As we round out the final few weeks of the year, both the stressors and the celebrations are hitting their apexes. It’s high time, then, to pour one—or three—out. Whether you prefer bourbon, vodka, or Pimm’s, we’ve got something for you to sip on once the halls are decked and the gifts are wrapped. Cheers!
The Christmas cocktail to rule them all, eggnog is “as integral to the holidays as cold weather and retail overload,” we wrote in 2014. Though many holiday tables will host store-bought nog, this homemade version features simple ingredients (no faux flavors) and is easy to make. And, because we’re in the South, it features bourbon alongside the more traditional rum.
Make too great a cocktail and you’ll be bartending all night for your guests. This batch martini recipe from Houston Eaves, in San Antonio, solves that age-old problem and introduces a new one: Do you want one glass or three? This recipe is not only easy to accomplish, it also can be kept in the freezer for you to pour an ice-cold one whenever an occasion calls for it.
Featuring Texas’s finest seasonal produce, the humble grapefruit, the world’s easiest winter cocktail comes together quickly with juice, vodka, and yukari, a type of tangy Japanese rice seasoning. The catch? The grapefruit juice must be freshly squeezed, lest you encounter the wrath of your local bartender. (It’ll taste better that way too.)
Though Pimm’s Cup is traditionally intended to slake thirst in the hotter months—usually at lawn parties or tennis matches on the other side of the pond—this recipe allows for endless variations to suit the season. In addition to Pimm’s No. 1, the drink calls for seasonal jam (perhaps cranberry?) and offers ginger beer as an alternative to the more summer-y lemon-lime soda.
Amaro—Italian for “bitter”—is often encountered in classic cocktails such as the negroni and the Aperol spritz. Here, though, the herbal liqueur joins vermouth, sparkling wine, cachaça, and other ingredients for a sophisticated drink that will appeal to both amaro newbies and vets.
There’s room for more than one egg-centric cocktail this season. Like its creamy cousin eggnog, the Save Room, from Austin’s Drink.Well, offers velvety thick richness and a boozy finish. Unlike eggnog, though, this libation boasts both coffee and a chile liqueur for a bit of a spicy pick-me-up.
With “a kaleidoscope of bright apple-blossom flavors,” this libation offers a sophisticated alternative to hot apple cider. In it, apple brandy and bourbon are matched with enhanced McIntosh apple juice (feel free to use fresh apple juice in lieu of Midnight Rambler’s modernist variation) and frothy egg white.
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