I love the colour and carnival of Purim. I adore the sprinkle-clad challahs and jewel-coloured hamantaschen.

But try explaining to anyone not in the know, that there is a Jewish religious holy day that requires us to drink so much alcohol we can no longer remember who the characters are in the tale behind the festivities, nor read the print.

I am obviously not advocating overdoing it, but I’ll happily toast Queen Esther’s heroism and the victory over the evil Haman (boo hiss) with a cocktail or two.

I’ve found a few that will go down a treat:

1.Miami Cocktail company - 
How cute are these cocktails in a tin! Perfect for anytime cocktail supping and in cheery  bright colours  that Esther could have matched with her gorgeous gowns.
Inside are wine-based drinks paired with fruit juices. Not overly sweet – you could sip your way through several of these and still focus on that Torah text.

2.Select Aperitivo
Channel the carnival vibe with this ruby red, Venetian aperitif that’s been around since 1922.
The cousin of the Aperol Spritz is also mixed with Prosecco and soda and garnished with a green olive for your own Carnevale to rival any party King Ahashverosh may have thrown. The ruby red drink has bittersweet notes that are common to many Italian cocktails and looks pretty as a picture.

4.Penderyn
Whisky lovers will want to seek out this Welsh-based whisky distillery, which has a huge list of cocktails on its website. Some of their whisky is kosher certified and the Peat and Maple recipe uses their kosher Peated whisky.

Peat and Maple
Ingredients:
50ml Penderyn Peated 
10ml maple syrup
2 dashes of angostura bitters
Segment of orange

However you celebrate Purim this year, do drink responsibly! Chag Sameach – I’ll be raising my cocktail glass to better times ahead for all of us.