It’s Jesus’s birthday soon – so let’s have a drink. It’s what he would have wanted.
As a nation, we do a lot of drinking during December. According to white-coated boffins with spectacles and clipboards, alcohol consumption increases 40 per cent in the run-up to Christmas.
Not only does collective elbow-bending increase in December, it gets more eclectic – as we pour ourselves leftfield libations that simply wouldn’t be countenanced at any other time in the calendar.
Case in point, The Snowball. Boasting the consistency of alcoholic custard, this classic kitsch cocktail synonymous with the Seventies is made with Advocaat, an iconic Dutch blend of brandy, egg yolk, sugar and vanilla – lengthened with lemonade.
Sales of Advocaat, ‘snowballed’ last year after celebrity chef Nigella Lawson declared it the ultimate Christmas cocktail – but Nigella doesn’t know what she’s talking about.
Given the recent anni horriblis, perhaps people are seeking some rose-tinted reassurance from a kitsch yellow cocktail of yesteryear.
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