This is Christmas!
Inspired by our Halloween Cocktails episode, we decided to get into the Christmas spirit this year by filling our cups with some delicious yuletide drinks. Join Santa’s Mischievous Mixologists Tuong La, Samantha Leggatt, Bradley Sales, and Laura Gordon as they make things merry, bright, and bring several rounds of CHEERS while ranking our festive Top 5 Christmas Cocktails list.
If you want to continue to support the PodCavern and are buying off Amazon for any reason, click on our affiliate link HERE! It doesn’t cost you any money and it’s a way of showing extra love to us as we get a small percentage of the cut 🙂
Ground Rules
- Going with the dictionary definition of what constitutes a cocktail: “an alcoholic drink consisting of a spirit or several spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as fruit juice, lemonade, or cream.”
- We are ranking the drinks based on taste (duh) but also the edge goes towards how “Christmas-y” it is
- Also we are ranking based on it’s presentation as well.
- Many of these drinks were not tested in advance. Therefore, the episode is more like “Top 5 Christmas drinks we tried this recording”
- Below are pictures of our cocktails we made that evening which we assembled between nominations.
Group Top 5
5. Hot Toddy
4. Spiced Cranberry Orange Margarita
3. Homemade Baileys
2. Rum and Eggnog
1. Mulled Wine
Below are all the drinks we made this episode.
Tuong’s Drinks
Christmas Punch (credit: wellplated)
Ingredients
- 1 large bag of ice
- 5 cups 100% cranberry juice* 40 ounces, NOT cranberry juice cocktail
- 2 bottles very dry sparkling wine (750 ml bottles) , such as champagne, cava, or Prosecco (I used a brut Prosecco)
- 2 cups apple cider
- 1 1/2 cups diet ginger ale (12 ounces) (from 1 can or poured from a liter bottle)
- 1 1/2 cups dark rum or brandy (12 ounces)
- 2 oranges thinly sliced into rounds
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
Instructions
-
Make sure all of the ingredients are well chilled. Fill a large punch bowl with ice. Top with the cranberry juice, sparkling wine, apple cider, ginger ale, and rum.
-
Stir gently to combine. Top with the orange slices and fresh cranberries. Enjoy!
Slow-Cooker Gingerbread Latte (credit: Nova Scotia Health)
(This looked more tasty when there was more whipped cream and caramel on top before the picture haha)
The Grinch Cocktail (credit: The Toasty Kitchen)
Ingredients
- 1.5 ounces midori liqueur
- 1 ounce clear rum
- 5 ounces lemon lime soda
- 1 maraschino cherry
Instructions
-
Fill a lowball glass with ice. Add midori liqueur and rum and stir to combine. Top with lemon lime soda and stir gently to combine.
-
Top with a maraschino cherry and enjoy.
-
Sam’s Drinks
Sam’s Homemade Baileys
Ferrero Rocher Martini (credit: @DIYCocktailguy)
Ingredients
- 1 scoop of chocolate ice cream
- 2 Ferrero Rochers
- 1 oz. vodka
- 2 oz. Baileys Irish Cream
- Drizzle of Chocolate Syrup
- melted Chocolate & chopped nuts for edge of glass
Sugar Cookie Cocktail (credit: @styledbydaisies)
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz Vanilla Vodka
- 1 oz Amaretto
- 1.5 oz Irish Cream
- 1 oz Milk
Instructions
- Shake in shaker set aside
- Coat the rim of your glass in vanilla frosting then coat it in rainbow sprinkles.
- Add ice yo your glass and pour cocktail mixture in. Enjoy!
Brad’s Drinks
Homemade Eggnog and Rum (credit for Eggnog: Joshua Weissman)
Recipe for eggnog
Ingredients:
- 3 cups (710ml) whole milk
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 cup (220g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 vanilla bean or 1.5 teaspoon (6g) vanilla extract
- 1 tsp (3g) cinnamon
- Heaping 1/4 tsp (1g) cloves
- 1 tbsp plus 2 tsp (7g) ginger powder
- 1.5 tsp (4g) ground nutmeg *ideally fresh ground*
- 1/4 cup (60ml) rum, brandy, or cognac *optional but recommended*
- 1.5 cups (354ml) heavy cream
Steps:
- Bring milk to a simmer (around 180F). While the milk is simmering, have the egg yolks and sugar ready in a separate bowl and whip them together until light in color.
- Once the milk has simmered, slowly temper the milk into the egg yolk mixture by gradually scooping out a little milk at a time, until it has been fully combined with the egg yolk mixture. Don’t add too much hot milk at once or you’ll end up with curdled eggs.
- Add vanilla to the mixture, stir, and then return mixture to pot on stove.
- Bring mixture back up to heat, keeping it no higher than around 175F. Consistently stir for 10-15 minutes using a spatula at low heat to prevent curdling. Do not let it simmer, do not let it boil. Look for a consistency that coats the back of a spoon when you run your finger through it. The longer you go the thicker it’ll become but keep in mind it will thicken even more once cooled.
- Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a metal bowl.
- Place the metal bowl into an ice water bath to help rapidly cool the mixture.
- Add cinnamon, clove, ginger powder, nutmeg, liquor, and heavy cream to mixture. Mix to combine and chill.
