It's December, so it's quiet time to start thinking about your Christmas dinner. What will you serve, how many courses will you provide and what drinks will you present to your guests. Will you have a cosy aperitif together, will you opt for a tasty cocktail or a classic bubble, will you serve wine with your main course and will you end the evening with a digestive with dessert? We guide you through some options to make your Christmas party unforgettable.
Aperitifs with a cocktail
Gone are the days when making and serving delicious cocktails or mocktails was something for the happy few. Indeed, with Don Corleone's ready-made cocktails and mocktails, you can now serve cocktails at the level of the better hospitality industry in no time. The Don Corleone's cocktails are prepared and filled in-house according to their own recipes and with quality ingredients, so you don't have to worry about anything at all. No difficult recipes, no ingredients to worry about afterwards and, above all, no work to spend more time with your guests.
The most popular cocktails of the year are without a doubt the Pornstar Martini (passion fruit) and the Lazy Red Cheeks (raspberry). Those who like it a little spicier can opt for a Spicy Margarita and those who love bitter will be fine with the latest Paloma. A total of 19 varieties of these cocktails are currently available with us, divided into those with alcohol and those without (virgin). If you have a mixed crowd, you can always mix a virgin mocktail yourself with a neutral vodka for a little extra punch.
> Discover all cocktails and mocktails by Don Corleone
Would you still like to get started making your own cocktail or mocktail? Then the Difford's Guide is the ultimate reference book you need to make and serve them according to the rules of the art.
Aperitifs with bubbles
Are you more traditionally minded and think cocktails are more for summer? Then bubbles are always nice to start the evening with. Depending on the region or country you like most and what fits your budget, the choice is huge these days, from cava to champagne, sparkling wine to Franciacorta, spumante to prosecco. A lot of people like the sharper taste of a brut, but those who like it a bit sweeter should opt for a demi-sec . Those who like a bit of colour on the festive table are more likely to opt for a rosé sparkling wine.
We list some of our favourite, affordable options for you below and complement them with the most popular bottles among aficionados.
> Discover all cava in our webshop
> Discover all champagne on our webshop
> Discover all franciacorta on our webshop
> Discover all prosecco on our webshop
> Discover all sparkling wine on our webshop
> Discover all the spumante on our webshop
Aperitifs with spritz
If you like a golden mean between bubbles and cocktails, you have for years ended up with the classic of classics: the spritz. Although mainly associated with warm summer evenings, a spritz is also a great aperitif with a winter festive meal such as at Christmas. In a spritz, you combine a spirits or liqueur with a sparkling wine or sparkling water. The best known is of course the Aperol Spritz, but you can also make a delicious spritz with limoncello, port, rum or whisky, or with the revelation of 2025: the yuzu liqueur.
The basic recipe for a classic spritz is always:
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3 parts sparkling wine (90ml)
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2 parts liqueur (60ml)
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1 part sparkling water (30ml)
In each case, we combined the most popular spritz with a Loron Cremant sparkling wine in a handy gift set, but you can of course prepare your spritz with any other sparkling wine of your choice. You can even replace parts of sparkling wine with sparkling water if you want to avoid your aperitif coming in too strong with your guests, or play around with the proportions until you get the spritz you like best! So don't be blinded by recipes and rules, but use them as a starting point for your perfect spritz.
> Find out more about the tasty alternatives to a classic Aperol Spritz
Wine with the main course
We are currently still putting together our end-of-year wine package. You will find more information on this page soon.
> Discover all our red wines here
> Discover all our white wines here
> Discover all our rosé wines here
Digestive? Porto!
Popular desserts at the Christmas table are often combinations with chocolate, but gourmets sometimes also opt for a cheeseboard. Both desserts lend themselves particularly well to a pairing with a quality port. A good port enriches and enhances the flavours in these desserts, without dominating the dessert.
So for these desserts, it is best to opt for a good and balanced tawny port or a late bottled vintage. So within the Graham's range, the leader when it comes to really good port, the following references are without a doubt your best choice to end your festive dinner in beauty.
Desserts with ice cream: eggnog
If you serve a dessert with vanilla ice cream or coffee, advokaat is not to be sneezed at. Nico Jans' King Advocaat is an artisanal avocaat from Limburg and without a doubt surpasses what you already knew and knew about this eggnog. It can be perfectly served over an ice cream dessert, or as an extra with coffee.
Standalone dessert with booze: egg nog
Blown over from the United States and unmissable from many a Christmas movie, it must be egg nog. Eggnog is a bit like eggnog, yet it is not. It is different in terms of preparation and structure, and you add rum and/or bourbon that provide the "punch" whereas a more neutral alcohol is more often chosen for eggnog.
Eggnog is perfect to drink from a larger glass that you have finished with whipped cream, cinnamon or chocolate chips.
The big advantage of eggnog: you can simply make it yourself. Check our eggnog blog post for the preparation, videos, tips and tricks to serve the perfect eggnog.
> This is how to prepare your own eggnog step by step
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Marketing • IT • Klantenservice
I've known Broekmans since I graduated in 2006 and thanks to Jan I've come to know the passion for spirits. I dedicate myself every day to the webshop, customer service and all the IT involved. In my spare time, besides whiskey, I can also really enjoy rum, but just as much as a gin tonic or a simple bellini. In the words of Martien Meiland, if there's no alcohol in it, don't call me!
