Love drinking wine? Innovate with the spirit to make unique cocktails this Christmas and New Year

With the food and drink on offer, Christmas and New Year make December the most exciting time of the year because you get to feast on roast chicken, pork vindaloo, stuffed turkey and more. Often paired with different kinds of alcohol that more often than not oscillates between spiced rum, whiskey and mulled wine, the last of which is often the most popular choice because it is loved by one and all. However, this festive season, Indian mixologists and bartenders want you to make a change. They want you to spice it up while using different kinds of wines as your star ingredient to make unique cocktails that are full of flavour in every sip.

Every year, Christmas and New Year bring with them a different kind of festive cheer that is felt even more because of the winter season. It is also the time when many of us want to cook and plan our parties so that we can host our family and friends in our houses. If you have always hosted parties, it may often get challenging when deciding the menu for the food and drink. While some dishes and drinks are classics, there is always room for experiments, and what better time than now to do it?

So, it is no surprise when Indian mixologists say you can enjoy and do much more with wine than simply enjoying the classic version of it. While the innovative mulled wine and the crowd's favourite sangria are popular, they want you to mix it up or simply stir it with the likes of rum, gin and whiskey too. It gets even better because, beyond the spirits, they are also colourful because of ingredients such as blue curacao, honey and chocolate too that also give them their unique flavours, unlike anything you have tasted before.

Winter Wonderland
If you love win, then make the best of both worlds by adding some vodka to it. At Poco Loco, Megha Datwani, founder of Poco Loco Tapas Bar, wants you to experiment with the spirit by making Winter Wonderland. She explains, "Since Christmas is associated with winter snow and some cheer, sparkling wine, vodka and blue curacao come together perfectly for this drink to remind us that our favourite season is here along with some snow sparkles the perfect representation of the season."

Ingredients:
Vodka 20 ml
Triple Sec 10 ml
Blue Curacao 10 ml
Sparkling Wine to top
Edible Glitters
Cream Cheese
Snow Sprinkles
Edible glitters

Method:
1. Put cream cheese and snow sprinkles on the rim.
2. Add vodka, blue curaçao, and triple sec in a champagne flute and top it up with sparkling wine and edible glitters.
3. Your cocktail is ready to serve.

Xmas Vanilla Peach Bellini
If you have always opted for a sangria, then mix it up this festive season by trying another popular wine-based cocktail called Bellini, says Veeraj Shenoy, chief officer - food and beverage at Imagicaa by the Malpani Group. Traditionally made with prosecco and peach puree or nectar, it is an absolute delight that gives you more than one flavour; a version of the cocktail is served at Arrmada deck bar at the property. He explains, "Though classic bellinis are made with white peaches, it is best if you can get your hands on some good fresh ripe peaches. Taste your puree before adding honey. Orange zest helps coax some sweetness from out-of-season peaches, but the drink will still be delicious without it. This sweet and tangy drink is a perfect day drink for the season."

Ingredients:
Fresh or frozen peaches 340 gm
Honey 2 tsp
Pure vanilla extract 1 tsp
Orange zest (optional) 1/4 tsp
Prosecco, chilled 1 bottle (750 ml)
Fresh mint, for serving 6 sprigs

Method:
1. Put the peaches on a 3-minute high in the microwave.
2. Drain excess liquid and transfer to a blender.
3. Add honey, vanilla or ginger, and orange zest (if using) to a blender and blend until smooth. Taste, and add more honey if necessary.
4. Refrigerate peach puree until cold, about 30 minutes. When ready to serve, add about 2 tablespoons puree to the bottom of each serving glass.
5. Top with Prosecco, add a sprig of fresh mint and serve.

Tijuana Mexican Chilli Hot Chocolate
Along with sangria, the Christmas mulled wine is a season favourite. If you love chocolate, then this one is for you, says Anurag Katriar, founder and managing director of Indigo Hospitality Pvt Ltd., which runs Tijuana, the Mexico-inspired cantina. The Tijuana Mexican Chilli Hot Chocolate cocktail combines chocolate with red wine to give you a taste of the festive season's flavours.

Ingredients:
Semisweet chocolate chips (Recommended: Ghirardelli 2/3 cups
Dry red wine (Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon) 2/3 cups
Half and half (milk and cream) 1/2 cup
Sugar, optional 2 tbsp
Pinch of salt
Vanilla extract 1/2 tsp

Method:
1. Combine the chocolate chips, wine, milk, half, and half and sugar (if using), in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate chips are melted, and the mixture is hot.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and salt. Pour into mugs and serve.

Clarified Gold Wine
There is a lot to experiment with when it comes to wine cocktails this season and it gets better if you like to sip on some gin and rum too. Malik Sheikh, master mixologist at Novotel Goa Resort and Spa, says you can make a delicious Clarified Gold Wine. With a potent mix of red wine, bubble gum gin and vanilla spiced rum, along with some lime juice, sugar, and milk, that is clarified, it is a burst of flavours that will make every sip worth it.

Ingredients:
Red wine 300 ml
Homemade bubble gum gin 30 ml
Homemade vanilla spiced rum 5 ml
Lime juice 90 ml
Sugar syrup 90 ml
Milk 120 ml
Edible gold dust for garnish

Method:
1. Take 300 ml of red wine (Merlot) add 90 ml of sugar syrup, 90 ml of like juice followed by 30 ml of bubble gum flavoured gin, 5 ml of vanilla spiced rum and lastly add 120 ml of milk.
2. Put all these ingredients in a clarifying bag.
3. Allow some time for it to clarify.
4. After it is ready, serve it on the rocks with some edible gold dust.

Sour Wine
Beyond the regular kinds of wines, Priyanka Rath, mixologist with Yakii, says you can make a unique Sour Wine. Being a firm believer in 'wine while dining', Rath says she has come a long way from drinking wine to studying and serving wine, and that is why she falls in love with it every day. "When we talk about celebration, we talk about champagne sabrage. This recipe not only includes white wine but also sparkling wine and gin." Giving people more than one reason to enjoy cocktails during the festive season.

Ingredients:
Wine 20 ml
Gin 40 ml
Sakura syrup 5 ml
Sparkling wine top-up

Method:
1. Combine the wine, gin, Sakura syrup and sparkling wine.
2. Stir it perfectly and serve in a champagne tulip glass.

The Sunset Rose
If you love rose wine, then bartender Barry, associated with Moët Hennessy India, recommends experimenting with the Whispering Angel, which is made from a blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Rolle (Vermentino) grapes. He explains, "As you would if you were just sipping on a glass, choosing the best rosé for mixing into a cocktail is vital." The wine is beautifully dry with a crisp hit of summer fruits, that when paired with juicy muddled blackberries with a hit of smooth Belvedere vodka and a fresh kick of mint, creates The Sunset Rose.

Ingredients:
Whispering Angel Rose Wine 90 ml
Belvedere vodka 44 ml
Lime juice 15 ml
Honey water 7 ml
Blackberries 3 nos
Garnish with mint sprig

Method:
1. Put the blackberries into a cocktail shaker and muddle using a muddler or the end of a wooden spoon.
2. Add the vodka, lime juice and honey water and shake with ice.
3. Double strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice before topping with the rosé and garnishing with a sprig of mint.