Below you’ll find five easy-to-mix and serve cocktails that feel special enough for the holidays, no peppermint candy required.
Pomegranate Mimosa
Inspired by the classic champagne cocktail, we layer sparkling wine with tart pomegranate juice and finish with a few dashes of bitters. It looks festive—few things stun like a layered cocktail—and tastes delicious, but doesn’t obscure the flavor of the bubbly. For best results, let the bubbles settle before gently pouring the juice down the side of the flute.
Cranberry-Gin Smash
Muddling fresh rosemary and cranberries with a bit of sugar helps extract aromatic essential oils from the herb and juice from the berries. We then add a little bit of cranberry juice—not cranberry juice cocktail—to give it a vibrant hue and balance out the piney gin. Shake vigorously in a cocktail shaker full of ice, then strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with an additional sprig of fresh rosemary.
This beverage can also be made with vodka, if gin isn’t your jam. Don’t have a dedicated cocktail muddler? A wooden spoon will work just fine.
Reposado Negroni
This tequila-based riff on the classic negroni is just as easy to make as the original, but better suited to sipping by the fire. Swapping out gin for aged Reposado tequila gives the cocktail a smoky, fruity flavor, without drowning out the more nuanced notes in the Campari and vermouth.
You may be tempted to sub in a tequila that’s aged even longer, but stick to Reposado, which is aged up to a year—just enough to temper the bite of the spirit. Anejo tequila, which is aged for over a year, would be too robust.
French 75
Making a saline solution for a cocktail may seem overly precious and fussy, but salt doesn’t just make things taste salty—it makes things taste like better versions of themselves, bringing balance and smoothing out any bitterness.
Fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, and a few dashes of bitters round out near equal proportions of gin and sparkling wine. It’s merry and bright, balanced and clean, and pairs beautifully with the saltiest of party snacks.
Citrus and Bay Sangria
Large parties call for large-format cocktails. Though it’s easy to dismiss white wine as “summery,” cutting back the sugar and flavoring it with warming spices—cardamom and bay leaf—make this sangria a perfect holiday punch. Dry vermouth adds depth of flavor and underscores the seasonings, and ruby-hued blood oranges add a festive pop of color.
Use Grüner Veltliner if you can find it—we like it for its grassy flavor and pleasant minerality—but unoaked chardonnay is a good substitute.
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