The winter holiday season means there will be more than just one occasion for getting a good laugh and drinks with friends. It’s the season of love, understanding, merrymaking, and for many of you…a sip of some heavenly holiday drinks.
If you are bored with beer or other drinks you regularly had all year round after those hard 9-to-5 working weeks, we got you covered. We’ve tailored a list of 7 delectable holiday cocktail recipes which you can try mixing at home. Perhaps for your upcoming holiday party at your place, that office festivity without boss, or for experimenting all by yourself.
BC bars and distillers are already running their special limited editions of holiday booze that will make you wanna ask for more than just one round. Such as Ampersand’s Nocino!, a silky spirit that has been crafted with green walnuts harvested in summer, sweetened with a local honey, and infused with cinnamon and allspice. It’s an award-winning booze, having received a gold medal at the 2019 Canadian Artisan Spirit Competition and a double gold award in the non-fruit liqueur category at SIP Northwest’s 2019 Best in the Northwest Competition.
Below, we start the holiday cocktail recipes list with two Nocino!-induced cocktails to stir up your holiday soirée. The spirit is being reintroduced by Ampersand for a third season in a row now, and you can find a bottle of it at the Legacy Liquor Store on 1633 Manitoba St.
1.) Nocino! Nog
Mixed with a limited-edition liqueur from Ampersand Distilling Co.
Be the king or queen of the bar on your next gathering with friends and BFFs by making Nocino! Nog. It’s super easy to make.
Ingredients:
– 1.5 oz of Nocino!
– 3 oz of eggnog
– cinnamon
– nutmeg
Method:
1. Combine Nocino! and eggnog in a mug or rocks glass filled with ice and stir the mixture
2.Garnish with cinnamon and nutmeg
2.) Nocino! Manhattan
A second-holiday cocktail option you can mix with Ampersand’s luscious limited-edition liqueur
If you already had too much eggnog this season, go Nocino! Manhattan crazy. You can easily prepare this Nocino!-induced cocktail by conjuring the liquor with bourbon or rye.
Ingredients:
– 2 oz of bourbon or rye
– 1 oz of Nocino!
– Dash of orange bitters
– Cocktail cherry for garnish
Method:
1. Combine the ingredients in a cocktail shaker
2. Fill the cocktail shaker with ice and stir
3. Strain and serve in a chilled cocktail glass
4. Garnish with a cocktail cherry
Ampersand Distilling Co.
3.) UVA’s Crème de Vie
By Bar Manager Wyeth Maiers from UVA Wine & Cocktail Bar
Eau de Vie is one of the regular features on UVA’s cocktail menu, but what about Crème de Vie? Bar manager Wyeth Maiers has created this luscious holiday cocktail just in time for the festive season.
Ingredients:
– 1.5 oz of lemon heart spiced rum
– 1 oz of heavy cream
– ¾ oz holiday syrup (vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, anise, clove)
– One whole egg
– Bruleéed lady finger for garnish (optional)
Directions:
1. First prepare the syrup by adding 2 dashes of the first four spices, ½ dash of the clove, as well as 1 oz of vanilla to 500 mL of simple syrup.
2. Combine the rum, cream, syrup, and egg in a cocktail shaker. Dry the shake without ice.
3. Fill the shaker with ice, then shake vigorously for about 30 seconds to ensure the egg is well integrated in the entire concoction.
4. Strain into an old-fashioned or cocktail glass without ice.
5. Add a dash of grated nutmeg or cinnamon as a garnish, along with an optional bruléed ladyfinger.
You’ll find UVA Wine & Cocktail Bar also on this list of 17 best Vancouver restaurants to book for a New Year’s Eve dinner and party.
UVA Wine & Cocktail Bar
Instagram | Facebook | Website
[MEC id=”1576″]4.) Burdock & Co’s Vieux Borreal
A holiday blast from Burdock & Co’s creative cocktail bar
Burdock & Co is run by chef and owner Andrea Carlson, and at her premises you can always enjoy an enticing dish with fresh and organic ingredients. As an extra for you this season: their Vieux Borreal cocktail easy to self-serve at home.
