Who doesn't need a winter warmer come December? This festive party tipples from Boann Distillery make the perfect Christmas party treats.

The gin cocktail (Silks in the Bronx) uses the award-winning County Meath distillery’s Silks Gin, which launched this year and quickly picked up a gold medal at the Beverage Testing Institute Awards 2021.

Silks Gin’s signature botanicals are hand-foraged from the family’s orchard to produce a floral forward contemporary style gin with bright citrus and sweet florals on the nose. 

Whistler Double Oaked Whiskey forms the base of the Whistler Spiced Pear Old Fashioned cocktail. A hand-selected, premium Irish whiskey crafted in small batches using some of Ireland’s finest malt and grain whiskeys, this winter spice cocktail is sure to please.

Or there’s the Whistler Irish coffee using the Whistler Cream liqueur, which combines the freshest Irish cream with the finest Boann Distillery Single Pot Still spirit.

The Whistler Irish Coffee

The Whistler Irish Coffee.

The Whistler Irish Coffee.

Ingredients:

1 oz The Whistler Irish Cream

1 oz The Whistler Double Oaked Irish Whiskey

8 oz hot coffee

1 tsp brown sugar

Directions:

Pour the coffee into a clear mug

Stir in the brown sugar until dissolved

Stir in the Irish Cream and Whiskey

Top with whipped cream, cinnamon, and chocolate shavings

The Whistler Spiced Pear Old Fashioned 

The Whistler Spiced Pear Old Fashioned.

The Whistler Spiced Pear Old Fashioned.

Ingredients:

2 oz Whistler Double Oaked Whiskey

1 oz spiced pear syrup

2 dashes Angostura or Walnut Bitters

Orange Peel

Pear Slice

Ice

Pear Syrup ingredients

1 ripe pear cut into cubes

½ c sugar

1 c sugar

Cinnamon stick

Star anise

Directions:

In a rocks glass add the syrup, Whistler whiskey, and bitters.

Add ice and gently stir until blended and the ice dilutes slightly

Spritz orange peel over the glass

Garnish with sliced pears

To make the pear syrup:

Combine all of the ingredients in a small sauce pot

Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer

Simmer on low for 10 minutes

Strain while pushing on the pears to get as much juice as possible

Silks in the Bronx

Flavourful, fruity and sweet. A unique twist on a classic.

Ingredients:

50ml Silks Irish Dry Gin

25ml Dry Vermouth

15ml Sweet Vermouth

Craft Apple Cider to taste

Apple pleat to garnish

Directions:

Fill a cocktail shaker with Ice.

Pour over gin, dry vermouth, sweet vermouth. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds.

Strain into a chilled martini glass and top up with apple cider.

Garnish with an apple pleat.

Boann Distillery

Boann Distillery is a family-owned distillery based in Drogheda, born and believed in by Patrick and Marie Cooney, along with their family Sally-Anne, Celestine, Peter, Patrick and James.

With 40 years of experience in the Irish drinks industry, the Cooney family understands what it takes to create successful, premium brands.

Its award-winning range of spirits, includes ‘The Whistler’ Irish Whiskey, Silks Gin and Merrys Cream Liqueurs. This year alone it scooped six prizes at the World Whiskies Awards 2021, winning five accolades for its Whistler range - and was also crowned Best New Make spirit.

Another of its recent achievements was bringing the vintage mashbills back into circulation through its pot stills, recreated from long-lost distilleries of the late 19th and early 20th century.

The distillery’s global success is achieved by merging the old ways of whiskey production in copper pot stills, with cutting-edge, 21st-century nano-technology.

* Originally published in 2021. Updated in 2022.