Food & Flavours

Hot Cross Bun cocktails and cooking ideas

Soothing and warm. Subtly sweet. Gently spiced. We're talking about Hot Cross Buns here, but doesn't that sound like your favorite whiskey too?

It occurred to us that these two great things, just like peanut butter and chocolate, tea and cookies, or Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, can come together to create a more than great experience.

If you have a palate that demands more than supermarket chocolate, then you might be looking forward to a long weekend of buttery pastries infused with citrus, spice and a splash of whisky.

The Malts Team

5 min read

•

March 20, 2026

An Old Fashioned cocktail in a rocks glass, filled with ice and topped with an orange garnish.

Hot Cross Bun Old Fashioned recipe

First up, we’re thinking outside of the bun - and inside the glass. This Hot Cross Bun inspired Old Fashioned merges the elegance of the timeless cocktail with the flavours of a classic hot cross bun.

Enjoy it alongside a warmed up bun or on its own, either way, you’ll thank us for this bunderful recipe.

You’ll need:

50ml of your chosen whisky (truly, anything will work, but you might want to consider a bourbon or something like The Singleton, as these smoother, unpeated flavours work well with chocolate and fruits)
10ml chocolate liqueur or chocolate syrup
5ml maple syrup
2 dashes of angostura bitters
Orange zest

To make:

In a glass or cocktail shaker, stir all ingredients with ice gently. Strain over a cube of ice into a rocks glass. With a peeled slice of orange skin, zest the citrus (squeeze and release the aroma) over before drinking.

Hot Cross Bour-bun Flip

Flip cocktails have been around for some time. And, due to their surprising simplicity, they are the perfect template to be tweaked, tested and, well, flipped around to create something timely and timeless.

Enter: our Hot Cross Bour-bun Flip, combining fruity flavours of a sweeter hot cross bun with the woody, oaky, vanilla notes of a familiar bourbon.

You’ll need:

50ml Bulleit bourbon
10ml sweet sherry
15ml sugar syrup
20ml lemon juice
20ml melted butter
1 egg white (or around 15ml egg white liquid/Aquafaba alternative)
1-2 pinches of cinnamon or nutmeg

To make:

First, combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and give it a dry shake (a shake without ice). This is to allow the warm butter and the egg white to really mix and froth up. Next, add the ice, shake again, and strain into a coupe glass.

A whisky cocktail in a rocks glass on a rock in the countryside.

Cinnamon buns on a piece of baking paper.

Hands kneading dough on a bench covered in flour.

Grapes on the vine in a green, sun-lit vineyard.

Soak fruits in a whisky

If you’re going all in this year and offering homemade hot cross buns, you have the opportunity to use whisky infused fruits for maximum flavour and fullness. Soaking dried fruits in a whisky and spice mix plumps them up and enhances each and every bite.

To do this, you simply combine 2–3 cups of your chosen mixed dried fruit - in this case, you’ll be thinking raisins, sultanas, cranberries, currants - with around three or four tablespoons of your favourite whisky in a jar or bowl you can cover.

Like with the cocktail recommendations above, you’ll want to choose a whisky that won’t overpower the flavours, so something smooth, unpeated and lighter on the palate. The Singleton, Glenkinchie, Dalwhinnie are all great shouts, with a Johnnie Walker Black Label offering just enough pepper and smoke to create something distinct, but not distracting.

Once you’ve combined the fruits and whisky, you can add a few pinches of complementary spices - such as cinnamon, nutmeg or even a (sparing amount of) ginger - and then leave to sit for at least four hours. The longer you can let them sit, the more intense the flavours will be. Leave them overnight for a real impact.

When you come to bake your buns, drain any excess liquid before adding them to the dough.

Bonus tip: Don’t want to waste the liquid? Keep it to one side and consider using it as a final glaze once your buns are toasty and ready for a tasting.

Soaking dried fruits in a whisky and spice mix plumps them up and enhances each and every bite.

Add a whisky glaze

Think that whisky glazes only apply to your summer BBQ or savoury, meaty whisky sauces? That would be as wrong as thinking whisky should only be enjoyed in the winter.

A sweet and buttery whisky glaze is perfect for something like a hot cross bun or freshly baked bread and doughs, and the best part is it’s incredibly easy to make, even if cooking and baking isn’t your thing.

You’ll need:

3-4 tablespoons of apricot or apple jam

30ml whisky - again, consider something like bourbon or a sweeter whisky

To make:

In a saucepan or small pan, warm the jam over a soft heat and combine the whisky when it starts to soften. Allow the whisky to melt into the jam completely and then brush over your buns when they’re ready to be served.

A silver spoons stirs a bowl of white whisky sauce.

Create a whisky bread and butter pudding

Bread and butter puddings are a great way to use leftovers, or a smart way to serve larger groups of people in a family-style feast.

Here's how to make this simple but statement making Whisky Bread and Butter Pudding.

You’ll need:

8-10 hot cross buns (to be sliced up, so it can even be leftovers or the ‘ugly’ batches you don’t want to plate up if baking them yourself)
50ml whisky
110g caster sugar
4 large eggs
400ml milk
50ml pouring cream or single cream
75g sultanas or raisins (even better if you’ve soaked them overnight like we mentioned earlier)

To make:

Cut or rip up the hot cross buns and then butter them. Don't worry, these don’t have to look perfect.
Prepare your sultanas or raisins and keep to one side.
Pour the milk, cream and whisky into a large saucepan and heat gently (almost to the boil, but stop just before)
In a baking tin or dish, layer your hot ross buns and cover the sultanas and raisins over each layer. You should also scatter pinches of caster sugar and cinnamon over each layer, making sure each section gets some
You should expect around three layers of bread, with the fruit in between each, and you should make sure the top layer is just bread
Next, break the 5 eggs into a large mixing bowl and add the remaining sugar and beat together until combined
Add the remaining cinnamon to the eggs and sugar and pour the milk and cream over the egg mixture and whisk
Slowly pour all of this mixture over the bread and butter and allow it to stand for about 10 minutes (this is important as the liquid will need to be absorbed in the bread)
Put into a preheated oven at around 180C and bake for 40 minutes until the pudding is well risen and almost set to the touch.

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