Whether you’re hosting an ugly sweater party or just entertaining friends and family for the holidays, these 12 drinks will certainly spice up your holiday get together. Wishing everyone in Montgomery County a safe and happy holiday….cheers!
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1.) The Santa Shot
Time to drink in Santa’s name! The Santa Shot is a gorgeous red and green layered shot that tastes like a liquid candy cane. It’s Christmas colors combined with Christmas flavors, and it packs plenty of Christmas spirit.
Ingredients: Grenadine, Green Creme de Menthe, Peppermint Schnapps
Recipe
- 1 part grenadine syrup
- 1 part green creme de menthe
- 1 part peppermint schnapps
Prep: Pour grenadine to about 1/3 of your shot glass. Carefully layer the creme de menthe, then the peppermint schnapps.
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2.) Snowball
If you’re tired of making overly complicated holiday drinks to serve your guests this year, try just giving them a cinnamon flavored snowball in a glass!
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Ingredients: 1921 Tequila Cream Liqueur, Vanilla, Kahlua, Milk, Cinnamon
Recipe
- 3 ounces 1921 Tequila Cream Liqueur
- 3 drops of vanilla
- crushed ice
- 1 ounce of evaporated skim milk
- 1/2 ounce Kahlua
- cinnamon powder
- cinnamon stick
Prep: Pour all the ingredients, except for the cinnamon powder into a blender. Mix for 15 seconds and pour into a wine glass or snifter. Garnish with cinnamon powder on top and place the cinnamon stick down in the glass.
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3.) Eggnog
What would the holidays be without some good ol’ nog!
Ingredients: Brandy, sugar, eggs, rum, vanille, nutmeg
Recipe (Makes 2 quarts)
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup of sugar
- 3/4 cup brandy
- 1/3 cup dark rum(or bourbon)
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- 2 cups of whipping cream
- 2 cups milk
Prep: Refrigerate all the liquids until cold. Beat the eggs at medium speed until they become frothy. Slowly add the sugar, vanilla and nutmeg as you continue whisking. Now turn the mixer off and stir in the whipping cream, milk, brandy and rum. Chill until ready to serve. It’s always best to keep your nog’ chilled at all times. Garnish each serving with nutmeg sprinkled on top and a cinnamon stick.
*The non-alcoholic version is exactly the same, but you can add rum flavoring if you want a similar taste.
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4.) The Candy Cane
The Candy Cane cocktail is a fabulous holiday dessert drink. Of course, you don’t have to save it for dessert, it’s just deliciously sweet enough that you could. With a name like Candy Cane, you might expect this cocktail to be peppermint flavored, and it certainly does have that element. But there’s so much more: berry vodka and white creme de cacao round out the peppermint schnapps creating a delicious combo that’s hard to turn down. Chocolate, berry and mint, doesn’t get much better this holiday season!
Ingredients: SKYY Berry Bodka, Peppermint Schnapps, White Creme De Cacao, Grenadine, Cream
Recipe
- 3/4 ounce SKYY Berry vodka
- 3/4 ounce peppermint schnapps
- 3/4 ounce white creme de cacao
- 1/4 ounce grenadine
- Half ‘n’ half
- Crushed hard peppermint candy.
Prep: Mix the vodka, peppermint Schnapps, grenadine and creme de cacao with ice in a cocktail shaker and shake thoroughly. Rim a cocktail glass with crushed hard peppermint candy and pour the shaken mixture into the glass. Top it all off with half ‘n’ half.
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5.) Gingerbread Martini
Ingredients:
- Ginger liqueur
- Crushed gingersnaps
- 2 tablespoons ginger liqueur
- 2 tablespoons vanilla-citrus liqueur
- 1 1/2 tablespoons coffee-flavored rum
- 1 tablespoon honey $
- 2 teaspoons whipping cream
- 1 cup ice cubes
- Garnish: partially split vanilla bean brushed with liqueur and rolled in sugar (optional)
Prep: Dip glass rims in ginger liqueur and crushed gingersnaps. Store glasses in freezer up to 2 days. Stir together 2 Tbsp. ginger liqueur, vanilla-citrus liqueur, coffee-flavored rum, honey, and whipping cream in a cocktail shaker. Add ice cubes; cover with lid, and shake vigorously until thoroughly chilled (about 30 seconds). Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish, if desired.
