With the holidays coming up quickly, it is important to start planning for all of those holiday parties, celebrations and merriment. As you begin gathering information for your upcoming holiday party, here are six holiday drink recipe ideas to help make your Chicago Christmas or holiday party a festive blast.
Holiday Drink Ideas for Cold, Chicago Winter Parties
- Hot Buttered Rye—you will need 1 cup of heavy cream, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, ¼ cup of rye whiskey, 6 tablespoons of hot water, 2 tablespoons of ginger liqueur and freshly grated nutmeg. Beat the heavy cream and maple syrup at medium speed until mixed to the consistency of softened butter. Cover and chill for up to 24 hours. Pour the whiskey, water and liqueur into a heatproof cup, top with a ¼ cup of the maple-cream mixture and finish with freshly grated nutmeg.
- Apple-Ale Wassail—collect two 12-oz. bottles of ale, 2 cups of apple cider, 1 cup of port, 1 cup of lemonade ¾ cup of firmly-packed light brown sugar, 1 diced apple, 2 whole allspice cloves, 2 cinnamon sticks, 6 whole cloves, 1/8 teaspoon of ground cardamom, and lemon wedges and cinnamon sticks for garnish. Stir together all ingredients with the exception of the garnishes in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours, until hot. Serve in mugs with garnishes.
- Citrus Sangria—combine two 750 mL bottles of white zinfandel, 4 cups of grape juice, 1 sliced orange, 1 sliced lemon and 1 sliced lime. Serve over ice.
- Homemade Eggnog—gather 6 cups of milk, 2 cup of heavy cream, 1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, 12 pasteurized egg yolks, 2 cups of sugar, a bottle of praline or bourbon liqueur and freshly ground nutmeg. In a saucepan, over medium heat, stir together milk, heavy cream and nutmeg. Whisk together egg yolks and sugar in a large saucepan, whisking until smooth for about 25 minutes. Combine milk and egg mixtures, cool for 30 minutes and transfer to a pitcher. Chill for up to 24 hours. Pour liqueur into glasses, top with eggnog, sprinkle with nutmeg and serve.
- Gingerbread Martini—you will need crushed gingersnaps, 2 tablespoons of ginger liqueur (plus some for coating glass rims), 2 tablespoons of vanilla-citrus liqueur, 1½ tablespoons of coffee-flavored rum, 1 tablespoon of honey, 2 teaspoons of whipping cream, 1 cup of ice cubes and vanilla beans and sugar for garnishing the rims. Coat the rims in sugar and crushed gingersnaps first. Then stir together the ginger liqueur, vanilla-citrus liqueur, rum, honey, whipping cream and ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake, then strain into the glass and serve.
- Champagne and Cranberries—gather 6 dried cranberries and ¾ cup of champagne or chilled sparkling wine. Place the cranberries in the champagne flute, pour champagne or wine over the berries and serve immediately.
