The holiday season is a time for gathering with friends and family and enjoying festive foods and drinks. Christmas brings out some signature beverages across cultures—from warm, comforting cups of cocoa to Christmas ales and festively spiked punches. Here are 10 of the most popular Christmas drinks enjoyed around the world during the holiday season.
- Eggnog
Eggnog is a classic Christmas drink, especially popular in the United States and Canada. While recipes can vary, this creamy, custard-like beverage typically consists of milk, cream, eggs, sugar, and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Some versions contain spirits like rum or brandy. Thick and rich eggnog is often enjoyed chilled and sprinkled with more nutmeg or cinnamon for the quintessential Christmas treat.
- Mulled Wine
Mulled wine is essentially wine that is spiced, sweetened, and warmed. It’s an iconic and historic Christmas drink throughout Europe, especially well-loved in the UK and France. While specific ingredients vary, typical mulled wines contain red wine along with oranges, cinnamon, cloves, star anise and sweeteners like honey or sugar. The resulting aromatic, steamy and flavorful beverage is ideal for warming up by a holiday fire.
- Mexican Ponche Navideño
Ponche navideño is a Mexican Christmas punch made from fruits and spices that’s often compared to Sangria. Typical ingredients include guava, sugar cane, apples, tejocotes, oranges, cinnamon, sugar and often a splash of tequila or rum. The vibrant punch is ladled from large clay pots and served alongside Christmas tamales for a classic Mexican holiday celebration.
- Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes Soup
In Italian-American Christmas celebrations, the Feast of the Seven Fishes brings seafood dishes galore. The meal often concludes with an Italian Christmas fish soup containing differing types of seafood and often tomatoes, wine and olive oil. Recipes vary extensively based on region and family traditions. No matter the particular ingredients, a bowl of this Christmas fish stew pays homage to Italian holiday customs.
- Scandinavian Gløgg
Gløgg is a warm mulled wine consumed in Scandinavian countries like Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark as part of Christmas celebrations. While added ingredients vary, Gløgg often contains red wine, sugar, spices like cinnamon, cardamom and ginger, as well as chopped almonds and raisins. The sweet, aromatic, fortified wine is generally served hot in mugs, ideally while gathered around the fire in cold northern climates.
- Caribbean Sorrel Drink
Sorrel is a vibrant red flower that grows in the Caribbean and parts of Central America. Around Christmas time, Caribbeans often make a flavorful drink using the calyxes of the sorrel plant along with ginger, rum and sugar. The bright red-pinkish beverage has a unique tart, fruity taste. It’s served chilled and garnished with orange peels or spices. The popular Caribbean Christmas drink is integral to holiday celebrations in Jamaica, Haiti and more.
- South American Apple Cider
Hot spiced apple cider is a beloved Christmas drink across many cultures, but Latin Americans put a unique twist on it with manzana navideña, or Christmas apple cider. Along with apples, cider and spices like cinnamon, recipes call for distinctive additions like chopped pineapple, guava paste, sugar cane spirits like cachaça and even pink champagne. The result is a warm, sweet, fruity and slightly tropical twist on classic Christmas apple cider.
- Australia: Caramello Koalas Cocktail
Australians have devised a fun Christmas cocktail that pays homage to a popular chocolate candy in the shape of their iconic marsupial. The Caramello Koala Cocktail calls for Frangelico hazelnut liqueur, butterscotch schnapps, milk or cream, chocolate sauce, vanilla vodka or regular vodka, ice, and garnishes like crushed nuts or candy pieces to mimic the famous Caramello Koala candies enjoyed at Christmas down under.
- South Africa: Red Velvet Christmas Shakes
In South Africa, red velvet cake is a popular Christmas dessert and they’ve managed to transform it into a delicious holiday shake. Recipes vary but generally contain vanilla ice cream plus cream cheese, white chocolate and food coloring blended together to mimic red velvet cake. Toppings like crushed Oreos, whipped cream and red velvet cake pieces finish these festive, frothy shakes that dominate the Christmas drink scene in South Africa.
- Czech Republic & Germany – Becherovka Cocktails
Becherovka is a distinct botanical spirit from the Czech Republic that features prominently in Christmas drinks across Central Europe. The bitter, aromatic spirit crafted from a secret blend of herbs and spices since the 15th century lends itself well to cocktails. Germans and Czechs both spike drinks like Glühwein mulled wine, tea and cocoa with a splash of Becherovka or enjoy it with ginger ale for added depth and herbal complexity through the holiday season.
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