35 Christmas Cocktails for the Holiday Season

No list of Christmas cocktails could be complete without eggnog. A decadent holiday beverage, eggnog is created using eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and various spices. It is frequently spiked with rum, brandy, or bourbon to enhance its flavor. It is traditionally served during Christmas and is a popular beverage for holiday parties and gatherings. It is best enjoyed chilled or over ice and served warm with a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Hot Buttered Rum is a warm, creamy winter cocktail made with dark rum, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. The rich and spicy flavors make it a perfect drink for the winter season. It is served hot and topped with whipped cream or a pat of butter. It is an ideal drink to enjoy while sitting by a fire on a chilly winter evening or to serve as a festive beverage during holiday celebrations.

A delightfully refreshing Christmas cocktail, the Mistletoe martini combines cranberry juice and elderflower liqueur with vodka and a dash of simple syrup. It covers all the refreshing bases, with the tart from the cranberry, sweet simple syrup, and floral bitterness from the elderflower. Plus, the garnish of a single cranberry with a sprig of mint leaves literally puts mistletoe in your martini glass!

A Hot Toddy is a warm, cozy winter cocktail typically made with whiskey, hot water, lemon, and honey. The ingredients are mixed in a mug and garnished with a cinnamon stick or lemon wedge. It's a classic winter drink that's perfect for sipping on cold evenings or when feeling under the weather.

Christmas is only cold in the northern hemisphere. For countries below the equator, Christmas is a summer holiday. This Christmas cocktail honors the summertime Christmas cocktail parties and invokes a tropical oasis in the dead of winter for us northerners. Christmas cocktail is a rum cocktail that combines pomegranate juice, rum, and lime soda. This recipe makes a pitcher’s worth keeping large parties happy. 

You can leave the baked goods for Santa, but the adults can still enjoy a comforting and warming dessert with this delicious Sugar Cookie White Russian recipe. This decadent, frothy milk-based vodka drink with rich Kahlua gets upgraded with a dash of vanilla and garnishes like sprinkles, crushed sugar cookies, and whipped cream.

Another cheerful and nostalgic take on the White Russian, Gingerbread White Russians add a homemade simple syrup to the mix. The simple syrup infuses water with molasses, vanilla, ginger, and cinnamon, imitating the spices baked into gingerbread cookies. Simple syrup isn’t as daunting as it sounds, and each batch yields enough for up to 16 drinks.

You can hum the classic caroling song as you mix its namesake cocktail. This refreshing and bright cocktail contains pear vodka, fresh lemon juice, and champagne. You get the dryness and bubbles from the champagne to tamper with the sweetness while accentuating the pear flavor. The Partridge in a Pear Tree cocktail is elegant and light. I think it would be a great Christmas brunch cocktail, putting a winter twist on the classic bellini.

A Candy Cane Martini is a sweet and festive holiday cocktail made with vanilla vodka, peppermint schnapps, and cream or half-and-half. It is typically served with a crushed candy cane rim and a candy cane garnish and is perfect for enjoying during the holiday or at Christmas parties. It is best enjoyed cold and can be a fun and playful addition to your holiday drink menu.

True to its name, the White Christmas Mojito is as white and creamy as snow. I think it’s a combination of a pina colada with a mojito, using white and coconut rum to mix with lime juice and coconut milk. In true mojito fashion, you muddle mint, sugar, and lime together at the bottom of the pitcher before adding the alcohol and cream ingredients. This cocktail is an instant party!

Wintertime coincides with the citrus season, and there’s no better way to showcase fresh citrus than in this Holly Jolly Christmas citrus cocktail. This vodka and St. Germain cocktail has a beautiful blood-red color from the freshly squeezed blood orange. The splash of ginger beer adds a bit of sweetness and bubbles. This is an easy cocktail to make in a pitcher.

The Jingle Bell Smash cocktail is a festive holiday drink made with vodka, cranberry juice, lime juice, simple syrup, and fresh mint leaves. It's shaken with ice and served over crushed ice with garnishes that are festive. It's perfect for holiday parties and celebrations but should be consumed in moderation.

As simple and sumptuous as stealing a kiss, The Mistletoe Kiss cocktail is a user-friendly vodka and lemon juice cocktail, with a sensual simple syrup that steals the show. The secret ingredient in the simple syrup is rosemary, which combines beautifully with tangy lemon juice. I like this recipe because it gives you measurements for both small and large batches.

Even the bitterest scrooge will brighten up with this bright green cocktail. This rum cocktail gets its lime green color from melon-infused Midori liqueur. Another citrusy boost from lemon-lime soda and a bright red maraschino cherry rounds out the flavor and color profile. My heart and energy level grew three sizes with this festive cocktail.  

Blood Orange Ginger Cranberry Mojitos are a twist on the classic mojito cocktail. They are made with blood orange juice, ginger beer, fresh cranberries, lime juice, and mint leaves. The ingredients are muddled and shaken with ice, poured into a glass, and garnished with cranberries and mint leaves. The result is a sweet and tangy cocktail with a festive touch. It is a perfect drink for the holiday season, particularly around Christmas and Thanksgiving.

