This holiday season is usually all about making merry with friends and family to celebrate the year. But, this year we will be once again asked to celebrate in smaller ways for the 2021 holiday season. So why not make this holiday season extra special with some new twists on classic holiday cocktails that are sure to bring a little holiday spirit into your home.
Our top five holiday cocktails include a vodka-based, gin-based, rum-based and a whiskey-based cocktail, so you are sure to please all of your friends and family with your newly found cocktail making skills. And don’t worry, we kept them all simple to make.
Holiday Cocktail no.1: A Mule
The Moscow Mule was first invented back in 1941 out of necessity; it was seen as a way to clear out overstocks in vodka and ginger beer at New York’s Chatham Hotel. Although this classic cocktail was invented on the east coast, it became popular on the west coast as a seasonal winter drink. The mule’s spicy flavour profile makes it a fan favourite for the holiday season. So why not change it up this year with an infusion of matcha flavours?
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 part Green Owl Vodka
- 1/2 part lime juice
- 1/2 cup ginger beer
- 1 lime wedge for garnish
- Ice cubes for serving
Fill a mule mug with ice cubes. Add Green Owl Vodka and lime juice. Top up with ginger beer. Stir to combine. Garnish with a lime wedge.
Holiday Cocktail No 2: Espresso Martini
The concept of the espresso martini is simple – caffeine meet alcohol. There are several claims for the origin of the espresso martini. One of the more common claims is that it was created by Dick Bradsell in the late 1980s while at Fred’s Club in London for a young lady who asked for something that would “Wake me up, and then fuck me up.” Sounds like the perfect drink for the holidays to us.
Ingredients
- 2oz Bailey’s Espresso Creme Liqueur
- 1/4 oz Vodka
- 1/4 oz Fresh Espresso
Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled (condensation should form on the outside of the metal shaker). Strain into a pre-chilled martini glass.
Holiday Cocktail No. 3: The Gin Fizz
The fizz became widely popular in America between 1900 and the 1940s. Known as a hometown specialty of New Orleans, the gin fizz was so popular that bars would employ teams of bartenders that would take turns shaking the drinks. Typically, a gin fizz contains gin, lemon juice, and sugar, which are shaken with ice, poured into a tumbler and topped with carbonated water. This new twist on the gin fizz uses Madison Park Breakfast Gin which infuses this cocktail with notes of Bergamot and breakfast teas. It’s delicious.
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz Madison Park Breakfast Gin
- 1 oz Fresh lemon juice
- 0.5 oz Simple syrup
- 1 Egg white
- 1 tbsp Marmalade (ex. fig or orange)
- Club Soda
Pour all ingredients into shaker except club soda. Shake vigorously without ice (dry shake) 10 seconds. Add ice cubes into shaker and shake vigorously again. Filter into glass. Top with Club Soda to obtain a foamy neck.
Holiday Cocktail No.4: Old Fashioned
Now you may not think of this classic cocktail as one of the classic holiday cocktails but we tend to disagree. The Old Fashioned is the perfect cold weather celebratory cocktail. The Old-Fashioned is the archetypal American whiskey cocktail, created in the late 17th century as a way to smooth out some of the harsher notes found in pre-prohibition whiskeys. The Ulimate Speyside Old Fashioned from The Glenlivet updates the classic cocktail with a different combination of bitters which add a new twist of flavours to the Old Fashioned.
Ingredients
- 50ml The Glenlivet 18 year old
- 5 grams unrefined cane sugar
- 2 dashes *perfect bitters blend
- Orange Twist
The Old-Fashioned is traditionally made in the tumbler in which it is served. Add the unrefined caster sugar into the glass and add a little whisky and ice. Stir slowly to dissolve the sugar for about half a minute, add a little more whisky and the bitters and continue to stir for another minute. Add the remaining whisky and stir, taste for balance and adjust if necessary. Garnish with a large orange twist expressed over the surface of the drink.
*Perfect Bitters: Mix two parts of Angostura bitters with single parts of Bob’s Bitters Orange and Mandarin, Fee Brother’s Plum and Peychaud’s bitters.
Holiday Cocktail No. 5: Hot Buttered Rum
Of all the holiday cocktails you can mix up this holiday season, few are as fitting as a glass of hot buttered rum. Hot buttered rum is an easy to make mixed drinks containing rum, butter, hot water, a sweetener (of some sort) and seasonal spices (usually cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves). It is especially popular in the fall and winter and is traditionally associated with the holiday season and predates colonial times.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp of brown sugar
- 1 tbsp of butter, softened
- 1 tsp of maple syrup
- 1 dash of cinnamon
- 1 dash of nutmeg
- 1.5 oz Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva
- 4 oz of hot water
- Garnish with whipped cream
Use a glass to muddle the brown sugar, butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, and
nutmeg. Pour the rum in the glass and top off with hot water. Mix well and serve with whipped cream.
