19 Christmas Bourbon Cocktails for the Holidays

Consider making a Cranberry Bourbon Sour for a simple but sophisticated holiday party punch. This bourbon cocktail combines cranberry and orange flavors and maple syrup for a sweet, wintery beverage great for slow sipping while chatting with friends at a casual gathering. 

The Christmas Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail features all of your favorite Christmas flavors. Some of the key ingredients include elderflower liqueur, honey, star anise, cinnamon, and ginger. With an excellent balance of sweet and bitter elements, this spiced cocktail will have a festive impact on your holiday guests.

A White Christmas Bourbon Smash is an excellent cocktail for minimalists. This beverage mixes bourbon with lime seltzer, mint leaves, and cranberries.

Add a small amount of sugar, and you’ll have a refreshing seasonal beverage. You can also use rosemary as a garnish if you want to amp up the Christmas flavors. 

Christmas spices are quite tasty in bourbon, which is why a Spiced Honey Bourbon Old Fashioned makes such a delightful holiday cocktail. Honey, cinnamon, and cardamom take a typical bourbon beverage and turn it into a comforting winter drink you’ll want to enjoy next to a fireplace with friends. 

For a truly unique spin on an Old Fashioned, try a Cinnamon Bourbon Old Fashioned with Brûléed Oranges. This cocktail sounds complicated, but it’s accessible to even a novice bartender: all you need are orange slices, sugar, and a small skillet. While this recipe is a little complex for a big party, these Old Fashioneds will be a big hit at a small Christmas dinner.

A Cranberry Orange Bourbon Cocktail is a straightforward mixed drink you can make as an individual serving or as a party punch bowl. Key ingredients include bourbon, orange juice, cranberry juice, and maple syrup. Since the recipe calls for unsweetened cranberry juice, you can enjoy some winter fruit flavors without having an overly sugary beverage.

Rosemary and honey are an amazing flavor combination, and this Rosemary Bourbon Cocktail with Honey has just the right level of decadence for a casual holiday party. The homemade rosemary honey syrup goes great with bourbon, while the Angostura bitters add an extra festive kick. 

This Bourbon Cranberry Old Fashioned takes some time to make, but this tasty cocktail is worth it. You’ll have to prepare the bourbon first, letting cranberries and cinnamon soak in the liquor until the flavor infuses.

Once your bourbon is ready, all you need to do is make a standard Old Fashioned, and you’ll have a subtle yet distinctly Christmas-tasting beverage. 

A Jingle Bell Smash is a cheerful bourbon cocktail that can work well in various settings. The central flavors are cranberry, rosemary, and a hint of citrus. Since the main mixer is juice, this drink sits nicely in your stomach and is a nice, sweet drink for a social gathering. 

This Maple Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail has a satisfyingly tart flavor, plus some pleasant fizz from the club soda. The maple cranberries are the best part of this drink—the cranberries are heated with maple syrup to create a sweet, fruity syrup. This beverage is a fun choice for a night with your friends. 

There’s no shortage of holiday-themed Old Fashioned recipes, but this Christmas Old Fashioned made the list by sticking to simple, classic ingredients. A small portion of cranberry syrup and a few crushed cranberries are all you need to add some Christmas spirit to this cocktail. For some extra presentation pizazz, try putting sugar on the rim of the glass.

The Christmas Kentucky Buck is a fun rendition of the beloved vodka, ginger, and fruit flavor combination. For the best version of this yummy cocktail use Kentucky Straight Bourbon. If you make the ginger syrup in advance, this should be an easy drink to prepare at a party.

The Blizzard, a cranberry bourbon cocktail, is less sweet than other popular cranberry bourbon recipes. This beverage may be your best option if you prefer a more toned-down cocktail. The recipe calls for unsweetened cranberry juice and a small portion of simple syrup, allowing the flavors of the bourbon to come to the forefront.

You can spike hot chocolate with a few different liquors, but hot chocolate with bourbon is the best version of this adult beverage. The rich chocolate pulls out the nuanced flavors of bourbon, producing a warm, complex drink with numerous tasting notes. Don’t forget to dress up your cocktail with your preferred hot chocolate toppings. 

This Spiced Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail spices things up with nutmeg, a traditional seasonal spice that many wouldn’t think to combine with cranberry. However, this recipe calls for spiced cranberry juice, producing a flavor similar to mulled wine.

If you need a nonalcoholic version, you can make it a spiced cranberry juice and ginger beer refresher.

This Cinnamon Maple Bourbon Sour is a delicious mix of sweet and sour flavors. Use fresh lemon juice and homemade maple cinnamon syrup to create a wholesome, well-balanced cocktail. If you make a big batch of syrup, you can make this drink your go-to nightcap throughout the holiday season. 

The gingerbread might be grumpy, but this Grumpy Gingerbread Bourbon Cocktail will be quite inviting for your holiday party guests. This cocktail is full of holiday cheer with Christmas spices such as star anise, cardamom, and clove. The recipe also includes Cynar, a distinctive Italian bitter that will make this cocktail stand out from the rest. 

If you like the sound of a maple bourbon cocktail, but don’t have time for a long preparation process, check out this easy recipe for a Cinnamon Maple Whiskey Sour. This three-ingredient cocktail makes our list of Christmas bourbon cocktails you can have ready in a matter of minutes for you and your guests.

This Bourbon Coconut Milk Cocktail is a fantastic, creamy cocktail that blends dairy and coconut milk for a sweet holiday beverage. In addition to the bourbon and two milk types, this drink has vanilla, brown sugar, and nutmeg. If you want a bourbon cocktail that replicates the taste of a Christmas cookie, you’ll adore this mixed drink.