Holiday Drinks 2011

The winter holidays have been overdone in many ways on the party themes and drink ideas. But it has also gotten into a rut. Eggnog? Yes, we all drink Eggnog over the holidays but it is never a staple. It is a tradition and you should know how to make it, including the many variations on Eggnog that have been invented, but you should also get out of the box. It is never a good idea to make blender drinks during the winter... BRRR... but hot drinks are always welcome. Coffee drinks, caramel drinks, herbal drinks, toddies... all good stuff when people are cold to the toes. They can be made with and without alcohol and are always merry. Almost everyone likes them. Shooters go over year round, from the frozen tundra to the beach, and you can always design a winter holiday party around peppermint tooters, for instance, or hot coffee drinks with whipped cream. Offer candy canes, chocolate, caramel or cinnamon sticks as stirrers for all the cocktails you serve during the season.

But is Christmas the be all, end all, of the holiday season? Although I personally celebrate Christmas, as a bartender and party girl, I think people overlook Hanukkah, Boxing Day and Kwanzaa when they make up party ideas or invent new drinks! And I think that, as a bartender or party host, you would also want to close that gap. For instance, Boxing Day is also known as St. Stephens Day or Day of the Wren and is honored in many countries, including Canada, Ireland, England, Australia, Finland, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Sweden, among others.. Haven't many immigrants come from these countries and couldn't they be wanting a drink? I have ideas for great drinks to serve on this day to celebrate their holiday. I also have ideas drinks that will help celebrate Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, too. And they don't have to be alcoholic to be fun so don't shy from serving sober drinks at your parties, too, where some of the people are religious and do not imbibe but want to celebrate with everyone else.

I offer these drink ideas for the holidays. You can search this blog for the recipes as I list them here or you can use the links in the post. These drinks can give you new inspiration for holiday party themes, as well.

Great Drinks for the Winter: Dutch Coffee, Hot Shots (shooter), Adult Hot Chocolate, Hot Pants, Hot Peppermint Patty, Snuggler, Russian Coffee, Cappuccino Mocha, Anti-Freeze, Meltdown, Charro, Hot Coconut Coffee, Cafe Mocha (NA), Baileys and Coffee, Hot Rum, Hot Rum Toddy, Irish Coffee, Irish Cow, Apres Ski, Hot Buttered Rum, Damn the Weather, Hot Apple Pie, Apple Grog, Tom and Jerry, A Yard of Flannel, Snuggler, Blackberry Demitasse, Gluewein, Grog and just about any hot drink recipe with Coffee... just search this blog for the word "coffee" to get a lot of recipes.

Great Drinks for Christmas: Poinsettia, Sherry Eggnog, Cold Weather Punch, Cranberry Vodka Pineapple Punch, Pineapple-Cranberry Juice Punch (NA), Cape Codder, Thanksgiving Cocktail, Peppermint Stinger, Cranberry Sparkler (NA), Brandy Eggnog, Brandy Cobbler, Snow Shoe, Snow Cap, Dutch Velvet, Virgin Mary (NA), Virgin Madras (NA), Apple Ginger Punch, Eggnog (standard recipe), Egg Cream (NA), Frostbite, Iceball, Sweet Cream, Trophy Room, Cold Weather Punch, Kingdom Come, Chocolate Covered Cherry, Ice Palace and any of the Coffee drinks.

Great Drinks for Boxing Day: Bent Nail, Maple Leaf, Raspberry Smash, Irish Coffee, Wild Irish Rose, Irish Fix, A Yard of Flannel, Boilermaker, Black Velvet, Mockingbird, Rusty Nail, Scotch Stone Sour, Loch Lomond, Highland Fling, Hoot Mon, Irish Coffee, Scottish Coffee and Cafe Zurich.

Great Drinks for Kwanzaa: Apple Ginger Punch, Mary Garden, Kir Royale , Wine Cooler, Mountain Red Punch, Tropical Fruit Punch (NA), Egg Cream (NA), Cola Float (NA), Cafe Mocha (NA), Good and Plenty, Black Lady, Black Magic, Black Velvet, Breakfast Eggnog, Calypso, Festival, Huntress Cocktail, Planters Punch, Sapphire Martini, Swamp Water, Thanksgiving Cocktail, Dark Eyes, Dominican Coco Loco, Tiger's Milk, Victory, Zamboanga Hummer and Zanzibar.

Great Drinks for New Years: Claret Cup, Bellini Punch, Alto Parlarle, Bellini, Chambord Royale Spritzer, Mimosa, Poinsettia, Imperial Fizz, Kir Royale, Diamond Fizz, Mint Cooler, Champagne Maraschino Punch, Golden Fizz, No Gin Fizz (NA), Silver Fizz, White Grape, Tangerine and Sparkling Wine Punch, Out of the Blue, Sober Spritzer (NA), White Wine Spritzer, Diamond Head, Blue Margarita, Cherry Bomb, Kappa Colada, Sex on the Beach in Winter, Manhatten, New World, Maxim, Resolution, Self Starter and Time Bomb.

If you feel adventurous this year, these drink ideas can pump new life into your holiday parties and give your drinkers a new experience they may come to love.

