Three Cocktails to Liven up your Holidays

It's 5:00 somewhere... am I right??  Today I'm participating in the link up party at The Lovely Cupboard, where there is bound to be quite a few yummy cocktail recipes abound!

After getting our new bar cart, I went wild at BevMo, so we are stocked to the gills with delicious holiday beverage accouterments.... everything from brandied cherries (these are just AMAZING in a manhattan), to flavored syrups, whiskey, vodka, mixers, and LOTS of champagne... 

To keep things feeling festive, I've devised three holiday cocktails to perpetuate that warm feeling of holiday cheer (or is that warm feeling from taste-testing three different cocktails in the afternoon...)

The hard part about this post wasn't coming up with three cocktails, but, actually limiting myself to just three!!  I had a little too much fun with this one!

The first cocktail up, is the Rose "merry" and Cranberry Cooler... ya like that name??

I, for one, LOVE mixing savory and sweet flavors, and the rosemary in this recipe gives this cocktail a nice earthy balance.  

It also could not be easier to concoct this bad boy, and it's as delicious as it is pretty!  I mean come on... red and green??  It doesn't get more festive!

Ingredients:
  - Vodka
  - Unsweetened Cranberry Juice
  - Simple Syrup
  - Rosemary
  - Ice
  - Campari

Directions:
Muddle Rosemary in your cocktail shaker.  Pour in one part vodka, two parts unsweetened cranberry juice, one part simple syrup, and 1/2 part Campari.  Add 4 large ice cubes, and stir 30 seconds.  Strain into martini class (or here, I used a pretty crystal coupe from my mama).

This drink is sweet, but also bitter (from the campari) and a bit sour from the cranberry juice, and earthy from the rosemary.  It's a little TOO good...

If you're not a fan of Campari, just leave it out - I made a second version without it, and it was also absolutely delish!

Next up, is the Orange & Mango Fizz...   This is a bit of a twist on the classic mimosa, but the bitters and the mango spice it up a bit... 

Ingredients

  - 1 orange wedge

  - 2 1/2 cups sparkling wine, prosecco or champagne

  - 3/4 cup mango nectar

  - 1 teaspoon orange bitters

  - orange zest twists, for garnish

Directions

In a large pitcher, combine the wine, mango nectar, and bitters. Serve in a champagne flutes, and garnish with an orange zest twist.

It literally could not be easier, and this serves four! Perfect for Christmas morning if you ask me, and aside from the mango, most people have everything else on hand already!  If you don't usually keep bitters on hand, you should start!  Great in food (mainly sauces, soups and broths as an aromatic) and drinks.

Finally, onto dessert.... err... I mean dessert drinks.  

The Snowy White Russian is so sweet and yummy, you'll want to skip the fig pudding... or yule log... or grandma's fudge, or whatever traditional Christmas dessert you have!

Ingredients

  - Vodka

  - Kahlua

  - Milk (I've used non-fat before, but 2% is better)

  - Chocolate Syrup

  - Whipped Cream

Directions

Combine one part vodka, one part kahlua, and one part milk in a glass, stir.  Add three large ice cubes, and top with whipped cream and chocolate syrup.

You can thank me later.

Making this one totally took me back to my college days - my girlfriends and I would make these on a regular basis, regardless of season, and now I remember why.  They are SO GOOD.

I mean... YUM!!  Can we get a close-up glamour shot here??

Ohhh yeahhhh... nom nom...

And how cute are these glasses?

Kris got them from his sister as a birthday present, and I'm kind of obsessed (they originally came from Restoration Hardware although I can't find them online anymore).  They are labeled to measure out how much "medicine" you might need after a grueling day of caroling, or an especially brutal snowball fight...

Super cute, right??

So that's it!!  Do you have any favorite holiday beverages??  Mulled cider?  Mulled wine?  Some sort of yummy whiskey cocktail??  A hot toddy???  I could go all day people!

May your holiday's be merry and bright(er) with these fun cocktail recipes!

xoxo

Gin and Blood Orange Sparkler

Source

Does this look refreshing or what??

