Barry Bryson’s Christmas Drink Hacks
With his company, Cater, Barry Bryson, has a wealth of knowledge in entertaining. Barry has worked with brands Louis Vuitton, and Glenmorangie, and hosted parties for Raymond Blanc and Burt Bacharach, earning himself the title of leading private chef in Scotland.
If there’s anyone worth listening to when it comes to entertaining tips, tricks and personal touches, it’s Barry Bryson. Here he let’s us in on two fabulous recipes, one for Mulled Wine, and one for Hot Chocolate.
Festive Drinks
Obviously mulled wine is a must for any festive get-together but don’t feel you need to follow a recipe that’s been tried and tested, try something new. There are so many amazing craft beers and ciders and they work brilliantly for mulled cocktails. The key ingredients are usually oranges, clove, cinnamon and sugar so heating those very gently with the craft beer or cider works really well. You can also go the extra mile and add things like rosemary or cardamom to give your cocktail more depth and aroma.
To give an idea of proportions, for every litre of alcohol, add three cups of fresh orange, 100g demerara sugar, two oranges (halved and studded with cloves), two cinnamon sticks. Place in a pan and heat gently for 20 minutes.
Festive Kir Royale
Additionally, it’s surprisingly easy to make great home-made cordial, which you can then add to Prosecco, Champagne or Cava. I make one at Christmas with some apricots that I freeze in the summer time and then turn into a purée that I can use for drinks at Christmas. Using plenty of sugar and orange you can also make a lovely fresh cranberry cordial to add to some French wine for Christmas take on a Kir Royale. Here’s the recipe:
Place 500g cranberries into a saucepan and cover with 100ml cold water, 300g castor sugar and simmer for 100 minutes. In a blender whizz this up and than pass it through a fine sieve. Return this to the pan and allow it to simmer for a couple of minutes. Add 20ml cordial to each 125ml glass and top up with fizz.
Garnishes
Remember at Christmas time there are loads of great ingredients that you can use for drinks garnishes. Things like candied orange peel, fresh rosemary, boozy cherries or even hibiscus flowers in syrup, all look great to finish your drink off with.
Hot Chocolate
If you plan to serve hot chocolate at a get-together why not make your own with a festive twist? Melting good quality chocolate in a bain marie (place a glass bowl over boiling water without allowing the bowl to touch the water) and then whisking warm milk through it over a gentle heat is rich, delicious and indulgent. You can also add things like orange, brandy or cherry liqueur. You can make delicious little toasted marshmallow skewers for your guests to start the drink with too.
If you’d like to hear more from Barry, contact him at Cater.com
