Four non-traditional party starters: a glass of hot Negroni, an "apple pie" blender, a glass of dessert wine, brandy, grapefruit and maraschino, and a glass of delicious milk and rum punch

A bowl of mulled wine will fill the party with the most wonderful Christmas atmosphere; however, sadly, the combination of cheap migraine castles and sugar often brings the worst Christmas hangovers. On the other hand, the carefully considered Negroni wine is in a leading position in both aspects. Negroni (gin, vermouth, campari) is a strong cocktail that becomes a bit exciting when heated, but you can dilute it with herbal tea of ​​similar color. I found Pukka's elderberry and echinacea to work well, but hibiscus, rose, cranberry or similar teas are also fine. A little citrus spray at the end will help make the flavor more rounded.

200ml gin 200ml Italian vermouth 200ml Campari 1 orange, cut into semicircles 1 lemon, cut into semicircles 600ml brewed elderberry tea (or similar)

Gently heat the gin, vermouth, campari and most of the citrus fruits (reserve some for garnish) in a saucepan, then pour the tea just when the negroni mixture starts to bubble. Stir and put into a cup, which is decorated with a slice of orange and lemon.

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There is a famous scene in Vladimir Nabokov's 1957 graphic novel "Pnin". The protagonist of the novel, an unfortunate Russian professor, organized a meeting for his American colleagues. Party. For Pnin, this is a rare moment of victory, which may be related to the fist he served: "The intoxicating mixture of chilled Châteaud' Yquem, grapefruit juice and black currant. The solemn master has already begun to stir the big bowl. Bright aquamarine glass, decorative design with spiral patterns and water lilies." Zadie Smith and Martin Amis both wrote articles centering on this bowl, but strangely, they did not pay much attention to the fist itself: a strange and wonderful creation , As long as you balance it a little bit. Please don't actually use Château d'Yquem, Bordeaux's most respected dessert wine (over 200 pounds per bottle), unless you are very wealthy. A sweet wine that is not too high is fine; I made it with Co-op Jurançon and it is still heavenly; Sauternes, monbazillac, Riesling auslese, etc., can also work well. In fact, this is a great way to use up these things after Christmas dinner.

600ml sweet wine 300ml grapefruit juice (white, best) 150ml brandy 60ml maraschino liqueur-I used Luxardo grapefruit peel (pink and white, best), decorated with 300ml soda

Stir the first four ingredients in a bowl as beautiful as possible, then decorate with grapefruit twists. Just before serving, add plenty of ice cubes to cool the mixture, add soda water, stir and pour into a beautiful glass.

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Few British liquids are as comprehensive and delicious as freshly squeezed apple juice. This is a way to make it go further. Be sure to play with the spices in the syrup. And, if you want, you can't go wrong with a little Somerset cider brandy. This will produce more syrup than you need, but it can keep in the refrigerator for about a month and is delicious in a variety of mixed drinks, from old fashioned to milkshakes to homemade lemonade.

Prepare 12 minutes for 4 hours + 6 servings

Spiced syrup 4 sticks of cinnamon sticks 5 green cardamom pods 5 cloves 200 g raw cane sugar 100 ml water 1 vanilla pod, separated (optional)

For the drink 750ml good apple juice 75ml spiced syrup (see above and method) 75ml apple cider vinegar 300ml water 2 apples, cut into slices of nutmeg, finished

First make the syrup. Bake the cinnamon, cardamom and cloves in a dry pan until you smell the aroma, then add sugar and water and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and simmer for three or four minutes, then turn off the heat, add the vanilla pod (if using) and cover the pot. Let the syrup soak for four hours (or overnight), then filter and pour out.

When making a drink, put the apple juice, syrup, vinegar, and water in the pot, add the cut apples and heat-but don't let it boil. Pour into a heat-resistant glass, and finally sprinkle nutmeg powder on the top.

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The word "alchemy" is used a bit by proficient bartenders, but if there is any drink worthy of the word, it must be this, the English housewife Mary Rockett (Mary Rockett) first recorded in 1711 A mixture. The ingredients that came out at the end have almost no similarities with the ingredients that went in, and the taste is amazing. It was originally an ingenious solution to the shelf life problem of the pre-refrigeration era: if you intentionally coagulate the milk and then filter out the curd, you will get a stable, transparent whey solution that can be stored for several months. Many early recipes pointed out that this was a kind of impact "for bottling," but it was more than that-it was silky smooth, very delicious, and yelled when the room was full of guests. The production process may seem strange, but please trust this process.

2 lemons, peeled (reserve 6 circles for garnish) and squeeze the juice to get 50 ml 50 g sugar 300 ml dark rum 1 drop vermouth 1 drop Angostura bitters 250 ml hot green tea 250 ml full fat Put milk into lemon zest (be careful to avoid bitter white pith) and put sugar in a bowl or jar and mix (namely bash) to make sherbet. Add the rum, vermouth, and bitters, and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved (you can add some Christmas spices if you want, and soak overnight).

Gently heat the rum mixture in a saucepan, then pour in the hot tea and lemon juice. In a separate pan, boil the milk and when it starts to foam, pour it into the rum mixture. It will freeze and look disgusting, but it doesn't matter.

Line a sieve with a muslin cloth, and then pass the mixed powder through the sieve to filter out the curd and most of the color; you may need to repeat the sieving several times to achieve perfect clarity. The final pass through the coffee filter should remove any final particles.

The finished punch will be kept in an airtight jar or bottle in the refrigerator for a few weeks (assuming you didn't want to drink it before). Serve on ice cubes in a delicate cup and garnish with a little lemon (or black cherry).

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Richard Godwin is the author of The Spirits (Square Peg, £16.99) and the cocktail newsletter of the same name.