It’s party season, and time to impress and wow guests with special holiday cocktails. We’ve gathered together 30 amazing concoctions made with the best spirits around. Guaranteed you will find something special to make the house warm and jolly.
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Zesty Cider
3/4 CUP water
lemon spice tea bag
—
1 TB brown sugar
1 oz apple cider
2 oz Diplomatico Mantuano Rum
cinnamon stick
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garnish: lemon slice & cinnamon stick
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Bring water to boil in saucepan; toss in lemon spice tea bag; steep for 5 min; remove bag and stir in sugar, apple cider, rum, and cinnamon stick. Heat just to steaming. Garnish with cinnamon stick and lemon slice. Optional: for a little decadence, add 1/2 tsp of butter to mug.
Disaronno Fizz
2 parts Disaronno
4 parts soda/sparkling water
1 part fresh lemon juice
—
Garnish: lemon slice
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Pour ingredients over ice and gently stir. Add lemon slice.
The Buck
2 oz Bertoux Brandy
.5 oz pineapple or simple syrup
.5 oz lemon juice
—
Fever Tree Ginger Beer
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Garnish: lemon wheel & candied ginger
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Combine all but ginger beer in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill and strain into a collins glass over ice. Top with ginger beer, garnish with a lemon wheel and candied ginger on a skewer, then serve.
Cactus Juice
1.5 oz Patron Silver
.75 oz honey syrup
.75 oz fresh lime juice
—
Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker, pour into coup glass.
—cocktail recipe from Sorrel River Ranch
Brentwood
1.5 oz Virginia Black Whiskey
.25 oz Amaro di Angostura
1 oz sweet corn tincture
.75 oz lemon juice
1 egg white
—
Shake, strain ice. Reverse shake. Fine strain. Serve in coupe glass without ice. Garnish with Tajin spice mix
—cocktail created by Alice, West Hollywood
Prepare to be Empressed
Rosemary-Infused Simple Syrup:
1 CUP water
1 CUP sugar
—
4 rosemary sprigs
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Add water and sugar to a small pot. Over medium high heat, bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves completely. Turn off heat, add rosemary. Allow to cool for 45 min, or so, until thick and syrupy. Remove rosemary. Transfer to glass jar, refrigerate till ready to use. (It will last about 2 weeks.)
Cocktail Recipe:
1.5 oz Empress 1908
.25 oz Italicus
.5 oz lime juice
.5 oz rosemary-infused simple syrup
—
Shake ingredients on ice, strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary.
Hot Toddy
Perfect pairing: Maple Pecan Financiers, ideal for those who are feeling extra fancy this fall season.
2 oz water
1.5 oz Empress 1908 Gin
.75 oz fresh lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
—
Garnish: cinnamon stick
—
Heat water. Build the ingredients in a wine goblet, brandy snifter, or glass mug. Stir well. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.
Pumpkin Martini
This cocktail is so rich, you’re getting both booze and dessert – no pairing needed!
For the Rim:
1 graham cracker
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 TB granulated sugar
—
maple syrup
—
Crush graham cracker in a plastic bag or food processor until it resembles sand. Stir in the cinnamon and sugar. Line the rim of a martini glass with maple syrup. Dip/roll in the cracker mix. Set aside.
Cocktail Recipe:
2 oz Jaisalmer Indian Gin
1 oz Diplomatico Reserva Rum
.5 oz half and half
2 TB pumpkin puree (canned or homemade)
1 oz maple syrup
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 ice cubes
—
Garnish: nutmeg and cinnamon stick
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In a cocktail shaker, combine the ice and cocktail ingredients. Shake vigorously until shaker chilled to the touch. Strain and pour cocktail into the prepared martini glass. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and nutmeg.
Empress 75
1.5 oz Empress 1908 Gin
.75 oz fresh lemon juice
.5 oz simple syrup
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Zonin Prosecco DOC Brut
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Garnish: lemon twist
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Shake all ingredients (except for prosecco) with ice, double strain into a chilled flute, and top with prosecco. Garnish with a lemon twist.
