There are certain Christmas drinking traditions that can never be broken, even if they vary from family to family. The early-morning Christmas Day fizz, the Christmas Eve G&T, the late-night Boxing Day card-game cognac or calvados… we all have drinks with their precise moment in the festivities. But there’s room even within these fixed points to experiment a little, to try out a new producer or a different approach to a particular drink or style. Take that quintessentially festive combination, port and stilton. I might at first think there was something missing if the cheese came out after Christmas dinner without a bottle of tawny (such as Aldi’s bargain Maynard’s 10 Year Old Tawny; £9.99), late-bottled vintage (Waitrose’s robustly fruity 2010; £10.99) or vintage (the mellow mature single-quinta of Taylor’s Quinta de Terra Feita 1995; £26, Marks & Spencer). But a glass of the slightly lighter (16.5% v 20% abv) sweet fortified reds of France’s Roussillon region such as Maury (Waitrose Seriously Plummy Grande Réserve Maury NV; £10.99) or Banyuls (Domaine La Tour Vieille Banyuls Réserva; £19.75, Yapp) would soon dispel any disappointment, as would the very smart Blackdown elderberry port, made from elderberries scavenged in the South Downs (£25, blackdowncellar.co.uk).
There are other lighter choices that, as well as standing up well to blue cheese, are less likely to leave you nodding off in front of the flatscreen. Just as good, in different ways, are British beers and ciders. I’m thinking of dark ales such as the rich chocolate and coffee intensity of Anspach & Hobday The Porter (£3.20, Oddbins) or the tangy, red-fruited and ruby port-coloured Devon farmhouse cider with sloe and elderberry brewed by Sandford Orchards for M&S (£2.40).
Another fortified wine that many people will only drink at Christmas is dry sherry. For most of us that means an aperitif of the lighter, saltier, yeastier styles, fino and manzanilla. But while I could happily sip Valdespino’s textbook Inocente Fino (£7.75, 37.5cl, Lea and Sandeman) all day right up to and including with the turkey, a darker amontillado is equally versatile, working both as pre-meal aperitif and dark digestif and late-night sip. Look for Sainsbury’s excellent Taste the Difference 12-Year-Old Amontillado (£7) or, for an even more intensely nutty Christmas cake-like experience, Fernando de Castillo Antique Amontillado (£24.95, 50cl, Slurp).
If amontillado sherry is one way of getting some of the mellow barrel-aged flavours of brown spirits without the sheer alcoholic force, another option is the neglected fortified styles of Madeira. Blandy’s Single Harvest Malmsey 2008 (£13.99, 50cl, Waitrose), with its Christmas spice, dark toffee and orange peel, is excellent value.
Madeira also plays its part in one of my favourite leftfield whiskies, ex-Madeira casks having imparted a subtly sweet cast to Welsh distiller Penderyn’s single malt. In my house, this will be competing with traditional favourites such as the graceful Speyside single-malt The Glenrothes Vintage Reserve (£39, Waitrose; bbr.com), the iodine depth charge of Laphroaig 10 Year old Islay Single Malt (£33, Tesco) and The Co-operative’s impressive value 12 Year old Single Highland Malt Whisky (£22.99), for that headline fireside slot come Christmas Day evening. Unless, that is, someone’s been kind enough to include a bottle of boutique blenders Compass Box’s latest creation, the Highland-meets-Islay The Lost Blend (£85), in my stocking.
Earlier in the day, I’ll be looking to jazz up the G&T with one of the many fine gin brands that have emerged in the past couple of years, such as Suffolk brewer Adnams’ very pure, zingy Copper House Gin (£26.99, Asda) or the à point juniper spicing of Brighton Gin (£44, harveynichols.com). Better yet, I’ll go for a British twist on campari & soda with bartender Alex Kammerling’s earthy, herbal botanical garden aperitif, Kamm & Sons (from £28, ocado.com; Selfridges; Harvey Nichols; Fortnum & Mason). Mixed, as Kammerling suggests, with a classy lemonade such as Fever Tree Sicilian (£1.69, 33cl, Waitrose) or Fentiman’s Victorian (£1.19, 33cl, Waitrose, ocado.com), it’s a long-drink rival not just for G&T but that most stubbornly (inexplicably) popular of all Christmas drinks, the waste of good Champagne that is the dear old buck’s fizz.
Time for a change
Penderyn Legend Welsh Malt Whisky (£29.50, Asda)
Based in the Brecon Beacons, Penderyn’s whiskies are no mere novelty, this the company’s flagship being a superbly generous but balanced dram with the ex-Madeira and bourbon casks imparting a gentle sweetness and Christmas notes of spice, vanilla and citrus peel.
Quinta do Noval Unfiltered Late Bottled Vintage Port 2009 (£24, Oddbins)
The best of the late bottled vintage style of port, the deep dark fruit, bitter chocolate and firm but velvety texture of Noval’s Unfiltered LBV is the equal of many a more expensive straight vintage port, its sweetness matching dark chocolate as well as the obligatory Stilton.
Waitrose Solera Jerezana Dry Amontillado (£9.99, Waitrose)
Produced for Waitrose, like the equally excellent, vivacious Solera Jerezana Fino (also £9.99), by the fine sherry bodega Lustau, this is a gorgeously rich and tangy example of the amontillado style, all intense nuts and layers of umami, for cheese or in lieu of a late-night cognac.
Parcé Frères Rivesaltes Vin Doux Naturel 1998 (£13.50, The Wine Society)
Roussillon, towards the border with Spain in the far south of France, has a distinguished fortified winemaking tradition to rival Jerez and Porto. Made from a trio of local white grapes, this is a particularly luscious example, the flavours of rich Christmas cake in a glass.
Leduc Piedimonte Ice Cider, Quebec, Canada 2008 or 2010 (from £25.75, Vinoteca; bottleapostle.com)
The bite of acidity and burst of sweetness in cider means that, like the apples it’s made from, it’s a superb match for cheese. Made, like ice wine, from frozen fruit (an expensive mode of production, hence the price), this unctuous but racy nectar has a tang of citrus to go with the gorgeously pure sweet apple.
Monnet Cognac Barrel Aged Greenwich Ale (£6, 75cl, Marks & Spencer)
Ageing a portion of the blend in old cognac barrels has brought the most subtle of brandy flavours to this new addition to M&S’s increasingly excellent beer range from Meantime in Greenwich. Combined with the vanilla spice and coffee, it makes for a deeply flavoured, but not overly powerful, after-dinner sip.
