Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

7 Cocktails To Really Get Into The Holiday Spirit

Sam Slaughter
By

7 cocktails to make your holidays truly happy image001 1
Image used with permission by copyright holder
When all the candles are lit and the stockings are hung, it’s time to kick back with your loved ones and some cocktails and enjoy the holiday season. We’ve collected some of the best drinks around to celebrate the season, wherever you are.

Basil Hayden’s Shining Light Spice
(Created by Kathryn Weatherup, Austin, TX)

  • 1 parts Basil Hayden’s Bourbon
  • 1 part Amaro Montenegro
  • ½ part Licor 43®
  • ½ part Fresh Lemon Juice
  • ½ part Fresh Grapefruit Juice
  • 1 Lemon Twist (for garnish)
Recommended Videos

Method: Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a fresh twist of lemon.

Holiday Rye Martini

  • 5 oz Belvedere Pure
  • .5 oz Dry Vermouth
  • 1 Star Anise
  • 1 Cinnamon Stick
  • 1 Clove

Method: Combine Belvedere, vermouth and spices in mixing glass with ice. Stir for 25 seconds and strain in to a chilled glass. Garnish with the same spices that were stirred and twist with an orange peel and discard.

Merry Cherry 

  • 1 ½ parts Courvoisier VSOP Cognac
  • ½ part Cherry Heering Liqueur
  • 6 black cherries
  • Dash of gomme
  • Soda water
  • Mint for garnish

Method: Muddle cherries in a mixing glass before adding all the other ingredients. Shake well and strain into an ice filled rocks glass; top with soda water. Garnish: Sprig of mint and single cherry

Fennel 75
(Created by Matt Grippo of Blackbird, San Francisco)

  • 3/4 oz Tequila Don Julio Blanco
  • 3/4 oz Fennel Liqueur
  • 1/4 oz Lime Juice
  • 1/4 oz Raw Honey Syrup
  • 1 Dash of Orange Bitters
  • Top with Sparkling Wine
    Fennel Frond for Garnish

Method: Combine Tequila Don Julio Blanco, fennel liqueur, lime juice, raw honey syrup and orange bitters in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Finely strain contents into a flute over ice. Top with sparkling wine. Garnish with fennel frond.

Related: The Only Whisk(e)y Guide You’ll Need This Holiday Season

Bacardí Party Punch

  • 750 mL bottle Bacardí Superior rum
  • 1 L cranberry juice
  • 2 L ginger ale, chilled
  • 8 oz. orange juice
  • 1 oz. lime juice
  • 1 ½ oz. lemon juice

Method: In a large container, combine rum and fruit juices. Chill. Just before serving, pour into large punch bowl. Add ice and gently stir in chilled ginger ale. Garnish by floating orange, lemon and lime slices on top.

Hendrick’s Garden Elixir
(Created at the Driftwood Room, Miami)

  • 2 parts Hendrick’s Gin 
  • 3/4 parts Fresh Lime
  • 3/4 parts Agave Syrup
  • 2 Bar Spoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 3 muddled Basil Leaves
  • 2 Watermelon Balls Pressed
  • 5 Cherry Tomatoes

Method: Muddle, Shake and Double Strain. Serve in martini glass. Garnish with a half-tomato and basil leaf

The Humboldt
(Created by Erik Eastman)

Method: Stir gin, vermouth, pear liqueur and bitters over clean ice for at least 30 seconds.  Strain into a champagne flute or coupe glass.  Top with 2 or 3 ounces of the sparkling wine.  To garnish, with a sharp knife remove a coin size piece of lemon peel from a fresh organic lemon, and squeeze the oils from the lemon twist onto the surface of the drink. Add the twist to the drink and enjoy!

