14 Holiday Drinks to Sip This Season

By Food & Wine
Updated November 09, 2020
Victor Protasio

When you’re entertaining for the holidays, you want your drinks to be just as festive as the menu. Sparkling punches; seasonal spritzes; warming mulled wine. We’ve gathered some of our favorite holiday drink recipes in this roundup, whether you’re in the mood for a cocktail spiked with cranberry or want to try your hand at homemade eggnog. Read on for even more holiday drinks to enjoy.

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Sticky Toffee Pudding Eggnog

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Eben Freeman’s foamy interpretation of eggnog—infused with the sweet, caramelly flavors of sticky toffee pudding, a British favorite—is halfway between a drink and a dessert. "It’s thick enough to eat with a spoon," he says. "So was classic eggnog."

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Cranberry-Spice Cocktail

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The abundant cranberries in this delicious concoction perfectly complement the hard cider and the Aperol.

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Sparkling Pomegranate Punch

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This bubbly, sweet-tart cocktail combines sparkling wine, dessert wine and deep-red pomegranate juice.

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Homemade Eggnog

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You’ll need brandy, dark rum, and bourbon to make this richly flavored eggnog.

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Frenched Hot Chocolate

Credit: © David Malosh
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"Chartreuse and chocolate is among the world's most underrated combinations," says Bobby Heugel. He melds the two ingredients in this boozy, rich hot chocolate.

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Anjou Punch

Credit: Nicole Franzen
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Leo Robitschek makes his perfect holiday punch with warming flavors of pear, cinnamon, and citrus.

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Sparkling Cranberry-Ginger Punch with Toasted Spices

Credit: Photo by Greg DuPree / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
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This low-alcohol punch leans on tart cranberry juice and spicy ginger ale for a big punch of flavor, allowing the booze to take a back seat. Frozen cranberries stand in for a traditional punch ring, keeping this fizzy drink nice and cold.

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Babbo Natale Spritz

Credit: Justin Walker
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A wintry take on a classic spritz, this cocktail is dry and tart from the cranberry liqueur with a layer of warming spice from the Contratto Aperitif.

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Citrus-Champagne Punch

Credit: Justin Walker
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Inspired by old-school 7-UP sherbet punch, this grown-up version is spiked with piney gin, tart lemon sorbet, and a generous splash of fizzy Champagne. This punch is only as good as the Champagne you use, so splurge for the good stuff!

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Spiced Maple Gimlets

Credit: Gregory DuPree
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With warm, rounded flavors like maple syrup and sarsaparilla, this gin cocktail is comforting and deeply flavored, rather than light and aromatic.

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Walker’s Mulled Wine

Credit: Greg DuPree
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This version of mulled wine, from Walkers Maine restaurant in Cape Neddick, Maine, is gently infused with nutmeg, vanilla, and star anise, then lightly sweetened with honey and maple syrup.

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Earl Grey–Aquavit Spritz

Credit: Victor Protasio
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Honey simple syrup is even easier to prepare than standard simple syrup; just vigorously stir together honey and water until well combined. The mellow, floral sweetness of the honey syrup pairs perfectly a touch of lemon in this tea-infused cocktail.

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Smoky Mezcal-Fig Sour

Credit: Victor Protasio
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The spicy-sweet fig-ginger syrup rounds out the smoky mezcal and bright lemon juice in this cocktail. Mezcal is still the dominant flavor in this barely sweet drink that lets the liquor shine.

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Clementine 75

Credit: John Kernick
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This juicy cocktail is a riff on a classic French 75, but instead of using lemon juice, Food & Wine’s Justin Chapple swaps in clementine juice. The best part of this drink is that it also makes an excellent mocktail: Use apple cider vinegar and seltzer instead of the gin and Champagne.

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