Honey, I Figured
Catskill Provisions blazed its own trail to create NY Honey Rye Whiskey, the only flavored spirit in the market using real honey as a flavor balancing agent. NY Honey Rye Whiskey is smooth and rich in flavor with hints of toffee, burnt orange peel and golden raisin.
2 figs
.25 oz honey
2 oz Catskill Provisions NY Honey Rye Whiskey
1 egg white
juice of half a lemon
2 dashes Peychauds Bitters
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Muddle the fig and honey in a cocktail tin. Add all other ingredients with ice and shake. Double strain into a pretty glass.
—cocktail created by @thesocialsipper
Monarch Orchard
A Sonoma-based craft whiskey producer, Redwood Empire recently partnered with the TREES for the Future Foundation and plants a tree for every bottle of Redwood Empire Whiskey sold. With these efforts, Redwood Empire Whiskey has planted over 50,500 trees since launching in June.
1.5 oz Redwood Empire Lost Monarch Whiskey
.25 oz Nocino
1 oz honey syrup
1 oz fresh lemon juice
2 oz apple cider
—
Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain into coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish with thin slice of apple.
Ingredient Notes: Nocino is a traditional Italian liqueur made from unripe, green walnuts and often flavored with a variety of traditional warm baking spices making it a delicious complement to apple cider. If Nocino is unavailable, Amaretto may be used in its place. Honey syrup is honey that has been diluted 1:1 with hot water.
Degrassy
1.5 oz Virginia Black Whiskey
.5 oz Cynar
.5 oz Lemongrass Tincture
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
.5 oz Lemon Juice
—
Shake, strain. Serve in rocks glass with ice. Garnish with expressed lemon swath.
—cocktail created by 40 Love, West Hollywood
Heaven’s Pumpkin Patch
Pumpkin Syrup Recipe:
1/2 CUP canned pumpkin
1/2 CUP brown sugar
1 TB vanilla extract
2 CUPS hot water
—
Add all ingredients to a sauce pan and heat over medium heat, stirring until pumpkin puree and sugar is dissolved. Chill for 2-3 hours.
Punch Recipe:
1 bottle Angel’s Envy
1 CUP cinnamon tea (chilled)
1 CUP pumpkin syrup
1/2 CUP lemon juice
1 bottle Martini & Rossi Asti
.5 oz Fee Brothers Black Walnut Bitters
—
Combine all ingredients in a punch bowl with a large block of ice, and serve in small punch cups. (If no large format ice available, just chill punch and serve over ice)
—cocktail created by Pittsburgh Whiskey Guardian Nico Battle
Oaxacan Burro
1.5 oz Bozal Mezcal
4 oz ginger beer
1 oz lime juice
.5 oz agave syrup
—
Garnish: lime wheel
—
Shake in cocktail shaker with ice, transfer to copper mule mug with ice. Garnish with lime wheel.
—cocktail recipe from Sorrel River Ranch
Redwood Joe
Cinnamon-Orange Syrup:
1 CUP sugar
1 CUP water
peel and juice of 1 orange
1 cinnamon stick, crushed into shards
—
Combine ingredients is a small pot. Stir over low heat until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and allow the orange and cinnamon to steep for at least 2 hours, ideally 4+ hours (or overnight). Strain and refrigerate.
Cocktail Recipe:
1.5 oz Humboldt Distillery Organic Vodka
2 oz cold brew or chilled espresso
.75 oz cinnamon-orange syrup
—
Garnish: grated fresh nutmeg or cinnamon
—
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake until very cold, about 20 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with grated fresh nutmeg or cinnamon.
Persephone Punch
Gem & Bolt Mezcal is uniquely distilled with Damiana, a flowering bush native to Mexico. Long-revered by the Maya and Aztec for its myriad mood-elevating properties & for endowing mythic powers in the bedroom, this beloved and uplifting herb naturally complements Gem & Bolt Mezcal’s heart-opening properties.
750ml bottle of Gem & Bolt Mezcal
750ml bottle Dry Sparkling Wine (Cava)
1 liter pomegranate juice (no-sugar added)
2 tsp juniper berries
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 star anise pods
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Combine all in a large bowl. Refrigerate for approximately 8 hours/overnight. Strain and discard spices.
