By Sarah Fertsch
Staff Writer
Office parties, family cookie swaps, your sister comes to town — oh my! The holidays bring get-togethers that often require yummy food and delicious drinks. Whether you need to chill out or liven up the party, we’ve got you covered. Here are five holiday-cocktail recipes that taste (and feel) like visions of sugarplums dancing inside your head:
Grinch Cocktail
Ingredients:
- 2 ounces of Midori liqueur
- 1 ounce of clear rum
- 5 ounces of Sprite or tonic water
- 1 maraschino cherry
Add rum, Midori and soda to the cocktail shaker with ½ cup of ice and shake thoroughly.
Pour into a cold lowball glass and top with the cherry. Enjoy!
Holiday Sangria
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of raw cranberries
- 1 cup of water
- 2 bottles of fruity red wine
- 1 slightly-unripe Barnett pear
- 2 small oranges, thinly sliced
- 2 Gala apples, thinly sliced
- 1 cup of white sugar
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- ½ cup of orange liquor
- 2 limes, freshly-squeezed
Muddle water and sugar in a medium saucepan and warm over medium heat, stirring often. The sugar should dissolve and a paste should form. Add cinnamon sticks and remove from heat.
Pour syrup into a Tupperware container and add cranberries. Place in the fridge overnight.
In a large pitcher, combine fruit, lime juice, wine and orange liquor. Stir in syrup, making sure there are no clumps. Pour over ice in wine glasses, garnishing with extra pear or apple slices.
Peppermint Martini
Ingredients:
- 5 ounces of vanilla vodka
- 2 ounces of creme de la menthe
- 1 teaspoon of peppermint schnapps
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add all three ingredients. Shake forcefully.
Strain into two martini glasses and add a candy cane as a garnish. Enjoy!
Hot Buttered Rum
Ingredients:
- ½ teaspoon of cloves
- 1 cup of brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 stick of unsalted butter
- A pinch of salt
- ½ cup of raw honey
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- ⅔ cup of hot water
- 2.5 ounces of rum
- Whipped cream
In a small saucepan over medium heat, make the batter by adding brown sugar, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, vanilla and raw honey. Stir until thick, 4 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes.
In a glass mug, stir in hot water, rum, and batter, making sure there are no clumps. Top with whipped cream and sip warm.
Christmas Morning Mimosa
Ingredients (for batch cocktails):
- 2 bottles of chilled champagne
- 2 cups of cranberry juice
- 1.5 cups of orange juice
- Frozen cranberries (for garnish)
In a 2-liter pitcher, pour in champagne and juices. Stir to distribute ingredients evenly.
Pour into champagne glasses and top with frozen cranberries. Optional: add ice to each glass or pitcher.