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6.) Jingle Juice
A holiday themed spin on the always popular ‘jungle juice”!
Ingredients:
- 5 cups orange juice
- 1 cup vodka
- 1/3 cup orange liqueur
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup maraschino cherry juice
- Garnishes: fruit-flavored candy cane sticks, cherries with stems, orange and lemon slices
Prep: Stir together orange juice and next 4 ingredients; serve over ice. Garnish, if desired.
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7.) Bloody Mary Punch
Ingredients
- 1 (46-oz.) container low-sodium vegetable juice, chilled
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1/2 cup vodka (optional), chilled
- Celery sticks (optional)
Prep: Combine vegetable juice, next 5 ingredients, and, if desired, vodka in a punch bowl or a pitcher. Serve over ice in glasses, and with celery sticks if desired.
8.) Hot Cider Nog
Ingredients:
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup apple cider
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup bourbon (optional)
- 1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped
- Garnish: cinnamon sticks
Prep: Whisk together first 8 ingredients in a heavy saucepan and cook over medium to low heat, whisking occasionally, until mixture thickens and coats a spoon (about 15 minutes). Stir in bourbon, if desired. Top each serving with whipped cream.
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9.) Lemon Gin Punch
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 cup club soda
- 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 cup gin lemon wedges, for garnish
Prep: In a small saucepan, bring the sugar and 1 cup water to a simmer. Remove from heat, stir in the honey, and let cool. In a large pitcher, combine the sugar syrup with the club soda, lemon juice, and gin. Serve over ice; garnish each glass with a lemon wedge.
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10.) Hot Buttered Rum Punch
Ingredients:
- 4 cups pineapple juice
- 4 cups water
- 2 (16 ounce) cans jellied cranberry sauce
- 1 cup dark rum, or to taste
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 10 cinnamon sticks
- 5 teaspoons butter, or to taste
Prep: Combine pineapple juice, water, cranberry sauce, rum, brown sugar, cloves, salt, nutmeg, and allspice in a slow cooker, breaking the cranberry sauce apart using a fork. Cook on Low for 3 to 4 hours. Ladle punch into mugs and add 1 cinnamon stick and about 1/2 teaspoon butter to each.
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11.) Hot Spiced Christmas Wine
Ingredients:
- 2 oranges
- 2 (750 milliliter) bottles red wine
- 1 (750 milliliter) bottle white wine
- 1 (3 inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, or to taste
- 1/4 cup brandy (optional)
Prep:Use a sharp knife or a vegetable peeler to remove the zest from the oranges in strips, being careful to remove only the orange part, leaving the pith behind. Then, juice the oranges into a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Pour the red wine and white wine into the pot with the orange juice. Place the strips of orange zest, ginger, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and brown sugar into the pot with the wine mixture; stir to dissolve the sugar. Cover and heat over medium-high until heated through, but not boiling, reduce the heat to medium or low and heat for an hour or longer to bring all of the flavors together. Adjust the sweetness by adding more brown sugar as necessary. Strain and serve hot with a splash of brandy, if desired.
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12.) Eggnog Coffe Punch
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups coffee ice cream
- 1 1/2 cups eggnog
- 1 cup hot strongly brewed coffee
- 4 tablespoons frozen whipped topping, thawed
- 4 pinches ground nutmeg
Prep: Scoop the ice cream into a pan over low heat. Stir in the eggnog and coffee; and heat until warm, about 3 minutes. Pour into four glass or ceramic mugs. Top each with 1 tablespoon whipped topping and sprinkle with nutmeg. Serve immediately.
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