31 December

Tonight the world will be celebrating the New Year. In New York, it's all about the ball drop; in Sydney, Hong Kong and London, fireworks rule; in London jumping into a fountain also remains mystifyingly popular; while the civilised Spanish eat 12 grapes, to bring good luck for each month of the new year.

By now, I expect that you may have begun the countdown to midnight...but the question is, what are you going to be drinking when the clock strikes twelve...?

The choice of an appropriate drink for New Year's Eve is every bit as important as those resolutions you'll be making on New Year's Day - and, let's face it, a lot more pleasurable. The obvious drink is champagne, so we have put together a selection of the best champagne cocktails to aid your selection.

But, for discerning drinkers such as yourselves, perhaps something a little less predictable than champagne or a champagne cocktail. So, we did a bit of research for you, and it came to our attention that the East India Company was founded on this very day in 1600. Sadly there are many aspects of The East India Company not worthy of celebration but the East India Cocktail is a phenomenal drink and will set a tone of refinement and sophistication for the year ahead.