Valencia

Valencia

2 oz Apricot Brandy
1 oz Orange juice
2-3 dashes Angostura Bitters
chilled Champagne

Fill a mixing glass with ice. Add the Brandy, OJ and the bitters. Shake and strain into a chilled Goblet or Tulip glass. Fill with the chilled Champagne.

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Tintoretto

Tintoretto

1/2 oz Pear puree
chilled Champagne
dash of Pear Brandy

If you cannot find pureed Pears in a can or bottle then use a single Pear in a blender and puree it. Once pureed, add 1/2 oz of the puree to a Champagne glass. Fill with chilled Champagne. Top off with a dash of Pear Brandy. DO NOT STIR.

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Concorde

Concorde

2 oz Cognac
1 oz chilled Pineapple juice
Champagne

Combine Cognac and chilled Pineapple juice in a mixing glass and stir. Strain into a Champagne flute filled with cracked ice. Fill with the Champagne.

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London Special

London Special

1 sugar cube
1 large Orange twist
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Champagne

In a chilled Champagne flute, place the large twist of Orange, sugar cube and the Angostura Bitters. Pour over with Champagne and stir.

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Moscow Mimosa

Moscow Mimosa

3 oz chilled Champagne
3 oz chilled Orange juice
1/2 oz Vodka

Pour all the ingredients into a tall Wineglass and stir gently.

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Odeon Casino

Odeon Casino

3 oz Peach juice
3 oz chilled Champagne
dash Peach Schnapps

Pour the Peach juice into a large chilled Wineglass. Fill with the chilled Champagne and then top of with a dash of Schnapps. Stir gently before serving.

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Champagne Punch

Champagne Punch

16 oz Triple Sec
1 bottle (800ml) Rum
8 oz Maraschino Liqueur
3 cups chilled, unsweetened Pineapple juice
8 oz Club Soda
8 oz Ginger ale
4 bottles (750 ml each) Champagne or sparkling Wine

In a Punch Bowl, combine Triple Sec, Rum, Maraschino Liqueur and Pineapple juice. Stir and refrigerate for one hour. Add a block of ice and pour over with the Club Soda, Ginger Ale and Champagne or sparkling Wine. Stir again before serving.

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Champagne Maraschino Punch

Champagne Maraschino Punch

6 oz Maraschino Liqueur
6 oz Brandy
1 tsp Orange bitters
2 Oranges
1 Lemon
4 fifths of iced Brut Champagne

Slice the Oranges and the Lemon into thin slices. Place the sliced fruit, Brandy, bitters and Liqueur into a large pitcher or other container. Refrigerate for one hour. When cold and ready to serve, add a large chunk of ice to a large Punch bowl. Pour this mixture over the ice. Top off bowl with the Champagne and stir gently before serving.

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Kir Royale

Kir Royale

chilled Champagne
Framboise or Creme de Cassis

Fill a large Wineglass with Champagne. Add a few drops of Framboise or Creme de Cassis and stir. Garnish with a twist of Lemon.

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Champagne Cocktail

Champagne Cocktail

1 cube sugar
dash bitters
twist of Lemon
chilled Champagne

Put the Sugar cube, bitters and Lemon twist into the bottom of a Champagne glass. Fill with cold Champagne and serve.

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Black Velvet

Black Velvet

Guinness Stout
Champagne (your choice)

Combine equal amounts of the Stout (on draft) with the Champagne of your choice in a chilled collins glass. Stir and serve.

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Mimosa

Mimosa

3 oz Orange juice
3 oz chilled Champagne
dash of Cointreau or Triple Sec (your choice)

Pour Orange juice into an oversized, chilled Wineglass. Fill with the chilled Champagne. Top with the dash of Cointreau or Triple Sec and stir gently.

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Bellini Punch

Bellini Punch

fresh Peaches
iced Brut Champagne
1 tbs Lemon juice
Sugar

Fill a blender with enough Peaches to fill the bottom of a Punch bowl. Puree the Peaches and then add to the Punch bowl, adding more as needed to fill the bottom of the bowl. Add approximately 3 times as much of the Champagne. Add Lemon juice and Sugar to taste (stir in and taste and add more as needed). Stir thoroughly before serving.

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Poinsetta

Poinsetta

4 oz chilled Champagne
2 oz Cranberry juice cocktail

Pour the chilled Champagne into a champagne flute or tulip glass and top off with Cranberry juice.

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Claret Cup

Claret Cup

2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup water
2 bottles red Wine, chilled (25 oz each)
4 oz Cointreau
4 oz Creme de Cassis
1 1/2 oz Port
1 1/2 oz Lemon juice
1 bottle club soda, chilled (33 oz)

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes and then remove from heat. Allow this to cool completely. In a large punch bowl combine the red Wine, Cointreau, Creme de Cassis, Port, Lemon juice and the sugar mixture (syrup). Cover and refrigerate until cold. When ready to serve, pour over with the club soda and garnish with slices of Lemon and Orange

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Imperial Fizz

Imperial Fizz

1 oz Bourbon
1/2 oz Lemon juice
1/2 tsp Sugar
chilled Champagne

Fill a mixing glass with ice and add the Bourbon, Lemon juice and sugar. Shake and strain into a chilled Champagne glass. Pour over with the chilled Champagne.

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