Skip to main content

7 Cocktails To Really Get Into The Holiday Spirit

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)

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 was the Food and Drink Editor for The Manual. Born and raised in New Jersey, he’s called the South home for…
What foods are high in iron? These staples will help you live a healthier life
Add these high-iron foods to your shopping list today
Ribeye caps topped with garlic and herbs cooked in a cast iron pan over charcoal.

What foods are high in iron? We all know that iron is important for a healthy, balanced diet, but did you know you can find two different kinds of iron in food: heme and non-heme. Your body can absorb iron from heme (animal-based) food better than from non-heme (plant-based) food sources. Where can you find heme food sources? Read on to find out about foods high in iron.

If you eat a plant-based diet, you’ll get a lot of non-heme types of iron. As a result, your body might need a bit of help to absorb it properly. Sometimes vitamin C can aid with the absorption of plant-based kinds of iron. Regularly consume both plant and animal-based sources of iron to get the best of both for your body. 
What is iron?

Read more
The Macallan, Bentley serve up a single malt Scotch whisky worth more than a car
The Macallan and Bentley mean luxury
The Macallan

When it comes to luxury, The Macallan and Bentley are two of the biggest names in the world. While one is a single malt Scotch whisky brand and one is a car company, they both carry a certain, fancy weight. It only makes sense that the two brands would collaborate for a special bottle of Scotch whisky. This is likely because a whisky-powered car is more science fiction than reality.
What does the new whisky look like?

It's called The Macallan Horizon, and its bottle was created in collaboration with British automobile brand Bentley Motors. It was designed to meld the worlds of single malt scotch whisky and the sleek, elegant car brand. The result is a horizontal (hence the name) bottle crafted with a breathtaking 180-degree twist.

Read more
Forget wine — Beer and cheese is an unbeatable combination
Put the corkscrew away and crack open a cold one
Beer and cheese

When one hears the term cheese pairings, wine is the beverage that most often comes to mind, we'd wager. Because, of course, it is. The pairing of wine and cheese is as classic a coupling as peanut butter and jelly, bacon and eggs, or chocolate and strawberries. They're meant to be together. But that certainly doesn't mean that wine is the only adult beverage that can dance an alluring tango alongside everyone's favorite dairy product. Beer, as humble as its reputation can be, is also a beautiful balance to cheese's immense offering of flavors. While some may think of beer as not being as multi-dimensional and varied in its palate-pleasing capabilities as wine, this is not the case - especially now that we live in a world with so many exquisite craft beers, stouts, and lagers.
Of course, another classic accompaniment to cheese is bread or crackers. Why might that be, one might ask. Is it because we're simply in need of a starchy vessel to usher the cheese into our mouths? The answer is actually a bit deeper than that. Starches like bread and crackers are made from the same yeasty ingredients as beer, so their pairing makes perfect culinary sense.
This isn't to say, though, that one can simply pick up a hunk of cheddar and crack open a Budweiser and expect culinary artistry. The science is a bit more nuanced than that, so we're here to help you find the best pairings for your favorite beers and cheeses.

How to pair beer and cheese

Read more