3 Winter Cocktails to Start the New Year with a Splash

There is nothing quite like a nice strong drink to warm you up and refresh your spirit when it is cold outside. We decided that this winter we would give you the gift of aperitif wisdom, getting advice from our mixologists around the world to bring you the best winter cocktails.

We're dreaming of a White Russian

This ultimate indulgence is a creamy, refreshing and soothing drink to raise your temperature and cosy up this winter. The White Russian is the perfect après-ski, after ski, cocktail.

The après-ski culture originated and is still strong in the Alps where you will find skiers stopping at bars on their last runs of the day, or even between runs, enjoying in warming, refreshing drink while still in their ski gear. However, you don’t have to wait until after you ski to enjoy it!

The White Russian is made with vodka, coffee liqueur and cream served in an Old Fashioned glass. You can substitute milk or single cream if you fancy something a bit lighter.

You need

• Old Fashioned glass
• Ice 
• 5 cl (5 parts) Vodka
• 2 cl (2 parts) Coffee liqueur
• 3 cl (3 parts) fresh cream

Get mixing

Pour the vodka and coffee liqueur into an Old Fashioned glass filled with ice. Gradually pour fresh cream on top and stir slowly.

Note for the curious: the Old Fashioned glass is also known as a rocks glass or a lowball. It is a short tumbler, which is used for serving various drinks and cocktails, the most famous of which should come as no surprise is the Old Fashioned itself.

Our next drink takes a slightly darker, more sinister turn and yet it is just as delicious and refreshing as the last winter delight.

We'll make you a drink you can't refuse: The Godfather

If this drink doesn't warm you up and give you the kick you need when nothing else will. The Godfather is quite simply the godfather of winter cocktails. Enjoy this sinful pleasure as you wind down from a long day of business or to warm up a dark winter day as cosy up by a fire and perhaps read your next drama or thriller.

Where it got its name is a bit of a mystery. One brand of amaretto claims that the Godfather was Marlon Brando's, the star of Francis Ford Coppola's film adaptation of The Godfather book by Mario Puzo, favourite drink. True or not, mixologists agree it fits the drink’s mystique.

This simple mix of smoky whisky and amaretto liqueur is delicious and, like revenge, the Godfather tastes best when served cold.

You need

• Old Fashioned glass
• Ice
• 3.5 cl Scotch whisky
• 3.5 cl Amaretto

Get mixing

Pour the whisky and amaretto into an old fashioned glass filled with ice. Stir gently while humming the tune from The Godfather.

Note for the curious: The level of the smokiness of a whisky depends on how long the barley grain was exposed to peat smoke during the drying process. Single malt scotch is the most common kind of smoky whisky. Amaretto, on the other hand, has many modern variations. The original hails from Italy and is a sweet liqueur traditionally made with bitter almonds. 

Now it’s time to welcome the last, but certainly not the least of our refreshing winter cocktails. This one is more than meets the eye.

Not your average Angel Face

The Angel Face cocktail is a refreshingly lively combination of gin, apricot brandy and Calvados. It first appeared in the Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930.

The Savoy was the first luxury hotel in Great Britain and is an icon of affluence, located in the City of Westminster, London, England. The hotel's American Bar was one of the first to introduce American-style cocktails to sophisticated Europeans.

You need

• Standard drinkware cocktail glass
• Shaker
• Ice
• 3 CL gin
• 3 CL apricot brandy
• 3 CL calvados

Get mixing

Pour equal parts of gin, apricot brandy and Calvados into a shaker filled with ice. Shake thoroughly and strain contents into a cocktail glass.

Note for the curious: Calvados is an apple or pear brandy and originates in Normandy, France. In the UK, it is known as cider brandy. Apricot brandy, on the other hand, is common in Eastern Europe, although it is also made in France, Canada and Vietnam. It is either liquor distilled from fermented apricot juice or infused with apricot flesh and kernels.

Whether you are staying in or going out, put on something fabulous, sit back, relax and enjoy your Angel Face.