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Drinks for Your Christmas Day

It s always a difficult decision what drinks to have in the house for the Christmas season.

This year I decided to narrow down the selection but to make it a great one.  I will of course have the usual soft drinks for the children and designated drivers and the tonics and mixers for the spirit drinkers but the stars of the show will be:-

Aldi:

Every year we have Aldi Monsigny Champagne.  Why? Because it is good value (RRP £13.49 for a 75 cl bottle), great taste made up of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes and at an affordable price.  We will have several bottles ready in the fridge for an early Bucks Fizz followed by lots of fizz during the day.

Following our champagne we will crack open a bottle of Prosecco as an aperitif. This is an organic rose Prosecco. It is smooth yet dry. Very often rose wines are sweet but this one although has notes of cranberries, strawberries and cherries. I was very impressed when I tasted this delightful fizz.  You can get a bottle for RRP £8.49

The gin wave is still going strong. I am not a great fan of ordinary gin or gin liqueurs but I do love a sloe gin.  I have made my own over the years and have bought quite a few different ones too.  Aldi Sloe Gin will be making an appearance in several ways over the holiday. One way will be a Sloe Gin Fizz cocktail which is simply sloe gin and champagne!

Aldi’s Haysmiths Sloe Gin (29%) is made from hand picked wild sloes and steeped in their London Dry Gin. I prefer serving it straight over ice though.  £13.99 for a 70cl bottle.

Now my personal treat this Christmas will be a bottle of Aldi Pedro Ximenez Sweet Sherry. This is an extra dark and creamy sherry with dried fruit aromas but that tastes like liquid dates! This will pair beautifully with your Christmas pudding or cheese board. At £4.99 for a 37.5 cl bottle I suggest you get a few in stock. Once you test it you will be like me and instantly addicted! Happy Christmas!

IXSIR:

Also appearing on our Christmas table will be a delicious Grande Reserve white wine from Lebanon.

The name Ixsir is a derivative of the Arabic word for “Elixir” meaning a drink that is pure and a secret potion.  IXSIR‘s vision was to create an “elixir’ using grapes from long forgotten vineyards but celebrating sustainability at it’s core.  The vineyards culminate at an altitude of 1,800m, making them one of the highest in the Northern Hemisphere.

The soil is clay-calcareous, limestone and gravel and the grape varieties include Sarah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvèdre, Touring Nacional. Merlot, Tempranillo, Caladoc, Consult, Obeidy, Viognier, Muscat, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc which all contribute to outstanding and diverse wines.

The 3 Brewers Brewery:

I am not the beer drinker in the family however I really like The 3 Brewers Beer for several reasons.

1. They have a range of bottles of beer to take home. Their IPA, Classic Ale and Golden ale,
2. You can also drink a range draft on the premises including Blonde, IPA, Special and a seasonal Porter
3. Take home a a container called a “Growler” of draft beer,
4. Buy a small keg to take home if you are having a few friends over. Each mini keg contains 5 litres (8.8 pints) and available in six different beers.
5. Purchase or better yet a great Christmas present would be their beer membership scheme which offers discounts, members party and a brewery tour and events,
6. But the best thing is that it is within a mile of my house!!

You will also find 3 Brewers at many markets around Hertfordshire and surrounding counties.

Purple Moose Brewery:

We discovered Purple Moose Brewery whilst on holiday in North Wales this summer.  We stocked up the car with a good selection of their bottles at their Betws-y-Coed shop.

Purple Moose beer is made entirely with UK malted barley and pure Snowdonia water and is made in the historic harbour town of Porthmadog in North Wales.

How did they come up with the name ‘Purple Moose’ – I think this photo tells it all!

They are brewing over 57,000 per week in their 40-barrel brewhouse.  Currently they have seasonal ales for Christmas like ‘Merry X-Moose’.

I brought home some and intend to use the Chocolate Moose Stout (4.5% Vol.) to make a chocolate chip beer bread, a bottle of the Kolsch style Lager (4.7% Vol) which I think will make a great addition to a chicken one-pan meal and a Black Rock Stout (4.2% Vol) destined for a rich fruit cake or even better a Bara Brith traditional Welsh fruit cake!

I know you think beers are for drinking however when I see such a wide range I just imagine cooking and baking with them! Hahahaha! Merry Christmas!

Other drinks:

There will of course be seasonal coffees and teas.  I always like to have a  couple of bags of M&S Christmas coffee in the kitchen for Christmas morning. We will have a wide selection of non-alcoholic drinks too. I have a juicer and will be making loads of fresh juices for breakfasts.

Further reading:

If you want to read some more of my posts click on the link below:-

Christmas Cranberry Relish

Greek Christmas Cookies – Melonmakarona

This is a great Christmas post from Nikki at Tikkido

How to make a dried orange garland

Disclaimer:

I was gifted some of the wines above. I was not required to write a positive review. As usual all opinions and photographs are my own. No photographs may be reproduced in any manner without my written permission.