Holiday Party Drinks and Cocktails

Serve mulled cider, hot chocolate, sparkling drinks and more festive seasonal cocktails for guaranteed fun at your holiday party.

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Photo By: Shane Redsar ©Shane Redsar

©David Loftus

Gin and Cranberry Sauced

Turn the classic holiday poultry accompaniment into a cocktail that will –– heed this warning –– get you sauced. With plenty of gin and a dash of bitters, the cranberry-lime, rosemary-topped drink tastes like a festive Cosmopolitan.

Get the Recipe: Gin and Cranberry Sauced

Cranberry, Orange and Prosecco

Jazz up your holiday toasts with this simple cocktail from Chuck Hughes. Simply heat the cranberries with some sugar on the stovetop, let cool and add to your glass of bubbly along with a couple of fresh orange slices.

Get the Recipe: Cranberry, Orange and Prosecco

Eggnog

If you think you're not an eggnog fan, that's probably because you've never had Alton Brown's homemade version. The creamy, custard-like base mixed with the spice of bourbon, dark rum and nutmeg is wintry bliss.

Get the Recipe: Eggnog

Cranberry Kir Royale

Ruby-red cranberries make an ideal seasonal ingredient star for holiday cocktails. Tyler adds fresh orange juice and zest to his homemade cranberry syrup for a bubbly beverage that brims with sweet-tart flavor.

Get the Recipe: Cranberry Kir Royale

Candy Cane Martini

These martinis are sweet and refreshing, with vodka, simple syrup, ginger and mint, but it's the playful peppermint-candy rim that really steals the show.

Get the Recipe: Candy Cane Martini

Tiffani's Hot Toddy

Tiffani sets her hot toddy apart by adding a subtle tinge of lavender in the form of infused honey. For even more floral flavor, she suggests garnishing the drink with dried lavender buds.

Get the Recipe: Tiffani's Hot Toddy

Coal in Your Stocking Cocktail

Despite its name, this vibrant cocktail from Alie Ward and Georgia Hardstark is more like a sippable gift. Dark, smoky whiskey and bitters are brightened by triple sec, candied citrus peels and a maraschino cherry –– like a fruitier take on a Manhattan.

Get the Recipe: Coal in Your Stocking Cocktail

Spiced Orange Mimosas

Nadia adds an exotic element to a mimosa by infusing orange juice with warm wintry spices, including clove, star anise and cardamom. Muddled lemon balm leaves provide another aromatic (and decorative) finishing touch.

Get the Recipe: Spiced Orange Mimosas

Ginger Rum Shandy

Chuck spices up his shandy for the holidays by adding rum to the beer-and-fruit-juice classic combo. Apple juice and slices as well as both grated and peeled ginger give it a distinctly wintry-warm flavor profile.

Get the Recipe: Ginger Rum Shandy

Bourbon Cider Sipper

Nicely spiced and topped with a clove-studded apple slice, this wintry cocktail looks as festive as it tastes. Bourbon lovers will delight in the strong presence of the rich, smoky liquor.

Get the Recipe: Bourbon Cider Sipper

Cranberry-Orange-Cinnamon Vodka Tonic

Spicy cinnamon vodka contrasts with citrusy orange in this surprisingly warm and spicy concoction. Muddled cranberries add an extra tangy punch and make for a visually appealing glass.

Get the Recipe: Cranberry-Orange-Cinnamon Vodka Tonic

Lemon Raspberry Fizz

Limoncello –– the liqueur made by steeping lemon peels in vodka for a couple weeks –– is synonymous with celebration in Italian culture. Here, Giada De Laurentiis combines the tart beverage with Champagne (though any sparkling white will do) and berries for a bright, bubbly flute.

Get the Recipe: Lemon Raspberry Fizz

Chocolate Espresso Martini

Dessert? Pick-me-up? Knock-you-down? This drink, which combines complementary espresso and chocolate, is sure to satisfy all three of those descriptors and add an indulgent punch to your holiday affair.

