‘Tis the season to be thirsty!

Whether you are on the nice list or the naughty list, we know everyone could use a drink at the end of 2020. Sure, bars and restaurants may be closed and traditional Christmas gatherings are limited but that doesn’t mean the end of the year festivities need to be dry.

To get into the holiday “spirit,” we rounded up some festive AF cocktails that are easy to make and sure to impress your friends on the ‘gram. From modern eggnogs to libations from luxury resorts, be your own own bartender and follow one of these chic Christmas cocktail recipes below.

Winter Wonderland

Florida may not experience a change in seasons, but at Morimoto Asia, located at Disney Springs, the bar is mixing up this sweet treat that begs for a White Christmas.

Ingredients:
1 ½ oz Vodka
¾ oz Peppermint Schnapps
¾ oz White Chocolate Liqueur
Mini Candy Cane and Red Sugar

Instructions:
Mix and chill ingredients.
Pour into a red sugar-rimmed martini glass.
Garnish with a candy cane hanging on the rim.

Pomegranate Negroni

If you love the big juniper taste of classic dry gin, check out Beefeater’s holiday twist on a classic Italian Negroni.

Ingredients:
1 ½ oz Beefeater Dry
1 oz Campari
1 oz Lillet Blanc
¾ oz pomegranate juice
2 dashes orange bitters
Orange twist for garnish

Instructions:
Add all ingredients into a mixing glass and add ice.
Stir until chilled
Strain into class and add ice
Garnish with an orange twist

Rumpapapumpum

Curiously sweet and unexpectedly magical, this snow-inspired treat from Don Papa Rum is a frothy twist on classic eggnog.

Ingredients:
45 ml Don Papa 7
5 ml Overproof Rum
20 ml Brown Simple Syrup
15 ml Cream
135 ml Nut Mixture

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients and freeze.
Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving.
Shake to “wake up” the cocktail, pour eggnog mix into milk jar.
Garnish with grated nutmeg and striped paper straw. (Served cold / frozen).

Snow Bird

Located on acres of land in central Wisconsin, Sand Valley boasts exclusive cottages for its guests, equipped with the comforts of home, including a full kitchen. Inspiring travel for the winter season into the new year, Sand Valley’s holiday cocktail is the perfect way to enjoy a taste of the resort from home.

Ingredients:
3 oz. Prosecco
2 oz. Ginger Beer
1 oz. Cranberry Syrup

Instructions:
Add cranberry syrup to flute glass
Add ginger beer and top with Prosecco
Garnish with sugared cranberries on a skewer.

Christmas Tide

Home to seven villas total and located three miles off the coast of Belize, Cayo Espanto is a barefoot luxe island resort that we wish we were spending the holidays at. Luckily, the resort is sharing its signature holiday-themed cocktail taste of the private island experience at home this season.

Ingredients:
2 oz. Kahlua
4 oz. Belizean Rum Popo*
2 Candy Cane
¼ cup Sugar

*To Make Belizean Rum Popo
3 Eggs
3 cup Evaporated Milk
1 ¼ cup Sweetened Condensed Milk
½ cup Belizean Gold Rum
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 tsp. Fresh Nutmeg
1 tsp. Cinnamon

Instructions:
In a mixer beat the eggs for five minutes until light and fluffy, add the evaporated milk, condensed milk, vanilla, and spices, continue to mix on high two minutes.
Add the rum and reduce speed to low.
Mix an additional two minutes, store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Crush the candy cane with ¼ cup of sugar.
Dampen the edge of a chilled martini glass and dip into the candy cane sugar mixture and pour 2 oz. Kahlua in the bottom.
Add the Rum popo to a shaker with ice and shake 20 seconds.
Slowly pour the chilled rum popo into the side of the glass as to not to mix with the Kahlua.
Garnish with candy cane and fresh mint.

Apple Christmas Drink

Nestled in what was once a small fishing village about half an hour outside of Cancun, Grand Residences Riviera Cancun is a hidden coastal treasure. Travelers can be transported to the tropical paradise this holiday season by recreating the following signature cocktail at home.

Ingredients:
4 oz. Sparkling Wine
1 oz. Sprite
1 ½ oz. Apple Pucker
Fresh strawberry, blueberry and raspberry

Instructions:
Pour the sparkling wine into a glass, add the Sprite and the Apple Pucker.
Add four ice cubes.
Make a skewer with the red fruits to decoratively place inside the glass.

Christmas Wish

Mount Cinnamon Resort & Beach Club, family-owned boutique resort in Grenada, has created a way for future guests to delight in their signature holiday drink remotely. The resort’s award winning bartender, winner of ‘Spirit of the Competition’ at the 2019 CHTA, Taste of the Caribbean, has used traditional local ingredients to create a special Christmas Cocktail you can copy at home.

