From Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Years the holiday season is full of opportunities to entertain. Classics such as Eggnog and Mulled Wine are wonderful and festive additions to any Christmas or Holiday party. There are, however, many other less traditional options. Specialty cocktails which taste like traditional Christmas or holiday treats are a great mood setter. Some Holiday cocktails are complicated and expensive to make, but the ones shown here are all simple and easy to make.
The Cocktails
Candy Cane Cocktail
The Look: Pale and Sweet.
The Recipe:
- ½ oz Cinnamon Schnapps
- ½ oz Peppermint Schnapps
Serve chilled in a shot glass or in larger portions in a cocktail glass.
Christmas Cheer
The Look: Creamy and Minty
The Recipe:
- 1 oz Eggnog
- 1 oz Peppermint Schnapps
Layer in a Low Ball glass over ice, pouring the eggnog first.
The Grinch
The Look: Acid green
The Recipe:
- 2 oz Midori
- ½ oz Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp. Sugar Syrup
Serve chilled in a martini glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry.
Peppermint Stick
The Look: Pale and sweet.
The Recipe:
1 ½ oz Crème de Cacao
1 oz Peppermint Schnapps
1 oz Cream
Serve in a Hi Ball glass and garnish with a candy cane.
Pumpkin Pie
Perfect for Thanksgiving but can also make a nice Halloween cocktail.
The Look: a drink like a big orange pumpkin
The Recipe:
- 1 oz. Cognac
- ½ oz Grand Marnier
- 1 ½ oz Orange Juice
- ½ oz Ginger Ale
Serve in a Low Ball Glass. To finish stick a long thin piece of lime peel into the center of an orange slice, then float the orange slice in the drink with the lime sticking up so that it looks like the top of a pumpkin.
Santa’s Little Helper
The Look: layered red, green and white
The Recipe:
- ¾ oz Grenadine
- ¾ oz Green Crème de Menthe
- ¾ oz Peppermint Schnapps
Layer carefully in a shot glass starting with the grenadine.
Thankstini
“Tastes just like a turkey dinner” – Barney, How I met Your Mother
The Look: Red with a touch of brown like turkey and cranberry sauce.
The Recipe:
- 2 oz Potato vodka
- 4 oz Cranberry Juice
- 1 Bouillon cube
Invented by Barney from the popular TV Show How I Met Your Mother. This is a cocktail only for the brave drinkers looking for something adventurous and a bit weird. Serve in a cocktail glass with the bouillon cube in the bottom.
White Christmas
The Look: White with gold and chocolate flakes.
The Recipe:
4 oz Eggnog
½ oz White Chocolate Liqueur
1 oz Southern Comfort
Serve in a brandy glass. Build the layers slowly starting with the eggnog and stir gently. Garnish with edible gold flakes and chocolate flakes.
Garnishes
Simple, themed garnishes can make any ordinary drink look festive. Candy canes can be hung on the rim of a glass or stuck into the cocktail itself (this is particularly nice if the cocktail contains peppermint schnapps).
Candy canes can also be ground up and added to the rim of the glass. This can be achieved by putting sugar syrup on the rim of the glass and putting the ground up candy canes on a plate, then turning the glass upside down on the plate so that the candy cane powder sticks to the sugar syrup.
Small plastic themed toys can be hung on the rim or added to clear cocktails as long as they are large enough to see, don’t risk anyone choking on cocktail decorations!
Maraschino cherries and mint leaves look great on a cocktail and achieve the red and green look for Christmas.
Enjoy, and Happy Holidays!
HOL101
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