30 Holiday Cocktails to Bring the Holiday Spirit

Between holiday parties, travel, and gift-shopping, the stretch between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve can feel endless. Whether you’re hosting a Christmas or Hanukkah gathering or cozying up by the fireplace, these fun and festive cocktails will help ease your stress during the busy holiday season. From soul-warming Hot Toddies and boozy hot chocolate to crowd-pleasing punches and Eggnogs that double as dessert, they’re all guaranteed to put you in the holiday spirit.

Eggnog

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What would the holidays be without this quintessential creamy cocktail? Although it’s ripe for experimentation, the classic recipe calls for eggs, sugar, whole milk, heavy cream, and your choice of bourbon, brandy, or rum. Whichever spirit you choose, a batch will spread joy at all your holiday parties.

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Hot Caramel Buttered Rum

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This rich combination of rum, brown sugar, honey, unsalted butter, and baking spices is just as cozy as the classic Hot Buttered Rum. The twist: an ounce of caramel-flavored vodka.

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Holiday Cheer

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Need an easy recipe for last-minute guests? Spread this drink’s namesake with a simple combination of muddled cranberries, vodka, tonic water, and sparkling cider, garnished with a rosemary sprig.

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Hot Toddy

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The classic Toddy dates to the 18th century, when it would often be consumed to cure a cold. While we can’t verify its purported medicinal properties, we can almost certainly guarantee you’ll feel better after sipping this concoction of whiskey, boiling water, demerara or brown sugar, a clove-studded lemon peel, and lemon juice.

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Coquito

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Coquito is beloved in Puerto Rico and beyond for its rich coconut and holiday spice flavors. This big-batch recipe from bartender Giuseppe González combines Puerto Rican rum, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, cream of coconut, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

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Last-Minute Mulled Wine

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This quick recipe will be your new greatest party trick. Just combine red wine, bourbon or brandy, star anise pods, and citrus peels in a saucepan. Once the mixture is heated, divide into mugs and garnish with cinnamon sticks.

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Bourbon Rosemary Punch

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Serve a crowd with this large-format drink. The bittersweet and herbaceous recipe combines rosemary-infused Aperol, bourbon, honey syrup, grapefruit juice, dry sparkling wine, and soda water.

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White Russian

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Although this unabashedly rich Black Russian twist dates to the 1960s, it achieved notoriety as The Dude’s drink of choice in the late ’90s movie The Big Lebowski. However you know it, the delicious mix of vodka, Kahlúa, and a splash of heavy cream is a decadent sipper that’s perfect for holiday parties.

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Buena Vista Irish Coffee

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The Irish Coffee might just be the ultimate after-dinner drink. Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco serves more of the drink than any bar in the world, so rest assured it knows what it’s doing. To re-create its recipe at home, top two sugar cubes with brewed coffee, Irish whiskey, and lightly whipped heavy cream.

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Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s Hot Toddy

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Looking for an update to the classic Toddy? Bar pro Jeffrey Morgenthaler of Pacific Standard in Portland, Oregon, adds allspice dram and ginger syrup to a mixture of bourbon, boiling water, and lemon juice to produce a drink that is warming in more ways than one.

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Rum Flip

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If you love Eggnog, you’ll flip for the Flip, a rich cocktail made with a whole egg. This classic version combines dark rum, heavy cream, granulated sugar, and an egg, producing an ideal nightcap or celebratory drink.

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Chai Spice Mule

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A homemade chai spice syrup plays off the spicy ginger notes of a Moscow Mule. Combine with a fresh ginger shrub, vodka, and lemon juice for an irresistible take on the classic.

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Baltimore Eggnog

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Bar pro Derek Brown adapted this recipe from the 1954 issue of Gourmet magazine, combining eggs, cognac, powdered sugar, whole milk, and heavy cream. Make it for a party: It serves 25.

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Poached Pear & Ginger Daiquiri

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Got a holiday pear basket? Put your haul to use in this spiced frozen drink from bar star Naren Young. He poaches pears in spices including cardamom, star anise, vanilla, cinnamon, and black peppercorns, then blends the fruits with white rum, lime juice, and freshly grated ginger root.

