5 New Cocktails for a Holly Jolly Christmas
The holidays are a perfect time of year to explore some of the finer indulgences in life and there are many fantastic cocktails out there to whet your palate during this festive season. Every year I attempt to feature a number of new recipes and this year I invited a few bartenders to share their holiday-inspired drinks with us and this collection is the result.
The five mixologists who contributed to this collection are working throughout the world and have previously shared impressive recipes on About.com, which is why I have invited them back. These gentlemen are filled with inspirational ideas and are great examples of what today's mixologists are creating and serving to their various patrons.
This is a fun collection to explore and, while the intention is to spread some cheer through the holidays, none of these drinks are too Christmas-specific and can be enjoyed all winter (or year) long.
Have a great holiday season!
Browse more holiday cocktails...
Pasadena bartender, Benjamin Carpenter, caught my attention in September with the Gunpowder Gimlet and its delightful pistachio syrup. When asked for a holiday cocktail, he presented me with The Baffled King and it is another delightful mix that is in reach of everyone who loves a great drink.
The Baffled King mixes a 12 year-old rum El Dorado with Laird's Applejack and adds some cinnamon syrup in to complete a favorite flavor combination of the season. It is, however, the Baffled King Absinthe Bitters from Olive Heights that not only gives the drink its name, but finishes it off to perfection. It's an easily attainable cocktail and I hope that many of you get the chance to enjoy it. The Baffled King recipe...
It's technically summer in South Africa and when I asked for a recipe from Denzel Heath who created the fantastic smoky lemonade Borrachon Cocktail, I had an inkling that I would get a summery drink and I love that because it is easy to get trapped into too seasonal of a routine. Yet, Heath's mojito twist has a few aspects that are perfect for even the most wintery of tastes.
The cocktail is the Smoked Lime and Marmalade Havana Mojito and, I won't lie, it will take some effort to pull off. Most of the challenge is in collecting the very specific ingredients that make this a mojito worth noting: smoked brown sugar and orange marmalade soda. There are more specifics in the recipe, though let's just say that those two elements, combined with fresh mint and lime and a great rum from Havana Club, create a drink you will not forget. There are a few more fun tricks in the recipe as well. Smoked Lime & Marmalade Havana Mojito recipe...
Philadelphia bartender, Michael Parducci knows his whiskey and how to mix it. The first indication was in his Philadelphia Sling, and now we can enjoy bourbon in his Chianti Cider House Whiskey.
Like many of today's mixologists, Parducci finds inspiration in some of the popular cocktails and this new recipe brings a drink that is good (not great) into the level of greatness and it required just a few inspiring tweaks. Parducci's recipe combines Eagle Rare Bourbon with a housemade apple cider syrup (complete with cinnamon sugar and star anise), then floats Chianti on the top. So simple, so genius: as he explains, the wine offsets the sweetness of the drink and it's a pleasure you get with every sip. Chianti Cider House Whiskey recipe...
European mixologist Humberto Marques has long been a favorite of mine because he has such innovative ideas, a perfect understanding of flavor, and his drinks are often very simple but filled with some of the most amazing tastes you will find (try his Eucalyptus Martini). Case in point, his Cranberry Peanut Buttered Hot Rum.
This warm cocktail is Hot Buttered Rum as you never imagined it. Marques begins with a blend of fresh cranberries and peanut butter syrup, adds a spectacular rum from Ron Diplomatico, and tops it with hot water. How easy is that? The magic of the drink is in that first step, one that blows me away, and is a remarkable example of Marques' talent. Cranberry & Peanut Buttered Hot Rum recipe...
It was just over a year ago that I ran a holiday cocktail contest and was introduced to Jason Westplate's propensity to put a modern twist on classic drinks. In that round, the recipe was JMW's Poinsettia Punch and in this round he is showing off a pomegranate-filled tribute to a classic in the Grenados Sour.
The classic Whiskey Sour is the base for Westplate's latest holiday creation and traditionalists will be happy to know that this includes egg white in all its glory. It is a bourbon drink, though PAMA dominates the base, giving it a sweet, fruity, and seasonal foundation. Lemon is the 'sour' of choice and just a hint of syrup is included because the liqueur takes care of most of the sweetness needed for balance. This is a shaker's dream because you will shake this up twice to ensure the egg creates that perfectly pleasing foamy top that no other drink ingredient can give you. It's lovely and anyone can pull this one off to perfection. Grenados Sour recipe...
