After a long, exhausting year, there’s no better way to celebrate a job well done than with a counter full of holiday cocktails. And while many in-person holiday parties are still on hold, there’s no reason you can’t throw on your finest ugly sweater and party by yourself.
If you’re looking for something that pairs perfectly with a cheesy Hallmark movie in which the hot-shot businesswoman returns to her small town and realizes she loved the poor toy maker all along, these four cocktails should do the trick. If nothing else, if you drink them all in one night, you’ll probably be in the right headspace to come up with great booby trap ideas for the next Home Alone reboot.
Holiday Cocktail Recipes
Salvation Army Santa
- 1 oz bourbon
- 1 oz gin
- .75 oz fresh lime juice
- .5 oz demerara simple syrup*
- 4 oz ginger beer
- 2 sprigs of mint
- 5 dash Peychauds bitters
Combine the first four ingredients and shake with ice. Strain into a Rocks glass with fresh ice and top with ginger beer. Dash bitters on top and garnish with fresh mint.
Maple Leaf
- 2 oz bourbon
- 1 oz lemon
- .5 oz maple syrup
Combine all ingredients and shake with ice. Strain into a Rocks glass. Alternatively, strain it into an Irish coffee glass or mug and microwave for 15 seconds.
Feliz Fiesta
- 2 oz tequila
- .75 fresh lime juice
- .75 oz grenadine
- 2 dash Angostura bitters
- 1.5 oz soda (optional)
Combine the first four ingredients and shake with ice. Strain into a Collins glass with fresh ice. Top with soda. Garnish with a lime wedge and a cherry.
Not the Nog
- 2 oz aged rum
- .25 demarer simple syrup*
- 1 whole egg
- nutmeg
Crack an egg into a cocktail shaker. Add rum and simple syrup, then shake with ice. Strain the ice out of the cocktail, then reshake without ice. Strain the cocktail into a cocktail glass and garnish it with fresh nutmeg.
*To make simple syrup: combine equal parts of demerara sugar and water in a saucepan. Heat and stir until sugar is fully resolved. Allow to cool in the fridge. If using regular white sugar, use a 2:1 sugar to water ratio for each of these.
