The festive season is a time of year where many food and drink recipes are revived for their highly anticipated annual appearance. Most persons are more likely to cook for loved ones at Christmas and purchase ready-made holiday drink favourites. For those who would like to have their family enjoy a homemade drink, I gotchu! These 3 Jamaican drink recipes are easy to follow and thankfully don’t require a long shopping list.
Holiday Favourites: Jamaican Drink Recipes
Grandma’s Famous Ginger Beer Recipe
Yes, I was able to get this simple recipe from my grandmother, who used to make ginger beer every weekend! From what I’ve been told, persons would frequent the house on Saturdays for her popular ginger beer. Family members from abroad would leave with jars of the drink to take home. After hearing about it for years, I decided to give it a try.
Makes 2 quarts
Ginger Beer Recipe Ingredients
• 2 quarts water
• 5 pieces of ginger
• 5 tsp. lime juice
• Sugar to taste
• Few rice grains (grandma recommended – optional)
• Teeth-cleaning twig aka Chew stick (grandma recommended – optional)
Ginger Beer Method
• Wash then grate ginger pieces
• Add grated ginger to water
Optional – Ferment Mixture
• Add a few grains of rice and chew stick to mixture
• Leave mixture in the sun to ferment for at least 4 hours.
Recommended to expose to sunlight as long as possible.
• Strain the fermented mixture through a clean cloth
• Add lime juice and sugar to taste
• Stir then chill in fridge
Addictive Drunken Egg Nog Recipe
I honestly never liked eggnog until a few years ago when I made my own batch for the first time. Like sorrel, it wasn’t my favourite as a child, and I never gave either much of a second chance until adult life. My boyfriend however, was fond of my mom’s eggnog and was disappointed one year when she didn’t make it, so I surprised him with my own after looking up a recipe online. Needless to say, he loved it! I mean, the photo speaks for itself, right?
From then, I became a fan and recruited new egg nog fans by sharing with friends. It has been in high demand ever since! The creamy, sweet concoction is like a smooth rum cream. From experience, a few glasses of this will put you right to b-e-d (even if you’re in the club, lol)!
Makes 1 jug
Egg Nog Recipe Ingredients
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup of heavy / whipping cream
• 2 cups of milk
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1.5 cup of scotch whiskey
• 1.5 cup of brandy
• 1.5 cup of white rum
• Nutmeg to garnish
Egg Nog Method
• Gently crack open eggs and discard the shells
• Add milk, heavy cream, sugar, cinnamon to eggs
• Whisk mixture in a bowl
Optional – Boil Mixture
In my opinion, it tastes better without boiling.
However, take into consideration that a mixture containing raw eggs may not be recommended for some persons, such as pregnant women.
• Add the 3 liquors to the mixture
• Refrigerate for at least 2 hours
• When serving, sprinkle nutmeg on the top
Homemade Sorrel Recipe
And last, but certainly not least, Jamaica’s favourite Christmas time drink… SORREL! Sorrel is now not as exclusive to Christmas time as it once was, but Jamaicans still flock to it as December nears. Beverage companies over the last few years have been producing its flavour year-round in abundance in juices and beers. Because of this, more and more locals have opted to purchase the drink from a store instead of enjoying the homemade version.
Makes 1 jug
Sorrel Recipe Ingredients
• 1 lb sorrel
• 2 pints water
• 4 cloves
• 3 dried pimento grains
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 tbsp. ginger
• 5 cups sugar (to taste)
• 1.5 cup of white rum (optional, but highly recommended)
• A few rice grains (optional)
Homemade Sorrel Method
• Wash sorrel sepals and place in a large pot
• Add cloves, pimento, cinnamon and ginger
• Barely cover sorrel with water. The less water, the more concentrated the sorrel flavour will be.
• Bring water to a boil and stir
• Turn off the fire beneath the pot
• Optional – Add rice grains for fermentation
• Leave for at least 4 hours. The longer you leave it, the stronger the flavour; mine was left for 24hrs.
• Remove sorrel plants with clean hands from the pot and squeeze as much juice as you can from each handful, then discard
• Add sugar, lime juice, and white rum
• Stir then strain mixture into jug
• Refrigerate until ready to enjoy
CHEERS!
Hope these holiday Jamaican drink recipes will inspire some extra time in the kitchen 🙂
What’s your favourite holiday drink?
Remember you can find more festive recipes + a host of other great finds in the Christmas Jamaican Style e-magazine!
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