Peppermint martini (photo by iStock)
Food + Drink

8 Cocktail Recipes for Your Holiday Bar

Looking for new ideas to round out your cocktail menu? These spirited creations are a good place to start. 

Peppermint Martini

1 ½ oz. Smirnoff
Peppermint Twist
½ oz. Baileys Original
Irish Cream Liqueur
1 Mini candy cane nutmeg 

Fill shaker with ice. Add Smirnoff Peppermint Twist. Top with Baileys Irish Cream. Shake well until chilled. Strain into a martini glass. Garnish with grated nutmeg and a miniature candy cane. From Smirnoff


Chocolate Martini 


2 oz. Baileys Chocolate
1 oz. Ketel One Vodka
½ oz. Simple Syrup  

Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker. Shake and fine strain into coupe/martini glass. Shaved Belgian chocolate, toasted marshmallow and accent of your choice. From Baileys


Classic Eggnog

1 pint Four Roses Bourbon
1 oz. Jamaican rum
6 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 pint cream
1 pint milk
Nutmeg 

Beat the yolks and whites of 6 eggs separately. Add 1⁄2 cup of sugar to the yolks while beating. Add 1⁄4 cup of sugar to whites after beating until very stiff. Next, mix egg whites with yolks, and stir in 1 pint of cream and 1 pint of milk. Add 1 pint of bourbon and 1 oz. of rum and stir thoroughly. Yields 5 pints. Serve cold. Garnish with nutmeg. From Four Roses


Spiced Butter 

6 tbsp. salted butter
3 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice 

Use a mixer, rolling pin or just your hands to mix all spiced butter ingredients together. Immediately refrigerate
or freeze anything you don’t use. When you want a drink, add rum and spiced butter to a heat-safe mug and top
it with boiling or very hot water. Stir until incorporated. Top with whipped cream and spices. Makes four drinks. From Echo Spirits Distilling Co.


Pumpkin Pie Martini

2 oz. Echo Spirits House Vodka
1/2 oz. heavy cream
1/2 oz. maple syrup
2 tbsp. canned pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 /4 tsp. vanilla extract

Pour some maple syrup on a small plate. Roll the rim of a martini glass in syrup, then dip it in crushed graham crackers. Set aside. Put all remaining ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake. Strain into the martini glass. Optionally garnish with a dollop of whipped cream and a cinnamon stick. From Echo Spirits Distilling Co. 

Salted Caramel Truffle 

1 oz. Noble Cut Salted
Caramel Whiskey
2 oz. chocolate liqueur
2 oz. vodka

Pour all ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a martini glass. Add whipped cream over
the cocktail. Shave chocolate over the whipped cream. From Noble Cut Distillery


Red Ruby Hot Toddy 

2 oz. Stranahan’s Blue Peak
6 oz. hot brewed chamomile tea
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 lemon wheel
lemon juice
cloves

Brew a 6 oz. cup of chamomile tea and add honey to taste. Pour in Stranahan’s Blue Peak and splash of Angostura bitters. Stir to combine. Top with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Garnish with a clove-studded lemon wheel.
From Stranahan’s


Tipsy Penguin 

1 1/2 oz. Breckenridge Bourbon
3/4 oz. vanilla/maple simple syrup (recipe below)*
3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
2 oz. unfiltered apple juice
3 dashes Bitter Truth Spiced
1 mint stalk
Chocolate bitters

Vanilla/Maple Simple Syrup: Over medium heat add 8 oz. water, 4 oz. brown sugar, 1 oz. vanilla bean paste and 1 oz. maple syrup.Stir until sugar is dissolved. Let cool and refrigerate. Shake top 4 ingredients with ice. Strain and serve over ice. Top with bitters. Garnish with a mint bouquet. From Breckenridge Distillery

Proof Magazine is for Ohio spirit lovers and is produced by Great Lakes Studios. Don’t miss an issue by subscribing to Ohio Magazine. View a digital version of the Proof Magazine Winter 2024 edition here.

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