Whether you’re rocking around the Christmas tree or snuggling up to your fireplace this year, these 5 Christmas cocktail recipes will keep you feeling warm and festive!
Cuddled under exquisitely soft blankets next to the warmth of an ornate 19th-century fireplace; escaping to the soft, white sands of a warm, sunny island; and drinking seasonal cocktails like it’s my day job are a few of my favorite ways to stay warm in the Chicago winter.
Christmas is the best (and only) excuse I have for drinking my body weight in fun, festive drinks without feeling bad about myself. I don’t typically indulge in sweet or sugary drinks, preferring a high-quality tequila or vodka neat, but I splurge when it’s the holiday season.
Last year, in the quest for the perfect gluten-free and dairy-free Christmas cocktails, I unintentionally turned our clean, minimalist kitchen into a deranged scientist’s laboratory…we’re still finding champagne flutes to this day… *shudders* Even though the kitchen was a mess, I was able to create a few amazing cocktails that were not only pleasing to the eye, but also totally delish!
These cocktails are now an essential part of our Christmas tradition (along with making a gluten-free & dairy-free Gingerbread House and melt-in-your-mouth gf/df Sugar Cookies!) and I hope they can be part of yours, too!
The Recipes
Christmas Morning Mimosas
These mimosas are to die for! Not only are they super easy to make, but they’re also not too sweet and an absolutely beautiful Christmas red! Imagine sitting around the tree opening presents on Christmas morning while drinking one of these Christmas Morning Mimosas…so perfect!
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Christmas Morning Mimosas
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 Mimosa 1x
- Category: Cocktail
Description
Ahh, nothing says Christmas morning quite like the heavenly combination of cranberry juice and Prosecco! These mimosas are so simple to make that you’ll be back in front of the tree with your peeps before you can say “Ho ho ho!”
Ingredients
- 1 organic lime, sliced into wedges
- 2 tablespoons organic coconut sugar (or white cane sugar if you’re on the naughty list!)
- 2 ounces organic cold pressed cranberry juice
- LaMarca prosecco*
- Fresh organic cranberries
- Rosemary sprigs (or toothpicks)
Instructions
- First, rim your champagne flute with coconut sugar.
- Next, pour cranberry juice into your glass and top with Prosecco.
- Using a toothpick, poke a hole through the cranberries. Thread the rosemary skewer through three cranberries and garnish your mimosa.
- Voila, breakfast is served!
Notes
*If you aren’t doing alcohol this season, you can always sub the LaMarca with sparkling cider!
Keywords: Christmas, Christmas cocktail, cocktail, brunch, mimosa
Christmas Wreath Cocktail
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Christmas Wreath Cocktail
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 1 cocktail 1x
- Category: Beverages, cocktails, drinks
- Method: Shaken
Ingredients
Rosemary Simple Syrup:
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup Demerara sugar
- 1 sprig fresh organic rosemary
Christmas Wreath Cocktail
- 4 oz. organic cranberry juice
- 1–2 oz. rosemary simple syrup
- 1 oz. freshly squeezed organic lemon juice
- 4–5 oz. Topo Chico
- 2 oz. Tito’s vodka (optional)
- Handful of frozen cranberries, for garnish
- Sprigs of fresh rosemary, for garnish
Instructions
Rosemary Simple Syrup:
- Combine your water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Bring to a boil while stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar.
- Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes and then remove from heat.
- Add your sprig of rosemary to your simple syrup mixture and allow it to steep for 15 minutes.
- Once steeped, discard the rosemary and pour your simple syrup mixture into a glass mason jar or bottle.
- Store in your fridge until you’re ready to use it…like right now! 😀
Christmas Wreath Cocktail:
- First, on a heatproof plate, light your rosemary on fire.
- Blow out the flame, and place your lowball glass over the rosemary to capture the smoke.
- While your glass is being filled with delicious rosemary smoke, pour the cranberry juice, rosemary simple syrup, lemon juice, and Tito’s (optional) in a drink shaker or mason jar filled with ice.
- Shake for about 15-20 seconds.
- Flip over your lowball glass now that it’s filled with rosemary smoke and strain your cocktail over it. Top with Topo Chico.
- Garnish with frozen cranberries (to keep your drink cold without watering it down!) and a sprig or two of rosemary! 🙂
Keywords: cocktail, christmas, christmas cocktail, rosemary, cranberry, simple syrup, rosemary simple syrup, lemon juice, topo chico, sparkling water, tito’s vodka, vodka
Gingerbread Christmas Cook-tail
Ho ho ho-ly shit is this cocktail delicious. I definitely forgot that there was whiskey in this when I was developing the recipe and ended up downing glass after glass. Let’s just say that Santa wasn’t the only one who was merry this year!
