5 Festive Cocktails to Celebrate with Friends and Family

As we wind down another wild ride of a year, we are hopeful that 2022 will be filled optimism and good cheer. With that in mind, we reflect on another year of zoom calls and raise a glass wishing our friends, family, and colleagues a happy new year!

Bringing all the holiday flavours to suit everyone’s varying palettes and preferences, we’ve got you covered with a range of cocktail concoctions — sweet, refreshing, decadent and aromatic cocktails perfect for fun holiday entertaining.

Here are five delicious cocktails to make at home, no matter how small our gatherings might be this season!

White Velvet Christmas

This holiday season, indulge in the opulence of Disaronno’s first-ever cream liqueur! The all-new Disaronno Velvet is refreshingly smooth and creamy with the unmistakable taste of Disaronno. Snowy white over ice, this liquid luxury is about living “La Dolce Vita” lifestyle with 500 years of tradition. Makes for a beautiful gift too! It’s all Italian elegance —  complex and velvety on the palate with a long finish and seasonal aromas.

Ingredients

-1.50 oz Disaronno Velvet
-0.75 oz Tia Maria
-0.75 oz Vodka
-Garnish: Chocolate flakes or coffee beans

Preparation

1. Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice, shake and strain ingredients over ice.

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Santa’s Espresso Martini

The Espresso martini has no match when made with the legendary Tia Maria. Its intense coffee aroma and premium taste comes from its cold brew extraction method using 100% Arabica coffee beans.

Ingredients

-0.75 oz Tia Maria
-0.75 oz Vodka
-1 tsp Simple Syrup
-Double or single shot of espresso

Preparation

1. Pour Tia Maria, vodka and espresso into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.

2. Shake and strain.

3. Garnish with three coffee beans.

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Mott’s I’ll be Home for Christmas

A good ole Canadian Christmas calls for a good ole Canadian cocktail – the Caesar. With more than 400M Mott’s Clamato Caesars consumed last year alone, it’s no wonder it’s been declared as Canada’s official cocktail. Ever ordered one outside Canada and met with  puzzled looks or offered a Caesar salad instead?  If you’re not sure how to serve one this holiday season, just follow the 1-2-3-4-5 rule as your base guide and you’ll succeed every time.

Ingredients

-1 oz. Luksusowa Vodka
-2 dashes of hot sauce
-3 grinds of fresh cracked salt and pepper
-4 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
-5 oz. Mott’s Clamato™

Preparation

1. Rim a tall glass with Mott’s Clamato Rimmer.

2. Add the Luksusowa Vodka, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce and fresh cracked salt and pepper.

3. Add ice and then pour in the Mott’s Clamato.

4. Give the cocktail a good stir to incorporate all the flavours.

5. Garnish with celery stalk or make it fancy with a toothpick skewer with a grape tomato, basil, bocconcini cheese and slice of green pepper.

Great for brunches too!

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Flor Fashioned

Add some sustainable rum to your rum-pum-pum-pum this holiday season with Flor de Caña. As the world’s only carbon neutral and Fair trade Certified spirit, Flor de Caña Rum is the ideal gift for the eco-advocate on your list and anyone with distinguished taste! We think this is what Frank Sinatra meant when he sang about an Old Fashioned Christmas – but we’re making ours a Flor Fashioned … with a twist of orange.

Ingredients

-2 oz Flor de Caña 12 Rum
-2 dashes Angostura Bitters
-1 oz cranberry simple syrup
-orange wedge
-ice
-3 cranberries

Preparation

1. If desired, rim glass with sugar.

2. Crush (don’t muddle) the cranberries in a glass.

3. Add rye and simple syrup.

4. Top with bitters and stir.

5. Add ice.

6. Garnish with an orange slice and more cranberries if desired.

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Merry Matcha-tini

Introducing the world’s only Matcha liqueur! Tia Maria Matcha is an indulgent creamy liqueur with the distinctive flavour of green tea. Floral and refreshing with a smooth finish, try Tia Matcha over ice, neat, or in a cocktail.

Ingredients

-1.25 oz Tia Maria Matcha
-1.25 oz vodka
-Garnish: Matcha powder rim

Preparation

1. Rim half of a martini glass with matcha powder.

2. Pour Tia Maria Matcha and vodka into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.

3. Shake and strain into glass.

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*Please celebrate responsibly as always.

 

 

About Sonya Davidson 957 Articles
Senior writer. Covering arts & culture, wellness, food, travel and special events.