Cranberry Cocktails
This cranberry cocktail is a swirl of favorite flavors: maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, and red wine. Serve it with a stirrer beaded with poached cranberries. Our Santa clip art is affixed to a sphere of honeycomb paper and topped with his signature hat. Download Santa Swizzle Sticks Clip Art for the festive touch! With cooked cranberries sweetened with maple syrup and lightly flavored with lemon zest and vanilla beans form the base of this wine-and-seltzer cocktail.
2 cups fresh or thawed frozen cranberries
1 cup pure maple syrup
2 cups dry red wine, such as Pinot Noir
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
Thin strips of zest from 1/2 lemon
2 teaspoons pink peppercorns, crushed
Pinch of coarse salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups seltzer
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put cranberries into a large, high-sided skillet; set aside. Bring syrup, wine, brown sugar, vanilla bean and seeds, lemon zest, peppercorns, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan, whisking occasionally. Pour over cranberries. Cover tightly with foil, and bake until cranberries are soft but have not burst, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer cranberries to a bowl; cover with 1 cup cooking liquid. Let cool completely. Bring 1/2 cup cooking liquid and the granulated sugar to a boil in a small saucepan, whisking until sugar has dissolved. Reduce heat to low; simmer until liquid has reduced and barely coats the back of a spoon, about 6 minutes. Pour through a fine sieve into a medium bowl; let cool completely. Syrup can be refrigerated in an airtight container until ready to use, up to 3 days. Reserve 40 cranberries. Puree remaining cranberries and liquid in a blender. To serve, place 10 reserved cranberries on each of 4 decorative skewers. Pour 1/4 cup puree and 1/4 cup syrup into each of four 12-ounce glasses; stir to combine. Add skewers, and fill glasses with ice. Top with seltzer, and serve.
Mulled Cranberry Cocktail
This cocktail can be served as a dessert, or you can drink it instead of tea on a freezing winter afternoon.
1 quart cranberry juice
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
1/2 cup cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
In a medium saucepan, combine the juice, cinnamon stick, and cloves and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the cranberries, sugar, ground cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons of water and heat over medium-low heat, gently stirring, until the cranberries pop and are well coated with the sugar mixture. When cool enough to handle, thread 3 to 4 berries each on 4 decorative toothpicks or skewers. Pour the mulled cranberry juice among 4 mugs and garnish with the cranberry swizzle.
Sparkling Pear and Cranberry Cocktail
Raise a glass and make a toast with sparkling wine drinks, including sparkling pear and cranberry cocktails, red currant-Champagne cocktails, and Kir royales. This cocktail is made with icy Moscato d'Asti, which is sweeter than champagne but much lighter than the rich dessert wine also made from Italian moscato grapes. Just the right medium for this fizzy drink, it adds flavor to the silky pear and tart cranberries. 95 calories; 0 g protein; 0 g fat; 6 g carb; 0 g fiber.
2 tablespoons dry cranberries
1/2 cup organic pear nectar
32 ounces Moscato d'Asti wine
8 small sprigs fresh rosemary
Put cranberries in a small bowl; add 2 tablespoons warm water. Soak until cool, about 15 minutes. Drain, pat dry, and refrigerate until serving. Divide pear nectar evenly among eight tall champagne glasses. Add cranberries, and then gently pour the Moscato d'Asti into the glasses. Garnish each with a rosemary sprig.
Classic Eggnog
In this traditional eggnog recipe, egg yolks are beaten with sugar, cream, bourbon, rum, and Cognac, and refrigerated for up to a day. Just before serving, beaten egg whites and whipped cream are folded in, while a sprinkle of nutmeg adds a fragrant finishing touch.
6 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup superfine sugar
2 cups whole milk
3 cups heavy cream, plus more for garnish
1/2 cup bourbon, preferably Maker's Mark
1/4 cup dark rum, preferably Mount Gay
1/4 cup Cognac, preferably Remy Martin Grand Cru
Freshly grated nutmeg, for sprinkling
Cook's Note: The egg yolks and whites in this recipe are not cooked. This dish should not be prepared for pregnant women, the elderly, or anyone whose health is compromised.