Get the Recipe: Chocolate Espresso Martini

Orange Clove Tequilarita (or "I Want Tequila My Relatives")

The anecdote to a house full of guests and the stresses of hosting? A tequila-based cocktail tempered by a variety of fresh and liqueur-based citrus flavors. A clove simple syrup infuses the drink with wintry warmth.

Get the Recipe: Orange Clove Tequilarita (or "I Want Tequila My Relatives")

Meshugana Macaroon

Meshugana is the Yiddish word for "crazy," and Alie and Georgia's cocktail has all kinds of crazy coconut flavor. To make their sweet and stylish sipper, shake a mixture of coconut rum, coconut creme, vanilla-infused vodka and a teaspoon of egg white (for a bit of festive froth), then pour into a chocolate-rimmed glass.

Get the Recipe: Meshugana Macaroon

Bellini Bar

Set up a Bellini bar for your guests to get the holiday off to a celebratory start. Make an assortment of fruit purees and syrups ahead of time so that all you have to do the morning-of is pop the Prosecco.

Get the Recipe: Bellini Bar

Ginger Cranberry Cocktail

Frozen cranberries and ginger-infused simple syrup bring the Christmas season straight to your glass (with vodka or gin, of course).

Get the Recipe: Ginger Cranberry Cocktail (Frozen Vodka or Gin)

Spiced Cabernet

Full-bodied red wine like Cabernet stands up to the flavors of orange, cinnamon and clove.

Get the Recipe: Spiced Cabernet

Prosecco Gold Rush

Kick your bubbly up a notch for the holidays with vodka and cinnamon schnapps.

Get the Recipe: Prosecco Gold Rush

Rum Hot Toddy

Sweetened with honey and a pinch of cinnamon sugar, a rum hot toddy is the perfect drink to welcome your holiday guests as they come in from the cold.

Get the Recipe: Rum Hot Toddy

Spiced Bourbon Pumpkin Milkshake

If you enjoy your holiday season pies spiked and sweetly spiced, this boozy pumpkin milkshake –– made with actual roasted or canned gourds –– is your ideal holiday drink (or drinkable dessert).

Get the Recipe: Spiced Bourbon Pumpkin Milkshake

Mulled Cider

Nigella's cider is simmered with spices and spiked with rum for a perfect seasonal sip.

Get the Recipe: Mulled Cider

Mexican Hot Chocolate

Traditional Mexican hot chocolate was whisked with a special wooden tool called a molinillo. Michael Chiarello suggests using a whisk or blender to make it light and foamy before serving.

Get the Recipe: Hot Spiced Mexican Hot Chocolate with Ice Cream Dusted with Chili Powder

The Chosen Wine - Kosher Mulled Glogg

Deeply hued (and flavored) kosher red and blackberry wines are quickly infused with a variety of seasonal spices and nutty amaretto liqueur for a full-bodied mulled beverage.

Get the Recipe: The Chosen Wine - Kosher Mulled Glogg

White Chocolate Cherry Martini

Garnished with a chocolate-covered cherry, the frothy cocktail looks and tastes sweet, but like any good martini, it also packs a punch.

Get the Recipe: White Chocolate Cherry Martini

Choco Mocha Mint Cocktail

This chocolate liqueur-spiked coffee, ideal for sipping by the fire on a wintry day, gets its refreshing mint flavor from three sources: peppermint schnapps, crushed candy canes and fresh mint leaves.

Get the Recipe: Choco Mocha Mint Cocktail

Butterscotch and Bourbon Cocktail

Mix whiskey with butterscotch schnapps and canned yams: The resulting shooter goes down sweet and smooth, easy as sweet potato pie.

Get the Recipe: Shoot A Wild Turkey Cocktail

Virgin Pomegranate and Cranberry Bellinis

For a family-friendly cocktail, whip up Giada's sweet-tart alcohol-free bellinis.

