Holiday Cocktails for Events, With a Splash of Mocktails

Hotel mixologists far and wide have rolled out end-of-the-year bar menus with creative options for business, neighborhood and family parties. These cocktails and mocktails are perfect for any seasonal celebration you're planning.

Cocktails

What Santa Drinks

From Area 31 at the Kimpton Epic Hotel in Miami 
 
Ingredients

• 1 ounce Hennessy cognac
• 1/2 ounce Licor 43  
• 1/2 ounce Grand Marnier 
• 1/2 ounce spiced simple syrup
• 1/4 ounce vanilla syrup 

Instructions

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass and serve in a coupe glass with a sugared rim. Garnish with orange zest peels.

Mistletoe Mojito

From 1923 Prohibition Bar, the hidden speakeasy inside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino

Ingredients

• 1.5 ounces Smirnoff Strawberry 
• 0.5 ounce lime juice 
• 1 barspoon of strawberry preserves 
• Club soda 
• Mint for garnish
  
  

Instructions

Add all ingredients except the club soda in mixing glass. Shake and strain over clean ice into Collings glass. Top with club soda. Garnish with mint. 

Snickerdoodle Martini

From the Brown Palace Hotel & Spa in Denver

Ingredients

• 2 ounces Belvedere vodka
• 1/2 ounce St. George Nola coffee liqueur
• 1 ounce Baileys Irish cream
• 1/2 ounce demerara sugar syrup

Instructions

Pour ingredients in a shaker, mix well, and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a dash of cinnamon and a cinnamon stick.

Sparkling Summit

From the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Ingredients

• 3/4 ounce cranberry juice
• 1/2 ounce Absolut Vanilla Vodka
• 1/2 ounce Grand Marnier
• Splash of Prosecco

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and strain into a Champagne flute. Top with Prosecco and garnish with a spiral orange twist.

Spiked Hot Chocolate

From the St. Regis New York in New York City

Ingredients

• 3 cups whole milk
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate powder 
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, to taste
• Pinch of kosher salt (optional)
• 2 ounces bourbon, to taste
• Toasted marshmallows for garnish

Instructions

Place milk and cinnamon in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, whisking occasionally and making sure the milk doesn’t boil, about 10 minutes.

Whisk in chocolate, sugar, and salt, and simmer, whisking frequently, until mixture is smooth and creamy and the chocolate has melted, about 5 minutes. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring cup; discard cinnamon.

Add the bourbon to the hot chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Divide among mugs, then top with toasted marshmallows.

Mocktails

Coco Loco Celebration

From Ms. Jigger at the Kimpton Ma-Lai Bangkok

Ingredients

• 1 ounce coconut juice
• .75 ounce lemon juice
• 1 ounce apple juice
• .35 ounce millileters lychee syrup
• 1 ounce Lemon Perrier sparkling water 

Instructions

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and strain into a Champagne flute that has been painted with a glucose mix using edible blue color.

Snowed In 

From 1923 Prohibition Bar, the hidden speakeasy inside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino

Ingredients

• 1.5 ounces cold-brew coffee 
• .75 ounce maple syrup 
• 1 ounce half-and-half
• Club soda 
• Cola 
• Powdered sugar/nutmeg

Instructions

Add coffee, syrup and half and half in a mixing glass. Shake and strain over clean ice into a rocks glass. Top with club soda and a splash of cola. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and nutmeg.