30 Cocktails That Will Make Your Thanksgiving Boozy and Bearable
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Are you ready for your annual awkward family gathering? Thanksgiving is finally here, and if thinking about safe topics to discuss with all three generations of your family is making you break out in hives, then rest assured that we've got some recipes to give you the liquid courage to face it.
You've got the turkey basted and roasting in the oven. You've got your grandmother's mac and cheese recipe perfected, and the potatoes are mashed. Your slacker cousin finally pulled through with a store bought pie. But do you know what you'll be drinking on the most important food and drink centered holiday of the year? We promise: There's something for everyone at your dinner table on this curated list of cocktails.
Does grandpa only abide by the saying "if it's brown, drink it down?" We've got a Manhattan that'll keep him on ice. Did your aunt who only drinks French reds run through the bottle she brought already? There's a sangria recipe that'll have her too busy sipping to snip. Need a warm cup of something strong for while you "take the dog for a walk?" There's an Irish coffee that'll keep your wits about you. So hurry up and add these cocktail recipes to your Turkey Day menu.
Old Fashioned
You may not be old fashioned, but your drink can be! Stir up this classic whiskey cocktail that's bound to be a hit with everybody.
Ingredients
2 oz. rye or bourbon
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 sugar cube
club soda
Directions
Place the sugar cube in an Old Fashioned glass. Wet it down with Angostura bitters and a short splash of club soda. Crush the sugar with a wooden muddler, then rotate the glass so that the sugar grains and bitters give it a lining. Add a large ice cube. Pour in the whiskey, then garnish with an orange twist.
Hot Toddy
Whoever invented pouring bourbon into a cup of tea, we want to give you a big hug.
Ingredients
2 oz. bourbon
1 oz. honey
1 oz. lemon juice
4 dashes Tiki bitters (optional)
1 star anise pod or tea bag
Directions
Boil water in a teapot. Steep star anise pod or tea bag inside. Add bourbon, honey, lemon, and Tiki bitters to a mug. Stir. Serve in glass mugs with a spoon and the teapot. To enjoy, pour tea over cocktail base to taste, and stir.
Amaretto Sour
This simple Italian pre-dinner drink will impress any in-laws or new family members you're meeting for the first time this holiday.
Ingredients
2 oz. Amaretto liqueur
1 oz. simple syrup
3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 orange slice
1 Luxardo cherry
Directions
Combine Amaretto, simple syrup, and lemon juice into a shaker with ice. Shake for at least 10 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass over ice and garnish with a maraschino cherry and orange slice.
Hot Buttered Rum
This sumptuous hot cocktail is one of the best treats.
Ingredients
• 2 oz. dark rum
• 2 sugar cubes
• 1 pat unsalted butter
Directions
In a mug, dissolve the sugar cubes in a little hot water. Add rum and butter. Fill the mug with hot water. Sprinkle nutmeg on top.
Manhattan
This booze forward, whiskey centered, cocktail will keep all your guests loose and relaxed.
Ingredients
• 2 oz. rye whiskey
• 1 oz. Italian vermouth
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
Directions
Stir the rye, vermouth, and bitters well with cracked ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist and/or a cocktail cherry.
Americano
This apertivo is the perfect refreshment before you start serving those heavy Thanksgiving dishes.
Ingredients
1 1/2 oz. Campari
1 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
club soda
Directions
Pour Campari and sweet vermouth into a highball glass filled with ice. Top with club soda. Garnish with an orange twist.
Rob Roy
A balanced spin on the Manhattan that uses scotch whisky, this cocktail will impress any fan of brown liquor.
Ingredients
• 2 oz. blended scotch whisky
• 1 oz. red Italian vermouth
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
Directions
Stir the scotch, vermouth, and bitters well with cracked ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
Glenfiddich Sherry Sour
Who says scotch can't be sweet and tropical? This sherry finished scotch helps make the perfect variation of a sour recipe.
Ingredients
2 oz. Glenfiddich 12 Year Old Cask
1/2 oz. Roasted Pineapple Syrup
1/4 oz. Part Ancho Reyes Verde Green Poblano Liqueur
3/4 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
Directions
Line the coupe glass with a spicy salt rim, then shake the ingredients and strain. Garnish with a thinly sliced, de-seeded poblano pepper (floated atop is our preferred placement). Syrup Method: Slice a fresh pineapple into small pieces and roast until slightly charred. In another pot, mix 2 parts sugar to 1 part water and stir over heat until sugar is dissolved. Add the charred pineapple and allow to chill overnight. Strain out the pineapple and use the remaining syrup.
Godfather
Simple enough to whip up in under five minutes, this cocktail has enough scotch to knock grandpa under the table.
Ingredients
2 oz. scotch whisky
1/2 oz. amaretto
Directions
Stir the scotch and Amaretto well with cracked ice in a mixing glass. Strain over fresh ice into an Old Fashioned glass.
