The Snowball is a British creation from the 1940s made with the Dutch egg and brandy liqueur Advocaat, lime, brandy and lemonade. It is as Christmassy as the Egg nog but much lighter. The drink didn’t really catch a big audience until the 1970s when it started being served without the finesse achieved by the lime and brandy, ingredients needed to cut through the otherwise incredibly sweet Advocaat.

The earliest mention of the predecessor of Advocaat is found in Dutch texts from the 17th century describing a yellow-colored alcoholic drink made from avocados. Most likely Dutch sailors were introduced to a drink called Abacate during their travels to South America and the West Indies. Abacate is a yellow-colored alcoholic drink made from avocados that was popular in the area that is now Brazil. The Dutch took a liking to it and started to produce their own in the Dutch Antilles.

Back in the harsher climate of the Netherlands, where there were no avocados to be found, they tried to recreate the texture and look of the drink using egg yolk instead. The name Abacate simply turned into Advocaat in Dutch and the Advocaat of today was born.

Another explanation for the name, which is Dutch for lawyer, is explained in the 1881 edition of a Dictionary of the Dutch Language where it says that “Advocaat is a good lubricant for the throat and thus considered especially useful for a lawyer, who must speak in public.”

The glass was designed by Italian designer Federico de Majo in 2015 and is called Bilia.

Product information

This is one in a series of illustrations of classic cocktail recipes with a selection of the most beautifully designed glasses.

The size 40x50 cm (approx 16x20”) are signed and printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Bright White 310g archival paper and are sold in a limited edition of 50 prints.

The size 30x40 cm (approx 12x16”) are printed on Hahnemühle Fine Art Studio Enhanced 210g archival paper.