Winter is here; the weather is colder, the nights are longer, and Thanksgiving is but a memory. Ready to put the “spirits” into “making spirits bright?” Ready to “chase” away the the chill? Ready for us to stop making puns?
We’re here to help you with your 2016 winter cocktail roundup!
Phenomenal Fig — Jack Daniel’s Tennesse Whiskey
Whatever a “figgy pudding” is, we doubt it holds a candle to this fig and whiskey cocktail. Leave the pudding to the kids and Charles Dickens. This is a drink worth caroling about.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey
- .5 oz Florida orange juice, fresh
- .5 oz Maple syrup grade B
- 1 ea Fresh fig cut into quarters
- .5 oz Balsamic vinegar
Directions:
Muddle 3/4 of the fig with the maple syrup in a Boston shaker. Add orange juice, Jack Daniel’s, and Balsamic vinegar and fill with ice. Shake vigorously, double strain onto large ice cube, and garnish with orange peel and 1/4 fig.
Lynchburg Winter Warmer — Jack Daniel’s Tennesse Whiskey
Apples, spice, and everything nice. With cinnamon, apple jack, and citrus, this cider cocktail has everything you need to keep you toasted.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey
- .5 oz Apple brandy or apple jack
- 1 oz Raw simple syrup
- 1 ea Orange slice
- 1 ea Lemon slice
- 1 ea Cinnamon stick
- 3 oz Boiling water
Directions:
In a coffee mug or tall pousse cafe glass, muddle orange, lemon, and simple syrup. Add Jack Daniel’s and apple jack and stir to combine. Add boiling water and cinnamon stick right before service.
Bardstown Milk Punch — by Kevin Felker for Water Grill
Here at Uproxx, we love a good milk punch. We’re guessing the same is true for Santa. Here’s a little something special to leave with those cookies.
Ingredients:
- 2 ounces Evan Williams Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- 2 ounces half and half
- 3/4 ounce vanilla syrup
- 1/2 ounce chilled espresso
- 1/2 ounce orgeat syrup
Directions:
Add all ingredients to large double rocks glass, approximately 15oz. Fill halfway with crushed ice and stir.
Fill with more crushed ice creating a cone effect. Grate fresh nutmeg over top.
El Dude — by Michael Howarth for 21 Square Bar + Kitchen
Imagine sitting in front of the Christmas tree, enjoying a roaring fire, Christmas carols playing softly. The presents are wrapped, the cookies are baked, the stocking are stuffed, and you can kick back and relax, secure in the knowledge that the tree skirt really ties the room together. This is what you’ll be drinking.
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Fugu Horchata Vodka
- 1 oz Kahlua
- 1 oz Heavy cream
Directions:
Shake with ice. Strain into milk carton glass. Garnish with El Dude chalk board sticker and brown and white striped straw.
Bourbon Caramel Boozy Shake — Dough — Tampa, FL
For when you can’t decide between an after-dinner drink or dessert. It’s the holidays. Have-it-all-idays.
Ingredients:
- 8 oz Vanilla bean ice cream
- 1.5 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon
- 2 oz Housemade caramel
- Whipped cream
- Maraschino cherry
Directions:
Blend all ingredients until mixed. Top with whipped cream and cherry.
The Naughty List — Datz — Tampa, FL
Bourbon. Espresso. Whipped cream. If this is what the naughty list looks like, sign us up.
Ingredients:
- 1 oz Buffalo Trace bourbon
- 1/2 oz Giffard vanilla liqueur
- 1/2 oz Grind espresso liqueur
- 2 oz Housemade cold brew coffee
- 1/2 oz Half-and-half
For the mint chocolate infused whipped cream:
- 5 dashes Fee Brothers chocolate bitters
- 10 dashes Fee Brothers mint bitters
- 4 dashes Vanilla extract
- 2 cups Heavy whipping cream
- 1 each Candy cane
Directions for the Mint Chocolate infused whipped cream:
Whip all ingredients together until cream starts to thicken to stiffened peaks.
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a mixing tin. Shake until well chilled. Strain into ice filled brandy snifter. Top with mint chocolate whipped cream and candy cane.
Champagne Eggnog — by Tom Jolly for The Century Bar, Gleneagles Hotel — Perthshire, Scotland
The richness of eggnog meets the celebratory sparkle of champagne in this Scottish cocktail literally dreamed up by Bar Manager Tom Jolly. (Really, the recipe came to him in a dream). Who needs visions of sugar plums when you’ve got dreams of bubbly nog?
Ingredients:
- 1 whole Egg
- 50 ml Cream
- 10 ml Crème de Cacao Blanc
- 5 ml Maraschino
- 120 ml Champagne
- Garnish: nutmeg
Directions:
Add all ingredients, except the champagne, to a shaker, shake and pour through a Hawthorne strainer into a fizz glass or small wine glass. Once in the glass, fill with champagne until the foam over fills the brim of the glass. Sprinkle with grated nutmeg.