Ingredients:
– 1.50 oz Alberta Premium Dark Horse Rye Whisky
– 0.25 oz Sortilege Maple Whisky
– 0.50 oz Cinzano Rosso
– 0.25 oz Boreal Pinecone Dram
– 2 dashes Bittered Sling Suius Cherry Bitters
– 2 dashes Bittered Sling Denman Bitters
Directions:
1. Combine the ingredients and stir over ice.
2. Pour over a large cube in old-fashioned glass.
3. Garnish with Cedar bow (shown) or orange cheek.
Burdock & Co
Instagram | Facebook | Website
5.) Nude Spritz
A more simple, healthier, and flavoursome version of the classic spritz by Nude Beverages
Nude Beverages invented this tasty drink by simply adding Aperol to their well-known Nude Vodka Soda which comes in six flavours: Classic Lime, Peach Grapefruit, Raspberry Lemon, Strawberry Kiwi, and Mango. Pick any flavour and you can easily stir the Nude Spritz at home.
Ingredients:
– 1 oz of Aperol
– 2 oz Nude Vodka Soda flavour of choice
Directions:
1. Pick a wine glass you like, fill it with ice and add Aperol and Nude Vodka Soda flavour of choice.
2. Experiment with different combos of Aperol spritz and any of the six Nude Vodka Soda flavours.
3. The 1 + 2 oz dosage above serves 1 person.
Nude Beverages
Instagram | Facebook | Website
6.) Pourhouse’s Mulled Cider with Hot Buttered Rum
An enticing make-it-yourself holiday cocktail by Pourhouse’s Bar Manager Adam Domet
What happens when you mix two-holiday classics is that you get a new magical combination such as Pourhouse’s Mulled Cider with Hot Buttered Rum. This seasonal blend uses a dry BC from Dominion Cider Co. that is warmed, spiced and fortified to a comforting decadence and further enhanced with Pourhouse’s home-made ‘rum butter’.
Ingredients:
– 500ml Bottle of spiced Dominion Cider co. ‘Traditional Dry’ cider (BC)
– 2 cardamom pods
– 1 clove
– 1 star anise
– 2 pods all-spice
– 15 grams of unsalted butter
– 1 oz (30ml) Havana Club 7 Year Old Cuban Rum
– 1.5 oz (15ml) Alchemist Distiller ‘Nectar’ Apple liqueur (BC)
– 30 oz (90ml) ‘Rum-Butter’
Method:
1. ‘Spiced Cider’ (per 500ml bottle of cider): Prepare the ‘Spiced Cider’ in a sauce pan on low heat. Toast the cardamom pods, clove, star anise, and all-spice pods until warmed, not burned (for about 3 minutes). Add cider, bring to a light simmer, take it off the stove, and allow to steep for half an hour.
2. ‘Rum-Butter’ (per 500ml bottle of cider): Also prepare in a sauce pan on low heat. Melt the butter and add Havana Club 7 Year Old Cuban Rum, Alchemist Distiller ‘Nectar’ Apple liqueur. Stir and remove from heat.
3. Time to blend the two: Use a large heat safe serviceable vessel to combine the spiced cider and rum butter. Leave the mixture on low-heat and garnish it with raisins, almond slices, cinnamon and dried apricots.
4. Serve it in a mug.
Pourhouse Vancouver
Instagram | Facebook | Website
7.) Juke Fried Chicken’s Orange Moon
A delicious booze-y holiday treat from Juke’s Bar Manager Sabrine Dhaliwal
At Juke’s you can certainly order some of the best fried chicken, chicken and waffles or chicken wings downtown Vancouver. While you can still enjoy these treats over this holiday season, Juke’s Bar Manager Sabrine Dhaliwal took care to further boost your festive mood with her delectable invention called the Orange Moon.
Ingredients:
– 45 ml dark rum
– 15 ml coffee-infused Licor 43
– 25 ml apple cider
– 7 ml vanilla syrup
– 25 ml lemon juice
– 1 dash orange bitters
– Egg white
Method:
1. Dry shake all ingredients.
2. Shake with ice.
3. Serve neat in Old Fashioned glass.
Juke Fried Chicken
Instagram | Facebook | Website
You must feel at least a little bit thirsty after going through this mouth-watering list of festive time cocktails. Take the occasion of family and friends gatherings to serve any of these delicious cocktails, however, don’t forget to drink responsibly and not serve it to minors. In case you haven’t yet decided what to get as a gift to your loved ones this holiday season, check also our special Holiday Gift Guide 2019.