Sam Slaughter
Sam Slaughter
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Sam Slaughter was the Food and Drink Editor for The Manual. Born and raised in New Jersey, he’s called the South home for…
We know the most popular cocktails — Try these underrated drinks instead
Try some alternatives to the most popular cocktails
Cocktails

Recently, we wrote an article about the 10 most popular cocktails in the US. Not surprisingly, it was littered with classic drinks like the Mojito, Margarita, Old Fashioned, and Moscow Mule. But drinking cocktails isn’t a popularity contest. Just because many people seem to enjoy Espresso Martinis doesn’t mean you have to stop drinking your classic Dirty Martini.

But, if you take a moment to peruse the list of the 10 most popular drinks, you might see a few you like and others you aren’t sure about. That’s okay. Lucky for you, we’re here to help. That’s why today we’re all about the underdogs.

Read more
How to start your own home bar: the tools and mixers
the best home bar glassware version 1612854960 for your 2021

So you're building up your home bar. You've got the essential spirits in. You've added a selection of liqueurs and bitters to combine them with. Now, it's time to add the finishing touches. From mixers to tools to glasswear, we're rounding up everything else you'll need to turn a corner of your kitchen into a great home bar.
Speaking of the kitchen – this is, in my experience, the absolute best place for a home bar. While I love a good bar cart for a living room (or even an office, if you have that kind of job!) these are really more decorative than a practical place to mix drinks. The problem with using bar carts for serious cocktail making is twofold: One, the surfaces are usually too low, at below hip height, so you'll be bending over uncomfortably while you try to make your drinks. That's not chic, and it's hard on your back too. Instead you want something that's counter level, hence opting for the kitchen. The second issue is access to ice and a sink. Mixing serious cocktails requires a large amount of ice and frequent washing of glasses and tools. Sure, you can get an attractive ice bucket for your bar cart, and that certainly makes a fun decorative accessory. But you'll still be running back and forth to the kitchen to use the sink all the time anyway.
If you love the style of a bar cart, I certainly wouldn't want to stop you having one. They are great fun, and stylish to boot. I have a bar cart myself in my living room, which I love and use for very simple mixed drinks like negronis (though even then, you still have to go and fetch ice every time you want a drink). It's a great place for occasional special bottles, particularly beautiful glasswear, cocktail books, and other decorative accessories.
But for serious cocktail making, you want an area of clear counter space, near to a sink and to a freezer full of ice, and with easy access to all your bottles and tools. I find a small kitchen island perfect for this purpose, tucked into a corner of the kitchen near the appliances. Store bottles and equipment on the lower shelves of the island or on wall-mounted shelves to save space, and make sure you have a lamp or decent overhead lighting so you can see what you're doing while you mix. You'll want a small chopping board as well for slicing citrus and other fruit, and a small, sharp knife that you can borrow from your kitchen equipment.
Then it's time to turn your attention to home bar tools.

Essential home bar tools

Read more
Big Green Egg brings back a fan-favorite item for a limited time
However spend your evenings outdoors, the Big Green Egg Chiminea is there to help keep things warm
The Big Green Egg Chiminea.

Love good times by the fire on a chilly night? Want to enjoy a few drinks in a toasty spot after a long day at work? Of course, we all do. But throwing some logs in a pit in the ground doesn't quite do it. If you want a cozy evening, Big Green Egg brings the wow with the release of a special Chiminea to celebrate 50 years in business, and it will take your gathering around the fire to a whole new level.
The Big Green Egg update

Big Green Egg has been the go-to for outdoor grillers and smokers looking for an outdoor cooker for decades. But if you want to hang out in the fresh air without cooking, the Chiminea is what you need. Freestanding fireplaces aren't new, and Big Green Egg isn't trying to reinvent them. The vintage version from 1999 is the starting point, with upgrades worthy of a 50th anniversary.
What's cracking with this egg
If it's not broken, don't fix it, right? But even the littlest changes will make something feel fresh. For those who aren't the best at starting a fire and keeping it going, the Chiminea comes with Lava Rocks to keep the flames roaring more evenly and for longer. Made from NASA-grade ceramic, the quality isn't something to worry about, either. And, yes, it's still in that gorgeous, signature deep green color. 

Read more