Spread Christmas cheer throughout your kitchen and beyond by whipping up this delicious cocktail that doubles as a thoughtful gift.

Recipe & Styling Natalie Homan | Photograph Brendan Homan

Christmas Pudding Gin Liqueur & Cranberry Gin-ger Fizz

for gin liqueur
750ml gin
⅓ cup brown sugar
peel from 1 orange
1 cinnamon stick
6 allspice berries
2 cloves
100g raisins
100g dried prunes, halved
100g dried figs, quartered

for cranberry gin-ger fizz
gin liqueur
orange sherbet*
cranberry juice
ginger kombucha
glacé cherries
ice

* for orange sherbet
1 tbsp dehydrated orange powder
½ tsp tartaric acid
½ tsp bicarb soda
½ cup caster sugar

Lightly toast the spices in a dry frypan, allow to cool before coarsely pounding in a mortar and pestle. Pour the gin into a large jar, add sugar, orange peel, spices and fruit. Swirl the jar and seal with a lid. Allow the flavours to develop over 7 days, swirling the jar every day to ensure the sugar dissolves. Strain the gin through a mesh sieve, saving the fruit to use in other Christmas recipes (pudding!). For a clearer result, filter the gin through a coffee filter before bottling.

For orange sherbet, combine all ingredients in a small bowl, mix well and store in a small jar.

To make orange powder, dehydrate the finely grated zest of one orange. Simply blitz the dehydrated peel in a spice grinder to form a powder.

To make the cocktail, rub the rim of a highball with an orange wedge and dip the rim into a plate containing the orange sherbet. Fill the glass with ice cubes and pour in a measure (or two) of Christmas pudding gin liqueur. Half fill the glass with cranberry juice and top with ginger kombucha. Garnish with a glacé cherry.

 

 

This article first appeared in the December 2022 issue of SALIFE magazine.