Truly Bitter — Truly Spiked & Sparkling
This is a season given to indulgence: opulent cakes and pies, roast turkeys and rich stuffings, hot chocolates and silky eggnogs. Ready to feel refreshed? We love this bright, refreshing cocktail, made with Truly Spiked & Sparkling water. It’s like sparkling water, but it’s here to party.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 oz Campari
- 1/2 oz Cointreau
- 5 oz Truly Spiked & Sparkling Grapefruit & Pomelo
- Juice from 1 lemon or orange wedge
- Orange or grapefruit peel as garnish
Directions:
Combine 1/2 oz Campari, 1/2 oz Cointreau and juice from a fresh lemon wedge in a rocks glass over a single large ice cube. Top off with Truly Spiked & Sparkling Grapefruit & Pomelo. Add Orange or Grapefruit wedge or twist for garnish.
Angry Jolly Juice — Angry Orchard
Every holiday party requires a good punch recipe. Cranberry, orange, cinnamon, and rum – what’s not to love? Get jolly with Angry Orchard’s Angry Jolly Juice, a shareable cocktail ripe with all of the season’s classic flavors.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups Angry Orchard Cinnful Apple
- 2 cups Water
- 1 cup Cranberry juice
- 1/2 cup Brandy or spiced rum
- 1/2 cup Light brown sugar
- 3 Tea bags of chai tea
Directions:
Add water to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and add the tea bags. Allow to steep for 2 minutes and then remove the tea bags. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir. Simmer over low to medium heat and serve hot. Garnish with a lemon wheel studded with cloves. Serve from a punch bowl.
Deco the Halls — by Stephen King for The Clocktower
We love the cheeky nod to those of us who can expect coal in our stocking this year, with the addition of activated charcoal in this holiday cocktail.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Patrón Silver
- .75 oz Lemon juice
- .5 oz Simple Syrup
- 1 oz egg whites
- 3 Drops orange blossom water
- Pinch of Activated Charcoal
Directions:
Combine ingredients in shaker with a handful of crushed ice and shake until ice is completely melted and drink is nice and frothy. Pour through a fine strainer into coupe glass.
Allow cocktail to settle into different layers. Hold stencil over the top of the cocktail and spray angostura to produce ‘art deco’ pattern.
Clean Slate — by Leo Robitschek for The NoMad
We can think of no better way than to make a clean slate of things, then by knocking back a couple of these.
Ingredients:
- 1/3 oz. Campari
- 1/3 oz. Lemon juice
- 1/3 oz. Cinnamon syrup
- 1/2 oz. Amontillado Sherry
- 1 1/2 oz. Cinzano Prosecco
Directions:
Build all ingredients outside of Prosecco in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then pour into a coupe glass, top with Prosecco and garnish with a lemon twist.
Regal Beagle Twinkle Toes — by Jeremy Allen for MiniBar
Is watching A Charlie Brown Christmas part of your holiday tradition? If so, might we suggest this cocktail as an accompaniment? Toast to the original twinkle-toed regal beagle with Jeremy Allen’s original sparkler.
Ingredients:
- 3/4 oz. Hayman’s sloe gin
- 1 1/2 oz. Grapefruit juice
- 2 dashes Jujube bitters
- Sparkling wine, to top
- Lemon twist, for garnish
Directions:
Shake and strain over ice into a collins glass.
Sugar & Spice — by Jenelle Engleson for City Winery
Everything is nice when you’ve got a cocktail like this in your hand.
Ingredients:
- 1.5oz pisco
- .5oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
- .5oz Brovo Chocolate Liqueur
- .25oz Amaro Averna
- .5oz heavy cream
- Whipped cream and pumpkin pie spice to garnish
Directions:
Combine all ingredients over ice. Shake heavily. Strain into rocks glass. Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.
Dream State– by Heriberto Lausell Jr for Estrella
Winter chill got you shivering and shaking? Dream of coconuts and paradise with this rich, desserty cocktail. White whiskey and loads of coconut combine to create a unique update to frosty eggnog.
Ingredients:
- 1 can of condensed milk
- 2 cans of evaporated milk
- 1 can of coconut cream
- 1 can of coconut milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 8 oz of unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1.5 oz of KIN White Whiskey
- 75 oz of white rum
Directions:
Add everything except the whiskey and rum to blender. Let sit 10 minutes. Strain out the coconut. Let chill for 2 hours. In a stirring glass add 1.5oz of KIN White Whiskey and 75oz of white rum. Stir and pour into a chilled glass.
Top with 6 oz. of chilled coconut mixture. Garnish with grated nutmeg.
