Christmas Plum Cocktail with The Artisan Kitchen Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™
From Sarah’s Kitchen · Christmas Cocktails
Christmas Plum Royale
Rich plum, fragrant orange and a little Christmas sparkle.
From the kitchen of
Sarah Churchill
Professional chef, preserve maker & founder of The Artisan Kitchen · Gloucester
This Christmas plum cocktail combines
The Artisan Kitchen Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™
with gin, orange liqueur and chilled sparkling wine.
Finished with a twist of orange and a sprig of rosemary,
our Christmas Plum Royale is a lovely way to welcome guests
on Christmas Eve or begin a festive supper.
A spoonful of a beautiful preserve can bring so much to a cocktail.
Here, the plum provides fruit, colour and sweetness, balanced
by fresh lemon and the crisp finish of a brut sparkling wine.
It is ready in five minutes and makes one cocktail.
Makes1 cocktailPreparation5 minutesGlassCoupe or flute
Gather Your Ingredients
Ingredients
2 level teaspoons
The Artisan Kitchen Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™
25 ml gin
10 ml Cointreau or triple sec
10 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
60–90 ml chilled brut sparkling wine, to top up
Ice, for shaking
A twist of orange peel and a small sprig of rosemary, to garnish
Shake, Pour & Celebrate
Method
Chill your glassPlace a coupe or flute in the fridge while you prepare the cocktail.
Mix the fruit and spiritsAdd The Artisan Kitchen Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™ to a cocktail
shaker with the gin, orange liqueur and lemon juice.
Stir to loosen and combine.
Shake until coldAdd a generous handful of ice and shake vigorously for
10–15 seconds, until the shaker feels thoroughly chilled.
Fine-strainPour through a fine-mesh strainer into your chilled glass,
pressing gently with the back of a spoon if needed.
Add the sparkleSlowly top with the chilled sparkling wine, leaving room at
the rim. Give one gentle stir to combine.
Always add the sparkling wine after shaking.
Finish and serveGently squeeze the orange peel over the cocktail to release
its fragrant oils. Garnish with the peel and a small sprig
of rosemary, then serve straight away.
From the Kitchen
Sarah’s Notes
Why use jam in a cocktail?
The Artisan Kitchen Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™ brings plum flavour
and sweetness together in one ingredient. Stirring it into the
spirits first helps it disperse, while shaking with ice chills
and dilutes the mixture. Fine-straining removes any remaining
fruit particles for a smoother drink, before the sparkling wine
adds its final lift.
Finding the balance
Choose a brut sparkling wine to balance the sweetness of
The Artisan Kitchen Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™ and orange liqueur.
Taste the cocktail before adding the sparkling wine; if you prefer
a sharper finish, add a few extra drops of lemon juice.
A little winter spice
For a gentle winter-spice variation, add one dash of aromatic
bitters to the shaker. Keep the rosemary garnish small so its
fragrance complements the plum and orange.
Entertaining tip
Measure the ingredients for each serving in advance and chill
your glasses. Shake in small batches, then add the sparkling
wine just before serving.
Rare Fruit · A Local Story
A Little Gloucestershire
in Your Christmas Glass
The Artisan Kitchen Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™ is made by Sarah Churchill
in Gloucester using rare Gloucestershire Blaisdon Red plums.
Commercially produced at The Artisan Kitchen since 2013, it brings
a distinctive local fruit to everything from breakfast toast
and buttery pastry to this sparkling festive cocktail.
Discover the history, provenance and awards of The Artisan Kitchen Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™
The Chef Behind the Preserve
Sarah Churchill · The Artisan Kitchen
Sarah Churchill is a professionally trained chef and the founder
of The Artisan Kitchen in Gloucester. Her background includes
working at The Square in Mayfair under Philip Howard and ten years
at Daylesford Organic, where her roles included chef, production
manager and product developer.
Sarah founded The Artisan Kitchen in 2011 and has commercially
produced The Artisan Kitchen Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™ since 2013.
Her work brings together professional cooking, small-batch preserving
and a longstanding interest in Gloucestershire’s rare heritage fruit.
This Christmas cocktail features the preserve Sarah makes
in her own Gloucestershire kitchen.
More From Sarah’s Kitchen
Buttery Pastry & Almond Frangipane
Bakewell tart with The Artisan Kitchen Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™
A Favourite From Our Great Taste Archive
Lisa Osman’s Swiss roll with The Artisan Kitchen Blaisdon Red Plum Jam™
A festive toast from my Gloucestershire kitchen to yours.
Sarah Churchill · The Artisan Kitchen · 2026
© Sarah Churchill / The Artisan Kitchen
