From beer with sprouts to sparkling wine with turkey, Blur star Alex James reveals best booze for Christmas food
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FORGET glugging an average white or red with your festive feast this year – how about cocktails with your Christmas pud or cherry brandy with chocolates?. Here, Alex James – Blur bassist, food and drink aficionado, founder of the annual Big Feastival, cheesemaker and the curator of Britpop Wines – picks his favourite tipples to match some Crimbo culinary favourites.
![[Blur bassist Alex James tests different drinks to find out the best combination with festive food]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/alex-james-testing-drinks-go-956879385.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
DRY sherry all the way with a mince pie. It’s gone a bit out of fashion as everyone always associates it with old ladies. But try it as it is a real bargain. Christmas is when you can go on a proper drinks safari and you’ll get an excellent sherry in the supermarket for the same price as you would pay for an average chardonnay.
![[Try out a sherry with a mince pie or two and you won't be disappointed]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/alex-james-testing-drinks-go-956879470.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
It will taste brilliant with a warm mince pie and balance perfectly with the fruit and pastry. I’d like to say I make my own pies but it is so easy to buy them. But what I do is take the pastry roof off then squish some blue cheese on the top for a delicious, mad car crash in your mouth.
![[A cold cider with cheese is a perfect combination, no matter the type]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/alex-james-testing-drinks-go-956879507.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
CHEESE with a glass of cider is a total marriage made in Heaven. It is the perfect food-and-drink pairing because it doesn’t matter what cheese it is, cider is pretty much guaranteed to work with it. It’s like when they judge cheeses at shows, they’ll have a bite of apple between mouthfuls.
![[Liven up your smoked salmon with a shot of vodka, its 'absolutely amazing']](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/alex-james-testing-drinks-go-956879531.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
But it’s essential the cider is served really, really cold. Why not go the full Withnail And I and put some ice cubes in it?. All you really need is one massive chunk of any cheese and a pint of ice-cold cider and you are all set – see you in the New Year!.
![[if you are eating sprouts alone as a snack, add a cold beer as an accompaniment]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/alex-james-testing-drinks-go-956879420.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
