How To Make A Snowball Drink – A Classic Christmas Cocktail!
Home » COOK » Recipes » Beverages » Cocktails »Welcome to our festive guide on How To Make A Snowball Drink, the iconic Christmas cocktail! This creamy concoction, laced with rich Dutch Advocaat and zesty lime, is the holiday cheer in a glass—one sip, and you’ll be full of Christmas spirit!
How To Make A Snowball Drink
Whether you’re toasting on Christmas Eve or seeking a nostalgic sip, our classic Snowball Drink recipe promises to sprinkle a bit of retro magic into your festive celebrations.
So grab a bottle of Advocaat, and let’s get merry!
For more festive libations this holiday season, check out our Christmas Cocktail Recipes to get you in the spirit!
Affiliate Disclosure
We have included affiliate links to products and services related to the topic of this post.
We may earn a commission if you purchase after clicking on those links.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Read Our Full Disclosure Policy and Privacy Policy
Classic Christmas Cocktail
The iconic yellow Snowball Drink is a time-honored retro cocktail that has graced holiday parties for generations.
With its intense sweetness and velvety texture, this classic Christmas cocktail is popular in the United Kingdom, where it is sold ready-made in small bottles.
This Snowball cocktail recipe brings back fond memories of Christmas time because my dad was the person who taught me how to make it!
I grew up in a pub and worked behind the bar when I turned 18. During the festive time of year, orders of Snowballs would come rolling in, and I learned how to make it from scratch.
Nearly 30 years on, I still remember how to make it…
I would pour 50 ml Advocaat into an ice-filled glass and stir with lime cordial and fizzy lemonade (which, behind the bar, came from a pump, creating a dome of white foam on top of the drink!).
I served a lot of people this festive drink back in the 90s—such good memories!
What Is Advocaat?
At the heart of this creamy drink is Warninks Advocaat, a traditional Dutch liqueur made from a rich mixture of egg yolks, vanilla, and brandy.
Advocaat is also the Dutch word for lawyer in the sense of solicitor. As the name of the drink, it is short for advocatenborrel, or ‘lawyer’s drink’; borrel is Dutch for a small alcoholic beverage (liqueur, brandy, etc. but not beer or wine).
Wikipedia
Its boozy custard flavor and color are the foundation of an advocaat snowball cocktail, lending an opulent creaminess perfectly balanced by the tartness of lime and a slight fizz from lemonade.
The literal cherry on top of this classic Snowball cocktail is a maraschino cherry (or two) on a cocktail stick.
Cocktail Ingredients & Equipment
This recipe’s ingredients and tools are conveniently linked to online retailers like Amazon, Amazon Fresh, Instacart, and Walmart.
Snowball Drink Ingredients
- Advocaat – Warnicks is the most famous brand, but others are available.
- Lime Cordial – Our recipe uses lime cordial; some recipes use fresh lime juice.
- Lemonade – For our American friends, lemonade is a fizzy/carbonated soft drink in the UK.
- R Whites is a good quality lemonade brand available in the US.
- Or you could use a lemon-lime soda such as Sprite or 7 Up.
Cocktail Equipment
- You don’t need a cocktail shaker for this snowball cocktail recipe, just a glass and a bar spoon to stir the ingredients together.
- Cocktail Skewers – for skewering maraschino cherries onto as garnish.
- Cocktail Glasses – any kind of glass will do. In the pub, we’d serve it in a highball glass, but for the festive season, a coupe glass adds a touch of class!
No time to read now? Tap the buttons below to save the cocktail to your Pinterest boards or Facebook page for later!
Snowball Recipe
Classic Snowball Drink
Ingredients
- Ice cubes
- 2 oz / 50 ml Warninks Advocaat
- 1 oz / 25 ml Lime Cordial
- Lemonade or Lemon-Lime Soda to top up
- Maraschino Cherry optional garnish
SUGGESTED PRODUCTS
Instructions
- Fill a tall glass with ice cubes.
- Add the Warninks Advocaat and lime cordial and stir.
- Top up with lemonade.
