Festive Holiday Cocktails

To help with your holiday entertaining we've compiled this collection of beautiful and festive cocktails that are sure to make your get-togethers memorable and fun.

Most of the ingredients used in these recipes should be easy to find, and the instructions for creating these inspired presentations are very simple to follow.

We'd like to thank all the fine-quality spirits brands that contributed the recipes and photos in this feature so we could share them with our readers.

Candy Cane Swirl

1 oz SKYY Infusions Raspberry
3 oz red cranberry juice
1/2 oz grenadine
1/2 oz Peppermint Schnapps
Lemon-lime soda
Candy canes

Rim a martini glass with crushed candy cane. Combine SKYY Vodka, Peppermint Schnapps, cranberry juice and grenadine in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Top with lemon-lime soda and garnish with a small peppermint candy cane.

Grey Goose La Poire Ginger Joy

2 parts Grey Goose La Poire Flavored Vodka
1/2 part Premium Ginger Liqueur
1 part simple syrup
1 part fresh lemon juice

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a martini glass. Present with a pear slice or crystallized ginger.

Tip: Keep the ripe slices of pear from turning brown by coating them with a squeeze of lemon.

Spiced Caramel Apple

2 oz Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur
1 oz Van Gogh Dutch Caramel Vodka
2-1/2 oz apple cider
1 dash lemon juice

Rim a martini glass with agave syrup and crumbled gingersnap cookies and set aside. Add the liquid ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into martini glass.

This recipe was created by NY-based wine and spirits writer, Kara Newman, author of Spice & Ice, a collection of deliciously spicy cocktail recipes.

Adam & Eve Martini

2 oz Vodka
3 oz apple puree (baby food is smoothest!)
1 oz Wild Hibiscus Flower Syrup
Wild Hibiscus Flower
Cherry
Chopstick for garnish

Stuff the Wild Hibiscus Flower with the cherry and skewer from the side with the chopstick. Shake the other ingredients together with ice, strain into glass and lay the chopstick over the glass.

Cognac Alexander

1 oz VS or VSOP Cognac
3/4 oz Dark Creme de Cacao
3/4 oz light cream
Grated nutmeg
5 or 6 ice cubes

Place the ice cubes in a shaker. Pour in the Cognac, dark creme de cacao and cream. Close the shaker and shake until well frosted. Strain into the glass. Sprinkle some nutmeg on top of the drink.

Cognac Facts: VS Cognac means "Very Special" ~ VSOP is "Very Superior Old Pale."

Bessito

1 oz X-RATED Fusion Liqueur
1 oz grapefruit juice
Champagne or sparkling wine

Combine X-RATED Fusion Liqueur with the grapefruit juice in a champagne flute. Top with champagne or sparkling wine.

X-RATED Fusion Liqueur is a blend of premium French vodka and organic fruit juices like blood orange, mango and passion fruit.

Fireside Cosmo wine[tail]

1-1/2 oz Yellow Tail Shiraz
1 oz Blueberry Vodka
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
1/2 oz Açai juice or syrup (can substitute pomegranate)
1/2 of a lime, pressed
Lime wheel for garnish

In a mixing glass, add all ingredients and shake with ice. Strain into a martini glass.

Ginger Martini

2 oz Xanté
2 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
1-1/2 oz sugar syrup
1 small piece of fresh ginger

Muddle the ginger. Add Xanté, lemon juice and sugar syrup. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Serve with a stick of fresh ginger.

Xanté is a balanced blend of sweet pears and select French cognac, matured in oak barrels to produce a fragrant, smooth premium liqueur with notes of spicy vanilla and pear.

Espresso Trio

Double Dutch Espresso ~ Shake together 1 oz Van Gogh Vanilla Vodka, 1/2 oz Van Gogh Double Espresso Vodka and 1/2 oz milk or half-and-half. Pour into an ice-filled rocks glass.

Espresso Van Goghtini ~ Shake 4 oz Van Gogh Espresso Vodka with ice and pour into a chilled, chocolate-rimmed martini glass.

Brownie Shooter ~ Combine 1 oz Van Gogh Dutch Chocolate Vodka and 1/4 oz each White and Dark Creme de Cacao in a shot glass.

Berry Merry Christmas

1-1/2 oz Van Gogh Pomegranate Vodka
1/2 oz Triple Sec
1/2 oz Peach Schnapps
1 oz cranberry juice
1 oz club soda

Add all ingredients into a shaker and shake over ice. Pour into a martini glass or on the rocks.

Grey Goose Peppermint Froth

1-1/2 parts Grey Goose Vodka
1 part Peppermint Schnapps
1/2 part simple syrup
1/2 part cream

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add all of the ingredients. Shake vigorously and strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice. Present with chocolate covered candy sticks.

Clément Créole Eggnog

3 eggs
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 oz Rhum Clément Créole Shrubb
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 oz Rhum Clément Première Canne

In a large shaker, combine ingredients over ice, and shake vigorously. Garnish with sprinkled nutmeg and a cinnamon stick. Makes 2 servings.

Clément Créole Shrubb is a unique, aromatic blend of premium white and aged rums, macerated Créole spices and bitter orange peels.

Chocolate Mist

2 parts Canadian Mist
1 part Dark Crème de Cocoa
1/2 part Hazelnut Liqueur

Place all of the ingredients in a shaker and strain into a martini glass rimmed with cocoa and sugar as an option. Garnish with a cherry.

Canadian Mist is a smooth, light-tasting, mellow whiskey, distilled from corn and barley malt and matured to the peak of perfection ~ great in cocktails, over ice or with water.

Candy Cane Lane

2-1/2 oz Van Gogh Blue Vodka
1 oz White Crème de Menthe
1/2 oz Peppermint Schnapps
Cream
Splash of grenadine
Peppermint candy for garnish

Add a dash of grenadine into the bottom of a chilled martini glass and set aside. Pour the rest of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into the glass with grenadine to create a "swirl" effect. Garnish with peppermint candy.

Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake Dessert Shots

1 can (14 oz) pumpkin, chilled
3 oz reduced-fat cream cheese
6 oz low fat vanilla yogurt
1 cup low fat milk
1/4 cup Van Gogh Dutch Caramel Vodka
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
6 teaspoons graham cracker crumbs, optional

Place first 8 ingredients in a blender and blend until silky. Pour into 6 shot glasses and top each with a teaspoon of graham cracker crumbs.

Holiday Sparkler wine[tail]

2 oz Yellow Tail Sparkling Rosé
1/2 oz Elderflower Liqueur
1 oz cranberry juice
Orange bitters
Sugar cube
Rock candy stir stick

Soak the sugar cube in orange bitters and place in bottom of a champagne flute. Add the Elderflower Liqueur and cranberry juice, then gently top with Yellow Tail Sparkling Rosé.

New Year's Sparkler

1 oz SKYY Infusions Raspberry
1-1/2 oz pomegranate juice
3-1/2 oz champagne or sparkling wine
5 to 6 raspberries

Combine SKYY Infusions Raspberry and cranberry juice in a chilled champagne flute and top with champagne. Garnish with a raspberry tree ~ slide 5 to 6 raspberries onto long skewer and place vertically in champagne glass.

Clément Créole Cheer Spritzer

3 oz Pinot Blanc
2 oz of Rhum Clément Créole Shrubb
1 oz soda water
Fresh pomegranate

Combine already chilled ingredients in a glass and garnish with pomegranate.

Rhum Clément is the leading maker of A.O.C. Martinique Rhum Agricole, a premium spirit unique to the French West Indies, made from aromatic sugarcane juice instead of molasses.

Enjoy the holiday season and remember to drink responsibly. Cheers!