Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

7 Cocktails To Really Get Into The Holiday Spirit

By

7 cocktails to make your holidays truly happy image001 1
Image used with permission by copyright holder
When all the candles are lit and the stockings are hung, it’s time to kick back with your loved ones and some cocktails and enjoy the holiday season. We’ve collected some of the best drinks around to celebrate the season, wherever you are.

Basil Hayden’s Shining Light Spice
(Created by Kathryn Weatherup, Austin, TX)

  • 1 parts Basil Hayden’s Bourbon
  • 1 part Amaro Montenegro
  • ½ part Licor 43®
  • ½ part Fresh Lemon Juice
  • ½ part Fresh Grapefruit Juice
  • 1 Lemon Twist (for garnish)
Recommended Videos

Method: Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a fresh twist of lemon.

Holiday Rye Martini

  • 5 oz Belvedere Pure
  • .5 oz Dry Vermouth
  • 1 Star Anise
  • 1 Cinnamon Stick
  • 1 Clove

Method: Combine Belvedere, vermouth and spices in mixing glass with ice. Stir for 25 seconds and strain in to a chilled glass. Garnish with the same spices that were stirred and twist with an orange peel and discard.

Merry Cherry 

  • 1 ½ parts Courvoisier VSOP Cognac
  • ½ part Cherry Heering Liqueur
  • 6 black cherries
  • Dash of gomme
  • Soda water
  • Mint for garnish

Method: Muddle cherries in a mixing glass before adding all the other ingredients. Shake well and strain into an ice filled rocks glass; top with soda water. Garnish: Sprig of mint and single cherry

Fennel 75
(Created by Matt Grippo of Blackbird, San Francisco)

  • 3/4 oz Tequila Don Julio Blanco
  • 3/4 oz Fennel Liqueur
  • 1/4 oz Lime Juice
  • 1/4 oz Raw Honey Syrup
  • 1 Dash of Orange Bitters
  • Top with Sparkling Wine
    Fennel Frond for Garnish

Method: Combine Tequila Don Julio Blanco, fennel liqueur, lime juice, raw honey syrup and orange bitters in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Finely strain contents into a flute over ice. Top with sparkling wine. Garnish with fennel frond.

Related: The Only Whisk(e)y Guide You’ll Need This Holiday Season

Bacardí Party Punch

  • 750 mL bottle Bacardí Superior rum
  • 1 L cranberry juice
  • 2 L ginger ale, chilled
  • 8 oz. orange juice
  • 1 oz. lime juice
  • 1 ½ oz. lemon juice

Method: In a large container, combine rum and fruit juices. Chill. Just before serving, pour into large punch bowl. Add ice and gently stir in chilled ginger ale. Garnish by floating orange, lemon and lime slices on top.

Hendrick’s Garden Elixir
(Created at the Driftwood Room, Miami)

  • 2 parts Hendrick’s Gin 
  • 3/4 parts Fresh Lime
  • 3/4 parts Agave Syrup
  • 2 Bar Spoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 3 muddled Basil Leaves
  • 2 Watermelon Balls Pressed
  • 5 Cherry Tomatoes

Method: Muddle, Shake and Double Strain. Serve in martini glass. Garnish with a half-tomato and basil leaf

The Humboldt
(Created by Erik Eastman)

Method: Stir gin, vermouth, pear liqueur and bitters over clean ice for at least 30 seconds.  Strain into a champagne flute or coupe glass.  Top with 2 or 3 ounces of the sparkling wine.  To garnish, with a sharp knife remove a coin size piece of lemon peel from a fresh organic lemon, and squeeze the oils from the lemon twist onto the surface of the drink. Add the twist to the drink and enjoy!

Sam Slaughter
Sam Slaughter
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Sam Slaughter was the Food and Drink Editor for The Manual. Born and raised in New Jersey, he’s called the South home for…
Gather (most of) a pour-over coffee system for $116 at Amazon
The Hario V60 Ceramic Coffee Dripper on a white background.

Have you been looking for coffee maker deals and thinking you’d prefer to create your own full pour-over system? Right now, Amazon has the deals for you, with great discounts on a coffee dripper and an electric gooseneck kettle. We’ll take a look at how each works separately, but you can combine them to make most of a full pour-over system. All you need to do is add some filters and you can start making some great blends, like the Cafe Grumpy festive coffee that’s available right now. If you still need to learn what pour-over coffee is, we can help you with that too. Here’s a look at the deals involved.
Hario V60 Ceramic Coffee Dripper -- $27 $30 12% off

If you’re learning all about how to make pour over coffee, you know how vital a coffee dripper is. The Hario V60 Ceramic Coffee Dripper is specially designed to produce an evenly brewed cup of coffee. It’s made from durable Japanese ceramic so it retains heat to ensure a balanced temperature throughout the brewing cycle. It has a minimalist look with a single large hole, which improves pour flow and provides you plenty of choice: Pour quickly for a light flavor or more slowly for a rich and deep taste. If you’ve been studying the differences between pour over and drip coffee, you’ll soon see what a world of difference a good coffee dripper makes.

Read more
Can you make great coffee in a single serve? Klatch Coffee’s answer
Is there a better option than K-Cups?
Crazy Goat coffee

While K-Cups can be appealing to coffee drinkers who value convenience at home or in the office, they're not the right choice for everyone. Although it's a fast and easy way to prepare a single cup of coffee, there are a few downsides to the system — namely that K-cup pods can be difficult to recycle (and while refillable pods exist, that depends on the user choosing that option, which isn't always a given considering quick and convenient are two of the main appeals of the system). We interviewed Klatch Coffee's expert roaster, Heather Perry, to learn more about the specialty roaster's approach to single-serve coffee.
Klatch Coffee's single-serve coffee alternatives

Klatch Coffee's single-serving Bruvi pods make it easy to enjoy high-quality, specialty coffee wherever you are. The brand has partnered with a few select providers who share their vision, one of which is Bruvi.
"Bruvi is an improved pod coffee system with a couple of unique features," Perry said. "First is taste and quality; the proprietary brewing system brews to the same high standards as specialty coffee roasters like Klatch Coffee, including adjusting the brewing parameters to match our brewing recipe. That’s why premium coffee from roasters like Klatch is offered on the Bruvi platform. Second, Bruvi’s B-Pods are enzyme-infused and designed to be tossed in the trash, making them guilt-free. B-Pods degrade faster in the landfill without leaving microplastics behind."
It’s also worth noting that for coffee drinkers who only want a single cup at a time, single-serve brewing can be more efficient on resources like water, coffee, and energy. Pre-portioned coffee doesn’t spill, and machines only heat the water needed for a single cup. There’s no waste from discarding leftover coffee from a large pot.

Read more
Canadian whisky deserves a spot in your home bar (and these are our favorites)
Canada is home to countless, memorable whiskies
A bottle of whiskey with two glasses of whiskey

If you're a fan of whiskey and you haven't branched out into Canadian whisky (unlike the US, Ireland, and Mexico, Canada omits the 'e' in whiskey), you're missing out on some special expressions. Whether you enjoy blended whisky, spicy rye, or other types of whisky, Canada has something for every palate.

Sure, Crown Royal and Canadian Club might be the most well-known names, but many more noteworthy whiskies from our friendly neighbors to the north are absolutely worth adding to your home bar cart.
Our favorite Canadian whiskies

Read more