Hong Kong’s best festive Christmas cocktails to get you through the holidays

Raise a toast to the holidays with Avoca’s special festive cocktails! Available only for the month of December – well, you wouldn’t want to be sipping on Christmas cocktails in January, would you? – the Haw Haw Haw ($138) will make revellers burst out in choruses of joyful “ho ho ho” with its hawthorn and osmanthus notes. Combined with Iichiko Saiten shochu, raspberry cordial, sherry wine, and super lemon, this drink blends Hong Kong childhood nostalgia with the magic of Christmas. Apple Pie ($138) merges local favourite Horlicks with the flavours of baked apple pie, based on Matusalem 15-Year-Old spiced rum, apple, Christmas spice, Cantonese spice, tangerine peel, and Horlicks cream.

A duo of limited-edition Christmas cocktails are being shaken up at sky-high rooftop bar Jin Bo Law, served from now until December 28. Pinky Cheers ($128) is an effervescent delight, presenting bright and fruity notes of peach and guava contrasted against citrusy-sweet champagne. For something richer, Silent Night Velvet ($128) goes down the cognac route, with advocaat, vanilla, and cream bringing a custardy experience into the mix.

As part of The Luxe Manor’s ‘Nordic Wonderland’ Christmas celebration, Dada Bar + Lounge has designed a festive tipple just for the occasion. It’s highly improbable that we’ll ever get to experience a proper white Christmas in Hong Kong but the sweet and sour Christmas Frost ($98) at least brings that holiday feeling to the table. Vodka and blue curaçao is skilfully paired with orange juice, lime juice, and soda water for a blue-green cocktail that looks like a lagoon in a glass. It’s finished off with a ‘snowy’ sugar rim.

Self-avowed neighbourhood watering hole Bourke’s takes Christmas and cocktails seriously, and their range of festive drinks on offer for the month of December reflects that combined commitment to superior holiday drinks. Choose one (or more) of four different creations: the Rapscallion ($120) is made with Scotch and Pedro Ximénez sherry; the New York Sour-like Elk’s Own ($120) blends rye whisky, ruby port, and egg white; the Boulevardier No. 2 ($120) will delight Negroni fans with its winter fruit twist; and the Trinidad Sour ($120) is aromatic, spiced, and intense in all the right ways.

Keeping things real to its Southern roots, Honky Tonks Tavern’s seasonal cocktail lineup brings imaginative mixology to the festive drinks experience. Where else can you get your hands on a Pumpkin Spice Sour ($120)? Reimagining the popular autumn beverage with a boozy twist, the Pumpkin Spice Sour leans on flavours of buttered bourbon, salted pecan, pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg – it’s practically a dessert!

With the Down South Martini ($120), guests can choose their base of Ketel One vodka or Sipsmith gin, blended with dry vermouth, Americano, celery, olive, and pepper brine. Spritzi Boi ($110) finds commonality between a Cosmopolitan and Mojito, while Honky’s No More Plz ($80) presents a zero-proof option for those who would like to party without the hangover.

Over on Lamma Island, Terracotta Lamma is taking their signature chilled-out approach to cosy festive drinks. Opt for the refined Pearadise Spritz ($80), which is made with blanc vermouth, gin, elderflower, honey, pear, ginger, and sparkling wine, or the Orchard Daiquiri ($100) with ‘super’ spiced rum, apple cider reduction, lime, cinnamon, and nutmeg – it instantly evokes imagery of Christmas holidays spent soaking up the sun on a beach.

From now until December 31, you can indulge in Duddell’s artistic mixology creations through a collection of limited-time festive drinks. Berry Xmas ($130) blends Ketel One Citron vodka with mixed berry purée and spiced syrup for a fruity and sweet sip, Gingerbread Man Old Fashioned ($130) pairs Monkey Shoulder Scotch whisky with gingerbread syrup and Angostura bitters, and the hot Fireside Amaro Latte ($130) is the perfect drink to keep your hands and heart warm during any cold snap with Averna, Frangelico, coffee liqueur, spiced honey, bourbon, and milk.

Bask in the festive atmosphere at DarkSide, with alluring jazz serenading every sip. Building on a base of Orientalist Gunpowder gin, New Century ($180) is elevated with creme de cacao and Mancino sakura vermouth lavender verjus for a pleasantly surprising floral result. And because it was so successful the first time, Orientalist is used once more for Wayfarer ($180) – this time, Orientalist Origins vodka meets Ratafia Rossi, cointreau blood orange, cranberry PX sherry, and citrus to create a fruity, sweet, and delightful drink.

How about sampling Christmas-themed cocktails that have been reimagined with Japanese influences? Head to The Aubrey at MO Hong Kong for a short but sweet list of festive drinks, which includes the chic Matcha Egg Nogg made with matcha and chocolate, and the celebratory Yukima with rice shochu and Aubrey champagne.

New Orleans is most popularly known for its Mardi Gras celebrations, but it knows how to put on a show for Christmas too. At this New Orleans-inspired bar, the Ella team has come up with a couple of concoctions to honour this special time of year. Enjoy the Tis’ The Season Martini ($120), which brings everyone’s favourite festive flavours together with vanilla vodka, Baileys, gingerbread syrup, and Amaretto. Alternatively, go for the Irish Coffee ($120) topped with hand-whipped cream. How’s that for a nightcap?

Rich in flavour, warming for the palate, and soothing when consumed – that’s usually the feeling we get when we indulge in Christmas-related bevvies. But taking a step back, hey, these are all the same characteristics that you can get with a good-quality tea too. Tell Camellia knows that better than most, and their trio of seasonal ‘tea-tails’ combines the best of hot leaf juice with alcohol. Choose from the hojicha-driven But Tea, the green tea-based Chris Must Drink, or the Warmth Tooth with Thai black tea and Masaka tea.

Keep things classy this Christmas with Barcode’s sophisticated festive transformation of a tried-and-true tipple. Barcode’s Gingerbread Espresso Martini builds on the classic gin and vermouth cocktail by adding fragrant winter spices, robust ginger notes, and molasses for sweetness. Nothing wrong with consuming a gingerbread cookie in liquid form!