Cosmopolitan
If you're a big fan of cranberry sauce (the one that comes in a can), you can cure your cranberry craving with this vodka cocktail.
Ingredients
2 oz. vodka
1 oz. Cointreau
1 oz. cranberry juice
1 oz. Rose's lime juice
Directions
Shake the ingredients in a shaker with cracked ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, then garnish with lime.
The Last Word
This green-tinged cocktail tastes fresh and slightly tart, but it's boozy enough to chill you out after that heavy holiday meal.
Ingredients
3/4 oz. gin (or genever)
3/4 oz. maraschino liqueur
3/4 oz. green Chartreuse
3/4 oz. fresh lime juice
Directions
Add all ingredients into a shaker. Shake well with cracked ice. Strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a lime wedge and Luxardo cherry.
Black Russian
The Black Russian is the espresso martini's cooler, more laid back cousin. It's so simple to make and yet deliciously complex in taste.
Ingredients
2 oz. vodka
1 oz. coffee liqueur
Directions
Stir ingredients with ice in a mixing glass. Strain into an old-fashioned glass over fresh ice.
Apple Cider Sangria
You need to keep the booze flowing to keep the mood light and the conversation going. So mix together this sangria recipe that'll satiate any apple cider lover.
Ingredients
1 tart apple (think Granny Smith or McIntosh), sliced and cubed
1 sweet apple (like Gala or Fuji), sliced and cubed
1 orange, cut into rounds
4 cloves
2 c. unsweetened apple cider
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. spiced rum
1 can ginger beer
1 bottle white wine (Riesling is best)
2 c. ice
Directions
Place apples, orange, and cloves into a large pitcher (at least gallon-sized). Drizzle honey over the fruit, then add in apple cider, rum, ginger beer, and white wine. Stir to mix. Top with ice and let chill for 20 minutes before serving. Serve in glasses, including the chunks of fruit.
Vesper
Sometimes you don't want to have to choose between two options, because you want to have it all! And you can have it both ways, with this gin and vodka martini, the Vesper.
Ingredients
3 oz. London dry gin
1 oz. vodka
1/2 oz. Lillet Blanc
Directions
Stir ingredients briskly with ice in a mixing tin until very cold. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a large, thin-cut lemon peel.
Moscow Mule
Why not turn your holiday gathering into an international experience? Incorporate this Russian classic into your cocktail rotation.
Ingredients
2 oz. vodka
1/2 oz. lime juice, freshly squeezed
6 oz. ginger beer
Directions
Squeeze lime juice into a copper mug (or a Collins glass) and drop in the spent shell. Add ice cubes, then pour in the vodka and fill with cold ginger beer. Serve with a stirring rod.
Dark and Stormy
This rum cocktail will bring back fond memories of warmer weather.
Ingredients
2 oz. dark rum
3 oz. ginger beer
1/2 oz. lime juice (optional)
Directions
Fill a tall glass with ice cubes. Add rum. Pour in ginger beer and lime juice. Stir with a barspoon. Garnish with a lime wedge. Enjoy.
Frost Yourself
Margaritas are not just restricted to the warmer months. This cinnamon twist on the cocktail will put you in the holiday spirit.
Ingredients
1 3/4 oz. Pantalones Organic Blanco Tequila
3/4 oz. Cointreau
3/4 oz. lemon juice
1/2 oz. agave syrup,
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 Egg white
Directions
Pour Pantalones Organic Blanco Tequila, Cointreau, lemon juice, agave syrup, cinnamon, and an egg white into your shaker. Dry shake (no ice!) to get your egg white cozy with the other ingredients. Add ice, shake again to chill cocktail. Fine strain into a chilled coupe and simply frost yourself—as in, garnish with edible glitter and drink up.
Sazerac
This cocktail hails from the South, but it brings a warm burn that'll heat up even the coldest winter night.
Ingredients
1 sugar cube
2 1/2 oz. rye whiskey
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
1 dash Angostura bitters
absinthe
lemon peel
Directions
In an old-fashioned glass, muddle a sugar cube with a few drops of water. Add several small ice cubes, then rye whiskey, Peychaud’s bitters, and Angostura bitters. Stir well. Roll a few drops of absinthe around a second, chilled old-fashioned glass until the inside is thoroughly coated. Pour off the excess. Strain the contents of the first glass into the second. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel.
Espresso Martini
It's beloved for a reason—the Espresso Martini will keep you awake during the post Turkey haze and put you in a jolly good mood to listen to your elders.
Ingredients
• 2 oz. vodka
• 1/2 oz. coffee liqueur
• 3/4 oz. simple syrup
• 1 1/2 oz. fresh espresso
Directions
Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with two or three coffee beans.
Air Mail
Holidays are synonymous with champagne, so pop open a bottle of bubbly and pour out one of these delicious cocktails.
Ingredients
• 2 oz. golden rum
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1 tsp. honey
• 5 oz. Brut champagne
Directions
Stir rum, lime juice, and honey thoroughly with cracked ice in a chilled cocktail shaker. Pour unstrained into a Collins glass. Top with champagne
Gold Rush
Looking for something sweet and mellow to placate the most picky members of your family? The Gold Rush is built to satisfy.
