3 festive cocktails to spice up your Christmas celebrations in Hong Kong

It’s the season to be jolly again, and Hong Kong’s top restaurants and bars are ready to ensure you oblige with some exciting new Christmas cocktails. So pull up a bar stool and let these inspired winter tipples fuel your festive glee.\nBar Q88\n\nThe JW Marriott’s intimate lobby bar has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the best spots in Admiralty to unwind. This year, the establishment is offering two festive drinks for the Christmas period. The first is an Asian-inspired take on mulled wine rippling with layers of flavour, including red wine, cloves, star anise, lime and cinnamon, weaving together layers of warm, comforting flavours.\nThose looking to break with tradition can opt for the house special Jingle Bird cocktail, which combines gin with hibiscus, elderflower, cranberry and lemon for a sweet and tangy fusion – a suitably sweet tipple before starting your diet on January 1.\nLobby Level, JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty\nDarkSide\n\nThe team at DarkSide are among the most creative in town, so it’s no surprise they have several dedicated seasonal cocktails. Their annual mulled wine is back. This year the recipe has been tweaked and enlivened with The Orientalist Imperial Solera 23 Rum, pear, jujube, goji berries and bay leaves.\nIn terms of cocktails, The New Century combines gin, crème de cacao, Mancino sakura vermouth and lavender verjus for a more floral take on the classic 20th Century, while Wayfarer riffs on the Cosmopolitan using vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice and citrus while adding PX Sherry and Ratafia Rossi for extra depth.\n18 Salisbury Road, Rosewood Hong Kong Victoria Dockside\nRajasthan Rifles\n\nLike a premium advent calendar, there are many holiday surprises at Hong Kong restaurants this year. Anglo-Indian restaurant Rajasthan Rifles might not be the most obvious option for a seasonally inspired tipple, but its spiked masala chai is not to be missed if you’re up at The Peak. Crafted with exceptional Darjeeling tea, ginger, cardamom and muscovado sugar, and stiffened with India’s historic Old Monk rum, this is the ideal comforting sip to enliven festive gatherings.\nShop G01 G/F, The Peak Galleria, 118 Peak Road, Central\n