6 new holiday co*cktails you need to drink right now (2024)

Southern Exposure

Mike Scheel, The Amsterdam Bar (Dallas)
Because juleps are legally only permitted to be consumed on front porches, Scheel devised a winter companion that'd feel right at home in front of a fireplace, though the champagne suggests you're not just sitting in an easy chair, but rather mingling at a holiday party filled with southern belles and dudes in whatever kinds of suits they wear when seersucker goes out of season.

Slow Your Roll

Pamela Wiznitzer, President, United States Bartenders' Guild New York Chapter

When winter hits nobody ever tells you to "fast your roll", partly because it's a silly thing to say, but also because this really is the season for kicking back. "The nuttiness of the Disaronno is perfect this time of year," says Wiznitzer. "Using that as the base, I added the bourbon because of its wheatiness and vanilla tones, honey and orgeat to amplify the Disaronno, and Amaro Montenegro to enhance and round out the co*cktail with some caramel and bitterness." The citrus was added to make the drink pop, because while you want your roll to slow, you don't want it to come to a complete stop.

The Gracious Widow

Benjamin Schiller, The Berkshire Room (Chicago)
Schiller named the drink after Disaronno's origin story: in the early 1500s, a painter became enchanted with a young widow in the village of Saronno. She graciously allowed him to paint her, then graciously created the liqueur to thank him for doing the very thing she graciously allowed. As for the recipe: "To increase the alcohol, while maintaining the rich caramel flavor, I used a Guyanan rum that is a universal crowd pleaser. Demerara syrup was used to preserve the viscosity, and fresh lemon juice is used to balance the co*cktail with bright acidity. Grapefruit swathes, orange bitters, and potable bitters (either Aperol, Amer Picon, Amer Bigallet, or Luxardo Aperitivo) are used to both mirror the stone fruit notes with other fruit notes, as well as to provide a small touch of bitterness that will give this sour format co*cktail some body."

Linus and Lucy

Tyler Stevens, Teardrop co*cktail Lounge (Portland)
"When I was a kid, my Mom always made the most delicious apple cider during the holidays," explains Stevens of his Charlie Brown Christmas-evoking co*cktail. "She would add a little amaretto, cinnamon, and cranberries for some extra holiday flavor -- I suppose this would be my grown-up version. Also, I think thyme has such an awesome flavor affinity with apple. I threw just a few sprigs on top to lend a distinguished, spicy, floral aroma to the drink." [Editor's Note: as regards the drink name, let us also not forget that nothing says "'tis the seaon" like jaunty jazz piano.]

Belle de Jour

Kimberly Patton-Bragg, The Three Muses (New Orleans)
Okay, you're about to learn something: "I decided to do this co*cktail for Réveillon on the Rocks, due to its rich, red, holiday color and decadent ingredients," says KPB. And what exactly is Réveillon? "Réveillon was a Christmas Eve feast held after a day of fasting. In New Orleans we've continued the European tradition (however, we're not too good at the fasting part). What can be more celebratory than cognac, amaro, champagne and Disaronno, all sealed with a kiss?"

The Tipple Dog Dare

Michael Fitzgerald, Crave Kitchen and co*cktails (Charleston)
Fitzgerald "culled the memory banks" for a solid Christmas Story reference to name a drink that "brings together the flavors of a classic (well, my mom’s) cranberry relish recipe in the form of a shrub, and also introduces a few other flavors that come to mind when I think about the holidays: fruits and herbs that thankfully play very nicely with the almond and apricot flavors of Amaretto." This one's pretty complicated, but if you've got the inclination, go for it -- even if you botch it, you probably won't shoot your eye out.