6 Easy to Make Winter Cocktails

The nights have drawn in, the mercury has dropped - but spirits are still up! Or they will be… It may be Winter, but we’ve put together 6 of our favourite winter cocktails to see you through to spring!

Warm cocktails, winter gin cocktails, twists on old favourites; these wintry cocktails are easy to make and sure to go down a smash. 

So whether you’re seeking a delicious drink to sip on around the fire or serving up cocktails for Christmas or New Year's, it’s time to give winter a good ol’ shake up…

The Winter Cocktail Recipes

• Jump to Winter G&T

• Jump to Festive French 75

• Jump to Blackberry & Apple Bramble

• Jump to Mulled Apple Gin

• Jump to Winter Negroni

• Jump to NYE Gin Fizz

Winter Gin & Tonic Recipe

What kind of cocktail recipe list wouldn’t include a G&T?! For this, we’re going for a wintry cocktail twist on the classic, but really, you can drink it any time of year. Tweak to your taste, let’s dig in…

For the Winter G&T, You’ll Need

• 50ml of a quality gin (Filey Signature Gin makes a great choice)

• 180ml of quality tonic water

• 50ml of cranberry juice

• Garnishes to your taste (cinnamon sticks, dried orange slices, dried apple slices, raspberries)

• Ice

The Recipe

• Step 1: Fill your glass with ice cubes to cool the glass and to keep your drink cold.

• Step 2: Measure out 50ml of your gin and pour over your ice cubes.

• Step 3: Pour in the tonic water, leaving sufficient room for your cranberry juice.

• Step 4: Pour in the cranberry juice and gently stir. Add more cranberry juice or tonic water to taste.

• Step 5: Garnish the drink with cinnamon sticks, dried orange slices, and or dried apple slices for a touch of winter flavours to round off the drink.

• Step 6: Enjoy!

Want to try it warm?

If you’re looking for a warm winter cocktail twist on your G&T, you’ll need to substitute your tonic water for a tonic syrup.

Start by measuring out 50ml of your gin and 25ml of tonic syrup into your glass, while boiling water in a kettle or on the hob. Let the water cool to around 80°C (leave for around 2 to 5 minutes) and then pour into your glass, adding your garnishes to taste. 

Top tip for festive flavours: If you’re heating water on the stove, adding your garnishes to the water can help to infuse the water to bring the winter cocktail flavours to life!

Tweak to your taste

The beauty of this recipe, and really any G&T, is the ability to make the drink your own! If you prefer a more fruity G&T, using a pink gin is great to add flavours of raspberry and red fruits into the mix. 

A fruity tonic water, such as a cranberry or raspberry tonic, can also lift the spirit of this wintry twist.

Festive French 75

The French 75 is a classic cocktail. Simple, elegant, and delicious. This recipe takes it to new heights for a winter gin cocktail recipe you’ll be sipping all season long…

What’ll you need

• Cocktail shaker

• 50ml of quality gin

• 25ml of pomegranate juice or apple juice

• A lemon or lemon juice

• Sparkling wine or champagne

• Ice

• Garnishes (optional): Pomegranate seeds, edible glitter 

The Recipe

• Step 1: Fill your glass with ice to keep the glass chilled.

• Step 2: Measure out your gin, juice, and 10ml of lemon juice, and add to your cocktail shaker with ice and edible glitter.

• Step 3: Shake your cocktail shaker for around 10-15 seconds.

• Step 4: Empty the ice out of your glass, and pour into your glass and top up with your sparkling wine or champagne.

• Step 5: Enjoy!

Tweak to your taste!

This Festive French 75 takes a nod to the classic Pomegranate French 75 and Apple French 75. But why not take it a step further and combine both pomegranate and apple juice together? Measure out to your taste, ensuring both juices combined equal 25ml.

Blackberry & Apple Bramble Recipe

A bramble is a staple, easy-to-make cocktail. In this recipe, we’re taking the beloved classic and combining it with the wintery, warming flavours of a blackberry and apple crumble. What’s not to love?

You’ll need

• 50ml of quality gin

• 25ml of lemon juice

• 15ml simple syrup/sugar syrup (to taste)

• 30ml apple juice

• 15ml blackberry liqueur (also known as Crème de mûre)

• Cocktail shaker

• Ice

The Recipe

• Step 1: Fill your glass with ice cubes to keep it chilled

• Step 2: Measure out your gin, lemon juice, apple juice, and simple syrup with your ice into your cocktail shaker.

• Step 3: Shake your cocktail shaker for around 10-15 seconds.

• Step 4: Pour over your ice into the glass.

• Step 5: Measure out your blackberry liqueur and pour it over the drink, then stir gently to combine

Tweak to your taste

You can play around with adding more or less sugar syrup to balance the sweetness of your bramble. Equally, tweaking the amount of lemon juice added can help to elevate the tartness of your bramble to your taste.

