This batch of festive cocktails is sure to lift holiday spirits.
As the season leans into Christmas, we here at C&I want to shower you with myriad options for adult beverages (eggnog and eggnog variations included) to share under the mistletoe. We leave the frosted window panes, candles gleaming inside, and painted candy canes on the tree to you.
Cranberry Cinnamon Whiskey Sour
Courtesy The Second Floor by Scott Gottlich, Dallas
Fresh mint leaves
2 ounces Maker’s 46
1 ounce honey cinnamon
1 ounce cranberry juice
½ ounce lemon juice
½ ounce orange juice
Cinnamon stick, for garnish
In a mixing glass, muddle the mint leaves. Add spirits and other ingredients, as well as ice. Shake and pour into a Collins glass (ice tea glass). Garnish with a cinnamon stick.
Appletini
Courtesy The Second Floor by Scott Gottlich, Dallas
1½ ounces Ciroc Apple Vodka
½ ounce cranberry juice
1 ounce Baileys salted caramel liqueur
¼ ounce butterscotch
¼ ounce heavy cream
Caramel, for garnish
Place liquid ingredients into a martini shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish the rim with caramel.
Desert Toddy
Courtesy 4 Saints, Kimpton Rowan Hotel, Palm Springs, California
¼ ounce fresh lemon juice
¼ ounce fresh orange juice
⅓ ounce honey syrup
1¼ ounces Beefeater gin
¾ oz. Amaro Montenegro
3 ounces Earl Grey tea
Orange peel, for garnish
Mix ingredients in a pre-warmed toddy glass. Twist orange peel over glass, rub interior part of the peel along the glass’ rim and garnish.
Beet It Nerd
Courtesy STIRR
1½ ounces rum (preferably Ron Zacapa)
¾ ounce brown sugar syrup
¾ ounce lime juice
½ ounce beet juice
lime wheel, for garnish
Combine all ingredients in a tin shaker and shake. Pour into coupe glass, and garnish with lime wheel.
The Cranberry Hot Tub
Courtesy Stonedeck Pizza Pub Owner David Haynes
1 ounce Midnight Moon 100 proof cranberry moonshine
1 ounce Drambuie
1 dash orange bitters
1 star anise floret
1 whole clove
1 tablespoon crushed cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon balsamic-glazed whole cranberry sauce
Orange peel
Build all in 12-ounce French coffee press and top with 5 ounces boiling water. Steep for 3 minutes, strain, and pour over orange peel into 6-ounce mug. Serve immediately.
Eggnog
Courtesy Sherry Monahan
(Serves 2)
3 eggs, separated*
1 cups powdered sugar
1½ cups cream
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon powdered sugar for egg whites
⅛ cup brandy
⅛ cup rum
Beat the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl and set aside. Beat the egg whites with 1 tablespoon sugar until stiff peaks form and refrigerate. Heat the cream and nutmeg in a medium saucepan over medium high heat and bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and gradually add hot cream into the egg and sugar mixture. Return everything to the pan and cook until the mixture reaches 160 degrees. Remove from the heat and place in a bowl; set in the refrigerator to chill. Fold the egg whites into the egg mixture and combine. Serve with grated cinnamon and nutmeg.
*It is dangerous to consume raw eggs, so be sure to cook the yolks to 160 degrees
Reprinted and edited with permission from Tinsel, Tumbleweeds, and Star-spangled Celebrations: Holidays on the Western Frontier From New Years to Christmas, by Sherry Monahan (TwoDot, 2017). Original recipe adapted from Idaho Daily Statesman, 1892.
Santa’s Little Helper
Courtesy Jason Kosmas
1½ ounces Caña Brava rum
4 ounces fresh apple cider
1 whole egg
1½ teaspoons sugar
Nutmeg and cinnamon, freshly grated
Crack egg into a cocktail shaker and add cider, rum, and sugar. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with nutmeg and cinnamon.
The Bell Rock
Courtesy Michael Martensen
1 ounce Del Maguey Vida mezcal
1 ounce Jameson Irish Whiskey
½ ounce lemon juice
½ ounce honey syrup
1 strawberry
Black pepper, freshly cracked
Muddle the strawberry in a cocktail shaker. Then add the rest of the ingredients except the black pepper. Shake hard, and then strain over ice into an Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with black pepper.
Holiday Texas Ranch Water
Courtesy Dulce Vida Spirits
1½ ounces Dulce Vida Blanco
3 ounces Topo Chico (or club soda)
Half of a lime’s juice
Splash cranberry juice
Ice
Cranberries
Lime wedge, for garnish
Pour Dulce Vida Blanco, Topo Chico, lime juice, and a splash of cranberry juice into a glass. Stir to mix well. Add ice. Drop preferred amount of cranberries in glass. Garnish with lime wedge.
Corona de Tucson
Created by Dale Riggins, Courtesy Hamilton Distillers/Whiskey Del Bac
1½ ounces Whiskey Del Bac – Classic
1 ounce sweet vermouth
¼ ounce Ancho Chile liqueur
¼ ounce coffee
2 dashes orange bitters
Coffee beans, for garnish (optional)
Combine all ingredients into a shaker and stir to chill with solid cubed ice. Strain out into a cocktail glass and garnish with coffee beans.
Cranberry Fizz
Courtesy Deep Eddy Vodka
1 part Deep Eddy Cranberry Vodka
4 ounces chilled sparkling wine
Dried cranberries, for garnish
Pour vodka and sparkling wine into a glass with ice, mix, and garnish with dried cranberries.
Santa Clausemopolitan
Courtesy JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa
4 raspberries
2 strawberries
¾ ounce Bailey’s Irish Cream
¾ ounce creme de cacao
¾ ounce Tia Maria Liqueur
¾ ounce Chambord
Berries, for garnish
Chocolate, for garnish
Muddle four raspberries and two strawberries in a cocktail shaker. Add remaining ingredients into the shaker and shake ingredients together. Strain and pour into martini glass. Garnish with berries and chocolate.
This story was originally published in December 2018.
