Twelve cocktails that will add a touch of flavor this Christmas

Chestnuts roasted over an open fire may sound great, but what can you go with them? To add a little booze to the holiday spirit – or to give Jack Frost a different twist – here are 12 easy cocktail recipes from acclaimed bartenders around the world. Some feature flavors associated with the season, while others evoke childhood memories for 21-92 year olds. And although it has been said many times, in many ways, you can also enjoy these cocktails on December 31, or the Lunar New Year… or any time you want to feel very happy.

Negroni Code

Due to its golden ratio, the Negroni is one of those classic cocktails that inspire endless experiments. At London's Connaught Bar – world's best bar in 2021 and perennial winner of the Spirited Awards – head of cocktails Agostino Perrone and head mixologist Giorgio Bargiani have created a festive twist for the holidays. "We wanted to give the Negroni a twist to remember the moments of conviviality with family and friends in Italy, using typical flavors of our gastronomic tradition," says Perrone. “Raisins and oranges are reminiscent of Italian Christmas desserts and, moreover, they are very easy to get. Fresh, lingering flavors of orange and cocoa shell add a velvety, appetizing texture to make your special celebration even more memorable."

Ingredients: 1 oz. of gin1 oz. bitters 1 oz. of sweet vermouth1 ounce of aromatic water*.1 drop of balsamic vinegar1 orange peel

*Aromatic water: infuse the cocoa beans in hot water with the raisins and the orange peel. Let the infusion rest for an hour, cool and filter into a bottle for storage.

Method: Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Pour into a rocks glass over an ice cube. Garnish with an orange peel.

Holiday Spiced Cuba Libre

Lynnette Marrero is a pioneer in the world of spirits, famous for her work as a bartender mentor and for her innovative drink recipes. The first inductee into the Tales of the Cocktail Hall of Fame, co-founder of Speed ​​Rack and mixology teacher at the Masterclass, she has created a Christmas cocktail that remixes the traditional Cuba Libre with the aromas and flavors of the season. "The Holiday Spiced Cuba Libre is a great cocktail because it's easy to make and you can have fun with the spices and different flavors of good quality maple syrup," says Ella Marrero. "This cocktail works best with aged spirits, which amplify the notes of the baking spices."

Ingredients: 1.5 oz. of rum3 oz. Fever-Tree Distillers Cola0.5 oz. fresh lime juice0.5 oz. quality maple syrup Cinnamon sticks Nutmeg

Method: Fill a tall glass with ice and add the lime juice, maple syrup, Fever-Tree Distillers Cola and rum. Gently remove. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and grated nutmeg.

tiger-style

For Deke Dunne, the head bartender and director of beverages at the Allegory at Eaton DC, the holiday season extends past January 1 and into Lunar New Year, which he reminds of his dear uncles. “My Uncle Scotty married my Aunt Grace when she moved from Beijing to study in the United States. As a white kid growing up in a predominantly white, rural Wyoming town, it took me a while to realize we were the only family celebrating Chinese New Year," says Dunne, whose Beltway watering hole was regionally awarded for best bar. hotel from the United States at last year's Spirited Awards. “Every time we visited, Scotty would always play cool music during the parties, which had a huge impact on my musical tastes. It is very likely that he would never have gotten me into groups like the Wu Tang Clan without his influence." Unfortunately, Scotty passed away this year, so this cocktail is in his honor. The perfect cocktail to celebrate Chinese New Year: A riff from Bee's Knees, Wu Tang style. To Uncle Scotty and Aunt Grace."

Ingredients:2 oz. of gin0.75 oz. of freshly squeezed lemon juice0.50 oz. Chinese Five Spice Honey Syrup*0.25 oz. Demerara Syrup**

*Chinese 5-Spice Honey Syrup: Combine two ounces of honey with one ounce of water in a saucepan. Add two tablespoons of ground Chinese pepper and put the mixture on a low heat. Stir until honey and water are fully incorporated. Remove from heat and let stand for 20 minutes. Strain the syrup through a fine mesh strainer to catch any large spice particles. Let cool, then bottle and refrigerate. The syrup will last up to three weeks.

**Demerara Syrup: Combine one ounce of Demerara sugar with one ounce of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir until sugar and water are fully incorporated. Let cool, then bottle and refrigerate. The syrup will last up to three weeks.

Method: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake for 10 seconds. Strain the cocktail twice into a glass and garnish with a pinch of chili pepper.

