How to . . . make a champagne cocktail

All this week people will think it’s OK to "pop in" for a drink – the closer to new year, the more acceptable it is

Mulled wine sorbet

How to make a refreshing seasonal palate cleanser

Has champagne lost its sparkle?

The once exclusive French fizz has become the smoked salmon of our times, losing its cachet as it goes mass market

Jane MacQuitty’s 10 best Christmas bubbles

They may not be the cheapest, but these five champagnes and five sparkling wines are excellent value

Raise a glass to cocktails in a teapot

A new generation of cocktails served in teapots and drunk out of shoe-shaped flutes is shaking up the future of drinks

By George, English whisky makers have got it

St George’s Distillery's first attempt is a proud malt that sends the tastebuds into quivering wreck

Seeing a fortune in tea leaves

Joanne McLeod, founder of niche tea firm Brewhaha, is out to end coffee chains’ domination of our high streets

Allotment is the centre of attention

Artists are using a makeshift pub in a shopping precinct in Glasgow as a performance space. Will the public buy it?

Rye beats Scotch to title of world’s best whisky

Scotland's malt faces stiff competition from the America and India

Quick-fix cocktails

Stir it up with Jane MacQuitty's favourite crowd-pleasing party drinks

Blood orange cosmopolitan

Lime frost cocktail

The Times Christmas cocktail

The Frankenfood that improves you

The future of food includes baby purée to improve brain power, beauty drinks to smooth wrinkles and chocolates to help you slim

The 100 best winter wines

So you thought you wouldn’t be able to find anything drinkable for £3.99? Think again . . . this is your lucky year

Best winter wines: Whites for under £6

Best winter wines: under £12 whites

Best winter wines: under £8 whites

Best winter wines: under £8 reds

Best winter wines: under £25 reds

Cider, the monk’s special brew

At Ampleforth Abbey Father Rainer Verborg is helping to revive our dwindling orchards and apple varieties

Pub champion: The Ship Inn, Banff

A fine local with good beers and sea views that was used as a key location for the film Local Hero

Best winter wines: sweet, fortified, sparkling