Brenne French 75
1 oz Brenne Estate Cask
.5 oz simple syrup
.5 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
.5 oz elderflower liqueur
—
2.5 oz prosecco or Champagne
—
Garnish: Brenne-soaked maraschino cherry
Combine Brenne, simple syrup, lemon juice, and elderflower liqueur and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled Champagne flute and carefully add the sparkling wine. Slowly sink a Brenne-soaked maraschino cherry to the bottom.
Apple Cinnamon Daiquiri
2 oz Diplomatico Planas Rum
.5 oz Apple Schnapps
.25 oz Cinnamon Schnapps
.5 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
.75 oz pressed apple juice
—
Garnish: cinnamon stick
—
Shake all ingredients with ice and fine strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.
Hawker & Pitchman
Mason’s take on a classic Pimm’s Cup. When Pimm’s was first created it was distributed on the streets of London via bike by Hawkers & Pitchman.
1.5 oz Jim Beam Bourbon
.5 oz Pimm’s No. 1
.5 oz Lemongrass Tincture
.5 oz Lemon Juice
1 Dash Fee Bros. Celery Bitters
—
Shake & strain. Serve in rocks glass with a large cube. Garnish with a celery leaf.
—cocktail created by Mason, Santa Monica
Cranberry Crush
From award-winning mixologist, Darren Fallon, Bar Manager of The Restoration Hotel’s restaurant, The Watch: Rooftop Kitchen Spirits. Encompassing all the fall flavors such as cranberry and cinnamon this cocktail is sure to be a crowd-pleaser at any upcoming holiday event.
Cranberry Shrub:
1 pint fresh cranberries
1 pint sugar
—
1 pint Champagne vinegar
dash cinnamon
dash allspice
—
Combine cranberries and sugar. Crush the cranberries just a bit and toss together. Let sit about 3 days. Add vinegar and spices to taste. Strain.
Cinnamon Syrup:
1 pint granulated sugar
1 pint hot water
—
3 cinnamon sticks
—
Combine sugar and hot water, stir till sugar is dissolved. Add cinnamon sticks and let sit for a minimum 24hrs.
Cocktail Recipe:
1.5 oz Cazadores Tequila
.5 oz Vermut Lustau
.5 oz lemon juice
.75 oz Cranberry Shrub
.5 oz Cinnamon Syrup
5 drops saline
2 dashes angostura bitters
—
Stir together all ingredients with ice.
—photography by Chris Carter
Apple Cider Mule
Ginger Syrup:
1 CUP sugar
1 CUP water
2-inch knob of ginger, peeled, roughly chopped
—
In a small pot, stir ingredients over low heat until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and allow the ginger to steep for at least one hour. Strain and refrigerate.
Cocktail Recipe:
1.5 oz Humboldt Distillery Organic Vodka
2 oz apple cider
1 oz fresh lime juice
.5 oz ginger syrup
Splash of seltzer
—
Build all ingredients over ice in a copper mug. Stir well, and garnish with lime or apple wedges.
Bad Apple Punch
1 bottle Angel’s Envy Bourbon
1 gallon apple cider
1 lemon, cut into wheels
1 orange, cut into wheels
6 cinnamon sticks
12 oz maple syrup
—
Add ingredients to punch bowl, stir.
—punch recipe by Chicago Whiskey Guardian Nikki Allen
Figgy Smalls
From award-winning mixologist, Darren Fallon, Bar Manager of The Restoration Hotel’s restaurant, The Watch: Rooftop Kitchen Spirits. Darren’s re-imagined Manhattan includes a more fall palette with ingredients such as fig cordial and walnut bitters.
Fig Cordial:
1 quart black mission figs
bottle Boyd and Blair Vodka
—
3.25 CUPS sugar
4.5 CUPS hot water
—
Combine figs with vodka in a ziploc or sous vide bag. Cook at 63ºC for 3 hours. Strain liquid. Stir in sugar and hot water to combine.
Cocktail Recipe:
1.5 oz Angel’s Envy
.5 oz Fig Cordial
.5 oz Punt e Mes
2 dashes black walnut bitters
—
Pour all ingredients into a stir glass. Stir cocktail 30-40 times and strain over a large cube. Garnish with Brandied Cherry.
