There’s nothing like a festive cocktail to get the party started! For real, its hard not to drink around the holidays…Notice how everyone feels the need to do Dry January?

I wanted to share a few drinks you can whip up while hosting during the holidays. Let me know if you try any of them, and what you think!

Pomegranate Holiday Mimosa

Ingredients:

1/4 cup 100% pomegranate juice

4 oz. champagne

Pomegranate seeds from the fresh fruit

Instructions: 

First, add the pomegranate seeds to the bottom of the flute. Then, add the champagne and pomegranate juice. Lastly, add decor (optional).

 

Bailey’s Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

1.5 Limited Edition Bailey’s Red Velvet

8 oz. Milk

0.5 cup Dark Chocolate

Instructions:

Prepare hot chocolate and add Bailey’s.

 

Blackberry French 75

Ingredients:

½ cup water

½ cup sugar

¼ cup fresh blackberries

1 oz Gin

1 tablespoon fresh Lemon juice

2 oz Champagne

fresh blackberries and lemon rind for garnish

Instructions

In a small pan, add the water, sugar and blackberries. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring and then strain into a heat proof container. Allow to cool and then chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add 2 tablespoons of the blackberry simple syrup, 1 ounce gin, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice and then shake vigorously. Strain into a cocktail glass and then top with about 2 ounces of champagne. Garnish with a lemon rind and fresh blackberry if desired.

 

Pear and Ginger Sparklers

Ingredients:

Pear and Ginger Shrub

3 ripe pears chopped

1 cup water

½ cup honey

2 tablespoons grated ginger

½ cup unfiltered apple cider vinegar

3 thyme sprigs optional

Pear and Ginger C:ocktail

2 ounces pear ginger shrub

2 ounce of vodka

Juice of half of a lemon

Splash of honey

2 inch piece of ginger skin removed and cut into chunks

bottle of prosecco or champagne

Pear slices for garnish

Instructions:

Shrub

In a medium sauce pan, combine pears, honey, and water. Bring to a soft boil. Lower to medium-low heat and allow to simmer for 25 minutes. The pears will release their juices and soften. Remove from heat.

Add in grated ginger. Cover pan and allow to sit for another 10-15 minutes to allow flavors to fuse together.

Strain mixture with a sieve to discard pair pieces (pressing pairs into the sieve to extract their remaining juices).

Add mixture back to pan along with apple cider vinegar and bring to low boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Pour mixture into air tight container and store in fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Cocktail

In a shaker, combine all of the ingredient, except champagne. Muddle the ginger for about a minute so it releases its flavor. Add ice and shake vigorously.

Divide the mixture between 2 glasses. Top with champagne until glass is 3/4s of the way full. Garnish with pair slice.

Serve, sip, and enjoy!

 

Apple Cider Bourbon Cocktail

Ingredients:

Apple Cider

Bourbon

Ginger Ale

Cinnamon Sticks

Sugar

Apples

Water

Large ice cube

Instructions:

Cinnamon Syrup

First, add ½ cup water, ½ cup granulated sugar, and 2 cinnamon sticks to a small pot. Then, over medium heat bring mixture to a gentle boil and stir in sugar until it dissolves. Once the sugar is fully dissolved, turn off the heat.

Allow to cool, keep the cinnamon sticks in the syrup. You might get 6 ounces out of this and you can keep the extra in the fridge, in an airtight container.

Build Cocktail

Now let’s build this cocktail! In a glass, add cinnamon simple syrup, apple cider, and bourbon. Stir and add ice. Then, add ice topped off with ginger ale. Garnish with apple slices and cinnamon sticks.

 

Winter Berry Martini 

 

Ingredients:

25ml Bombay Sapphire

25ml Martini Rosso

12.5ml creme de cassis

1/2 lime juiced

Splash of sugar syrup

10 frozen winter berries

50ml cranberry juice

Instructions:

Pour in the creme de cassis, gin, and martini rosso in a chilled martini glass. Then, add crushed ice and berries in layers before slowly adding the cranberry and lime juice.