Harlem Shake

The coffee culture in Australia is one of the best in the world. And Maybe Sammy, in Sydney, puts its own alcoholic twist on coffee-based cocktails. (Maybe Sammy even has a menu dedicated to this category.) But the Harlem Shake is by far their most popular offering. “This signature coffee cocktail features a local coffee liqueur and dark cognac notes with a spicy ginger aftertaste,” says Martin Hudak, the co-founder of the 2019 Spirited Award-winning bar and a member of the Forbes 30 Under 30 list at his native Slovakia. "It's the perfect cocktail for the holidays and is great as an after dinner digestif, and if you fancy something a little different instead of a classic Espresso Martini."

Ingredients: 1 oz. coffee liqueur 1 oz. cognac or brandy0.5 oz. ginger syrup 1 oz. espressoBlack pepper

Method: mix the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake. Pour into a glass with ice and garnish with freshly ground black pepper.

Tannic at the Disco

The Spare Room at the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles is part game room, part cocktail bar with a cocktail menu that complements its Old Hollywood decor. "My take on the Cosmopolitan is a fun and festive cocktail that's simple to make, yet looks stunning," says Tess Anne Sawyer, bar manager who was awarded Best American Hotel Bar at the Spirited Awards in 2020. "You can upload it." level using a flavored vodka, such as pear or apple."

Ingredients: 1.5 oz. vodka 0.75 oz. triple sec or orange liqueur0.75 oz. white cranberry juice0.5 oz. of natural lime juice1 oz. sparkling red wine

Method: Add the first four ingredients to a shaker glass and shake vigorously with ice. Strain into a glass and float an ounce of sparkling red wine on top. Add a festive garnish if you like.

Bourbon Maple Today

“Making great party cocktails often involves improvising and making the most of what's available,” says Robert Haynes, James Beard Award-winning bartender and creator of the Gold Fashioned, a ready-to-drink craft cocktail. “The next time you're at a function and rummage through a friend or family member's fridge for a cocktail, remember the Bourbon Maple Today and thank me later. Chances are there's syrup on the side door and a lemon rolling around. Pro tip: don't forget to prime those cups with hot water."

Ingredients: 1 oz. 90 proof bourbon0.50 oz. of pure maple syrup0.25 oz. of lemon juice1 splash of Angostura bitters

Method: Prepare a cup with hot water. Discard the water and add the ingredients. Add four ounces of hot water. Stir briefly and garnish with a lemon peel.

Buddy Bolden

Charles Joly, co-founder of Crafthouse Cocktails, has been honored in just about every spirits competition imaginable, including being named America's Bartender of the Year at the 2013 Spirited Awards and 2014 Diageo World Class Champion. For this year's festivities, jazz musician Buddy Bolden is very much on Joly's mind. “Buddy Bolden was one of the most important figures in the early days of jazz and ragtime music in New Orleans. The music he and his contemporaries created screams celebration, revelry and community. When I'm entertained, I love to put on a playlist with music from that era. It's a guarantee that it puts you in a festive mood," says Joly. “This drink is inspired by classic New Orleans cocktails. The split base of cognac and rye is the way I most enjoy my Sazerac cocktail, one of Crescent City's most revered libations."

Ingredients: 1.5 oz. cognac0.5 oz. of rye whiskey0.5 oz. port 1 oz. of natural lemon juice0.75 oz. simple syrup 1 dash Peychaud's Bitters 1 dash Angostura bitters Lemon twist

Method: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled glass. Peel a lemon twist, squeeze the oils over the cocktail and place the twist in the glass.

Homecoming Old Fashioned

Cherished family memories play a big role in Haley Traub's Christmas cocktail recipe, which calls for single malt or aged Irish whiskey. "My brothers and I all moved from the Midwest to various parts of the country," says Traub, the general manager and head waiter at New York's Attaboy, winner of the Spirited Award for Best American Cocktail in 2019. "Every season On vacation, our mother would bake loaves of her famous banana bread and send them to us. The flavors have become incredibly nostalgic, and the aged Irish whiskey just plays better with the banana bread notes. And now that we're all grown up, we can share those flavors in cocktail form."