- Add a cherry on a stick for garnish.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
Snowball Drink Variations
Bombardino
Makes one drink
Ingredients
• 1 part brandy
• 1 part advocaat
• whipped cream
• ground cinnamon
Method
1. Pour the brandy into a glass mug.
2. Warm the advocaat in a small saucepan until hot, but not boiling.
3. Slowly add to the brandy, stirring to combine well.
4. Top with a generous dollop of whipped cream, and sprinkle with ground cinnamon.
Bombardino is a drink popular in Italy during the Winter, especially in the ski resorts. Its translations is “the bomb”!
You can make a variations of this cocktail: replace the brandy with rum to make a Pirata; replace the brandy with whisky to make a Scozzese; add 1 part espresso to the original recipe to make a Calimero.
Fluffy Duck (Rum Based version)
Makes one drink
Ingredients
• 1 part advocaat
• 1 part white rum
• 1/3 part double cream
• strawberry for garnish
Method
1. Pour the advocaat and white rum into a glass with ice
2. Float the cream on top.
3. Garnish with strawberry.
Tip! Shake the cream well, then place a spoon against the edge of the glass, and just touching the liqueur. Pour the cream slowly to float.
Fluffy Duck (Gin based version)
Makes one drink
Ingredients
• 1 part advocaat
• 1 part gin
• ½ part orange liqueur
• orange juice
• soda water
• slice orange and cherry to garnish (optional)
Method
1. Add the advocaat, gin, and orange liqueur to a tall glass with ice.
2. Add orange juice until glass is about 2/3 full.
3. Stir.
4. Top up with soda water.
5. Garnish with orange slice and cherry.
Dinner Party Menu Suggestions!
The beverage is covered, but what about the rest of the courses?
Here are additional recipes to create a menu for a dinner party or special meal:
- Appetizer: Stuffed Mushrooms
- Soup: Tomato Soup
- Salad: Apple Walnut Salad with White Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Main Dish: Roast Chicken
- Side Dish: Oven-Roasted Parmesan Green Beans
- Dessert: Peppermint Bark Fudge
The Snowflake features Warninks mixed with gin, and maraschino liqueur, and topped with cava and lemon juice. This sparkling cocktail is a lighter rendition of the classic and an ideal contender for pre-dinner tipples or New Year’s cheers.
Up next is the Garland made using Warninks, amontillado sherry, spiced rum, topped with ginger ale, and garnished with candied ginger. Advocaat, along with notes of raisin and nut from the rum and the sherry, creates a Christmas pudding flavour with added ginger ale for that underlying spice – it’s Christmas cake in a glass.
Finally, warm those cockles with something hot. Enjoy a glass of Saint Nick, a delicious blend of Warninks, Calvados, triple sec, and fresh lemon juice, topped with mulled Breton cider, a Christmas cinnamon rim, and garnished with a zesty orange disc. A collision of two classic wintery drinks; Saint Nick is the classic Snowball meets mulled cider, sure to be this year’s go-to toasty tipple.
More Winter Cocktails
I hope you’ve enjoyed this selection of Christmas cocktails, here are some more for you to try:
- Rudolph the Reindeer Spritzer with Bacardi & Ginger Ale
- Refreshing Peppermint Martini Cocktail with Crushed Candy Cane Rim
- Cranberry Moscow Mule Cocktail for the Holidays
- Festive Cranberry Margaritas for Christmas Cocktail Parties!
- Cinnamon & Cumin-Infused Cranberry Vodka Spritzer Cocktail
- Christmas Gin Cocktail with Cherries and Mint
- Slow Cooker Mulled Wine – A Must-Make Holiday Beverage
- Frosty the Snowman -Peppermint Schnapps Cocktail
- Reindeer Cocktail – Vodka Cranberry Spritzer
- Hot Buttered Rum Recipe
- Christmas Margaritas
- Slow Cooker Mulled Apple Cider with a Twist!
The Create the Holidays series on The Purple Pumpkin Blog features free printables, crafts, recipes, and more for Christmas and the Winter Holidays. Check out Create the Holidays (formerly Create Christmas) from 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012.