The holidays are upon us and the usual hustle and bustle for this time of year is in full swing. Traffic is crawling, parking is scarce, households across our nation are getting bombarded with holiday advertising in paper and electronic form. This time of year can be a sensory overload.
My way of dealing with this is to set aside an hour or so to spend some quality time with my husband. Sometimes it’s just the two of us, sometimes we meet up with a few friends. We are of the opinion that this time of year is all about spreading good will and good cheer.
So what better way of celebrating the holidays than sharing a glass of ‘good cheer’ with friends and family? Trust me; once you get this tradition in place, you are never going want to celebrate the holidays without it. My husband and I make a list of happy hour cocktails and then collect all the ingredients and pick a different one to try each day. We call it the ’Twelve Days of Cocktails’.
I’ve just finished putting this year’s list together and thought I share it with all my devoted readers. If you try any (or all of them), please share on our Facebook page what you think!
So without further ado, here is the 2015 Twelve Days of Cocktails:
Day 1: Winter Wonderland
Ingredients:
- 2 ounces Van Gogh Vanilla Liquor
- 2 ounces White Chocolate Liquor
- 1 ounce White Crème de Cacao
- 1 ounce Heavy Cream
- ½ teaspoon Coconut Flakes
- 1 White Chocolate Wafer Stick
Directions:
Combine first four ingredients in an iced cocktail shaker and shake vigorously. Strain into a martini glass, gently stir in coconut flakes with the wafer stick and enjoy!
Day 2: Candy Cane Cocktail
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ ounces Vanilla Rum
- 1 ½ ounces White Chocolate Liqueur (Godiva recommended)
- 1 ½ ounces Peppermint Schnapps
- Mini Candy Cane for Garnish
Directions:
Add first 3 Ingredients to an iced cocktail shaker, shake well and strain into martini glass. Garnish with candy cane. (Courtesy of Sandra Lee)
Day 3: Hot Toddy
Ingredients:
- Boiling Water
- 4 Whole Cloves
- 1 Lemon Twist
- 2 tsp Brown Sugar
- .25 ounces Lemon Juice
- 2 Ounces of Jameson’s Irish Whiskey
Directions: Fill mug with boiling water and let warm for a few minutes. Meanwhile, stick the cloves into the lemon twist and set aside. Empty the mug and fill halfway with fresh boiling water. Add the brown sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the lemon twist, lemon juice and whiskey. Stir and serve. (Courtesy of Jacques Bezuidenhout)
Day 4: Spiced Caramel Apple
Ingredients:
- Agave Syrup
- Finely crushed gingersnaps
- 2 ounces Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur
- 1 ounce Van Gogh Dutch Caramel Vodka
- 2 ½ ounces apple cider
- 1 dash of lemon juice
Directions: Rim martini glass with agave syrup and gingersnap cookie crumbs. Combine ginger liqueur, vodka, cider and lemon juice in an iced cocktail shaker, shake well and strain into martini glass. (Courtesy of Kara Newman, author of Spice & Ice).
Day 5: Holiday Eggnog (4 servings)
Ingredients:
- 8 Eggs
- 1 Can Condensed Milk
- 3-4 Canned Peach Halves or 8-10 Canned Peach Slivers
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 8- 16 ounce of rum (optional J)
- Cinnamon Powder or Stick for Garnish
Directions: Whip eggs in blender for 3 to 4 minutes. Add condensed milk, peaches, vanilla and blend thoroughly. Slowly add rum (adjust quantity to taste). Pour into coffee mugs or punch glasses and garnish with cinnamon. (Ecuadorian Holiday Eggnog, known as Rumpope – ‘rom-poe-pay’ courteously of Stephen Phillips)
Day 6: Orange Cointreau Hot Chocolate
Ingredients:
- 2 Cups Milk
- 4 ounces Chocolate Chips
- 2 ounces Frangelico
- 2 Orange twists
- ½ tsp Espresso
- 1/8 tsp Ground Nutmeg
Directions: Add chocolate and milk into sauce pan and heat on stovetop at medium heat. Stir slowly with a wooden spoon as the milk heats ups. (Chocolate will slowly begin to melt as it reaches the right temperature. It usually take @ 5 minutes, keep stirring, be patient and DO NOT LET IT BOIL!) When heated to desired temperature, pour into mugs. Add Frangelico and expresso. Sprinkle nutmeg and ad orange twists. (Unknown)
Day 7: Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ ounces Rumchata liqueur
- 1 ½ ounces Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey
- Cinnamon Stick for Garnish
Directions:
Pour Rumchata and Fireball into iced cocktail shaker, shake well and pour into rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with cinnamon stick.
Day 8: Hot Buttered Rum (Serves 4)
Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup packed dark Brown Sugar
- ½ cup unsalted Butter, room temperature
- ¼ cup Honey
- ½ tsp ground Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground Nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground Cloves
- Pinch Salt
- ¾ cups Spiced Rum
- 2 cups Boiling Water
- 4 cinnamon sticks for garnish
Directions: Beat brown sugar, butter, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Transfer mixture to 4 cup measuring cup (or larger). Add rum and 2 cups of boiling water. Stir until the butter mixture dissolves. Pour into mugs or punch cups. Garnish with cinnamon stick. (Courtesy Rachael Ray)
Day 9: Winter Blizzard
- 3 ounces Bailey’s Irish Cream
- 2 ½ Scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream
- ½ ounce of Heavy Cream
- 1 Splash of Milk
- Whipped Cream for topping
- Peppermint Flakes (chopped up candy cane)
Directions: Mix the first 4 ingredients in a blender. Pour into mug or glass. Top off with whipped cream and peppermint flakes. (Unknown)
Day 10: The Lanesborough
- .66 ounce Grand Marnier
- .66 ounce Cranberry Juice
- .66 ounce Passion Fruit Juice
- 2 ounces Moët Chandon Champagne
- Orange twist for garnish
Directions: Add Grand Marnier, cranberry juice and passion fruit juice to an iced cocktail shaker, shake vigorously and strain into a chilled champagne flute. Top with champagne and garish wih an orange spiral twist. (courtesy of Grand Marnier)
Day 11: Mulled Wine
Ingredients:
- 2 Bottles of Red Wine
- 1/3 cup Brandy
- 1/3 cup Sugar
- 1 Orange & Zest
- 8 Cloves
- 2 tsp Ginger
- 4 Cinnamon Sticks
- 2 Star Anise
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a 4 quart sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring periodically. Simmer ten minutes, serve warm.
Day 12: Uncle Angelo’s Eggnog
Ingredients:
- 6 Eggs, separated
- 3/4 cups Sugar
- 1 Qt. Whole Milk
- 1 Pt. Heavy Cream
- 8 ounces Bourbon (Four Roses)
- 4 ounces Rum (Captain Morgan)
- 1 Grated Nutmeg for Garnish
Directions: In a large bowl, beat egg yolks and ½ cup of sugar until they turn light in color. Stir in milk, heavy cream, bourbon and rum. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with the remaining ¼ cup of sugar until they form soft peaks. Fold 1/3 of egg whites into the yolk mixture. Serve in punch cups or mugs and top with freshly grated nutmeg, folding in more egg whites at last minute. (Courtesy of Dale DeGroff)
