Too often, Christmas cocktails are saccharine nightmares with forced names like “Holly Jolly Christmas Punch” or “Naughty But Nice Christmas Cocktail.” The recipes that come with those drinks don’t even suggest a particular bottle, refusing to acknowledge the nuances between various gins, vodkas, brandies, etc.
We know you deserve better, so we’ve put together a list of 10 Christmas cocktails that care about the details and are really perfect for any cold night, whether you’re waiting for Saint Nick or not.
So without further ado, here are 10 Christmas Cocktails You’ll Actually Enjoy:
Nolet’s Silver Sparkling Moonlight
Ingredients (Makes 4 cocktails)
- 2 oz. Nolet’s Silver Gin
- 2 oz. Creme de Violette
- 1.5 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
- 2 oz. Fresh Tangerine or Orange Juice
- Champagne or Sparkling Wine
- Lemon & Sugar or edible glitter
Rim Coupe glasses with sugar (or glitter) using a lemon slice and a shallow dish of sugar. Chill glasses until ready to use. Combine Nolet’s Silver, creme de violette, lemon & tangerine juice in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well, then strain into the prepared Coupe glasses, top with Champagne and garnish with a lemon twist.
La Casona
Ingredients
- 1 oz Patrón Extra Añejo
- .5 oz Patrón Citrónge Orange
- 4 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
- 3 dashes Angostura Bitters
- 3 oz Champagne
- Orange peel for garnish
Stir together tequila, Citrónge, and bitters in a chilled champagne glass. Top with cold champagne or sparkling wine. Garnish with a long twist of orange peel.
Siberian Select Boulevardier
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz Russell’s Reserve 10 Year Old
- 1 oz Campari
- 1 oz Cinzano 1757 Sweet Vermouth
- Absinthe
- Caviar
- Orange peel
- Mini toast
Rinse a rocks glass with absinthe and burn. In a mixing glass, pour Russell’s Reserve, Campari and Cinzano 1757. Stir until chilled and strain into rocks glass over a large ice cube. Express the orange peel over the cocktail and discard. Garnish with a mini toast topped with caviar.
California Royale
Ingredients
- 1 oz Argonaut Fat Thumb
- .5 oz fresh lemon juice
- .5 oz cranberry juice cocktail
- 2.5 oz dry sparkling wine
- 1 dash vanilla extract
- Fresh thyme for garnish⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Combine all ingredients in a shaker tin except the sparkling wine. Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Top with sparkling wine and garnish with a thyme sprig and a fresh cranberry.
California Toddy
Ingredients
- 1 ½ oz Argonaut Fat Thumb
- 8 oz hot water
- 1 lapsang souchong (sub black tea of choice)
- 1-2 teaspoons orange marmalade (adjust to your preference)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Orange slice for serving
Steep tea for 3-5 minutes. Stir in all ingredients with the cinnamon stick. Garnish with an orange and serve. You can change up the flavors by using different jams in place of the orange marmalade.
Argonaut Eggnog
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Argonaut Fat Thumb
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy or double cream
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1 vanilla bean pod, split and seeds removed
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for garnish
- 5 eggs, separated
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
In a saucepan, combine milk, cream, cinnamon, vanilla bean, vanilla seeds, and nutmeg. Bring to the boil over a medium heat. Once boiling, remove from the heat and allow to steep. In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat egg yolks and sugar until combined and thick ribbons form when the whisk is lifted. Slowly whisk in the milk and continue to mix until the mixture is combined and smooth. Add brandy, and stir. Refrigerate overnight or for up to 3 days. Before serving, beat the egg whites in a large bowl or stand mixer until soft peaks form. Gently fold into eggnog until combined. Serve and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.
Flying Mule (Created by Josue Romero, The Garnish Guy)
Ingredients
- 2 oz Apothic White
- 3/4 Ginger Syrup
- 1/2 Apricot Liqueur
- 3/4 Lemon Juice
- Pinch of Healthy on You’s Here Comes The Yum Spice
- 1/2 oz Mezcal Float
Place all the ingredients, except the mezcal, into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously, and strain into a rocks glass. Using a spoon float the mezcal on top of the cocktail or pour it on a tiny vessel, garnish with fresh mint.
Fireside Spice
Ingredients
- 3 parts Chai-spiced apple cider*
- 2 parts Patrón Añejo
- 2 parts ginger beer
Combine all ingredients over ice and garnish with cinnamon and star anise.
*Chai-spiced Apple Cider
- 2 cups apple cider
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 cardamom pods
- 4 cloves
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 3 star anise
In a small saucepan, add the ingredients for the chai apple cider and heat over medium heat. Once it starts to simmer, remove from heat and let it cool. Once cooled, strain the spices out to discard and keep the spiced apple cider for the cocktail.
The Honeypot (Created by Erik Delanoy, Bartender)
Ingredients
- 2.0 oz The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old
- 3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1/2 oz Murray’s Chestnut Honey
- 1 Dash Angostura Bitters
Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker, add ice, shake until chilled, strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
Nolet’s Silver Holiday Gin And Soda
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz. Nolet’s Silver Gin
- 3 oz. Soda Water
- Cranberries
- Fresh Rosemary
Pour Nolet’s Silver over ice in a balloon glass then add soda water and garnish.