Drinks

Holy Holidays: 8 Cocktails to Help You Survive and Thrive

For the brave, the bold, the partiers and the sleepyheads alike.

By Dayle Duggins

Dec 14 2017 at 2:44 p.m.

Photo by Brandon Alms

Holiday parties come in all shapes and sizes, but one thing is for sure: Nothing spices up a shindig like a little booze. Whether you're the hostess with the mostest or the perpetual party animal, we've rounded up a plethora of potions that are sure to impress your family, your friends and their pets. Or, if you need to escape the festivities, order up at any Big Whiskey's American Restaurant & Bar.

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Photo by Ettie Berneking

Blood Orange Mimosa

Makes two cocktails

Ingredients
Sparkling rosé
The juice of 3 blood oranges
2 orange wedges for garnish

To prepare
Fill two Champagne glasses halfway with sparkling rosé. Fill the rest of the way with the orange juice. Once the fizz has settled, garnish with an orange wedge.

Photo courtesy Big Whiskey's American Restaurant & Bar

Christmas Vacation Nog

Makes one cocktail

Ingredients
1½ ounces RumChata
1 ounce Big Whiskey’s Bourbon
2½ ounces eggnog
Whipped cream to taste
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of cinnamon
Cinnamon sticks for garnish

To prepare
Combine RumChata, bourbon and eggnog in shaker. Shake, shake, shake. Strain into glass over ice. Add whipped cream and then a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon. Garnish with cinnamon sticks. 

Manhattan Three Ways

Makes one cocktail

Ingredients
2 ounces Woodford Reserve
Dash of bitters
Decide how sweet you'd like your cocktail:
   • Dry: ½ ounce dry vermouth. Garnish with lemon twist.
   • Sweet: ½ ounce sweet vermouth. Garnish with cherry.
   • Perfect: ¼ ounce dry vermouth and ¼ ounce sweet vermouth. Garnish with cherry.

To prepare
Add Woodford Reserve, bitters and vermouth (per your preference) to a shaker with ice. Shake, strain into a glass and add your garnish of choice.

Photo by Ettie Berneking

Pomegranate Gin Fizz

Makes one cocktail

Ingredients
2 ounces gin
1 egg white
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ cup pomegranate grenadine (add more if you want your cocktail to be sweeter)
Rosemary sprig for garnish

To prepare
Fill a cocktail shaker or a large mason jar with ice. Add gin, egg white, sugar and grenadine. Shake until frothy. Strain into a frosted martini glass. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

Photo courtesy Big Whiskey's American Restaurant & Bar

Bourbon Hot Chocolate

Makes one cocktail

Ingredients
1 ounce Big Whiskey’s Bourbon
1 ounce Kahlua
½ packet of hot chocolate mix
Hot water
Whipped cream to taste
Chocolate and caramel sauces for garnish

To prepare
Add ingredients to mug then fill with hot water. Stir until hot chocolate is mixed thoroughly. Top with whipped cream then drizzle chocolate and caramel sauces over the top.

Fruity Old Fashioned

Makes one cocktail

Ingredients
2 sugar cubes or 1 teaspoon sugar
4 dashes of bitters
1 lemon wheel
1 lime wheel
1 maraschino cherry
½ teaspoon grenadine
¼ cup bourbon or rye whiskey
Club soda
Ginger ale

To prepare
Drop the sugar in the bottom of a rocks glass. Add the bitters, citrus wheels, cherry and grenadine and muddle just until the fruit juices are released. Add bourbon. Fill the glass with ice cubes and stir to combine. Top the glass with equal parts club soda and ginger ale.

Photo courtesy Big Whiskey's American Restaurant & Bar

Cinnamon Whiskey Sour

Makes one cocktail

Ingredients
1½ ounces Fireball Cinnamon Whisky
Sweet and sour mix
Cinnamon sticks for garnish
Cherry for garnish

To prepare
In a glass over ice, add Fireball. Fill the rest of the way with sweet and sour. Garnish with cinnamon sticks and cherry. 

Photo courtesy Big Whiskey's American Restaurant & Bar

Lynchberg Lemonade

Makes one cocktail

Ingredients
1 ounce Jack Daniels
¾ ounce Triple Sec
2 ounces sweet and sour mix
3 ounces Sprite
Lemon slice for garnish

To prepare
Fill a mason jar with ice. Add Jack Daniels, triple sec and sweet and sour. Close lid and shake. Remove lid and fill the rest of the way with Sprite. Garnish with a lemon slice.


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