Get the Recipe: Virgin Pomegranate and Cranberry Bellinis

Egg Nog Milkshake

Bits of crumbled gingersnap cookies add extra zip to this creamy milkshake.

Get the Recipe: Egg Nog Milkshake

Mulled Cider

Kelsey Nixon sweetens her mulled cider with maple syrup, adding an extra layer of fall flavor to the family favorite. Add a splash of rum or bourbon for a more grown-up take.

Get the Recipe: Mulled Cider

Frothy Hot White Chocolate

We’re dreaming of a white Christmas; a white-chocolate Christmas, that is. A mug of Bobby Flay’s frothy white cocoa is the perfect drink for sipping on a lazy winter day.

Get the Recipe: Frothy Hot White Chocolate

Wassail

Toast to "good health" this holiday season with the spiced mixture of ale, apple and Madeira. Wassail was a popular holiday beverage during the Middle Ages and translates in Old English to that very blessing.

Get the Recipe: Wassail

Peppermint Hot Chocolate

Warm up with a rich cup of cocoa that's spiked with a few drops of peppermint oil.

Get the Recipe: Peppermint Hot Chocolate

Sgroppino

Debi and Gabriele drop a scoop of their homemade lemon sorbet into a glass of Prosecco for a drink that bubbles and foams with lemony flavor.

Get the Recipe: Sgroppino

Coquito: Puerto Rican Eggnog

Fresh coconut sets this Puerto Rican eggnog apart from the heavier, custard-like eggnog we're used to, and it brings a taste of the tropics to the holidays.

Get the Recipe: Coquito (Puerto Rican Eggnog)

Winter Sangria

Try a seasonal take on the Spanish classic made with champagne, sliced apples and pears, and spiced with cloves and nutmeg.

Get the Recipe: It's a Wonderful Sangria

Christmas Spirit Cocktail

A sprinkling of pomegranate seeds makes these ice-cold tequila shooters festive and helps to cut the bite of the strong liquor.

Get the Recipe: Christmas Spirit Cocktail

Hot Cocoa

Alton Brown's hot cocoa is artfully dark and delicious, and thanks to a powdered-milk base, it will keep indefinitely in an airtight container in your pantry.

Get the Recipe: Hot Cocoa

5-Spice on Ice

Take holiday spice to a whole new level by spiking a rum-and-bitters cocktail with Chinese 5 Spice: a blend of clove, cinnamon, star anise, fennel and Sichuan peppercorns.

Get the Recipe: 5-Spice on Ice

Spiked Raspberry Hot Chocolate

Aida makes a grown-up hot chocolate by mixing in a splash of Chambord and garnishing each mug with crystallized ginger.

Get the Recipe: Raspberry Hot Chocolate

Gingerbread Housed

Pour a mixture of amaretto, rum, molasses and cream into mugs decorated with frosting and candy for a liquid version of a gingerbread house.

Get the Recipe: Gingerbread Housed

Nini Bellini

Jamie Oliver loves classic Venetian bellinis, even when fresh peaches are out of season: "You can also get nice results using tinned (canned) peaches if you can't find beautifully ripe flat peaches," he says.

Get the Recipe: Nini Bellini

Grasshopper Pie Milkshake

Hedy combines two classic desserts — a buttery Southern chess pie and chocolate-mint candies — with the ingredients of a classic Grasshopper cocktail (mint, cream and creme de cacao) in one mind-bending, spiked milkshake.

Get the Recipe: "Grasshopper" Chocolate Mint Chess Pie/Milkshake

Red Velvet Cupcake Cocktail

These bright red cocktails are unapologetically festive and they taste like red velvet cake — no oven required — melted in a glass.

Get the Recipe: Red Velvet Cupcake Cocktail

Homemade Eggnog White Chocolate Hot Chocolate

Double your holiday pleasure with a mug of this recipe, which combines two favorite seasonal beverages. Made from chunks of white chocolate and filled with plenty of warm, seasonal spices, this drink has everything you need.

Get the Recipe: Homemade Eggnog White Chocolate Hot Chocolate