Festive Holiday Party Drink Recipes

At her bar Myrtle's Punch House in Cincinnati, Molly Wellman serves a mix of new and historical punches. Dating to the 1800s, this recipe is easy, breezy, pink and fruity—and still completely sophisticated.

Jerry Thomas’ Champagne Punch

This festive gin cocktail gets its sweet-tart flavor from maple syrup and Meyer lemon juice. The recipe comes from the Chowgirls Killer Catering cookbook. Feeling fancy? Garnish each glass with a sage leaf or, at the holidays, sugared cranberries.

Sage Woodstock 

Melted Nutella. Need we say more? Our updated version of hot chocolate is made in a slow cooker, just for kicks, and after cooking, can be kept on the warm setting for one hour.

Caramel-Hazelnut Café Mocha

No offense to the classic mimosa, but not everyone wants to booze with their brunch. Enter the Darling Clementine, a tart, fizzy, deliciously pink, nonalcoholic alternative to classic morning cocktails.

Darling Clementine Mocktail

We converted shot measures used by P.J. Barrera at Jake's Old City Grill to standard kitchen measures (a shot equals 1.25 ounces) in this lovely purple-blue holiday martini. It's as smooth as Frank Sinatra's voice.

Old Blue Eyes Martini

Rub the rims of cocktail glasses with orange wedges and dip in a mix of coarse red and gold sugars for added flair.

Cool cocktail: In a large pitcher, mix 2 cups ruby red grapefruit juice and 1 cup chilled tangerine- or clementine-flavor vodka. Slowly stir in a 750-ml bottle of chilled rose Prosecco. 

Molly Wellman of Cincinnati's Myrtle's Punch House shares the legend behind this drink: A British admiral stranded in Spain over Christmas 1694 ordered his crew to assemble a massive punch in a courtyard fountain. Bacchanalia ensued. Consider yourself warned: This splurge of a drink is strong. But it’s also nutmeggy, citrusy and wonderfully spirited in every sense. 

Admiral Russell’s Punch

Stir up a pitcher of these rosy margaritas for your next holiday bash. The Simple Syrup recipe makes enough syrup for 30 margaritas but is easily halved or quartered.

Cranberry Margarita

At The Rieger in Kansas City, bartenders prepare this dead-simple, gingery cocktail with J. Rieger & Co. KC Whiskey—but any rye or blended whiskey will work!

Horsefeather recipe

Pretty in pink, yes, but this sweet drink has bite, too, thanks to grapefruit’s subtle bitterness and the woodsy notes of gin and rosemary. This recipe makes enough rosemary-infused syrup for several cocktails.

Rosemary-Grapefruit Gin Cocktail

Elsie Larson and Emma Chapman of the blog A Beautiful Mess share one of their favorite holiday sippers, eggnog spiked with vanilla vodka and amaretto.

Egg Nog Martini

The bubbly refresher is our version of a popular sipper at Marshall Field's Oak Grill in Minneapolis.

Poinsettia Mimosas

Part punch, part cocktail, this effervescent pink drink is perfect for holiday parties. If you don't have ginger beer or prefer a milder ginger flavor, substitute ginger ale.

Jolly Gin Fizz

Cheer the holidays with bold Blue Blue Christmas Cocktail -- a combination of vodka or rum, white cranberry juice, blue Curacao and lime juice.

Blue Blue Christmas Cocktail

Brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, butter, vanilla, egg—it’s like a rich, drinkable cookie. Our slow cooker twist on classic eggnog can be kept on the warm setting for one hour.

Oatmeal Cream Pie

Transform bubbly into a dessert drink by swapping traditional swizzle sticks for jewel-like rock candy.

Big party coming up? Offer guests Cranberry-Raspberry Spritz, which includes a make-ahead syrup base (enough for 80 servings!) and either champagne, carbonated water or lemon-lime carbonated beverage.

Cranberry-Raspberry Spritz

This blend of cranberry juice, juice concentrate, spices, orange juice and water simmers in your slow cooker.

Mulled Cranberry Punch

Spiced rum, red apple liqueur and cranberry juice add spicy fruit flavor to this crimson drink from Blue Plate Catering of Chicago.

Red Apple Crisp

Chocolate, coffee, orange juice, ice cream and strawberries bring fresh flavors and colors to our eggnog recipes. The recipe for Chocolate Eggnog Deluxe (top right and lower left) also includes ideas for Double Chocolate and Nonalcoholic Chocolate versions; Holiday Orange-Eggnog Punch can be made with strawberries or strawberry ice cream for Strawberry Eggnog.

Deluxe eggnogs

Holiday Orange-Eggnog Punch

Breathe deeply. This spiced cider tea from the slow cooker doubles as aromatherapy. After cooking, the cider can be kept on the warm setting for one hour.

Chai-Maple Cider

Berry vodka, pomegranate liqueur and cranberry juice bring a blush to this drink from Jake's Old City Grill, Saginaw City, Michigan.

Seduction Martini

Liqueurs and fruit juice balance nicely in this beautiful green drink from a Schaumburg, Illinois, restaurant.

Indian Summer Cocktail

Peppermint and chocolate give this splashy, nonalcoholic drink a festive, flavorful edge.

Chocolate Milk Shake Cocktail

This martini features a combination of pomegranate juice, orange liqueur, lime juice and vodka. Decorate glasses by rubbing the rims with a lime, then dipping in red and white sugar.

Pomegranate Martini

Skip mixing cocktails, and instead dress up  a simple flute of sparkling wine with a sprig of fresh rosemary and a few pomegranate arils. (Guests can even garnish their own drinks.)

Freeze a base of ice cream, butter, sugar and spices, then combine with rum and boiling water when you're ready to serve our Hot Buttered Rum.

Pear nectar, honey, an orange and spices flavor easy-to-make Spiced Pear Tea.

Hot Buttered Rum

Spiced Pear Tea

For a pretty party presentation: Press thin slices of fruit (such as kiwi fruit, strawberries, oranges, seedless grapes and/or maraschino cherries) against the sides of 6- to 10-ounce rocks glasses. Cover and place in freezer. Check after 20 to 30 minutes and replace any fruit that has fallen off the sides of the glasses. Freeze for 4 hours or overnight. When ready to serve add a little ice and your favorite clear carbonated beverage. If you want to add a little color, drizzle some grenadine over the top.

This sparkling drink is perfect to serve before or after dinner. For a nonalcoholic version, use the gingered syrup (without the vodka) in sparkling water or sparking cider.

Twinkling Ginger Champagne Punch

This quick and easy drink combines cranberry-juice cocktail with apple cider or apple juice, cloves, and cinnamon. Garnish with a skewer of cranberries, if you like.

Spiced Apple-Cranberry Cider

This ruby-red beverage gets its kick from tequila. If you'd prefer a nonalcoholic option, use lemon-lime carbonated beverage instead of the tequila.

Punch with a Punch

This crimson, two-ingredient beverage is equally at home at a brunch or evening get-together. Use a less expensive rum for this no-fuss cocktail.

Spirited Cranberry-Rum Punch

Udo Heinz from the Baum Wine Group in Bensenville, Illinois, says he fixes this German/Austrian specialty in the traditional Nuremberg way: hot, a bit sweet and spiced. We created both an adult and a nonalcoholic "kinder" (kids') version using directions from Udo.

Gluhwein (Hot Mulled Wine)