Ingredients:
6 oz. Sorrel Juice
1 ½ oz. Local Dark Rum (the resort uses Westerhall Rums Grenada) ⠀

Instructions:
Shake and strain over ice into poco grande glass.
Top with whipped cream.
Garnish with, cherry, a mint leaf, a dash of nutmeg and gingerbread biscuit.

Santa’s Little Helper

If you need a little help getting through the holidays, tequila is always a good idea. Show off your bartender skills by making homemade candy cane syrup and house spiced pomegranate.

Ingredients:
1 ½ oz. El Sativo Blanco
¾ oz. Candy Cane Honey Syrup*
¾ oz. House Spiced Pomegranate**
½ oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
4 oz. Hot Water

Instructions:
Add all ingredients into an Irish Coffee glass and stir.
Garnish with a lemon wheel and a rosemary sprig.

*To Make Candy Cane Honey Syrup
12 Candy Canes
1 cup Light Amber Honey
2 Cups water

Add all ingredients and bring to boil, melt the candy canes and turn off heat to simmer.
Store in the refrigerator overnight.

**To Make House Spiced Pomegranate
1 bottle POM Pomegranate Juice (24 oz)
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 Full Nutmeg (the full nugget)
2 small pieces of Whole Clove

Add all ingredients and bring to boil.
Let cool and fine strain.

Holiday Saril Cocktail

Located in the heart of Panama in Riviera Pacifica, The Buenaventura Golf & Beach Resort is a luxury destination resort and beach community two hours outside of Panama City. During the holiday season, the resort offers guests their exclusive Holiday Saril Cocktail using the saril flower as the main ingredient. This seasonal flower, also known as Hibiscus, is popular for infusing drinks in Panamanian homes during the Christmas season.

Ingredients:
45ml Bombay Gin
30ml Saril (Hibiscus) Cordial
30ml of Lemon Juice
Splash of Prosseco

Instructions:
Mix all ingredients in a glass with large ice cubes.
Garnish with a Hibiscus flower and cotton candy mint.

Holiday Ginger Fizz

If gin is your holiday vice, a cranberry-forward cocktail option is this festive spin on the classic Moscow Mule.

Ingredients:
1 ½ oz. of Madam Pattirini Gin
1 oz. of Cranberry Juice
¾ oz. Fresh Lime Juice
6 oz. of Ginger Beer
½ tbsp. of Simple Syrup
Cranberries
Fresh Cut Lime

Instructions:
In a shaker filled with ice, combine the gin, cranberry juice, fresh lime juice, and simple syrup.
Shake thoroughly and pour into a chilled copper mug and top off with ginger beer.
Garnish with cranberries and slices of fresh lime.

Candy Cane Hot Cocoa

Peppermint hot cocoa is a delicious treat on its own, but it is even better when combined with booze. When everyone else is digging into dessert at the end of the night, treat yourself to this sinfully smooth drink made with Five Wives Heavenly Vodka from Ogden’s Own Distillery.

Ingredients:
1 pack of Instant Hot Chocolate Mix
½ cup of hot water
1 oz. of Five Wives Heavenly Vodka
1 oz Peppermint Schnapps
1 oz Crème de Cacao
Marshmallows
Candy Canes

Instructions:
In a heat resistant mug combine hot water and hot chocolate mix and let cool.
In a pitcher mix Five Wives Heavenly Vodka, Peppermint Schnapps, and Crème de Cacao.
Stir thoroughly before pouring into mug.
Top with a handful of marshmallows and candy cane crumbles.

Santo Cinnamon Delight Cocktail

Made with Santo Mezquila, created by legendary rocker and spirits pioneer, Sammy Hagar, and Emmy Award-winning chef and restaurateur, Guy Fieri, and a delicious rum blend, this cocktail is sure to add some spice to your holiday.

Ingredients:
1 oz. Santo Mezquila
1 oz. Trinity Rum Blend
2 parts 151 Rum
1 part Zaya Rum
1 part Beach Bar Rum
1 oz. Velvet Falernum
1 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
½ oz. Pineapple Juice
½ oz. Cinnamon Syrup
½ oz. Hibiscus Tea (double strength)
1 splash of Absinthe

Instructions:
Add ingredients to shaker with ice, shake, and strain over crushed ice.
Serve in a zombie glass or tall tiki mug.
Garnish with a citrus peel, mint bunch, lime wheel and dried hibiscus flower.

Kosmopolitisk

Carrie Bradshaw would totally approve of this cocktail from the team at Wit & Wisdom Sonoma, Chef Michael Mina’s popular restaurant in California wine country.

​Ingredients:
​​2 oz. of Aquavit
¾ oz. Cointreau
¾ oz. Cranberry juice
¾ Lime Juice
¼ oz. Simple Syrup
​3 dashes Angostura Bitters

Instructions:
​Shake and double strain.
Serve in coupe glass, no ice.
​​Garnish with skewered cranberries and a mint sprig.

Puerto Rican Coquito

Coquito meaning “Little Coconut” in Spanish is a traditional Christmas drink that originated in Puerto Rico. Bring the tradition to your own kitchen with this version created by the team at San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino.

