Last Minute Holiday Drinks

I'm a procrastinator myself so I sympathize with everyone who may be scrambling to get everything organized, finished, and 'perfect' for the holidays. For that reason here is a round up of drink ideas and a few suggestions to help out.

Classic Suggestions: You cannot go wrong with these time tested favorites.

Mexican Eggnog

• Tom and Jerry - Warm, inviting, and soothing, this is a must have for many during the holidays.
• Eggnog - This traditional holiday tipple has been adapted over and over and now recipes are available for almost every taste and this collection of nogs spans the spectrum including egg and alcohol free. Check out the Mexican Egg Nog recipe there - bourbon and tequila!
• Wassail - Though the tradition of 'wassailing' - traveling from house to house in the neighborhood and sharing drinks, stories, and good times - may be lost for the most part, this classic punch lives on. Two varieties are common: Brandy and Sherry or Rum and Lager.
• Winter Cocktail - It's not as popular as the others, but it is a personal favorite. Rum, ginger, and pimento dram make up the base and it is delicious.
• More Classic Cocktails...

Modern Favorites: Every year a host of new drinks are released, here are some highlights.

Santa's Whiskers

• Santa's Whiskers - 42Below Honey Vodka and calvados mix up for a tantalizing twist on the holidays.
• Spiced Silver Bell - Camarena Silver Tequila and a cranberry spice syrup make this one spectacular.
• Dreaming of Zen - A creamy drink with with a spicy, almost savory side. The Zen Green Tea Liqueur and Midori base is a dream come true.
• More Holiday Cocktails...

Nice and Warm: It's cold outside and sometimes you want a hot drink. Here are a few...

Oaxaca Chakas

• Oaxaca Chakas - Begin with warm milk and some real chocolate for a twist on spiked hot chocolate, tequila style.
• Hot Gold Apple Cider - This was one of the first mixed drinks I learned way back when and I continue to rely on it, often allowing it to simmer on the stove most of the day.
• Hot Toddy - The toddy is another old-time drink that will never lose steam and it is one of the easiest drinks to adapt to your personal taste.
• More Hot Cocktails...

More Suggestions...

Hot Bols Genever Punch

• Punch Recipes
• Winter Cocktails
• Non-alcoholic Mixed Drinks
• Pomegranate Cocktails - December is National Pomegranate Month, and the fresh fruits are in their prime!
• Cranberry Cocktails - Another favorite fruit of the season.
• Or, simply browse all of the cocktail recipes...

Happy Holidays!

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Festive Holiday Punches

If mixing up individual cocktails for a holiday party seems like too daunting of a task, you may want to think of mixing up a punch. It takes maybe 10-20 minutes to prepare, many can be mixed ahead of time, and it frees you up to enjoy the festivities yourself. A punch doesn't have to be plain, boring, or lacking in flavor either, there are many great punches that rival the flavor of any single mixed drink.

Hot Gin Punch

Often, when it comes to a punch, the list of ingredients is long and can seem like a lot of work at first. However, they're often not as bad as they seem and I like to approach a punch recipe like I do a cookie recipe, breaking down the individual ingredients into a similar groups like the base liquids, the sweeteners, the enhancers (fruits, spices), and the garnish. An example is in the Hot Gin Punch recipe, where you can take the list of 12 individual ingredients and batch them into 5 groups. With this thinking the preparation process becomes smoother and you trick your mind into believing the recipe is rather easy.

What I really like about many of the punch recipes that are fitting for the holiday season is that they're often warmed to either fuse the flavors then chilled or served hot. This stovetop time is the perfect opportunity to prepare the punch's finishing touches such as clove-spiked oranges, unearthing the punch bowl and glasses, and wrangling the ice block or ring out of the mold (which you had thoughtfully prepared the day before).

Now that you're sold on serving punch, I have a couple of recommendations that can be used throughout this season...

• Hot Gin Punch - Mentioned above, this recipe combines the aromatics of Hendrick's Gin and Madeira wine with winter spices and tropical fruits and, as the name indicates, is served at a toasty warm temperature.
• Ginger Snap Punch - Another festive blend of spice and fruit backed up by the smooth Canadian Club 10 YO whisky. In this one the embellishing flavors are simmered together but the punch is chilled.

More punch recipes...

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Suggested Reading:

• Winter Cocktails
• How to Turn a Cocktail into a Party Punch

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Tea Sandwiches for Holiday Parties

If, like many people, you are hosting a holiday party or attending a potluck-style holiday gathering this winter, you might consider preparing tea sandwiches as an appetizer or snack. Although some tea sandwiches (like cucumber tea sandwiches) are better for summertime, others have more wintery flavors. Here are a few of my favorite finger sandwich recipes for the holiday season:

• Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches With Horseradish (pictured above)
• Smoked Salmon & Herbed Butter Finger Sandwiches Recipe
• Sweet & Savory Ham Finger Sandwiches Recipe

Do you have a preferred wintertime tea sandwich? Share your favorites with other About.com readers in the comments below!

Photo (c) Marko Goodwin
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Holiday Hopper

Consider the Holiday Hopper a Grasshopper with a twist. What Midori (more specifically Mixologist Victoria Damato-Moran) has done is taken one of the more popular "martinis" and added their liqueur for this melon background that is really quite interesting and makes, in my opinion, a far better cocktail. As with the Grasshopper, use white creme de cacao because the brown makes the finished drink look like some sort of sludge, which is rather unappealing.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Midori melon liqueur
• 1/2 oz green creme de menthe
• 1/2 oz white creme de cacao
• 2 oz half and half
• mint leaves for garnish
• raspberry for garnish

Preparation:

1. Pour the ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice.
2. Shake well.
3. Strain into a cocktail glass.
4. Garnish with a mint leaves and a raspberry.

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