Spirit.Ed: These Drinks Will Add Lots Of Cheer To Your Holiday Party & Beyond

Some manner of holiday party will be the order of the weekend and families and friends from far and wide will gather to celebrate, exchange gifts and roll with the good times. To assist in that mission, we’ve compiled a handy holiday party gift guide that should take you through the next two big holiday weekends.

If there’s one thing that’s sure to go down this week and the next, it’s going to be a holiday party. Mixed drinks, mimosas, beers, wine, you name it, all will be a centerpiece along with the food, fun, and friendly times. Below, we’re featuring a few brands along with cocktails and other suggestions. We hope you find something that speaks to you.

Jose Cuervo shows up again in a roundup because, frankly, we love how the popular tequila brand approaches craft cocktails. 

Cuervo Nuevo

1.5 oz Jose Cuervo® Tradicional® Plata Tequila

.5 oz Elderflower liqueur

2 oz Brut Champagne

2 oz Club soda

Garnish: Edible gold glitter

Directions: Run a lemon wedge along half of the outer rim of a coupe and roll in gold edible glitter. Then set it aside. Add all of the ingredients to a mixing glass and fill with ice. Stir gently, and strain into the prepared coupe glass.

 

Villon is a versatile cognac liqueur we’ve come to enjoy as an after-dinner treat and a fantastic cocktail base.

Villon Holiday Sidecar

1.5oz Villon

.75oz orange liqueur

.75oz fresh lemon juice

Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.

Strain into the glass, and garnish with an orange twist.

 

Cointreau AND (chai infused) Mount Gay Rum? Sign us up!

Tell Your Mother I Said Chai

3/4 cup Cointreau

2 cups Mount Gay Rum infused with chai

2 cups coconut milk

2 oz maple syrup

1 cup water

1 tsp vanilla

Stir all ingredients together in a pitcher and refrigerate. When ready to serve, add star anise for garnish. Pour into rocks glasses with ice and garnish with a star anise in each glass.

How to infuse rum: Add 6 chai tea bags to rum and infuse for roughly an hour.

 

Bumbu Creme is a dairy cream liqueur that belongs on one’s shelf year-round. McQueen and the Violet Fog is a premium gin folks are sleeping on. What a combo!

Holiday Ginger Spice

1.5oz Bumbu Creme

.75oz McQueen and the Violet Fog

1.5oz Coconut Milk (or milk of your choice)

.75oz ginger syrup

Shake with ice

Pour into glass

Top with whipped cream and sprinkle crushed ginger snaps and cinnamon

 

We’ve had almost all of the Hendrick’s Gin but few things mix and move as well as the original.

Hendrick’s Pomegranate Punch

Created by Hendrick’s Gin East Coast Ambassador, Erik Andersson

Ingredients:

1 1/2 part Hendrick’s Gin

1/2 part Fresh Lemon Juice

1/2 part Pomegranate Juice

1/2 part Simple Syrup

1 1/2 part Cold Blackcurrant Tea

Method: Combine all ingredients in a punch bowl over a block of ice. Ladle punch over ice a few times, garnish and serve.

 

Milagro honors tradition with its traditional flavor and is enjoyable either sipped neat or mixed. 

Milagro Spiced Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

1 1/2 parts Milagro Reposado Tequila

3 parts Taza Guajillo Chili Chocolate

Heavy Cream

1 Pinch Chili Powder

Chocolate Shavings

Method: Pour all ingredients into a mug and stir. Top with whipped cream and chili chocolate shavings. Milagro’s 100% blue agave profile pairs wonderfully with the sweet chocolate and hint of chili spice.

 

Uncle Nearest is rich with history and the whiskey that Nathan “Nearest” Green built has gone on to become a force in the spirits industry.

Ginger Soul

Created by Mixologist Alexanderia Poole

Ingredients

2 oz Uncle Nearest 1884

3-4 blackberries (plus more for garnish)

2-3 pineapple chunks

1 oz Domaine De Canton Ginger Liqueur

0.5 oz fresh squeezed lime juice

Directions: Add fruit and ginger liqueur to cocktail shaker. Muddle ingredients gently, just to break up fruit. Add Uncle Nearest and lime juice. Add ice and shake until well mixed and cold (approximately 10 seconds). Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass without ice. Garnish with skewered blackberries.

 

We haven’t tried out Casa Del Sol as of yet but we’re hearing some good things and really like the idea of this large-format party cocktail below.

Casa Del Sol Tequila White Christmas Margarita

(Serves 6)

12 oz. of Casa Del Sol Blanco

1 14-oz can unsweetened coconut milk

2 tbsp. cream of coconut

8 oz. triple sec

1/4 cup lime juice

Ice

Blend until smooth

 

We haven’t tried out the Milagro Select lineup yet, but we’ll be featuring the brand in the coming months.

Milagro Select Mexican Martini

Ingredients:

2 parts Milagro Select Reposado

3/4 part Vermouth Bianco

1 dash Orange Bitters

1 Lemon Twist

Method: Pour all ingredients into a mixing glass with ice and stir until chilled. Strain Into a chilled cocktail coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist. The Milagro Select Mexican Martini highlights the essential elements of the liquid, and confidently lets them shine.

