Cocktails for the Holidays: Festive Drinks to Celebrate the Season

By The Editors of Imbibe Magazine and Lara Ferroni

“For anyone who entertains, not just during the holidays but all winter long. There are recipes for warm and iced libations, perfect for any climate.” —Tampa Bay Times
 
Mix holiday drinks like a pro with the help of this book from the editors of the award-winning Imbibe Magazine. Cocktails for the Holidays features favorite seasonal recipes from bartenders around the world—fifty classic and contemporary recipes for every festive occasion.
 
Merry mixology recipes include:

• Winter Julep
• Northern Lights
• Añejo Tequila and Amontillado Sherry Eggnog
• Dutch Cocoa
• Hot Buttered Cider
• MacLeod Breakfast Punch
• Figgy Tonic
• You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out
• Yuletide Wave

And more!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Sep 16, 2014
• ISBN: 9781452136998

Book preview

Text copyright © 2014 by Imbibe magazine.

Photographs copyright © 2014 by Lara Ferroni.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 978-14521-3699-8 (epub, mobi)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.

ISBN 978-1-4521-2782-8 (hc)

Designed by Agnes Lee

Typesetting by DC Typography

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Chronicle Books LLC

680 Second Street

San Francisco, California 94107

www.chroniclebooks.com

CONTENTS

Introduction 9

CHAPTER 1:

CLASSICS, NEW & OLD 11

Yuletide Daisy 13

Tuxedo Cocktail 14

Irish Coffee 15

Fairytale of New York 17

Whitecap 19

Spiced Pear Daiquiri 21

Spiced Simple Syrup 22

The Spotted Pig’s Mulled Wine 23

Stinger 25

And to All a Good Night 27

Rob Roy’s Tom and Jerry 29

Spice Nog Flip 31

Añejo Tequila and Amontillado Sherry Eggnog 33

CHAPTER 2:

WINTER WARMERS 35

Dutch Cocoa 37

Highland Toddy 39

Fernet-Apple Toddy 41

Pearl Street Warmer 42

Winter Julep 45

In Like a Lion 46

Warm Thoughts 47

The Spiced Apple 48

Hot Buttered Cider 51

Cinnamon-Campari Sidecar 53

CHAPTER 3:

PARTY PUNCHES 55

Vixen 57

Honey Milk Punch 59

MacLeod Breakfast Punch 60

Santa Clara Christmas 63

Miel Picante Punch 64

Powder Burns Punch 65

Yuletide Wave 67

Silk City Punch 68

Santa’s Little Helper 71

Maxwell Heights 72

CHAPTER 4:

SEASONAL SIPS 75

You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out 77

Brandied Apple 79

Falling Leaves 81

Kumquat-Cardamom Sidecar 82

Clementine-Pisco Collins 85

Sleigh Ride 87

Gibraltar 89

Figgy Tonic 91

Cranberry Smash 92

CHAPTER 5:

FESTIVE SPARKLERS 95

St. Knut’s Day 97

Merry Rose 98

Jasmine Smiles 99

Northern Lights 101

The Brown Turkey 102

Ebenezer Scrooge 105

Winter’s Waltz 106

Sang Royale 107

Czech 75 109

Holiday Entertaining Tips & Tricks 110

Glassware 114

Index 116

Liquid Measurements 120

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Without the creativity of bartenders, the holidays wouldn’t be nearly as festive, and this book wouldn’t be so full of seasonal inspiration. Thank you to all of the incredibly talented bartenders who shared their recipes and expertise for this book, along with their own personal stories of holiday traditions, old and new.

INTRODUCTION

Close your eyes and picture your favorite winter holiday. What sights, sounds, smells, and flavors fill your mind? Glasses clinking, corks popping, spices baking, cider simmering. It’s a season of bounty, of giving, celebrating, sharing, and savoring. Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve—there’s plenty to rejoice in all winter long, and what better way to do that than with a special cocktail in hand? That’s, of course, where we come in.

We at Imbibe love the holidays—in fact, it’s our favorite time of year. It’s a time when we can savor classics like a Tom and Jerry, while also celebrating creative bartenders who dream up new recipes to highlight the best of the season, like a Cranberry Smash. Whether contemporary or classic, holiday cocktails are all about comfort, celebration, and, perhaps most important, enjoyment. Between shopping, cooking, and entertaining, there’s a lot to manage during the holiday season, so we’re here to make the drinks portion of your planning easy and stress free.

We’ve compiled recipes for all types of occasions, with ingredients that are easy to find or make, many of which you’ll probably already have on hand during this time of the year. So whether you’re hosting a party, organizing a dinner, or just looking for a drink to sip by a fire on a holiday eve, you’ll find plenty of inspiration on the pages that follow. We’ve compiled fifty of our favorite new and classic recipes from some of the world’s brightest bartenders, so whichever recipes you choose, you can’t go wrong.

Dare we say that our job here is done? Now go forth, drink, and be merry.

Happy holidays!

TEAM IMBIBE

CHAPTER 1

CLASSICS, New & Old

There’s something comforting about a classic cocktail for the holidays. Eggnog, Tom and Jerry, mulled wine—these are the drinks that holiday traditions are made of. But in the cocktail world, there’s always room for a twist. That’s why we’ve compiled a group of cocktails that celebrate the spirit of the classics—those of yesteryear and those in the making (and a few modern twists on traditional recipes). Añejo Tequila and Amontillado Sherry Eggnog (page 33)? A Spiced Pear Daiquiri (page 21)? Irish Coffee (page 15)? It’s time to raise a glass to the classics.

YULETIDE