Cheers! The best Christmas drinks, from gingerbread rum to mulled rose

Nothing stirs up festive cheer like indulging in your favourite Christmas tipple, whether you’re catching up with friends or just getting cosy at home next to the Christmas tree. I’ve been sampling this year’s trending Irish cream flavours, festive twists on standard beers and G&Ts, and Christmas spirits. Think warming spices, premium ingredients and a whole load of decadence; Christmas comes but once a year, after all.

I’ve rounded up the most festive flavours to add to your drinks trolley (or to give as gifts) this Christmas. From special-edition whisky to sparkling wine and a sherry that will knock your nan’s Harveys Bristol Cream out of the park, there’s something for everyone. Merry Christmas!

The best Christmas drinks for 2025

Best retro festive drink:
Warninks Original Advocaat

It’s not Christmas in my house without a Snowball. Warninks’ rich and creamy brandy-based custard liqueur advocaat has been made in the Netherlands since 1616, and it’s been a staple of British drinks cabinets since the 1970s, thanks to the runaway success of the snowball cocktail. Brighten up dark, dreary December nights with this nostalgic-feeling yellow liqueur in the ultimate Christmas kitsch cocktail: two shots of advocaat over ice with the juice of quarter of a lime, topped up with lemonade and garnished with maraschino cherries.

Best mulled wine:
Waitrose mulled rose

The nation’s love of rose knows no bounds – to the extent that there are even a few mulled roses circulating this Christmas. I like this version from Waitrose, a lighter take on the usual ready-to-drink mulled reds; lots of citrus and gentle baking spice flavours mingle with the berry-fruit of the wine, and it works weirdly well warmed. Serve with slices of orange, apple and cinnamon sticks – you can up the ante with a slug of spicy gin if you like.

Best festive cider:
Sandford Orchards figgy pudding ice cider

Sandford Orchards makes top-quality craft cider from an independent, family-run cider mill in Devon. Here, it’s given its usual fare a Christmas makeover by freezing the apple juice to create a stronger, sweeter concentrated liquid (rather than harvesting frozen fruit, as with ice wine). This is then fermented and aged in oak barrels, then steeped in dried fruit. The result is a deeply aromatic and happily not-too-sweet festive tipple that pairs as well with after-dinner cheese as it does with mince pies.

Best festive liqueur:
Lyme Bay Winery fruit cake liqueur

If sweet and sticky is your thing, this decadent fruit cake liqueur from the Lyme Bay Winery in Devon is a nice fireside treat. A warming brandy-based liqueur bursting with rich raisin, fig, damson and elderberry notes and a huge whack of sweet spices, this is Christmas cake in a bottle. Divine over ice, even better poured over vanilla ice-cream.

Best cream liqueur:
Baileys x Terry’s Chocolate Orange Irish cream liqueur

Two Christmas legends unite with this Baileys x Terry’s Chocolate Orange Irish cream liqueur, and it’s everything you could want. More chocolate creaminess, more decadence and that signature Irish whiskey flavour, but laced with the recognisable orange oil of Terry’s. Fun for mixing up indulgent festive cocktails this Christmas, or spiriting up your hot chocolate.

Best festive rum:
Project #173 gingerbread rum

Project #173 loves to play around with flavour, and it’s nailed it with this gingerbread and rum pairing. You can taste the quality and depth of the Dominican rum, but it’s been thoughtfully imbued with the authentic taste of real gingerbread using root ginger, cinnamon and vanilla. It’s wonderfully peppery, bright and spicy rather than cloying. I love sipping it on its own, though it would also make any rum and coke or hot beverage decidedly more festive.

Best festive gin:
Isle of Wight Distillery Mermaid Winter Gin

I’m sometimes sceptical about flavoured gins, but when they use natural ingredients like this one, they can be excellent. The distillery is B Corp certified and has a “plastic-free” approach. Its Mermaid Winter Gin is a small-batch gin infused with seasonal ingredients such as fig, cassia, orange peel, dried fruit and Isle of Wight honey, creating a triumphantly wintry, figgy, spicy gin that’s tasty and smooth enough to drink alone. Swap in to your usual G&T for a nod to the season; I like it with Fever Tree Spanish clementine tonic and a slice of orange.

Best festive fizz:
Nyetimber classic cuvee

December requires festive sparkle on standby at all times, and what better bottle of bubbles to keep in the fridge than Nyetimber classic cuvee? The signature – and most affordable – bottling for the renowned English wine estate is a sure-fire hit bound to get any Christmas party started. With tons of creamy, toasty brioche thanks to time on the lees, this sparkling wine is full of orchard fruit and citrus flavours, making it the ideal fizz for all festive occasions. Nyetimber’s winemaker Cherie Spriggs recently won sparkling winemaker of the year at the International Wine Challenge for the second time, and is the only woman ever to have won the award: cheers to that.

Best festive beer:
Vocation Brewery the Nutcracker chestnut & vanilla winter ale

Independent Yorkshire-based brewer Vocation has Christmas covered for beer-lovers. Its limited-edition festive ales range from the tropical, hoppy Wham-A-Geddon to the crisp Snow Pines IPA, plus a few interesting stouts. My pick is the Nutcracker, a spiced, slightly sweet full-bodied winter ale with a comforting chestnut note and lots of roasted flavours that nod to the season.

Best festive whisky:
Master of Malt Craigellachie 11-year-old (Christmas) single malt

Not everyone wants an in-your-face festive flavoured drink. This Christmas edition of Craigellachie Speyside single malt has been aged for 11 years in bourbon, oloroso and pedro ximénez (PX) sherry casks, imparting a welcome dried fruit flavour with some wintry fireside smoke; think mince pies and roasting chestnuts on the nose. One to hunker down with stollen and those fancy Christmas nuts on chilly nights – far too good to leave out for Santa.

Best sherry:
González Byass Solera 1847 cream sherry

Cream sherry is not just for nans; this Solera 1847 cream sherry from renowned family-owned winery González Byass is the perfect winter warmer. Made using 75% nutty, savoury oloroso, topped up with rich, raisin-heavy PX, then aged for eight to nine years, the liquid is complex with toffee, vanilla and oak velvetiness just made for chilly nights. González Byass recommends pairing it with cheese or dessert, but I’d probably stick to puddings or have it as an aperitif unless you were choosing your cheeses carefully.

Best alternative cream liqueur:
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference pistachio & chocolate Irish cream liqueur

Every year an influx of flavoured Irish cream liqueurs hits the shelves, and 2025’s standout is this pistachio Irish cream liqueur from the Taste the Difference range. Inspired by the viral trend for Dubai chocolate and all things pistachio, this blends natural pistachio flavour with Irish whiskey, fresh cream and Belgian chocolate – we’ve been spared the kataifi. Get past the creme-de-menthe-esque hue and the pistachio flavour is bang on. While it’s certainly rich, indulgent and creamy, it’s not too thick or sickly sweet. Great over ice or in mudslide-type cocktails.

For more, read our rundown of the best gin and best whisky

Joanne Gould is a food, drink and lifestyle writer with a decade of experience. As well as enthusiastically eating her way through London’s best bars and restaurants, she’s also a keen home cook and can often be found trying a new recipe or kitchen gadget, while taste-testing anything from South African wines to speciality coffee or scotch. Luckily, she also enjoys walking, running and keeping fit and healthy in her spare time – for balance