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How to make Christmas day more festive? Have some drink recipes on hand ready to dazzle. You are bound to find a few of them you’ll keep forever. These recipes are so flavorful, that in order to include the little ones in the festivities, just eliminate the alcohol.
Brandy Alexander
Clearly, I have an affinity for classic cocktails. There’s something special about recipes that have stood the test of time, let alone Prohibition. Well, here’s another vintage offering for you, this time of the dessert variety. For some reason, the Brandy Alexander never receives the love that it truly deserves. But after hearing Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s story, I was inspired to dust off the old bottle of crème de cacao and get to work.
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Cranberry Cocktail
This cranberry cocktail is a swirl of favorite flavors: maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, and red wine. Serve it with a stirrer beaded with poached cranberries. Our Santa clip art is affixed to a sphere of honeycomb paper and topped with his signature hat. Get the Santa Swizzle Sticks Clip Art.
Southern Comfort Punch
Freezing the citrus slices keeps this refreshing punch cold without the use of ice.
Christmas Punch
In the 17th century, employees of the British East India Company discovered punch, a beguiling combination of spirits, water, lemon, sugar, and spices that became synonymous with good cheer and festive celebrations all over Europe. Here, pomegranate and lemon sharpen the sunny New World flavor of cranberries.
Spicy Tomato Juice or Bloody Mary?
Chopped tomatoes come in vacuum-packed boxes.
Autumn Crush
by Michael
Another cider cocktail. It seemed fitting, now firmly entrenched as part of a new tradition. I couldn’t let the last pages of autumn turn without at least another attempt and fresh take on a cider cocktail. Something to set it apart from all the cider cocktails that flood the scene this time of year. Every year.
Bulleit Punch
Author Notes: When the stress of the holidays has you joking about putting a gun to your head, STOP, take a deep breath, and reach for a different kind of Bulleit, a kinder and gentler kind of Bulleit. Just a few sips of this Crimson Bulleit Punch, and you’ll be channeling Burl Ives as you sing out a round of “Holly Jolly Christmas.” Really, I’m not kidding.
Pear Sonata
While I’ve never put a pear in my purse, nor my wife’s purse for that matter, I have played an entire foosball game with a satsuma mandarin. Hold your questions, you’ll just have to try it for yourself. All that being said, one place I do enjoy a pear is in my cocktails. I came across the Pear Sonata in one of my favorite books, Left Coast Libations. This crisp, delicate cocktail comes courtesy of Joel Baker, formerly of Bourbon and Branch fame. I look forward to paying Joel a visit across the bay at Hard Water, where he is currently tending bar. Maybe if I’m lucky he’ll make me a delicious autumn cocktail. But in the meantime I’ll just have to make my own.
Pear Brandy with White Wine
Author Notes: I’m a lightweight when it comes to booze, and I’ll be the first to admit that my interpretation of a “hot toddy” is a little loose. My husband loves Glühwein (German/Austrian mulled wine), but he prefers drinking white wine to red, so for this contest I decided to experiment with a white mulled wine, amped up with pear brandy. I infused the wine with cardamom and star anise, which I thought would go nicely with the white wine, as well as the more traditional triumvirate of cinnamon, ginger and cloves. To amplify the pear flavor, I added a slice of Asian pear to each drink as a garnish — the pear softens slightly as it absorbs the warm booze and makes for a yummy treat once you’ve sipped the last of the wine. – Merrill Stubbs