I've never been a big "gin" person, but I recently had a gin cocktail and it was AMAZING.  I think I might be a convert!  Gin is really herbal (I've always thought it tasted a little like the pine needles of a Christmas tree), so with fresh herbs (like the rosemary in this cocktail) it's really delicious.  If you hate rosemary, this is not the drink for you, but it's easy enough to leave it out!

If you've never tried rosemary in a drink, you must - it might sound weird, but it's awesome.  My first experience with an herbal cocktail was at a friend's wedding.  Her signature drink was a pear martini with rosemary.  OMG... SOOOOO good.  Maybe that will be the next drink I feature on here, but as blood oranges are "in season" let's stick with the topic... shall we?

Here's what you'll need:

2 cups water

1 cup sugar

4 tablespoons (~2 sprigs-worth) fresh rosemary leaves 

blood oranges

gin

ice cubes

tonic water (or sparkling water)

Directions:

Combine the water, sugar and rosemary in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer for 3-5 minutes, or long enough for the sugar to dissolve, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and let the herbs infuse for 10 minutes. Strain into a jar to cool completely.  This is essentially simple syrup, infused with rosemary.  Easy peasy.

While that's going on the stove, juice and strain your oranges, you'll need 1.5 oz of juice for each drink.

To make each drink combine equal parts gin, juice, and tonic water with a bit of syrup and ice. So, 1.5 oz gin, 1.5 oz freshly squeezed blood orange juice, and 1-2 teaspoons of the rosemary syrup in each highball glass. Stir to combine, fill each glass 2/3 full with ice and top off with 3 tablespoons / 1 1/2 oz tonic water. Stir again and you're set.  This could also be mixed with the ice in a cocktail shaker and strained into martini glasses if you prefer.

Prep time: 5 min - Cook time: 10 min

Grapefruit and Rosemary Holiday Cocktail

I love me a good cocktail, and as work gets hectic towards the end of the year, sometimes I love me a good STRONG cocktail.

Please meet my new favorite after work friend - the Grapefruit and Rosemary Holiday Cocktail.  You will love me forever once you try!

From Taste of the South, Christmas Cooking Southern Style 2010

Ingredients

1/4 cup crushed ice

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

1 (1/4-inch-thick) slice grapefruit

1 1/2 ounces vodka

4 ounces seltzer water

Garnish: grapefruit slices and rosemary sprigs

Directions

In a cocktail shaker, muddle together ice and rosemary

Add grapefruit slice, and muddle again

Pour vodka and seltzer water over muddled grapefruit mixture

Strain into a glass. Serve with ice, (if desired), or serve it up in a martini glass

Garnish with a grapefruit slice and a rosemary sprig (to be fancy, of course)

**For whiskey lovers, vodka can be substituted with Bourbon - a totally different drink, but equally delicious.  A lesson I learned when we ran out of Vodka.

Cocktail Hour - we are bringing it back!

The boomer generation really knew how to live - cocktail hour at 5:00 each day?  Yes please!! Let's be honest...after a long day at work, I'm dying for a glass of wine, or a strong drink.  In our apartment, the wine bottles are displayed in a wine hutch in the dining room, but the liqueur is hidden out of sight - dark alcohol in the cabinets, clear in the freezer.  Honestly, Grey Goose and Makers Mark have left something to be desired in the packaging department, but few decanters easily bring elegance back to the scene. 

Highstreet Market

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If you want to splurge, check out Macys or Bloomingdales for the ever classic Waterford or Lenox.  If you are like me - on a strict budget (thank you honey) - check out Homegoods or Ross for a cut glass version - you could probably score something in the $20 range.  You aren't going to get that rush of, "wow I own something fancy" when you purchase, but you will get the rush of "wow, I just saved a ton of money for something that looks darn close to crystal." 

Think a bar cart isn't really your style?  Think again!  "Retro" is back in a big way - the theme of every wedding I see is "Vintage".  I am seeing more and more patterns on fabrics, pillows, and wallpaper that I recognize from my grandmother's house.  Heck, Banana Republic came out with a Mad Men inspired collection this year!

To the core, my taste is classic contemporary, HOWEVER you have to admit that retro inspired pieces always look super interesting and totally cool!   It's totally out of my comfort zone for decor, but its exciting, and I kind of love it... in my humble opinion, it's a total compliment to classic OR modern decor.  LOVE!