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Winter Mojito

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Pretend you’re on a beach with this recipe from bar pro Eden Laurin. She combines a baking-spice-infused rum with lime juice and demerara syrup, then tops the mixture with club soda and a float of herbaceous Licor 43 for additional holiday-spice notes.

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Abbey Toddy

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The honey and baking-spice notes of Benedictine liqueur and Angostura bitters add holiday-appropriate complexity to a mix of bourbon, boiling water, lemon juice, and honey. One sip will warm you right up.

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Uncle Angelo’s Eggnog

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Eggnog lends itself to endless variations, but if you’re going to take cues from anyone, it might as well be the legendary Dale DeGroff. For his version, he splits the base between bourbon and spiced rum.

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Dead Sea Mule

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This smoky Mule variation combines mezcal with lime juice, a homemade pomegranate grenadine, and ginger beer. Candied ginger and a mint sprig add extra fragrance and flair.

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Posset

Olmsted

It might not be as famed as Eggnog, but the beer-based egg drink is thought to be the precursor to the holiday favorite. This big-batch modern version calls for an IPA base, then adds heavy cream, eggs, porter, Strega liqueur, allspice dram, falernum, and plenty of warming holiday spices.

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Jubilee

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This festive drink from New York City bartender Jeremy Oertel is indeed cause for celebration. He combines vodka, dry red wine, spiced pear liqueur, lemon juice, maple syrup, and seltzer.

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Smoke Show

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This smoky and herbaceous cocktail will warm you up any time of year. Mezcal, Cynar amaro, green Chartreuse, lemon juice, simple syrup, and an egg white produce a complex and aromatic drink.

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Cousin Eddie

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This inventive recipe spices up traditional Eggnog with a trio of spirits—Armagnac, aged rum, and Fernet. Garnished with cinnamon, nutmeg, and black pepper, it’s a spicy and herbaceous take on the classic.

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Winter Daiquiri

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Winterizing a summer favorite can be as simple as swapping white rum for richer dark ones. Laurin adds more depth to the classic Daiquiri by combining Banks 5 Islands and Cruzan Black Strap rums with lime juice and simple syrup.

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Great Pumpkin

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Any flip lends itself to the colder months, but bar pro Jim Meehan of New York City’s Please Don’t Tell (PDT) adds extra seasonal flair by shaking pumpkin ale, apple brandy, rye whiskey, and maple syrup with a whole egg. Sip while watching Charlie Brown specials.

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Audrey Saunders’ Tom & Jerry

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The Tom & Jerry—a rich and creamy drink made with a spiced egg batter, whole milk, rum, and cognac—was on the winter menu of the now-shuttered Pegu Club from the time Audrey Saunders launched the seminal bar in 2005 to its closing in 2020.

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Pom-Blood-Orange Old Fashioned

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Vodka might be an unexpected choice for an Old Fashioned twist, but the neutral spirit allows in-season fruits to shine. Muddle blood orange peels, pomegranate arils, Angostura bitters, and sugar, then shake with the spirit to produce a merry-and-bright cocktail.

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Brandy Alexander

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The Brandy Alexander dates to the early 20th century and was a particularly popular order in the 1970s, but we’d argue the decadent combination of cognac, dark creme de cacao, and cream is timeless. This recipe from the famed Gary Regan makes a perfect nightcap.

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Ginger Fever Punch

Decoy

You can’t go wrong with punch for a holiday gathering. This fruity and refreshing recipe combines blanco tequila, fruit juices, a homemade goji berry ginger syrup, and ginger beer.

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Temple Toddy

Travis Lincoln

Your Crock-Pot is good for more than just stews: Add apples, lemons, mangoes, ginger, cinnamon, and star anise to your slow cooker, then combine the mixture with Irish whiskey and honey to produce a fruity Hot Toddy twist.

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Rumplesnuggler

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You’re never too old for a steaming mug of hot chocolate, especially when it’s spiked with Baileys and Rumple Minze peppermint schnapps. Cozy blanket and holiday movies optional.

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30 Cocktails to Make for the Holidays