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Gingerbread Christmas Cook-tail
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 cook-tail 1x
- Category: Cocktail
Description
Ingredients
Gingerbread simple syrup (makes 12 ounces of simple syrup, or enough for 12 cocktails)
- 1 cup water
- ⅓ cup organic maple syrup
- ¼ cup organic molasses
- ½ tsp. organic ground ginger
- ½ tsp. organic ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. organic ground cloves
Cocktail
- Orange, sliced into wedges
- 1 tsp. organic coconut sugar
- 2 oz. Califia Farms Unsweetened Better Half
- 1 ½ oz. Gingerbread simple syrup
- 1 ½ oz. Bulleit whiskey
- 1 tsp. organic vanilla extract
Instructions
- To make your Gingerbread syrup, combine all of the syrup ingredients into a pot. Simmer over low-medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and let it cool. Pour your syrup into a container of your choice. Unless you’re making your cook-tail immediately, you can refrigerate your syrup until needed. Just give your container a good shake beforehand since the spices will settle to the bottom.
- To prepare your cocktail, rub the orange wedge around the rim of your glass. Sprinkle coconut sugar onto a small plate and coat the rim of your glass.
- Fill a cocktail shaker or mason jar with ice. Add the Better Half, gingerbread simple syrup, whiskey, and vanilla extract. Cover and shake.
- Strain into your glass while screaming “You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!”
Keywords: Christmas cocktail, Christmas, cocktail, dessert
Mint Mocha Martini
There are few flavors that are more Christmas-y than the heavenly combo of mint and chocolate. I’ve been working for years (literally!) trying to find the perfect cocktail with peppermint extract as the star…it has finally happened! This drink is DELICIOUS with or without vodka, so if you aren’t doing alcohol this season you can still enjoy a fun, festive drink! 🙂
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Mint Mocha Martini (Dairy-free!)
- Prep Time: 0 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 martini 1x
- Category: Beverages, cocktails, drinks
- Method: Shaken
Description
There are few flavors that are more Christmas-y than the heavenly combo of mint and chocolate. I’ve been working for years (literally!) trying to find the perfect cocktail with peppermint extract as the star…it has finally happened! This drink is DELICIOUS with or without vodka, so if you aren’t doing alcohol this season you can still enjoy a fun, festive drink! 🙂
Ingredients
For rim:
- Organic lime wedge
- Organic cocoa powder
For cocktail/mocktail
- 4 oz. almond milk
- ⅛ tsp. organic peppermint extract
- ½ tsp. organic vanilla extract
- 1 oz. simple syrup
- ½ tsp. organic cocoa powder
- 2–3 oz. Tito’s vodka (optional)
Garnish
- Organic candy cane
- Christmas swizzle stick (these are so cute and are made of bamboo!!)
Instructions
- Rub your martini glass with your lime wedge and then rim with the cocoa powder.
- Add the almond milk, peppermint extract, vanilla extract, simple syrup, cocoa powder, and Tito’s (optional) to a cocktail shaker or mason jar filled with ice.
- Shake vigorously for 15-20 seconds.
- Pour into your rimmed martini glass, garnish with a candy cane, and enjoy! 😀
Keywords: cocktail, christmas, christmas cocktail, peppermint, mint, simple syrup, almond milk, candy cane, cocoa powder, chocolate, chocolate martini, chocolate peppermint martini, tito’s vodka, vodka
Naughty Apple Margarita
Do you know of anyone on Santa’s naughty list? Is it you? Then you need to try this Naughty Apple Margarita. It’s the perfect blend of sweet apple, earthy cinnamon, and tequila. Even if you’re on the nice list, doesn’t it feel good to be a little naughty?
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Naughty Apple Margarita
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 Margarita 1x
- Category: Cocktail
Description
If you weren’t already on Santa’s naughty list (it wasn’t me, Santa, I swear!), you certainly will be after a few of these!
Ingredients
For the rim:
- 1 organic lime, sliced into wedges
- ½ tsp. organic cinnamon
- ½ tsp. organic coconut sugar
- ¼ tsp. sea salt
For the cocktail:
- 2 oz. Casamigos reposado tequila*
- 3 oz. organic apple cider or organic apple juice
- ½ organic lime, juiced
- 3 dashes Regan’s orange bitters
For the garnish:
- Thin slices of an organic apple
- Organic cinnamon stick
Instructions
- Combine the cinnamon, sugar, and salt together on a small plate. Wet the rim of your margarita glass with the lime wedge and roll in the cinnamon sugar and salt mixture.
- Next, combine the tequila, apple juice, lime juice, and orange bitters together in a cocktail shaker or mason jar with ice. Shaky shaky!
- Strain over your glass and garnish with an apple slice or cinnamon stick.
Notes
*If you aren’t doing alcohol this season, you can add 1 teaspoon of agave syrup to replicate the tequila flavor, or simply make this recipe without tequila!
Keywords: Christmas cocktail, Christmas, cocktail, dessert, margarita
Which recipe was your favorite? Did you try them all or did you stick with just one? Let me know in the comments below! 🙂
Show Me Your Christmas Cheers!
Tag me on Instagram @amara_andrew to show me your Christmas spirits! 🙂