5 Easy and Boozy Christmas Cocktails From Around the World

Move over Thanksgiving! The real star of the holiday season is here. Christmas is my favorite holiday, hands down. It gives me the warm fuzzies for all of the right reasons. Food, family, fun...and drinks. These 5 cocktails will steal the show, not only because they're delicious, but because you can bring a piece of the world to your family and friends.

1. Puerto Rico's Coquito

Coquito is Puerto Rico's traditional drink for Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations.

Ingredients:

• Unsweetened coconut cream Cream of coconut (such as Coco Lopez)
• 1 Vanilla bean
• 3 tsp Ground nutmeg
• 8 Cinnamon sticks
• 750 ml Añejo or spiced rum

Instructions:

1. Combine all the ingredients except the rum in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.
3. Remove from the heat, let cool and stir in the rum.
4. Transfer to bottles (making sure that at least one cinnamon stick goes into each bottle), seal and store in the refrigerator.
5. Serve over ice in rocks glasses and garnish with cinnamon sticks.

2. Chile's Cola de Mono

Although Chile is better known for its Pisco Sours, Christmastime means a glass of “monkey’s tail.” It's very similar to a White Russian.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups whole milk (for non-dairy, use almond milk)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 5 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
• 1 teaspoon good Madagascar vanilla extract, or ¼ vanilla bean, scrapped
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons instant coffee (I used decaf)
• 1 cup Chilean Aguardiente (or Brandy)

Instructions:

1. Combine the milk, water, sugar, cloves, cinnamon stick, vanilla, and nutmeg in medium saucepan.
2. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves.
3. Add the instant coffee and stir to dissolve.
4. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature. Remove cloves and cinnamon stick.
5. Add Aguardiente (or brandy).
6. Chill for at least four hours, or ideally overnight. Pour into an pitcher and serve.

3. Jamaica's Sorrel Punch

Sorrel punch can be found throughout the Caribbean and in many Latin American countries, but it’s particularly popular in Jamaica as a Christmas cocktail.

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) dried hibiscus
• Two 1-inch cubes of peeled fresh ginger, chopped fine
• 3 whole cloves
• 5 3/4 cups water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups amber rum
• 2 cups ice cubes, or to tast
• Lime and orange slices for garnish

Instructions:

1. In a heat-proof bowl combine the sorrel, the ginger and the cloves. 
2. In a saucepan bring 5 cups of the water to a boil, pour it over the sorrel mixture, and let the mixture steep for 4 hours or overnight.
3. While the mixture is steeping, in a small saucepan bring the remaining 3/4 cup water and the sugar to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, and let the syrup cool.
4. Strain the sorrel liquid into a pitcher, discarding the solids, stir in the sugar syrup, the rum and the ice cubes, and garnish the punch with the lime and orange slices.

4. Italy's Bombardino

Literally “the bomb” in Italian, il Bombardino was created in northern Lombardia and is very similar to egg nog. Today, it is beloved across the Italian Alps and is usually served at ski resorts.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 ounces brandy, such as Vecchia Romagna Brandy
• 3 ounces egg liqueur, such as Zabov Zabaglione
• Whipped cream, to taste
• Cinnamon, to taste

Instructions:

1. Warm the egg liqueur in a small saucepan. Pour the brandy in a glass mug.
2. When the egg liqueur is hot (but not yet at boiling point), slowly add it to the brandy. Stir well to combine.
3. Top the cocktail with a generous amount of whipped cream, and finish it with a sprinkling of cinnamon.

5. Martinique's Creole Royale

It's a light cocktail and made with Creole Shrubb, a blend of white rhum agricole married with bitter orange peels and Creole spices. 

Ingredients:

• 1 oz. of Creole Shrubb
• 4 oz. of Brut champagne
• 1 dash of Angostura bitters

Instructions:

1. In a chilled champagne glass, add Creole Shrubb and pour the champagne to top. 
2. Then add the bitters, stir and serve.  

These cocktails are a great way to introduce Christmas traditions around the world to your guests, especially if they love to travel as much as you. Salud!

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7 Big-Batch Cocktails to Get Your Family Drunk on Thanksgiving

It's my favorite time of year! Yes, it's holiday season but it's also the time of year to unknowingly get your family and friends drunk! We've divided our list of big-batch options into seven main alcohol food groups in order to include something for everyone. 

