Drinks for Christmas

So, time to think about some drinks for Christmas? I like to greet people with a cocktail when they come to visit and this year I have a fair bit of Tia Maria around the place, mostly because the PR people were kind enough to send a sample to show me the new packaging. If I'm honest nobody really cares about the packaging by the time it's in the glass: it's a good cocktail ingredient as well as a coffee liqueur in its own right. Here are a couple of recipes:

Tia Espresso Martini

25cl TIA MARIA

25cl espresso coffee

25cl vodka

10cl sugar syrup to taste

Coffee beans to Garnish

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients together with cubed ice in a Boston and shake. Pour into a martini glass and garnish with coffee beans.

This is a good one for a short drink, although some people will find the vodka a problem (my wife can't take white spirits for example). For a longer drink try this:

Tia Ginger (pictured)

35cl TIA MARIA

Half a fresh lime

Ginger Beer

Instructions:

Pour ingredients into a highball glass filled with ice, squeeze in the juice of half a fresh lime and garnish with fresh mint

Very refreshing and warming I find, and if Christmas is going to be as wet as it's threatening to be then this is going to be a good option.

For mealtime I won't be driving this year for once (YAY!) so I'll be on the white with the starter and red for the main course. I can recommend some of the Absolutely Cracking French Wines selection. This is a promotion in which drinks journalists selected their best wines of the year and as you can imagine the results are pretty good. 

The promoters have sent six samples and I can recommend them all: AOC Chinon, Bernard Baudry, La Croix Boissée 2010 (Lea and Sandeman, £17.95, pictured) will be my main course tipple of choice, a lot of earthy fruit in there, or AOC Fleurie, Albert Bichot La Madone 2009 (Soho Wine, £10.99). Try also something from the Tra La La vineyards through Naked Wines if you can get a pre-Christmas delivery at this stage (look, where does this  time go?

On the white front you could do distinctly worse than IGP Pays d'Oc, Marquis de Pennautier, Terroirs d'Altitude 2009 (Majestic, £9.99) if you like oaky wines with a bit of an acidic tang; for something a bit more citrussy have a look at AOC Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh, Domaine Capmartin 2010 (Enotria, £10.95).

As always, enjoy sensibly and don't drive afterwards. And in January remember I'll be giving up for the Dryathlon in aid of Cancer Research - why not sponsor me?