5 Fun Ways to Dress Up Cocktails for the Holidays

‘Tis the season to get into the holiday spirit! So, try some festive and delicious drink ideas. Here are a few of our favorites.

Make cotton candy cocktails

Get creative with cotton candy: It makes a gorgeous garnish on your glass of bubbly.

Another idea: Turn that sparkling wine into a festive cotton candy float by filling glasses with cotton candy. The presentation is fantastic when you pour the champagne in because it bubbles up and transforms into a pink drink.

Pour cocktails into Mason jars

Forget about playing bartender at your holiday party: Premake signature cocktails in mini mason jars, put them on ice, and let your guests help themselves.

Create drinks with holiday colors

Take classic drinks like cosmos and apple martinis and transform them into holiday cocktails with the simple addition of red or green sugared rims.

Add cranberries to ice cubes

Freeze cranberries in the ice cubes that you put in your ice bucket for a pop of holiday color. You can also stack cranberries on a wooden skewer for a holiday drink stirrer that doubles as a garnish.

Add coffee ice cubes to white Russians

Freeze leftover coffee into ice cubes to go into a white Russian. Your drink will never get watered down.

More holiday drink ideas

Use leftover herbs like rosemary and mint to make flavored simple syrups and take your craft cocktail to a whole new level. To make a simple syrup, bring 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to a boil, then let it cool. Use it to sweeten any cocktail you please.

If you’re infusing the herbs, throw them into the boiling water and strain them out after the syrup cools.

Another drink tip: Cool wine quickly with salt and ice. In a bucket, place the bottle of wine with ice, water and salt. The salt reduces the freezing point of water, which means the bottle of wine will be cool in less than six minutes.

December is National Eggnog Month, so step up the flavor profile of that holiday staple with the infusion of:

• Chocolate and cayenne: Just add some chocolate syrup and sprinkle some cayenne pepper on top.
• Pumpkin: Since pumpkin is popular all season long, add a couple of spoonfuls of fresh pumpkin puree with pumpkin pie spice to give even more health benefits to your eggnog.
• Lemon thyme: Adding lemon zest and thyme can cut the sweetness of your eggnog and add a lighter, refreshing taste.
• Peppermint: Garnish your eggnog with a candy cane and coat the rim with crushed candy canes for a pop of peppermint flavor.

Do you have holiday drink ideas of your own or other fun holiday tips to share? Comment below or on our Facebook page!