VODKA

Blueberry Lemonade Vodka Spritzer

Ingredients:

• 3½  cups of lemonade
• 2 cups blueberry-flavored vodka
• 1 cup soda water
• 3 cups of ice
• 3 tbs. sugar (to taste)
• 2 cups of fresh blueberries
• Lemon slices and fresh mint to garnish

Instructions:

1. Mix blueberries and sugar in a large container and lightly muddle the berries, keeping most of them whole.
2. Add ice, lemonade, vodka, and soda water and stir gently.
3. Garnish with lemon slices and fresh mint.

Note: You may add more lemonade, vodka, or soda to suit your taste.

RUM

Gingerbread Egg Nog

Ingredients:

• 8 eggs, yolks and white separated
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 cups whole milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups dark rum
• 1/2 cup ginger liqueur
• 8 gingersnap cookies, finely ground 

Instructions:

1. Place egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on low speed until frothy, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until they are about the consistency of shaving cream, about 90 seconds. Reduce speed to medium. With mixer running, add half of sugar and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Transfer whites to a large bowl. Do not wash bowl.
2. Add egg yolks and remaining sugar to now-empty stand mixer bowl and beat at medium-high speed until pale yellow and ribbony.
3. Add milk, cream, rum, and ginger liqueur and mix on low speed to combine.
4. Using a rubber spatula or handheld whisk, fold the whipped whites into the egg yolk/milk mixture until completely incorporated.
5. Place ground ginger snaps in a shallow pie plate. Drip rim of each glass into eggnog and press into ground ginger cookies.
6. Pour eggnog into glass, dust with more ground gingersnaps, and serve.

WHISKEY

Sparkling Bourbon Lemonade Punch

Ingredients:

• 6 shots bourbon
• 2 shots St. Germain
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 4 large lemons)
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice (1 large orange)
• 4 cups club soda, chilled
• Lemon slices (about 4 large lemons)
• Orange slices (1 large orange)
• 1 bunch fresh mint sprigs, plus more for garnish
• Crushed ice

Instructions:

1. Combine 1 1/2 cups water and sugar in a small saucepan over high heat. Cook until the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Cool the simply syrup completely. This simple syrup can be made 1 week in advance and stored, covered, in the refrigerator.
2. Combine the St. Germain, simple syrup, lemon juice and orange juice in a pitcher. Mix in the club soda. Add the lemon slices, orange slices and mint.
3. Fill glasses with crushed ice.
4. Add 1 shot bourbon to each glass and fill to the top with the sparkling lemonade. Garnish each glass with mint.

TEQUILA

Knock Me Out Punch

Ingredients:

• 2 cups white tequila
• 2 cups cranberry juice
• 2 cups grapefruit juice
• 2 cups orange juice
• 8 orange slices
• ice, for serving

Instructions:

1. Combine all of the liquid ingredients in a pitcher.
2. Garnish with the orange slices and serve over ice.

GIN

The Collins Punch

Ingredients:

• 7 1/2 oz. gin
• 3 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 3 oz. simple syrup
• 5 oz. Earl Grey Tea
• 5 oz. club soda

Instructions:

1. Build with ice in punch bowl and stir.

 

WINE

Apple Cider Sangria

Ingredients:

• 1 green apple, cored and sliced
• 1 red apple, cored and sliced
• 1 orange, seeded and sliced
• 1 large bottle of ginger beer
• 1 bottle of prosecco
• 1 bottle of apple cider (add to taste, ~4-5 cups)
• A few shots of vodka (optional)

Instructions:

1. Slice apples and oranges and place into a large pitcher or punch bowl.
2. Add ginger beer, apple cider, and sparkling white wine. A few shots of vodka can also kick it up a notch!

BEER

Grapefruit Beer Punch

Ingredients:

• 4 cups gin 
• 2 cups fresh grapefruit juice (about 4 large grapefruits)
• 5 cups India Pale Ale, chilled

Instructions:

1. Combine the gin and grapefruit juice in a large pitcher.
2. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
3. Add the IPA just before serving and ladle into ice-filled punch.

These big-batch cocktails are sure to be crowd-pleasers! Don't forget to make up the extra bedroom for overnight guests, just in case someone has their fare share of fun on Thanksgiving night. Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving!