Ah… Christmas. The cards are sent, your wallet is empty, the post-Christmas cruise for your parents is booked. You’ve been stampeded in Macy’s, JC Penny, Barney’s, Bloomingdale, Toys’R’Us, Best Buy and even the downstairs bodega. Don’t you need a good drink? We thought so. Behold the CP list of high-octane Christmas cocktails to tide you over until New Year's Eve.
Chocolate Peppermint Martini
1/4 oz Peppermint Absolut vodka
1/4 oz chocolate liqueur
1 oz chocolate vodka
Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Add crushed ice and let stand for five seconds. Shake vigorously for five seconds. Strain into martini glass. Garnish with Hershey's Chocolate Kiss and mint leaf.
Peppermint Martini
3 oz Absolut Peppermint
1 oz white Crème de Menthe
Pour both ingredients into a cocktail shaker half-filled with cracked ice. Shake well, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a sprig of mint, and serve.
Eggnog Martini
1 oz eggnog
1 oz amaretto
1 oz vodka
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and mix well. Strain and serve.
Christmas Punch
4 cups cranberry juice cocktail
8 cups prepared lemonade
2 cups orange juice
4 oz jar maraschino cherries
1 (2 liter) bottle ginger ale
1 orange, sliced in rounds
In a large punch bowl, combine cranberry juice cocktail, lemonade and orange juice. Stir in the maraschino cherries. Refrigerate for 2 hours or more. When ready to serve, pour in the ginger ale. Garnish each glass with an orange slice.
Very Rich Hot Buttered Rum
1 lb butter
1 lb powdered sugar
1 lb brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 qt vanilla ice cream (at room temperature)
1 1/2 oz rum
boiling water
nutmeg
Cream together everything, then put in the freezer until needed. To serve, add rum, 2 tablespoons batter (or more) and fill with boiling water to fill cup. Sprinkle with nutmeg.
Oranges and Cream
1 oz butterscotch caramel liqueur
1 oz Grand Marnier
1 oz Amarula cream liqueur
caramel syrup
Pour liqueurs in a shaker filled with ice and shake till cold. Pour straight over ice in a martini glass that was drizzled with caramel syrup.
Krupnik (hot vodka with honey)
2 cups sugar
2 tbsp of cold water
4 cups boiling water
1 small cinnamon stick
10 peppercorns
20 allspice berries
1/4 vanilla bean, sliced and scraped
1/4 nutmeg, grated
2 cloves
1 orange rind or lemon slice
1 1/3 cups honey
2 cups vodka
Heat sugar in 2 Tbsp of water until it dissolves, then stir in the boiling water. Add vanilla bean, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon stick, peppercorns, and allspice berries. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain the caramel mixture and return to the pan. Stir in honey and orange rind or lemon and heat, stirring, until the honey has completely dissolved. Bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and gradually stir vodka. Serve hot or cold.
Apple Pie
1 gallon apple cider
1/2 gallon apple juice
2 cups sugar
5 cinnamon sticks
2 cups Everclear
Heat first three ingredients to dissolve sugar. Once it has cooled, add Everclear. Add 1-2 cinnamon sticks per glass bottle. Pour into glass bottles. Makes 2 1/2 Gal.
Après Ski Hot Chocolate With Brandy and Cream
Hot Chocolate
1 liter whole milk
200 grams 70% cocoa solids chocolate, broken into small pieces
2 tbsp brown sugar
4-5 tbsp brandy
1-2 tbsp ground cinnamon, to taste
6 tbsp whipped cream
4 tsp cocoa powder or ground cinnamon
cinnamon stick, for stirrers (optional)
Gently boil milk in a large heavy based saucepan, remove as boiling point is reached. Place chocolate in a small pan and add 2 tablespoons of the milk. Stir over a low heat until melted, then add the melted chocolate mixture into the remaining milk, stirring well. Add the sugar, cinnamon and brandy. Adjust to taste at this point. Serve the brandy hot chocolate in tall heatproof glasses or mugs, top with a dollop of whipped cream lightly dusted with cocoa powder or cinnamon. Stir with a cinnamon stick.
