Cocktail for Christmas Week & New Years Eve / Day Foods & Drinks

Cocktail for Christmas Week & New Years Eve / Day Foods & Drinks

Celebrate Christmas with a Punch – A Crayfish Gin Punch!

This festive season, elevate your celebrations with a luxurious twist: a Christmas punch crafted using award-winning Kennet Crayfish Gin. Distilled from the shells of fresh, wild crayfish sourced from the River Kennet in Berkshire, this unique spirit is fresh on the nose, sweet on the palate and delivers a beautiful citrus and herbaceous complexity. Its delicate flavour adds a touch of indulgence worthy of any holiday gathering. These crayfish–resembling miniature freshwater lobsters–lend a refined complexity to the gin, making it the perfect base for a contemporary take on a classic Christmas tradition.
International cook, food writer and restaurateur Anna Fidler has partnered with the Kennet Crayfish Company to create an inspired seasonal serve: Winter Pimm’s & Gin Punch.

WINTER PIMM’S & GIN PUNCH

This warming recipe is a wonderful way to enjoy this quintessentially British tipple on a cold winter’s day. The natural aromatics of Pimm’s bring a mulled-wine character to the drink, while the Crayfish Gin adds a spirited kick to keep the chill at bay.

Makes approximately 10 glasses of punch:

500ml Pimm’s No.1

300ml Kennet Crayfish Gin

1.5l Cranberry juice (or clear apple juice)

2 cinnamon sticks

1 orange, sliced

1 lemon, sliced

6 whole cloves (optional, press into the orange or lemon before slicing if you choose to add in)

Pour all the ingredients into a large pan and heat gently to allow the citrus flavours and spices infuse the liquid. Do not boil, as this will get rid of a lot of the alcohol! Feel free to play around with your spice mix; nutmeg works well and woody herbs like rosemary and bay leaves add another dimension to the flavour. I like to use cranberry juice as it lifts the colour to a beautiful, deep red but apple juice works well if you like it a little sweeter. Serve in a pretty punch bowl or individual mugs to double up as hand warmers.