, bright and easy to make more of. These six Christmas cocktails cover the whole day, from a glass of bubbles at breakfast to something frozen by the pool.

All measures are for one drink. A standard nip is 30ml.

1. The Champagne cocktail

The classic Christmas morning drink. Put a sugar cube in a flute, shake two dashes of Angostura bitters onto it, add 15ml of brandy if you like, and top slowly with cold Champagne. The sugar fizzes gently as you drink.

A Dreamfarm Champop opens the bottle and catches the cork, which is handy with a table full of guests.

2. Pomegranate gin fizz

Shake 45ml gin, 15ml lemon juice, 1 tsp pomegranate molasses and 10ml sugar syrup hard with ice. Strain into a tall glass over fresh ice and top with soda water. Garnish with pomegranate seeds. Tart, ruby red and very festive.

3. Christmas spritz

60ml Aperol, 90ml prosecco and 30ml soda water over plenty of ice, with a slice of orange. Swap the Aperol for Campari for a more bitter, adult version. The easiest drink to make in quantity.

4. Gin and tonic, dressed for Christmas

A gin and tonic is only as interesting as what goes in it. Add a few juniper berries, a strip of orange peel and a sprig of rosemary, or use a botanicals set. The eat.art Gin Botanicals Gift Set is a curated selection of botanicals made to suit gin, and eat.art Gin O'Clock is an all-in-one pack. Both make good gifts for a gin drinker.

5. Orange blossom gin sour

Shake 45ml gin, 25ml lemon juice, 15ml sugar syrup and ¼ tsp orange blossom water with ice. For a silky foam, add an egg white and shake once without ice first. Strain into a coupe. Floral, sharp and unexpected.

6. Frozen mango daiquiri

Blend 60ml white rum, 150g frozen mango, 30ml lime juice and 15ml sugar syrup until smooth. The drink of a 35°C Christmas afternoon. Leave out the rum and it is a mango slushie the children can have too.

A margarita for the barbecue

If the day ends at the barbecue, finish with a margarita: 45ml tequila, 30ml lime juice and 20ml triple sec, shaken with ice. Rim the glass with Sassy Marg's Zesty Margarita Salt, or the Spicy version for a little heat.

For a ready-made gift for the person who makes the drinks, the eat.art Cocktail Hour Gift Set is a good pick.

How to batch cocktails for a crowd

• Mix the base ahead. Spirits, citrus and syrup can be combined in a jug and chilled the morning of. Add anything fizzy only as you pour.
• Add water for dilution. A shaken cocktail is about a quarter melted ice. When batching, add about 20 percent cold water so the drinks are not too strong.
• Use more ice than you think. On a hot day, buy twice as much ice as you plan to need.
• Squeeze citrus on the day. Lemon and lime juice taste flat after a few hours.

Something for the non-drinkers

Every one of these works as a mocktail. Use soda water or a zero-alcohol sparkling in place of the spirits and wine, and keep the fresh citrus and garnishes. More ideas in our guide to non-alcoholic Christmas drinks.

Drinks as a Christmas gift

For the person who has everything, a hamper with a bottle does the work. The Luxury Finest with Gin Hamper is built around a gin, and our Moët & Chandon Champagne Luxury Festive Hamper has the bubbles for the Champagne cocktail.

Please drink responsibly, and plan a safe way home. See the full Christmas range and our wine and Champagne glasses.