—photography by Chris Carter
Chambord Royale
.33 oz Chambord Liqueur
Sparkling wine
1 raspberry
—
Pour Chambord into flute glass, top with sparkling wine, finish with a raspberry garnish.
Maple Whiskey Sour
Pair on the dessert bar with apple cider donuts.
2 oz Peerless Rye Whiskey
1 oz freshly-squeezed lemon juice (or other citrus juice)
.75 oz maple syrup
—
Add the ingredients with ice to a cocktail shaker. Shake. Strain and serve over ice.
Spiced Wonder Melon Punch
A surprising mixer that is surprisingly good for you. Wonder Melon products are cold-pressed, USDA Certified Organic watermelon with no preservatives, additives, sweeteners, artificial colors, or flavors. Plus a gorgeous red color to add punch to the bar.
1/3 CUP vodka
juice of 1 lime
2 CUPS Wonder Melon, Lemon-Cayenne flavor
—
1 CUP lemon sparkling water
—
Garnish: cinnamon sticks, lime and lemon slices
—
Combine the vodka, lime juice, and Wonder Melon in a pitcher. Divide between 4 glasses and top each glass with 2 ounces of sparkling water. Garnish with a cinnamon stick, lemon and lime slices.
What’s Up Doc
From award-winning mixologist, Darren Fallon, Bar Manager of The Restoration Hotel’s restaurant, The Watch: Rooftop Kitchen Spirits. A savory yet refreshing libation made with carrots, ginger, and pineapple that even looks like a carrot.
Carrot Pepper Syrup:
3 medium carrots
1 pint sugar
1 quart water
—
red bell pepper, juiced
—
In a blender, puree carrots, sugar and water, about 2 min. Add the fresh red pepper juice, pulse.
Cocktail Recipe:
2 oz Pisco
1.5 oz Carrot Pepper Syrup
.5 oz lemon juice
.25 oz ginger syrup
.25 oz pineapple juice
—
Optional: mint-bitter spray (this adds the green color to the crushed ice)
—
Build in a Collins glass with crushed ice. Top with mint bitter spray.
—photography by Chris Carter
The Jewel
(aka Sidecar/Between The Sheets)
1 oz Bertoux Brandy
1 oz aged rum (Appleton or Rhum JM)
.5 oz simple syrup
.25 oz Cointreau
.75 oz lime
—
Garnish: lime wheel
—
Combine all in a shaker with ice, shake, and strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with lime wheel.
Sonoma Orchard
1.5 oz Benham’s Barrel Finished Gin
.25 oz Disaronno
1 oz fresh lemon juice
2 oz apple cider
1 oz honey syrup (honey diluted 1:1 with hot water)
—
Garnish: apple slice with presence
—
Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain into coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish with thin slice of apple, cut in a decorative way.
Trader’s Village
From award-winning mixologist, Darren Fallon, Bar Manager of The Restoration Hotel’s restaurant, The Watch: Rooftop Kitchen Spirits. This libation is a play on street corn using elements from corn, avocados and egg yolks. It’s for the truly experimental, and involves a Sous Vide appliance.
Corn-Infused Tequila:
3 ears corn
1 Bottle Silver Tequila
—
Sous Vide for 3 hours at 63ºC. Puree mix, strain.
Avocado Orgeat:
4 avocado pits
—
2 CUPS water
4 CUPS sugar
—
Toast avocado pits for 10 min. In a food processor, puree them with water and sugar.
Sous Vide Egg Yolk:
10 egg yolks
—
Sous Vide egg yolks for an hour at 63ºC. Puree with a splash of water when finished.
Spiced Rim:
1 CUP salt
1 CUP sugar
1/2 CUP paprika
1/4 CUP cayenne
1/4 CUP cumin
—
Combine.
Cocktail Recipe:
1.5 oz Corn-Infused Tequila
.5 oz Ancho Reyes
.5 oz SV egg yolk
.75 oz fresh lime juice
.75 oz Avocado Orgeat
—
Mix all ingredients in a shaker. Strain over ice in a spiced rimmed glass. Garnish with a dehydrated lime.
—photography by Chris Carter