Mulled Apple Gin

Move over mulled wine and mulled cider, it’s time for a new winter classic to warm things up. Ok, a bit dramatic, we do love these drinks too, but if you’re looking to give a new recipe a go - this one is sure to warm your cockles. 

It’s quick, easy to make, and can be easily scaled up to serve more people. Hello, Christmas party drink!

You’ll need

• 50ml of quality gin

• 200ml apple juice

• Fresh ginger root

• Fresh lemon or Vanilla pods

• Cinnamon stick

• Nutmeg

• Cloves

The Recipe

• Step 1: Measure out your apple juice and gin and pour them into a saucepan (a large saucepan works well for multiple servings).

• Step 2: Finely grate a small amount of fresh ginger into the saucepan, and add a small squeeze of fresh lemon to taste.

• Step 3: Add a cinnamon stick, a pinch of nutmeg, a clove, and a vanilla pod, and gently heat the mixture until simmering.

• Step 4: Pour the contents into a large heatproof serving vessel, such as a large glass jug.

• Step 5: Pour into a heatproof glass and serve.

Tweak to your taste

Just like making mulled wine, there’s no set recipe for making mulled gin. Ultimately, it comes down to the flavours you want in this warming winter drink.

Opting for ginger, lemon, cloves, and cinnamon brings a warming and slightly zingy taste and elevates the botanical flavours of a quality gin. Equally, removing the lemon juice and adding a vanilla pod can work well for a sweeter and enriching taste. Simply taste and tweak to your preferences throughout.

Winter Spiced Negroni

Simple and sophisticated. What’s not to love with a Negroni? This recipe builds on the classic gin-led flavours, adding warming wintery spices for a festive twist you can enjoy to kick away the winter blues.

What you’ll need

• 30ml of quality gin

• 30ml of port

• 20ml of bitter aperitif

• 15ml cranberry syrup

• Orange zest

• Star anise

• Nutmeg

• Cinnamon

• Ice

The Recipe

• Step 1: Fill your glass with ice to ensure it is chilled

• Step 2: Measure out your gin, port, bitter aperitif, and cranberry juice and pour into your glass

• Step 3: Grate a small amount of orange zest into the glass

• Step 4: Stir gently to combine

• Step 5: Add a star anise, cinnamon stick, and grate a small amount of fine nutmeg over the top. If you can’t get a cinnamon stick, sprinkling a small amount of cinnamon over the top is a great alternative.

• Step 6: Enjoy!

NYE Gin Fizz

What better way to see in the new year than with a gin fizz cocktail? This New Year’s Eve cocktail recipe takes the classic gin fizz to a new level. We couldn’t blame you if you have it all year round, though…

What you’ll need

• 50ml of quality pink gin

• 15ml Lemon juice

• 15ml Grenadine

• Sparkling rosé wine

• Raspberries to garnish

• Ice

• Cocktail shaker

• Egg (optional

The Recipe

• Step 1: Measure out and pour your pink gin, lemon juice, and grenadine into your cocktail shaker.

• Step 2: Crack an egg and pour the egg white into your shaker.

• Step 3: Shake until all ingredients are combined (dry shake)

• Step 4: Add ice to your cocktail shaker for the wet shake, and shake until chilled

• Step 5: Pour into your glass, and top with chilled sparkling rosé wine

• Step 6: Enjoy!

The addition of egg white helps to add a luxurious, silky texture to the drink. The egg white can be left out if you would like to prepare a vegan cocktail alternative, however. The choice is up to you!

Enjoy through winter and beyond!

And there we have it, those are our 6 easy-to-make winter cocktails for you to try this winter season. 

If you’re looking for more delicious seasonal cocktails, go and check out our 5 Autumnal cocktail recipes for more tantalising tipples.

Stock up to keep your spirits up!

A great winter cocktail recipe, or really any cocktail recipe, is only as good as what you put in it! The quality of your spirits makes a big difference to your enjoyment of the cocktail.

So why not treat yourself to a bottle of quality, craft gin to experiment with your new recipes this season? 

At Filey Distillery, we hand-bottle every order of our artisan signature and pink gins in-house. We’re a small, independent and multi-award-winning gin distillery making quality gins in the North Yorkshire seaside town of Filey.

So if you want to support small, independent UK businesses - check out our online gin shop! We offer everything from large 70cl bottles of our signature dry gin and pink gins, through to mini taster bottles of our signature and pink gins, as well as combined gift sets that make for a perfect present.

What to check out next?

For more festive fun, check out our Christmas gift giving guide for Gin Lover! Or if you're interested to learn more about spirits, check out our guide to the history of gin, as well as the differences between gin and whiskey.