​Ingredients:
​​2 cups of Coconut Milk
1 can of Coconut Cream
1 can of Evaporated Milk
1 can of Condensed Milk
1 tbsp of Vanilla
2 Cinnamon Sticks
White Rum to taste

Instructions:
Mix the liquid ingredients in a blender.
Add the cinnamon sticks
Divide into the bottles or in a glass jar with a lid.
Chill in the fridge for more than 2 hours
Serve very cold.

​Tip: If desired, when serving you can sprinkle it with a little cinnamon or grated chocolate.

YE OLDE FASHIONED

They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Lucky for us, that’s not the case for the holiday cocktails being served up at the ARIA Resort & Casino’s Sugar Palace. Barrel-aged maple syrup joins forces with cranberry liqueur for this savory take on an Old Fashioned, created by mixologist, Dan Marohnic, that fuses cocktail tradition with a burst of holiday flavors.

Ingredients:
2 oz. Rye Whiskey
¼ oz. Cranberry Liqueur
½ oz. Barrel Aged Maple Syrup
2 dashes Angostura

Instructions:
Stir all ingredients together.
Serve over ice in an Old Fashioned glass.

The Brownie Manhattan

Take your dessert in liquid form with this decadent drink from The Palmer House, a Hilton Hotel in Chicago. It’s the perfect drink to get you in the mood for winter, bringing all the feels of snuggling up by a fireplace wrapped in a blanket.

​​​Ingredients:
​​1 oz.​ Rye of choice
¾ oz. Creme de Cacao
¾ oz. Nocello, Walnut Liqueur
2 dashes Chocolate Walnut Bitters

​Instructions:
​​​Stir over ice in a mixing glass
Strain mixture into rocks glass with a large ice cube
Garnish with a mini brownie and a cherry; add a candy cane for holiday flair

Picture This

Flex your spirits knowledge by using thyme-infused sotol to make this Christmas-red drink, originally created by the bar team at Los Angeles hotspot, Salazar.

Ingredients:
1 ½ oz. Thyme Infused Sotol
½ oz. St. Germain
½ oz. Lime
1 Blood Orange
½ oz. Simple Syrup

Instructions:
Shake and strain
Serve on the rocks in a double old fashioned glass with spicy rim.
Garnish with Dehydrated Blood Orange.

Brown Butter Toddy

Guests at Troutbeck, an 18th-century estate turned boutique hotel surrounded by over 5,000 acres of countryside and forested areas in Amenia, New York, are staying warm with this toasty treat.

​Ingredients:
​​1 ½ oz. Brown Butter-Washed Rum*
1 tbsp Honey
1 Lemon Wedge
Cinnamon Stick
Black Tea

To make the Brown Butter-Washed Rum:
​Simply combine 1 ½ tablespoons of brown butter (melted butter that’s begun to brown) with 3 ½ oz. of aged Rum in a container (we like El Dorado 12 for this recipe, but any aged rum will work). Place in the freezer for one hour. Remove from freezer and strain to remove butter solids.

Instructions:
​​Prep enough rum for 3 cocktails (as above)
Combine Rum and Honey with juice from a lemon wedge in a mug
Steep black tea in boiling water for two minutes then pour into the mug
Garnish with a lemon or orange peel, skewered with a clove around a cinnamon stick

Note: all the parts are interchangeable:
​​Don’t have rum? Most aged Liquor will work. Try Bourbon, Cognac or even Scotch!
Don’t have honey? Brown sugar and maple syrup are delicious.​​​

Virgin Espresso Martini

Even if you are abstaining from alcohol this holiday season, you can still partake in the Christmas cocktail craze. Get all the caffeine effects without the buzz from booze with this virgin espresso concoction.

Ingredients:
1 ½ oz Damrak Virgin
½ oz. Coffee Syrup
½ oz. Simple Syrup
1.5 oz. Espresso
3 dashes Red Pepper Tincture (optional)

Instructions:
Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake and strain into a cocktail coupe.
Garnish with a few coffee beans.

Merry Cranberry

This Santa-approved cocktail from Henry’s Palm Beach at The Breakers, courtesy of Restaurant Manager, Carter Phillips, is a refreshing, festive drink that is easy to make and even easier to enjoy. Taking advantage of seasonal produce, the cocktail combines the vibrant, rich hue of cranberries and fresh green mint with the warm flavor of cinnamon for the perfect end-of-year libation that looks and tastes very much like Christmas.

Ingredients:
2 oz. Bulleit Rye Whiskey
1½ oz. House-Made Cranberry Sauce
½ oz. Cranberry Juice
½ oz. Rosemary Simple Syrup
½ oz. Cinnamon Simple Syrup
½ oz. Lemon Juice
Fresh sprig of mint

Instructions:
Shake ingredients and strain over cold draft ice.
Serve in rocks glass with a handful of fresh cranberries floating.
Garnish with fresh mint sprig.

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