Whether you’re hosting a festive get-together, welcoming friends by the fire, or simply embracing a quiet night in, this collection of cocktail recipes is your invitation to celebrate the holidays with style.

Maple & Ash Naughty Nog

Image credit: Maple Hospitality Group

Ingredients:

• 1.0 oz Hennessy VS
• 1.0 oz Rumchata (regular, coconut, or peppermint bark)
• 1.0 oz eggnog (homemade or store-bought, enhanced with vanilla, cinnamon & star anise if desired)
• 0.5 oz cinnamon agave
  • Combine 1 part hot water, 2 parts agave in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until blended. Add 5 cinnamon sticks, reduce to low heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Once fragrant, remove from heat, strain, and cool.
• 3 dashes chocolate bitters

Method: Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add 1 oz Hennessy VS, 1 oz Rumchata, 1 oz eggnog, 0.5 oz cinnamon agave, and 3 dashes of chocolate bitters. Shake until well chilled, then strain into a glass of choice. Garnish with a pinch of Maldon salt and your favorite festive feature.

White Christmas Margarita

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Dulce Vida Organic Blanco Tequila
• 1 oz fresh lime juice
• .5 oz Naranja Orange Liqueur 
• 1 oz cream of coconut
• Garnishes: cranberries and lime wheel 

Method: In a blender, combine tequila, fresh lime juice, orange liqueur, cream of coconut, and ice. Blend until smooth. Pour into prepared glass rimmed in shredded coconut. Garnish with cranberries and a lime wheel.

Halekulani Ginger Snap Swizzle

Image credit: Halekulani

Ingredients:

• 0.5 oz lemon juice
• 1 oz ginger snap syrup
  • Combine 300g sugar, 300g water, and 10g ginger powder in a saucepan.
  • Heat gently, simmering 5 minutes to dissolve sugar.
  • Remove from heat and add 200g ginger snap cookies.
  • Infuse for 30 minutes, then strain, leaving behind solids.
• 1.5 oz sour apple juice
  • Peel and core 5–6 Granny Smith apples. Juice or blend, then strain.
  • For every 1.5 cups of strained juice, add 1.5g citric acid and a pinch of coarse salt.
• 1 oz Laird’s Apple Brandy
• 1 oz Flor de Caña White Rum

Method: Build ingredients in a highball glass and fill halfway with crushed ice. Insert a swizzle stick, rotating rapidly between your palms to mix and aerate the drink. Slowly raise the stick through the glass, then top with additional crushed ice and swizzle again until the glass frosts over.

Four O’Clock Gingerbread Martini

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of ice cubes
• 10 teabags of Four O’clock Gingerbread herbal tea
• 2 oz Vodka
• 0.5 oz Kahlua
• 0.5 oz Irish Cream
• 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
• 1/2 cup of Gingerbread cookie crumble

Preparation for the gingerbread simple syrup:

1. Mix 1 cup of sugar with 1 cup of water and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium for 10 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and add the 10 teabags of Four O’clock tea and let steep for 15 minutes.
3. Let syrup cool for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator (the syrup can be kept in the refrigerator for 2 weeks).

Preparation for the gingerbread crumble rim:

1. Put 6 ice cubes in the martini glass for 10 minutes and then remove ice cubes.
2. Pour maple syrup on a plate and gingerbread crumble in a separate plate.
3. Dip sides of the martini glass with maple syrup, then dip in the gingerbread all around the glass.

Method: In a martini glass, pour 1 cup of ice cubes. Pour in vodka, Kahlua, Irish cream, and gingerbread syrup. Stir with a long cocktail spoon for 30 seconds. Strain the content in the rimmed martini glass.

Gingerbread Old Fashioned

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Rieger Kansas City Whiskey
• 1 bar spoon Gingerbread Syrup
• 3 heavy dashes Angostura Bitters 

Method:

1. To make gingerbread syrup (this recipe yields approximately 1 quart)
   • Combining 16 oz of water, 1 tsp of whole clove, 1 cinnamon stick, and 1 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp ground nutmeg, in a medium sized pot and simmer for 10 minutes. 
   • Add 2 cups of brown sugar sugar. 
   • Once completely melted, strain off solids and cool. 
2. Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. 
3. Gently stir for 10-12 seconds. 
4. Strain into a rocks glass over one large cube and garnish with an orange swath.

Rosemary-tini

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 oz Staple Gin
• 3/4 oz dry vermouth
• 1-2 dashes of orange bitters
• Splash of olive brine
• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary

Method:  Muddle leaves from 1 sprig of fresh rosemary and a splash of olive brine at the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Add 2 1/4 oz Staple Gin, 3/4 oz dry vermouth, and 1-2 dashes of orange bitters. Add ice and stir to chill, then double-strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary and a lemon twist.

Branch at Park Terrace Hotel Frosted Cranberry Margarita

Ingredients:

• Estancia Tequila
• Fresh Cranberry Juice
• Fresh Lime Juice
• Cuantro Sugar Rim

The Nocturne

Image courtesy of Sabrina Steck/Steck Studios

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Quattro Gatti Gin Classico
• 0.25 oz lemon/lime
• 2 JD Absinthe
• 0.5 oz 1:1 simple syrup
• 0.25 oz Matchbook Late Embres Sunchoke
• 0.25 oz Clear Creek Pear Brandy
• 0.5oz Velvet Falernum
• 0.5 oz Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth

Method: Shake and pour into a Double Rocks glass with a big ice cube. Garnish with three sliced and circle-punched pears.

Winter Citrus Martini with a Polar Black Twist

Ingredients:

• 60ml premium gin or vodka
• 10ml dry vermouth
• A dash of mandarin liqueur or a squeeze of fresh mandarin
• Ice
• A mandarin peel, to garnish

Method: Stir the spirits over ice until perfectly chilled, strain into a frozen Martini glass, then express a strip of mandarin peel over the surface. If mandarin is not your thing, go for a classic and make it dirty. 

Starchild Rooftop Santa Colada

Image credit: Starchild Rooftop

Ingredients:

• Spiced rum
• Pineapple-infused rum
• Gingerbread syrup
• Coconut cream
• Pineapple juice

The Midnight Solstice

Ingredients:

• 2 oz cold-pressed pear juice 
• 1 oz juniper-infused honey syrup
  • Stir ½ cup raw honey with ½ cup hot water and 1 tbsp crushed juniper berries. Let steep 10 minutes, strain, and chill.
• ½ oz yuzu juice or Meyer lemon
• 1 dropper GOOD JUJU Love Potion No. ♾️ or Chill Juice
• 2 oz sparkling jasmine tea, chilled
• 1 dash rosewater
• Garnish: micro-shaved star anise or pink peppercorn dust

Method

1. Combine pear juice, yuzu, juniper honey syrup, and your chosen Good Juju tincture in a shaker.
2. Add ice and shake gently to activate the botanicals.
3. Strain into a crystal coupe or tumbler over a large cube.
4. Top with sparkling jasmine tea and a whisper of rosewater.
5. Garnish with an edible flower or dust of pink peppercorn for a luxurious finish.