The five mixologists who contributed to this collection are working throughout the world and have previously shared impressive recipes on About.com, which is why I have invited them back. These gentlemen are filled with inspirational ideas and are great examples of what today's mixologists are creating and serving to their various patrons.
This is a fun collection to explore and, while the intention is to spread some cheer through the holidays, none of these drinks are too Christmas-specific and can be enjoyed all winter (or year) long.
Have a great holiday season!
Browse more holiday cocktails...
1. The Baffled King
Pasadena bartender, Benjamin Carpenter, caught my attention in September with the Gunpowder Gimlet and its delightful pistachio syrup. When asked for a holiday cocktail, he presented me with The Baffled King and it is another delightful mix that is in reach of everyone who loves a great drink.
The Baffled King mixes a 12 year-old rum El Dorado with Laird's Applejack and adds some cinnamon syrup in to complete a favorite flavor combination of the season. It is, however, the Baffled King Absinthe Bitters from Olive Heights that not only gives the drink its name, but finishes it off to perfection. It's an easily attainable cocktail and I hope that many of you get the chance to enjoy it. The Baffled King recipe...
2. Smoked Lime & Marmalade Havana Mojito
It's technically summer in South Africa and when I asked for a recipe from Denzel Heath who created the fantastic smoky lemonade Borrachon Cocktail, I had an inkling that I would get a summery drink and I love that because it is easy to get trapped into too seasonal of a routine. Yet, Heath's mojito twist has a few aspects that are perfect for even the most wintery of tastes.
The cocktail is the Smoked Lime and Marmalade Havana Mojito and, I won't lie, it will take some effort to pull off. Most of the challenge is in collecting the very specific ingredients that make this a mojito worth noting: smoked brown sugar and orange marmalade soda. There are more specifics in the recipe, though let's just say that those two elements, combined with fresh mint and lime and a great rum from Havana Club, create a drink you will not forget. There are a few more fun tricks in the recipe as well. Smoked Lime & Marmalade Havana Mojito recipe...
3. Chianti Cider House Whiskey
Philadelphia bartender, Michael Parducci knows his whiskey and how to mix it. The first indication was in his Philadelphia Sling, and now we can enjoy bourbon in his Chianti Cider House Whiskey.
Like many of today's mixologists, Parducci finds inspiration in some of the popular cocktails and this new recipe brings a drink that is good (not great) into the level of greatness and it required just a few inspiring tweaks. Parducci's recipe combines Eagle Rare Bourbon with a housemade apple cider syrup (complete with cinnamon sugar and star anise), then floats Chianti on the top. So simple, so genius: as he explains, the wine offsets the sweetness of the drink and it's a pleasure you get with every sip. Chianti Cider House Whiskey recipe...
4. Cranberry & Peanut Buttered Hot Rum
European mixologist Humberto Marques has long been a favorite of mine because he has such innovative ideas, a perfect understanding of flavor, and his drinks are often very simple but filled with some of the most amazing tastes you will find (try his Eucalyptus Martini). Case in point, his Cranberry Peanut Buttered Hot Rum.
This warm cocktail is Hot Buttered Rum as you never imagined it. Marques begins with a blend of fresh cranberries and peanut butter syrup, adds a spectacular rum from Ron Diplomatico, and tops it with hot water. How easy is that? The magic of the drink is in that first step, one that blows me away, and is a remarkable example of Marques' talent. Cranberry & Peanut Buttered Hot Rum recipe...
5. Grenados Sour
It was just over a year ago that I ran a holiday cocktail contest and was introduced to Jason Westplate's propensity to put a modern twist on classic drinks. In that round, the recipe was JMW's Poinsettia Punch and in this round he is showing off a pomegranate-filled tribute to a classic in the Grenados Sour.
The classic Whiskey Sour is the base for Westplate's latest holiday creation and traditionalists will be happy to know that this includes egg white in all its glory. It is a bourbon drink, though PAMA dominates the base, giving it a sweet, fruity, and seasonal foundation. Lemon is the 'sour' of choice and just a hint of syrup is included because the liqueur takes care of most of the sweetness needed for balance. This is a shaker's dream because you will shake this up twice to ensure the egg creates that perfectly pleasing foamy top that no other drink ingredient can give you. It's lovely and anyone can pull this one off to perfection. Grenados Sour recipe...
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