Signature Holiday Cocktails
It’s the holiday season! A great time for social gathering, celebrating, gift exchanging, and reflecting. A time of great foods, sweet treats, and an unmatched drink menu. Whether you’re hosting an intimate gathering with your closest friends, or an over the top ugly Christmas sweater party, your drink menu has to be one of your signatures. Today, we have crafted a delightful holiday cocktail menu for you to use!
Gingerbread Martini
Ingredients: Gingerbread simple syrup (2 ounces). Gingerbread cookies. Vanilla ice cream (2 scoops). Bailey’s. Vodka (Tito’s, Grey Goose, or Belvedere) (4 ounces). Kahlua (2 ounces). Whipped Cream for topping (Store-bought or homemade).
Instructions: In a small saucepan, heat the water, brown sugar, molasses, ginger, and cinnamon on medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Crush about 2-3 small gingerbread cookies in a zip lock bag with a rolling pin. Place the crumbs in a saucer and set aside. Pour the 2 tablespoons of half and half into a small saucer. Dip the rims of the martini glasses into the half and half. Then dip into the gingerbread crumbs and set the glasses aside. In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine, the vodka, Kahlua, Bailey’s Irish Cream, gingerbread syrup, and the half and half. Shake well and pour into martini glasses. Place a dollop of whipped cream on top and then place a gingerbread cookie on top of the whipped cream and serve.
2. Coquito
Ingredients: Cream of coconut (15-ounces). Evaporated milk (12-ounces). Sweetened and condensed milk (14-ounces). White Rum (1/2 cup). Pure vanilla extract (1 teaspoon). Ground cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon). Freshly grated nutmeg (1/4 teaspoon).
Instructions: Place the cream of coconut, condensed milk, evaporated milk, coconut milk, white rum, vanilla ice cream, cinnamon and nutmeg in a blender and let it blend until it is smooth. Do this for 2 minutes. Move it to a pitcher, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Keep refrigerated for an hour. Stir the coquito. After stirring, pour into the glasses, top them off with more nutmeg and serve with a cinnamon stick.
3. Winterberry Martini
Ingredients: Vodka (Belvedere, Tito’s, Grey Goose, or Ketel One) (4 ounces). Cranberry Juice (4 ounces). Fresh Lime Juice (2 tablespoons). Agave nectar (1 tablespoon). Elderflower liquer (2 ounces). Ginger Ale (3 ounces). 3-inch strip orange.
Instructions: Combine the cranberry juice, lime juice, agave and orange zest in a cocktail shaker. Add the vodka and elderflower liqueur and 2 cups of ice, then shake for 10 seconds. Strain into two or four 6-ounce martini glasses and finish each with ginger ale and an orange twist.
4. Cosmopolitan
Ingredients: Vodka (1 cup). Triple Sec (1/2 cup). Cranberry Juice (1/2 cup). Freshly squeezed lime juice (1/4 cup).
Instructions: Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and pour through a strainer into four martini glasses.
5. Cranberry Kir Royale
Ingredients: Frozen cranberries (2 cups). Garnish (1/2 cup). Orange juice (2 tablespoons). Champagne (1 bottle). Orange Zest (1 teaspoon). Sugar (1/4 cup).
Instructions: Add cranberries, orange juice, zest and sugar to a large pan and set over medium heat until berries break-down slightly and liquid is syrupy, 12 to 15 minutes. *Pour into a blender and process, be careful of the hot liquid expanding when you blend - use a towel over the top of the blender. Strain and discard any solids then set aside and cool.
Pour 2 tablespoons of cranberry-orange syrup into the bottoms of 4 chilled champagne glasses. Add a few cranberries to each glass and gently top off each glass with Champagne.
When blending hot liquids:, make sure you remove the liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If you’re using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.
6. Candy Cane Martini
Ingredients: Vodka (3 ounces). White chocolate liqueur (3 ounces). Peppermint Schnapps (3 ounces). Light corn syrup to rim the glasses . Ice. Candy Canes for garnish.
Instructions: Pour the light corn syrup on to a small shallow dish. Pour the crushed candy canes onto another small shallow dish. Dip two martini glasses first in the corn syrup, then in the crushed candy canes. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Add the vodka, white chocolate liqueur, and peppermint schnapps. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Add the half-and-half to the cocktail shaker, and swirl to combine. Divide the cocktail between the two martini glasses, garnish with a mini candy cane and serve.
7. Negroni
Ingredients: Bombay Sapphire Gin (3 ounces). Campari (1 ounce).. Sweet Vermouth (1 ounce). Orange peel for garnish.
Instructions: Combine the gin, campari, and sweet vermouth in an ice-filled glass. Stir well and strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube. Express orange peel over the drink and add as garnish.
8. Mistletoe Margarita
Ingredients: Tequila (3 ounces). Triple sec (2 ounces). Cranberry Juice (2 ounces). Lime Juice (1 ounce). Simple syrup (1 ounce). Granulated sugar for rimming. Fresh cranberries and rosemary springs for garnish.
Instructions: Rim a margarita glass with lime juice and dip it into granulated sugar. Shake tequila, triple sec, cranberry juice, lime juice, and simple syrup with ice. Strain into the prepared glass over fresh ice. Garnish with fresh cranberries and a rosemary spring for festive touch.
9. Cherry Brandy Old-Fashioned
Ingredients: Brandy (1 cup). Sugar (3 tablespoons). Cherries (8). Angostura and orange bitters (8 dashes each). Ice Filled Glasses.
Instructions: Muddle 8 thawed frozen cherries, 8 dashes each angostura and orange bitters, the juice of 1 orange and 3 tablespoons sugar in a liquid measuring cup. Add 1 cup brandy. Divide among 4 ice-filled glasses; stir and garnish with orange twists.
10. Santa’s Sleigh Cocktail
Ingredients: Brandy (1/2 cup). Amaretto Liqueur (1/2 cup). Ground nutmeg (1 teaspoon). Vanilla Ice Cream (2 scoops). Eggnog (2 cups, store bought). Cinnamon sticks (4). White sugar crystals.
Instructions: Dampen the rims of 4 martini glasses and then line the rims with sugar crystals. Combine eggnog, brandy, amaretto, nutmeg, and ice cream in a blender… process until smooth. Pour mixture into martini glasses and garnish each glass with a whole cinnamon stick.