Beat yolks in a very large bowl until thick and pale. Slowly beat in sugar. Whisk in milk and 2 cups cream. Mix in bourbon, rum, and Cognac. Cover, and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Just before serving, beat whites until stiff peaks form. Fold whites into eggnog. Whisk remaining 1 cup cream until stiff peaks form, and fold into eggnog. (Alternatively, you can fold half the whipped cream into eggnog, and top with remaining half.) Sprinkle with nutmeg.
Sorbet and Champagne Cocktail
The Champagne cocktail, an instant mood lightener, was the official drink of the "bright young things" who flitted through the novels of Evelyn Waugh. In this version, a scoop of sorbet takes the place of the traditional sugar and bitters and turns this classic into a delicious holiday slush.
1 teaspoon sorbet (we like raspberry or passion fruit)
Chilled Champagne or Prosecco
Scoop sorbet into a champagne flute. Fill with chilled Champagne or Prosecco; stir.
Ginger Sparkler
2 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
1/2 cup sugar
1 bottle (750 ml) dry sparkling wine, such as Cava, Prosecco, or Champagne
Set a fine-mesh sieve over a small bowl; set aside. In a small saucepan, boil ginger, sugar, and 1/4 cup water until syrupy, about 2 minutes. Pour through sieve into bowl, discarding solids. (To store syrup, refrigerate in an airtight container, up to 1 week.) Pour 1 tablespoon syrup into each of 8 tall glasses. Top with sparkling wine, and gently stir.
Berry Little Cocktail
Have yourself a Berry Little Cocktail. Stir up this light, bright drink with the tang of citrus and a splash of Champagne to add a festive fizz to your holiday bash.
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup fresh cranberries
1 ounce Charbay ruby red grapefruit vodka
2 ounces Champagne
1 ounce cranberry juice
1 ounce black currant juice
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, dissolve sugar into 1 1/2 cups water. Add cranberries and simmer for 5 minutes, or until softened. Remove from heat and let cool. Strain, discard liquid, and place cranberries on a tray in the freezer for at least 2 hours. Chill vodka, Champagne, and juices, then mix in a champagne glass. Garnish with skewer of 4 or 5 frozen candied cranberries. Reserve the rest for another drink.
Kumquat-Champagne Cocktails
Candied kumquats are a colorful addition to these celebratory sparkling drinks.
2 pints kumquats, pricked a few times with a pin
Cold water
3 cups sugar
2 bottles chilled Champagne
Tangerine wedges, for garnish
Place kumquats in a large saucepan. Cover with cold water. Bring to a boil. Drain immediately. Repeat twice. Add sugar and 2 cups water to drained kumquats in saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat immediately, and let kumquats and syrup cool completely. Spoon 3 kumquats and 1 tablespoon syrup into each of 12 Champagne glasses. Top off with Champagne, and garnish with tangerine wedges.
Cherry Bombs
Kids and alcohol-abstaining adults alike will enjoy the sweet cherry flavor of this simple mocktail, reminiscent of a Shirley Temple.
1 cup grenadine
1 liter clear citrus soda, or seltzer
18 maraschino cherries
Place 2 cups water in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add grenadine; stir to combine. Pour mixture into two ice-cube trays. Freeze until solid, 2 hours or overnight. Fill six glasses with grenadine ice cubes. Top with soda. Garnish with cherries, and serve.
Christmas Punch
In the 17th century, employees of the British East India Company discovered punch, a beguiling combination of spirits, water, lemon, sugar, and spices that became synonymous with good cheer and festive celebrations all over Europe. Here, pomegranate and lemon sharpen the sunny New World flavor of cranberries in this vodka-and-Cointreau-based punch.
2 cups chilled pomegranate juice
1 cup chilled cranberry juice
8 ounces (1 cup) vodka
8 ounces (1 cup) Cointreau or other orange-flavored liqueur
1 cup chilled club soda
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (from 6 lemons)
1/2 cup Simple Syrup
Combine pomegranate and cranberry juice, vodka, Cointreau, club soda, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a punch bowl. Fill glasses with cranberries frozen in ice cubes, and serve. Garnish with lemon slices if desired.
Pina Colada
Bring a taste of the tropics to your Christmas celebration with a coconut-flavored pina colada. With the rum omitted, this drink is a perfect holiday treat for children.
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