Michele StuevenIt’s been a year of ups and downs: labor crises, atmospheric rivers, Barbenheimer and Birria Ramen. There have been winners and losers, and it’s that time of year to regroup, reflect and recharge for the New Year. Here are 10 cocktail recipes to ring in 2024 as you watch the ball drop and think of good things to come.
‘Tis the Tea-son
Tis the Tea-son
Recipe courtesy of Pamela Wiznitzer for Ketel One Vodka
Ingredients
For eight servings:
12 oz Ketel One vodka
24 oz Earl Grey tea
4 oz fresh squeezed orange juice
2 oz lemon juice
8 oz dark brown sugar syrup*
Garnish: lemon wheels and orange peels
Method
Heat up and prepare the tea first. For every 12 oz of water, use two Earl Grey tea bags. Create the tea and allow the tea bags to over-steep for about 10 minutes.
In a pot, add all of the ingredients (including the nutmeg) and allow it to sit on low for 5-10 minutes until hot.
Serve in a mug and place the lemon wheel and orange peel into the glass for garnish.
PRO TIP: If making this hot punch for a group, prep the tea earlier in the day and once steeped and cooled, combine all of the ingredients into a pitcher and place in the fridge. Store up to 24 hours before serving and place onto the stovetop for 30 minutes to warm before serving.
Sub-Recipe:
*dark brown sugar syrup:
Combine 1 cup brown sugar with 1 cup of warm or hot water.
Stir until dissolved and store in the fridge for up to three weeks.
If you’re yearning for a delightful holiday cocktail that skips the alcohol but not the flavor, try this one out of chef Ashish Alfred’s recipe book.
No Hangover Holiday Refresher
Ingredients:
1 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup coconut water
1 Tablespoon agave syrup
Sliced kiwi and pineapple for garnish
Crushed ice
Mix and pour over ice.
El Curandero
Ingredients:
1.50 oz. Hedonistas Espadin mezcal
0.75 oz. Damiana liqueur
1.00 oz. Fresh lime juice
0.75 oz. Light agave nectar
1 pinch Pink Himalayan sea salt
Garnish: Edible flower
Glassware: Margarita glass
Method:
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass or tin and shake well over ice. Strain into a margarita glass over an ice sphere. Garnish.
Last Rite (Courtesy Hedonistas de la Fe Mezcal)
Last Rite No. 1
Ingredients:
0.75 oz Hedonistas Espadin mezcal
0.75 oz Yellow Chartreuse or Licore Strega
0.75 oz Italicus Rosolio di Bargamotto
0.75 oz Fresh lemon juice
Garnish: Lemon peel, lemon peel oils
Glassware: Nick & Nora or Coupe
Method:
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass or tin and shake over ice. Strain the contents straight up into a chilled Nick & Nora or coupe glass. Garnish.
Select Americano
Ingredients:
1.5 oz Select Aperitivo
1.5 oz Sweet vermouth
4 oz soda water
Garnish: Orange slice and green olive
Glass: Highball
Ice: Cubes
Rosso Antico Vermouth recommended
Method:
Combine Select Aperitivo and vermouth over ice in a glass. Fill with soda. Stir gently.
Hendrick’s Hot Spiced Apple
Ingredients:
1 1/4 parts Hendrick’s Gin
5 parts Spiced apple juice
2 cloves, two crushed cardamoms, two star anise, two crushed juniper berries, peel of one orange
Garnish: Apple and nutmeg
Method:
Simmer Hendrick’s apple juice and spices in a saucepan. Serve in a teacup and garnish with three slices of apple and a dusting of nutmeg.
Hot Gin Old Fashioned
Ingredients:
2 parts Hendrick’s Gin
1/4 parts sugar syrup
3 dashes of orange bitters
2 parts boiling water with a twist of orange
Method:
Gently heat the first three ingredients in a pan. Add 50 ml boiling water. Serve in a stein or teacup and garnish with an orange twist.
Hot Rum Toddy (Courtesy Bacardi)
Ingredients:
1 ½ oz BACARDÍ Gold Rum
3 oz of hot water
¼ oz of honey
1 lemon wedge
Method:
Pour hot water into a tempered glass mug. Squeeze the lemon wedge into the water, add honey, and stir until the honey is dissolved. Add rum, and stir gently. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and a lemon slice.
Santa Teresa 1796 Cider Punch
Ingredients:
1-gallon apple cider. Filtered/cold-pressed is best.
16 oz Santa Teresa Speyside Whisky Cask Finish
¼-½ cup of brown sugar
1 tsp ground allspice
2-3 tsp whole cloves
2 small oranges, cut in half
6” Ceylon cinnamon
Method:
Combine all in a punch bowl. Stir vigorously.
Why not fly into the New Year with a riff on a Paper Plane?
Ingredients:
1 part Barenjager Honey Bourbon
1 part Aperol
1 part Nonino Amaro
1 part fresh lemon juice
Method:
Shake all ingredients in an iced mixing tin and garnish with a paper plane and dehydrated orange
Paper Plane
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