Ingredients: 1.5 oz. 12 Year Old Irish Whiskey or Single Malt 0.5 oz. of walnut liqueur0.25 oz. of banana liqueur3 jets of chocolate bittersTouch of lemon

Method: Prepare in an Old Fashioned glass over a large rock of ice. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Rusty Ringo

Nominated for Best American Cocktail Bar at the 2020 Spirited Awards, Goto Bar specializes in Japanese-inspired drinks. But this year, Tokyo-born owner and manager of New York's Kenta Goto bar has dreamed of Scotland. “I have always been a huge fan of whiskey. And if you really like it, you've probably also heard of a Rusty Nail, which is traditionally made with scotch and Drambuie. In this version of the classic that we serve on our new winter menu at Brooklyn's Goto Bar, the Goto Niban Bar, we add Calvados," says Goto. “The apple brandy adds a beautiful aroma that works really well with the Drambuie, which is made from whiskey and honey. The resulting cocktail is velvety and luxurious, and is perfect for sipping after a big Christmas meal."

Ingredients: 1.75 oz. of Calvados0.5 oz. of Drambuie0.25 oz. Scotch whiskeyGold leaf flakes

Method: Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass, filled three-quarters full with ice. Stir 40 to 50 times. (You can adjust the agitation to increase or decrease the dilution to taste). Strain into a glass with fresh ice. Garnish with a gold flake.

The Decisive Moment

Miami mixologist Valentino Longo is famous for his palate and his eye. Growing up in Rome, Longo worked in his father's photo studio and that background continues to play an important role in his role as head bartender at The Surf Club. "The Decisive Moment was inspired by the art of photography, using ingredients that correspond to different elements found in a photograph: light, shadow, subject and contrast," says Longo, who was named Most Imaginative Bartender in Tales of the Cocktails in 2020. The name of the drink derives from Henri Cartier-Bresson's influential philosophy on street photography, but, adds Longo, "it also means the exact moment when a customer and a bartender meet over a drink . That is the 'decisive moment' for a waiter. It's an elegant take on the classic gin martini, rooted in simplicity, and ideal for any celebration."

Ingredients: 1 oz. of gin0.5 oz. dry sherry0.5 oz. Italicus bergamot liqueur0.25 oz. Americano CocchiBalsamic coffee vinegarExtra virgin olive oil

Method: In a mixing glass, combine all the ingredients and pour into the glass. Garnish with a drop of olive oil and three drops of balsamic coffee vinegar.

Chocolate Negroni

A century after it began life as a coffee shop in New York's Greenwich Village, Dante was reborn as a bar and restaurant in 2015 and became a Negroni's paradise. (And like heaven itself, it's not that easy to get into—especially since it was 2019's Best American Bar Restaurant at the Spirited Awards.) "The Chocolate Negroni has been a long-time favorite," says Chris Moore, director of beverages at Dante. “This variation of the Negroni is rich and full of spice, with subtle chocolate notes coming from the dark creme de cacao and chocolate bitters. It adds another layer of complexity to an already complex cocktail." Always serve in chilled glassware, with good (and lots of) ice, and pay attention to proportions when mixing the drink.

Ingredients: 1 oz. of gin0.75 oz. Carpan Punt e Mes0.75 oz. Campari0.25 oz. dark cocoa cream Bitter chocolate Touch of orange Valrhona chocolate

Method: Stir into a mixing glass and strain over a large ice cube in a glass. Garnish with a slice of orange and scraped Valrhona chocolate.

Sweet Christmas

Mexico City's Licorería Limantour, the Spirited Awards' Best High-Volume International Cocktail Bar for 2020, is known for its vibrant party scene. But his Christmas cocktail is made for quiet nights at home. "The inspiration behind this drink comes from the iconic elements in a Christmas dinner and how they signify communion, love and family," says Yayo Nava, bar manager at Limantour. “Cider reminds us of toast and celebration. The seasonal fruit punch reminds us of the Christmas flavors and the sherry that has been an important part of my career as a bartender, part of my history and my essence«.

Ingredients: 1.5 oz. red wine Cabernet Sauvignon0.5 oz. lemon juice1 oz. Tio Pepe Fino sherry1.5 oz. apple cider 1 oz. of punch syrup*.GrapesMint sprig

*Punch Syrup: Bring to a boil for 15 minutes 0.5 grams of your preferred assortment of fruits and spices for punch (such as apples, pears, oranges, tamarind, guavas, dried fruit, sugar cane pieces); 1.5 liters of water; and sugar (1.5 parts of sugar to one part of water) and let it infuse.

Method: put all the ingredients (except the cider) in a cocktail shaker with ice and mix using the throwing technique to oxygenate the mixture. Serve in a highball glass with ice cubes and finish filling with cider. Garnish with a sprig of mint and a grape skewer. Note: Adjust the portions of the ingredients.