Sugar Plum Fairy's Plum Drink - New Year's Eve Cocktail

The Sugar Plum Fairy is coming to town with her magical plum drink, just in time for New Year's Eve. This plum cocktail is so easy to make with plum liqueur, grapefruit, rum and something bubbly like Champagne, Prosecco or just sparkling water! If you're as feisty as the Sugar Plum Fairy add a little extra interest with fresh thyme. 

 

 

This plum drink is lightly sweetened from the plum liqueur, tart from the grapefruit juice, and fizzy with the champagne. Rum and thyme make the drink stronger in spice and alcohol, perfect for a New Year's Eve party.

 

If you like the thyme + fruit combination, I'm sure you will also love this blackberry bourbon smash.

 

Ingredients

 

It couldn't be much simpler to get this complex and exquisite flavor:

 

1. Plum liqueur: I used homemade plum liqueur in this recipe, courtesy of my sister's in-laws, however, you can use store-bought if you like! It should be sweet and of course a delicate flavor of plums. Aim for 20% alcohol content, e.g. plum grappa is way too strong to get the flavor of plum through!
2. Rum: I was thinking gin would be great in this recipe, as well as vodka, but I ended up with light rum because hello - it's the Sugar Plum Fairy's cocktail and rum is a product of sugar canes. Rum is also very mild and easy to like, so it's perfect for a party.
3. Grapefruit juice: I LOVE grapefruit, especially mixed with something sweet. Mixed with something sweet, it subdues the bitterness, and all that is left is a delicate, tart, and delicious flavor. That's why it's also so good in this mulled grapefruit cider or simple grapefruit mimosas.
4. Thyme: This is just for a little extra spice considering the Sugar Plum Fairy is quite lively! It's just a slight hint of it, so it is easily omittable. 
5. Prosecco or sparkling water: I usually just use sparkling water, but for a New Year's party we got to have it extra, right? Champagne or Prosecco makes the cocktail just that more festive.
6. Sugar rim with silver dust: It kind of looks like snow, don't you think? And again, SUGAR Plum Fairy. A salt rim would be wrong, and the sugar rim is delish. The drink isn't overly sweet, so the sugar rim adds to the sweetness. It can of course be omitted. 

 

 

New Year's Cocktails

 

I'm thinking that New Year's Cocktails should be

• easy to make in general
• they should be easy to make as a pitcher,
• and they should preferably be bubbly.

 

 

And this Sugar Plum Fairy's plum drink is all those! However, plenty of other drinks would be perfect for New Year's Eve or any big party. For example:

 

• Mojito by the pitcher - my favorite cocktail of all time, even though it is quite summery!
• Grapefruit green tea white wine sangria - elegant and hydrating
• Grapefruit mimosa - seems like I have a kick for grapefruit drinks!
• Ginger pear bellini - the pear looks like gold flakes
• Cranberry sangria - this one is also Tchaikovsky inspired (the Black Swan) and is naturally darker, but equally yummy!
• Lavender bee's knees - an elegant spin on a Roaring 20's classic cocktail (not bubbly)
• Sparkling cranberry vodka - with a delicious tangerine syrup!
• Chai whiskey hot toddy or mulled wine - if you want to serve something warming instead (not bubbly)
• and this Sugar Plum Fairy's plum cocktail of course

 

 

You will find something you fancy, they are all easy to like with a mild flavor. You can also replace the rum with gin, making it a delicious plum gin recipe with a stronger flavor!

 

How to make it 

 

Prepare the sugar rim: Add sugar and silver dust to a plate and stir to combine. If you don't have silver dust, simply skip it. On another plate, add grapefruit juice. 

 

Take your preferred glass, I love coupé glasses for this, but you can choose whatever. Place it upside down in the grapefruit juice, and then place it on the plate with the sugar. Set the glasses aside while you prepare the cocktail. 

 

 

In a shaker, add all ingredients apart from the sparkling water or Prosecco. Add ice and shake vigorously for 30 seconds, to chill the drink. Strain into glasses. Top with the bubbly. Enjoy!

 

 

Did you like this recipe? Here are more drinks I think you would like:

 

• Prancer's eggnog white Russian
• Cupid's eggnog peppermint dalgona
• Classic whiskey sour
• Rhubarb Moscow mule
• Hibiscus iced tea
• Blood orange margarita

 

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Comment below or tag me @thegingerwithspice on Instagram. And don’t forget to Pin it for later! To make sure you’re never missing another recipe, please feel free to subscribe to my newsletter. As thanks, you will receive a free e-cookbook Travels Through the Seasons, with many delicious recipes from around the world that suit different seasons of the year. 

 

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