Star Chefs' Favorite Holiday Cocktails

"I love the tradition of the Tom & Jerry cups and mugs, the fact that it’s like an eggnog but it’s not, it’s delicious in its own way—and that the cups are little, they hold just enough to warm you up." —Barbara Lynch, No. 9 Park

"It’s Puerto Rico’s version of eggnog. It’s made like a crème anglaise, except with coconut milk instead of milk. The milk is cooked with egg yolks to thicken it, then finished with rum and cinnamon. Everyone drinks eggnog, but Coquito is a different ball game, with the richness of the coconut and the rum." —Kevin Sbraga, Sbraga

"I love Negronis—they’re not too sweet, they’ve got a little bitterness, so they wake up the palate nicely. For something a little different, a Negroni on the rocks made with the artichoke liqueur Cynar instead of Campari, is really nice to start a meal." —Jenn Louis, Lincoln

"I first had one when I arrived in the States. I always associate it with the holidays. Even though it’s served chilled, there’s something warming and festive about it." —Fabio Trabocchi, Fiola da Fabio Trabocci

"Eggnog, definitely. That’s one the first tastes I remember when I first arrived in Edmonton, Canada, from Vietnam in 1979. I tasted it and thought, 'Oh, my God, what is this? I’m hooked.'" —Eric Banh, Monsoon

"Spiced cranberry sangria is a go-to for me during the holidays. It’s festive. Using rosé instead of red wine makes it even more refreshing. Plus, it’s not super-boozy, which is a good thing for holiday parties, when people sometimes overindulge." —Jose Garces, Amada

"I love a mulled cider, something on the stove that makes the house smell good, maybe with some blood orange and clove." —Megan Garrelts, Bluestem

"It’s nice to float slices of blood orange, whole disks of the fruit either in the pitcher or in the glass, or both. That look is just holiday to me." —Dean Fearing, Fearing's

I love to make a cava cocktail with half pomegranate, half grapefruit juice. It’s fun to pick out the pomegranate seeds with my daughters. You can buy perfectly good pomegranate juice, but fresh pomegranate juice from freshly smashed pomegranate seeds is unbelievable. —José Andrés, Minibar

"Sometimes during the holidays you eat so much heavy food, it’s nice to drink something a little lighter. It’s also a great daytime drink to have at brunch or other daytime family get-togethers. It’s originally a Brazilian drink, and Brazil is such a festive country. Plus cranberry is such a fall taste—it’s classic drink with fun fall fruit." —Marcus Samuelsson, Red Rooster

"Over the holidays, for some reason, I don’t know why, my favorite drink is an old-fashioned. For Christmas I always bring a bottle of Woodford Reserve or Knob Creek over and I make old-fashioneds for my brothers and my dad." —Ethan Stowell, How to Cook a Wolf