 

Created by twin sisters Nichelle and Nicole Nichols, The Guilty Grape is moving its way through the industry.

Peach Fizz Cocktail

Recipe:

1 oz. gin (may we suggest a London Dry, the most common style)

1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice

3 1/2 oz. Peach Mango Bubbly by The Guilty Grape

Build in a shaker, add ice & shake to mix gin and lemon juice, strain into Amber Diamond Stemless wine glasses, top with bubbly & garnish with a lemon peel.

 

We haven’t tried out Maison No. 9, the rosé that Post Malone helped to create, but hope to do so soon.

Maison No. 9’s Holiday Sangria

Ingredients:

1 bottle Maison No. 9

8oz Pomegranate Juice

6oz Blood Orange Juice

6oz Cinnamon Syrup

4oz Gran Marnier

Soda Water

Method:

Combine all ingredients into a large pitcher and let sit overnight in the fridge.

Serve over ice.

Glassware: Wine Glass

Garnish:

Cinnamon Sticks

1 Asian Pear, Thinly Sliced

1 Pomegranate, deseeded

1 Blood Orange, halved and sliced

 

Lobos 1707 can do no wrong in these Spirit.Ed streets.

All That Glitters Cocktail

Ingredients:

2.5oz Lobos Extra Anejo

.25oz maple syrup

1 bar spoon Orange Blossom water

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a glass with ice

Glassware: Rocks Glass

Garnish:

1 sheet of edible gold leaf

We’re waiting on a bottle of Mezcal Campante to try (and mix up) soon!

 

Santa’s Punch

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz Mezcal Campante

3/4 oz lime juice

3/4 oz grenadine (pomegranate syrup)

2 bar spoons Benedictine

1 – 2 dashes of orange bitters

Top with 1 – 2 oz ginger beer

Method:

Add all ingredients to a shaking tin. Add ice and shake for about 10 seconds. Strain into a glass.

Top with ginger beer

Glassware: Low ball

Garnish:

Garnish with a piece of candied ginger and a few pomegranates seeds

 

American Harvest Organic Vodka is another spirit we haven’t tried but they promise to deliver a farm-to-table spirit that actually has flavor. 

American Harvest Vodka’s American Gingerbread Martini

Ingredients:

1.5 oz. American Harvest Organic Vodka

1.5 oz. Irish Cream

2 tbsp. Gingerbread Syrup

.25 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1 oz. Half & Half

Method:

Combine all ingredients in cocktail shaker with ice.

Shake and strain into a glass.

Glassware: Martini Glass

Garnish:

Rim with Crushed Gingerbread Cookie and top with Whipped Cream and a Gingerbread Cookie

 

Whiskey doesn’t have to be all snooty and above it all. That’s where Beach Whiskey comes in. We’ll be trying this soon.

Beach Whiskey’s Hot Coco-Cocoa

Ingredients:

1.5 oz. Beach Whiskey Island Coconut

5 oz. Hot Chocolate

Method:

Combine it in a mug and stir.

Glassware: Mug

Garnish:

Top with Whipped Cream and Cinnamon Dust

 

Mãs Miel is a new player on the block and was created via the collaborative efforts of boutique Cognac producer, La Société des Vins et Eaux de Vin, and musical artist Rauw Alejandro. The unique combination of Cognac, honey liqueur, and ginger can be used as a base for a variety of classic cocktails. Learn more about Mãs Miel here.

Mãs Miel Old Fashioned

Ingredients:

2 oz Mãs Miel

6 Dashes of Angostura Bitters

1/4 oz Honey

Build the drink in glass like a traditional Old Fashioned. Stir with ice for 30 seconds. Garnish with orange peel and/or cherry

 

Now for some different options!

Sierra Nevada Beers

Sierra Nevada is known for its hoppy beers and we’re happy to tell you that their Cyro Fresh Torpedo Wet Hop IPA and Celebration Fresh Hop IPA expressions are the kind of brews you’ll feel privileged to take in during the gatherings to come.

For The Mocktail Lovers

We like to think of Optimist botanicals, especially its “bright” expression as “gin without the sin” (that’s ours, don’t take it!) but that’s a little over the top as we’re sure most would agree. That said, for those of us trying to take a bit of a break or don’t imbibe at all, Optimist is a perfect base for spirit-free mocktails and more. Check out these recipes.

Dhōs produces a series of non-alcoholic products designed to be used in the vein of the classic cocktails of old. We haven’t tried it yet but we love their story and we’re impressed with the variety presented. Check out some of their recipes here.

Canned Goods

The ready-to-drink cocktail category is expanding more than ever and we just got our hands on the trio of offerings from Austin Cocktails. Considering we have a couple of wild weekends ahead of us, popping open one of these cocktails will save some of the fuss.

As always, sip safely and surely. Happy Holidays!

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Photo: Getty