Ingredients
• 2 oz. bourbon
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 3/4 oz. honey
Directions
Combine the ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. No need to garnish.
Boulevardier
A twist on a Negroni that uses whiskey rather than gin. It's a remix that'll pay off big with the brown liquor drinkers.
Ingredients
• 1 1/2 oz. bourbon or rye whiskey
• 3/4 oz. Campari
• 3/4 oz. sweet vermouth
Directions
Stir ingredients with ice in a mixing glass until chilled. Strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
Irish Coffee
This Irish Coffee recipe will keep your mood as mellow as the flavors within it.
Ingredients
• 2 oz. Irish whiskey
• 5 oz. hot coffee
• 2 tsp. sugar
• heavy cream
Directions
Pour the whiskey, coffee, and sugar into a stemmed, heated glass mug. Stir, then top off with a thick layer of lightly whipped heavy cream.
Dirty Martini
It's a martini, which is a one size fit all cocktail for anyone on your guest list. But it's even more savory and briny, a perfect side to pair with your big bird.
Ingredients
2 oz. gin
1/4 oz. extra dry vermouth
1/4 oz. olive juice
olives
Directions
Combine the gin, vermouth, and olive juice in a mixing tin with ice. Stir well. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with as many olives as you'd like on a toothpick.
Maple Old Fashioned
This twist on the old fashioned adds an autumnal flavor that will keep this classic feeling fresh.
Ingredients
½ oz. Maple Syrup
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Directions
Combine all ingredients into a mixing glass with ice. Stir until chilled and diluted. Strain into a rocks glass with a large cube. Garnish with orange peel studded with cloves.
Sidecar
A deceptively sweet and easy to drink cocktail, the Sidecar will have you horizontal faster than the turkey dinner.
Ingredients
• 1 oz. cognac
• 1 oz. orange liqueur
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. simple syrup
• 1 splash lime juice
Directions
Sugar half the rim of a cocktail glass. Combine all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake until chilled. Strain into the glass.
Apple Cider Mimosa
This three ingredient cocktail is easy to whip up, but will taste like it was complicated and time consuming.
Ingredients
• 4 oz. brut champagne
• 2 oz. all-natural apple cider
• 1 oz. cinnamon whiskey
• 1 slice of apple, for garnish
Directions
Mix cider and cinnamon whiskey in a champagne flute. Top with champagne, then stir lightly until incorporated. Garnish with an apple slice.
Benny Boo Boo
Remember when Coca-Cola was synonymous with polar bears and Santa Claus? This recipe incorporates that all-American soda with tequila for a wintery new taste.
Ingredients
1 1/2 oz. of Pantalones Organic Blanco
1/2 oz. of Lime Juice
2 tsps of Luxardo Maraschino cherry syrup
4 oz. of Mexican Coca-Cola
2 cherries and salt (for garnish)
Directions
Wet the rim of your highball glass with lime juice and dip your glass into salt to rim. Add ice. Add cherry syrup, lime juice, and Pantalones Organic Tequila to the glass. Add a pinch of salt for good measure. Fill your glass up with Mexican Coca-Cola and give it a stir with a paring knife. Garnish with cherries.
Tis The Teason
(Recipe courtesy of Pamela Wiznitzer for Ketel One Vodka)
This large batch hot toddy-like, tea and fruit forward cocktail will warm your soul and your body.
Ingredients
(For 8 servings)
12 oz. Ketel One Vodka
24 oz. Earl Grey Tea
4 oz. Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
2 oz. Lemon Juice
8 oz. Dark Brown Sugar Syrup
Lemon wheels and orange peels
Directions
Heat up and prep the tea first. For every 12 oz. of water, use 2 earl grey tea bags. Create the tea and allow the tea bags to over steep for about 10 minutes. In a pot, add all of the ingredients (including the nutmeg) and allow it to sit on low for 5 - 10 minutes until hot. Serve in a mug and place the lemon wheel and orange peel into the glass for garnish. If making this delicious hot punch for a group, prep the tea earlier in the day and once steeped and cooled, combine all of the ingredients into a pitcher and place in the fridge. Store up to 24 hours before serving and place onto the stovetop 30 to warm before serving. For Dark Brown Sugar Syrup: Combine 1 cup brown sugar with 1 cup of warm or hot water. Stir until dissolved and store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
Pumpkin Spice Spritz
The delicious spice that goes into a pie doesn't have to just be for lattes or baked goods.
Ingredients
1 oz. Pumpkin spice liqueur
Seltzer for topping
Cinnamon sugar
Simple syrup
Directions
Cover rim of stemless wine glass in simple syrup. Dip in cinnamon sugar and add ice to glassPour in the pumpkin spice liqueur and Josh Cellars Sauvignon Blanc. Stir then top off the glass with seltzer.
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