The holidays are a wonderful time for catching up with family and friends, but they can be stressful too. Particularly if you’re hosting and you’re planning to cook, then you likely won’t have much time to dedicate to make individual cocktails for each of your guests. And that can feel like a shame, as the great joy in making drinks is getting to share them with other people.
However, there is a solution to this hosting dilemma, and it’s pre-batching your drinks ahead of time. If you plan in advance you can make your drinks before your guests even arrive, then have a pitcher or punch bowl from which people can help themselves. It’s a fun and low-stress way to make drinks for a crowd, and you just need to make sure you pick an appropriate drink for batching. Stay away from anything with cream or dairy that could go off, and opt for easy crowd-pleasing seasonal flavors like apple, cinnamon, and maple syrup.
We’ve got suggestions for make-ahead batched drinks that are delicious and will leave you free to attend to cooking, making your hosting life much easier.
Autumn Aurora
Created by Jeffrey Naples, Reyka Vodka Ambassador
Ingredients:
- 8 – 10 parts Reyka Vodka
- 4 Cups Apple Cider
- 1 can Apple Pie Filling
- 5 Cinnamon Sticks
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Orange zest (optional)
- Clove or star anise (optional)
- Red wine to top
Method:
Heat all ingredients except for vodka and wine in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer for 5 to 10 minutes and stir until ingredients are combined. Add 1 part Reyka Vodka to 4 parts batch cocktail mixture. Serve warm and top with 1 part red wine. Garnish with apple pie filling, sliced apple, or sliced apple wedges.
Spiced Hot Cider
Ingredients:
- 1 part Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum
- 4 parts Apple Cider
- ½ part Lemon Juice
- 2 tablespoons of Mulling Spices
Method:
Heat all ingredients except Sailor Jerry on the stove until warm and fragrant. Pour into mugs, top with Sailor Jerry, lemon and apple slices.
Friendsgiving Rum Punch
Ingredients:
- 3 Cups (24 oz.) Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum
- 2 (12 oz.) Bottles Ginger Beer, cooled
- ⅓ Cup Honey
- 12 Whole Cloves
- 8 Cups Apple Cider, divided
- 4 Cups Cranberry Juice, chilled
- Sliced Green Apples, Oranges, or Lemons for Garnish
- Rosemary Sprig, for Garnish
Method:
Combine honey, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and 2 cups of cider in a small saucepan over medium. Cook, stirring often, until honey is dissolved and mixture is fragrant with spices, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat; cool and steep 15 minutes. Discard spices.
Combine spiced cider mixture, cranberry juice, spiced rum, ginger beer, and remaining 6 cups apple cider in a large punch bowl. Garnish with sliced citrus and apples. Serve over ice.
Hudson Calvados Cask Rye Old Fashioned
Ingredients:
- 2 parts Hudson Calvados Cask Rye
- Barspoon Maple Syrup
- Barspoon Apple Butter
- 2 dashes Fee Brother’s Cardamom bitters
- Grapefruit peel
Method:
Stir and strain ingredients over ice into rocks glass. Express and discard grapefruit peel. Garnish with a dried apple chip.
Hudson’s Lower East Cider
Ingredients:
- 1 part Hudson Whiskey Bright Lights, Big Bourbon
- 3 parts of Fresh New York State apple cider
- 1 part New York City tap water
- 3 inch knob of fresh ginger, sliced (approximately 2-3 ounces)
- 3-4 cloves
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 1/2 teaspoon all spice
- Lemon peel garnish
Method:
Combine all ingredients except for the bourbon in a pan and quickly bring to a boil. Immediately turn off heat and let steep for 25 minutes. Strain out spices.
Serving Suggestion: 1 part Bright Lights, Big Bourbon, 4 parts Mulled cider
Serve immediately: In a mug, add 1 parts Hudson Bright Lights, Big Bourbon and top with approximately 4 parts of the hot cider mix. For a party, make a larger batch in advance, reheat and keep the cider on low heat.
