Surviving ‘Til Christmas Cocktail

Hop on a raft and let’s set sail for Christmas, one of the most magical times of the year, filled with endless wonder and joy, gifts, elves, reindeers, the ultimate Christmas spirit and even a special appearance from the man himself, Santa Claus.

Don’t forget to pack the ingredients we require to craft our Christmas Cocktail, using delicious Custard, Rum and Sparkling Wine, along with some Festive Spices.

We haven’t got long left to wait, Christmas is just days away, so let’s grab a few bottles and have some fun crafting this Surviving ‘Til Christmas Cocktail.

The Sparkling Wine – ŠtranCar

Located just over an hour’s drive from Ljubljana in Slovenia, this winery offers one Sparkling Wine to the world, they have a wonderful, dedicated and innovative team behind the brand, presenting their Still Wines and Sparkling Wine to the Slovenian people.

The translation of Štrancar is Stranger

ŠtranCar can be contacted either on their Website or their Facebook page, they would be more than happy to welcome you in for a visit if you’re ever in the wonderful wine producing country of Slovenia.

Vina ŠtranCar – Penina Zelen 2020 – Tasting Notes

Aroma – “Soft green citrus and floral aromas, with green apples.”

Flavour – “Sour and zesty green apples, with refreshing subtle and silky floral with saline and lemon peel on the palate.”

Bronze Medal in the Sea Breeze Category at the Glass of Bubbly Awards 2022

The Rum – Askival

Blended on The Isle of Rùm, an Island off of Scotland, Askival is the first to produce Rum on this perfectly named island.

A blend of local water and 5-year-old Caribbean rums infused with wild botanicals and spices foraged from and inspired by the Isle of Rùm and its rich history. Roasted kelp, spruce and meadowsweet capture the essence of the coastline, forests and glens that define this picturesque Hebridean island.

Askival creates a pure Scottish rum on the Isle of Rùm that is fermented, distilled and bottled on the island to which it bears its name.

I reached out to Josh Kerr, the Director of Askival Rum to ask him an interesting question: Crafting Rum on the Isle of Rùm sounds like a perfect match. Is it a challenging task to complete?

“Creating a rum from Rùm certainly creates its challenges but we wouldn’t have it another way. Starting any business in such a remote location that is off grid and only accessible via ferry (which does not operate every day) does present us with unique logistical situations but nothing we haven’t been able to overcome. The Island has just over 30 local residents and is powered by a small hydro scheme which limits the amount of power we can use (so we have to time our cups of tea to avoid peak demand!).

Despite the challenges, the breath-taking landscape and location which have inspired our brand and flavours make it all worth while. We infuse our rum with botanicals foraged and inspired by the Isle of Rùm. Meadowsweet from the glens, Spruce from the forests and roasted kelp from the rugged coastline combine in our rum to bring a full and complex flavour representing the island that bears its name. “

Askival Botanical Rum – Tasting Notes

Aroma – “Winter spices with wild floral and vanilla custard on the aroma.”

Flavour – “Smooth, freshly grown garden herbs, white pepper, salty sea air, dark chocolate, salted caramel and apricots on the palate.”

The Cocktail – Surviving ‘Til Christmas

Ingredients

• Sparkling Wine
• Rum
• Custard
• Ginger Syrup
• Nutmeg
• Cloves
• Cinnamon Stick

How To Make The Surviving ‘Til Christmas Cocktail

• Start with 15mls of Rum
• 5mls of Ginger Syrup
• 75mls of Sparkling Wine
• Top up with Custard
• Sprinkle on some Nutmeg Powder
• Then Garnish with Several Cloves and a Cinnamon Stick

Surviving ‘Til Christmas Cocktail Tasting Notes

Aroma – “A warmth of winter spices, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger notes with a soft creamy custard on the aroma.”

Flavour – “Very smooth egg yolk texture, with typical custard flavours refreshed with zesty and sparkling characters from the Sparkling Wine. Quite a bizarre pairing with two, you would imagine, conflicting textures, but these pair surprisingly well. Winter spices combine with the smooth, silky and creamy characters of the custard, a salty sea air and ginger touch with ripe green fruits and cloves close the performance on the palate.”