- Once chilled, store and serve as needed.
- OPTIONALLY: Whip the leftover egg whites until a stiff peak consistency. Fold eggnog mixture into the whipped egg whites to incorporate or top eggnog with whipped egg whites when serving instead of incorporating, like a garnish.
- When serving, I like to add 1oz of rum, brandy, cognac, etc to the glass first. Then add the eggnog, stirring to combine. Then finally, grate some fresh nutmeg over top and serve.
Chocolate Punch
Ingredients:
- 1 oz. (30 ml) Cognac
- 1/2 oz. (15 ml) Ruby Port
- 1/2 oz. (15 ml) Crème de Cacao
- 1/4 oz. (7.5 ml) semi-rich simple syrup (1.5:1 sugar:water)
- 1 oz. (30 ml) heavy cream or non-dairy substitute
- Grated chocolate for garnish
Steps:
- In a shaking tin add the cognac, ruby port, crème de cacao, syrup, and cream.
- Add ice to shaking tin and shake for 10-15 seconds, until chilled.
- Strain through a fine mesh strainer into your chilled glass.
- Grate chocolate over top of the drink.
- Serve.
Rum Hot Toddy
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz. (45 ml) Jamaican Rum
- 1/2 oz. (15 ml) rich Demerara syrup (2:1 sugar:water)
- 1/4 oz. (7.5 ml) fresh lemon juice
- 4-5 oz. (120-150 ml) black tea
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Expressed lemon oil
- Clove-studded lemon peel for garnish
Steps:
- Get your black tea steeping on the side while you prepare the rest of the drink.
- Pour hot water into a serving glass to temper it and get it warm. Once warm, dump out water.
- Right in the warm glass, add the rum, syrup, lemon juice, and cinnamon stick.
- Use cinnamon stick to stir and combine ingredients that are in the glass.
- Top off with steeped black tea.
- Express lemon oil from peel over top of drink. Then wipe the rim of glass with peel.
- Stick 3-4 cloves into the lemon peel and rest it across top of the glass rim.
- Once served, drop lemon peel with cloves into drink and enjoy.
Bonus Drink: Tom & Jerry (credit: Anders Erickson)
Laura’s Drinks
Spiced Cranberry Orange Margarita (credit: The First Mess)
Ingredients for Spiced Cranberry Syrup
- 1 cup cranberry cocktail NOT pure cranberry juice
- 1 cup cane sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- ½ cup frozen or fresh cranberries
Ingredients for Spiced Cranberry Cocktail
- 3 oz silver tequila
- 2 oz Cointreau
- 3 oz cranberry cocktail
- 1½ oz lemon juice
- 1 oz orange juice
- 1 oz Spiced Cranberry Syrup
- ice
Garnish
- Cinnamon Sticks
- Frozen Cranberries
Instructions
-
First, make the syrup. In a small saucepan, combine the cranberry cocktail, cane sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and cranberries. Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a strong simmer, stirring often. Once the cane sugar has dissolved and the cranberries are popping and splitting, remove the syrup from the heat. Run the syrup through a fine mesh strainer and press on the cranberries to extract their juice. Let the syrup cool before bottling and storing in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
-
Make the spiced cranberry orange margaritas. In a cocktail shaker, combine the tequila, Cointreau, cranberry cocktail, lemon juice, orange juice, and cranberry syrup. Top it up with lots of ice. Place the lid on the cocktail shaker tight and shake vigorously, until the outside of the shaker has condensation and feels very cold.
-
Strain the spiced cranberry orange margaritas over two glasses filled with ice. Garnish the beverages with cinnamon sticks and a few frozen cranberries.
Mulled Wine (credit: Gimme Some Oven)
Ingredients
- 1 (750 ml) bottle of dry red wine
- 1/4 cup brandy (or orange liqueur)
- 1 orange, sliced into rounds (also peeled, if you would like a less-bitter drink)
- 8 whole cloves
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 star anise
- 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar, honey, or maple syrup to taste (or your desired sweetener)
- optional garnishes: citrus slices (orange, lemon and/or lime), extra cinnamon sticks, extra star anise
Instructions
- Combine ingredients. Add wine, brandy, orange slices, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, and 2 tablespoons sweetener to a large saucepan. Stir briefly to combine.
- Simmer. Cook the mulled wine on medium-high heat until it just barely reaches a simmer. (Avoid letting it bubble — you don’t want to boil off the alcohol.) Reduce heat to low, cover, and let the wine simmer for at least 15 minutes or up to 3 hours.
- Strain. Using a fine mesh strainer, remove and discard the orange slices, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and star anise. Give the mulled wine a taste, and stir in extra sweetener if needed.
- Serve. Serve warm in heatproof mugs, topped with your favorite garnishes.
Candy Nogtini (inspired from: Nyssa’s Kitchen)
Ingredients
- 1 ounce dark spiced rum (or bourbon or vodka)
- 1 ounce kahlua
- 1 ounce espresso or cold brew
- 3–4 ounces eggnog, depending on the size of your cocktail glass
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Dash of cinnamon or nutmeg
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously until frothy and well chilled – for 15-30 seconds. Strain into a glass and top with more cinnamon or nutmeg, and a coffee bean or two if desired.
- This recipe could also be prepared the same way and served on the rocks.