Drink Me | 4 Recipes to see you through the Festive Season [Recipe]

Just a handful of cocktails (and a sweet treat) that I wanted to share with you this season! All simple to make but you don’t need to tell anybody else that! Wishing you a Happy New Year. May your 2026 be peaceful and filled with light.

CHRISTMAS CAKE VODKA
For gifting or offering to guests as a nightcap, with dessert or for sipping icy cold upon arrival.

700ml good vodka – I used Nuvè Hand-crafted Super-premium Australian Vodka
100g mixed citrus peel
250g sultanas
150g raisins
Zest and juice of 1 blood orange
1 tsp almond essence or a square of marzipan
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp mixed spice
125g lightly packed brown sugar, or to taste.

Pour vodka into a container with a lid. Add ingredients. Cover. Leave in the fridge for one week, stirring occasionally. Strain vodka through 1-2 fine clean cloths or muslin. You will need to squeeze it out and will end up with nearly 500ml. Pour into a fancy glass bottle.

Note: I typically make this festive vodka sans sugar if I intend to make cocktails with it (rather than sip it neat or give it as a gift). Reserve the boozy fruit for making ice-cream or pancakes or add a few sultanas to your cocktails for luck! I bet they’d look fabulous threaded on a gold olive pick.

CHRISTMAS KISS COSMOPOLITAN
Crowd-pleasing merriment for Xmas or New Year’s Eve

60ml Christmas Cake Vodka (recipe above or use your favourite seasonally spiced spirit)
30ml Byron Bay Spirits Co Arancello
90ml cranberry juice, unsweetened
15ml fresh lime juice

Chill goblets. Add ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake. Taste and add a little sugar syrup or lime juice if you wish. Strain into goblets. Makes 2.

SUMMER G&T TIRAMISU
A boozy show-stopping dessert for Xmas day. Because nobody really wants chrissy pud!

1 cup gin – I used Barossa Distilling Co’s Australian Garden Gin
2 cups tonic water – I used Capi Classic
1/3 – 2/3 cup (150g) caster sugar, to taste
2 limes, zested, juiced
500g mascarpone
210ml coconut cream
1/4 cup icing sugar mixture
16 savoiardi
300ml cream, whipped to serve
1 Lebanese cucumber & small mints leave to garnish.

Line a 10cm x 20cm loaf pan with plastic wrap, allowing the sides to overhang.
Combine the gin, tonic water, caster sugar, lime zest and lime juice in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Cook, stirring, for 2 mins or until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high. Bring to the boil. Cook for 3-4 mins or until syrup thickens slightly. Set aside to cool.
Use an electric mixer to whisk the mascarpone, coconut cream and icing sugar in a large bowl until firm peaks form.
Add one-third of the remaining gin mixture to the mascarpone mixture and whisk to combine.
Dip 1 biscuit quickly in the leftover cooled gin mixture and turn over with forks to coat.
Arrange lengthways in base of the lined pan. Repeat with 5 more biscuits (6 to each layer).
Spoon over one-third of the mascarpone mixture.
Continue layering with remaining biscuits and mascarpone mixture, dipping the biscuits in the gin mixture before arranging in the pan.
Cover the terrine with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge overnight.
Turn terrine onto a serving plate. Remove the plastic wrap and spoon over the whipped cream.
Peel cucumber into ribbons. Add the cucumber ribbons to the leftover gin mixture and gently toss to combine. Arrange over the top of the terrine. Add mint.
Cut into slices to serve.