An elaborate and sinfully sweet spin on the classic Cosmo, Rudolph’s Tipsy Spritzer adds orange juice, lemon-lime soda, and maraschino cherry juice to the standard vodka cranberry concoction. This is an easy one-pitcher recipe that you simply dump all the ingredients in and mix. Furthermore, you can make one pitcher with vodka, and one without so that both kids and adults can delight in this delicious holiday party punch.

For all you whiskey lovers, this wonderful bourbon punch embodies the Holiday Cheermeister’s essence! It combines bourbon, prosecco, pomegranate juice, and citrus for a complete flavor profile. The light and zesty citrus, prosecco, and pomegranate combine with smokey bourbon to provide a refreshing beverage that leaves in the warmth.

A wintery take on our favorite Mexican cocktail, the Frosted Mistletoe Margarita is a frozen margarita that combines the classic tequila, lime, Cointreau, and tequila recipe with cranberries. Both frozen whole cranberries and no-sugar-added cranberry juice get blended to create a delightful slushy consistency, a deep burgundy color, and an upgraded flavor to the classic frozen margarita. Plus, it’s easy to make by just throwing all the ingredients into a blender and pouring each glass without dirtying a pitcher.

Sangria is one of my favorite drinks because it's like a cocktail and a fruit salad in one glass! Plus, it’s a versatile cocktail that uses the freshest seasonal fruits. In the case of the Christmas Sangria, you mix a dry red wine and Gran Marnier with winter juices and fruits like pomegranate, orange, cranberry, and apples.

Santa gets all the credit, but let’s honor Mrs. Claus for a change! This spicy, smokey, and tart cocktail would certainly fuel Santa’s busy Christmas eve schedule. Smokey whisky or bourbon combines with rosemary simple syrup, cinnamon, and a dash of cranberry juice. The interesting combination of rosemary and cinnamon with cranberry juice adds a balance of spice and tang that works well with the whisky’s inherent heat.

If you’re a fan of botanical flavors, this Pomegranate and Rosemary Gin Fizz is for you! Gin has a strong floral flavor, made even stronger with rosemary infusions. Rosemary gin combines with a fizzy pomegranate lemonade recipe for a bright pink cocktail that’s equal parts floral and tangy. Plus, you get to break out the shaker for this recipe!

This impressive holiday punch bowl recipe has detailed instructions on making ingredients and garnishes, plus the cocktail itself. For those type-A personalities, this Cranberry Bourbon Sour will get you all the compliments. It combines bourbon and orange bitters with a rich, homemade orange-cranberry simple syrup. The candied rosemary garnish is the icing on the cake!

Another recipe that takes advantage of the winter citrus crop, this Holiday Cocktail Spiced Cranberry Paloma combines lime, grapefruit, and cranberry juices with tequila. The secret ingredient that infuses this drink with Christmas cheer is a strongly spiced simple syrup. The spicy cinnamon, anise, and cloves bring out the heat and spiciness of the tequila for a sophisticated flavor profile.

Yes, even Hawaiians celebrate Christmas! This Tiki-style cocktail shows how Christmas spices blend with tropical spirits, combining spiced rum with various bitters, citrus juice, and spice-infused syrups. The whole star anise garnish makes for a tasteful presentation to a complex and delicious flavor profile. While many rum cocktails are often very sweet, I think this Tiki cocktail perfectly balances sweet, spicy, bitter, and sour.

This elegant cocktail will make a master mixologist out of any amateur bartender. This gin-based cocktail combines lemon juice and homemade spiced pear syrup. The crowd-pleasing ingredient is the egg white which creates a fun foamy layer that adds depth and silkiness to the finished product. This is a cocktail you make one drink at a time with the theatrics of a metal shaker.

A Sugar Cookie Martini is a sweet, creamy cocktail that tastes like a sugar cookie. It's made with vanilla vodka, amaretto, half-and-half or cream, and simple syrup. After shaking the ingredients with ice and straining the mixture into a glass, the final touch of a festive garnish is added with sugar and sprinkles. It's a perfect dessert-like drink for Christmas.

A Pomegranate Orange Vodka Cocktail is a fruity and refreshing drink made with pomegranate juice, orange juice, vodka, and a splash of sparkling water. After combining the ingredients in a shaker with ice, the mixture is strained into a glass and topped with a fresh garnish of either orange slices or pomegranate seeds. It's a perfect drink for winter, particularly for cozy winter nights.

Naughty but Nice Christmas Cocktail is a holiday drink made with vodka, amaretto, cranberry, and orange juice. It is shaken with ice and served in a glass rimmed with sugar. The cocktail offers a blend of sweetness and tanginess and a subtle note of almond originating from the amaretto. It is a perfect drink for holiday gatherings or as a festive treat to enjoy at home during the holiday season.

Jingle Juice is a holiday cocktail made with cranberry juice, orange juice, pineapple juice, ginger ale, and various alcohols such as vodka or rum. It is a fruity and refreshing drink that can be garnished with fresh fruits and mint leaves. Jingle Juice is an ideal beverage to serve at holiday celebrations and events or indulge with loved ones as a delightful and cheerful seasonal beverage.

This decadently sweet, warm cocktail has more sugar than alcohol, though it’s spiked with Bailey’s Irish Cream. In addition, you’ll add white chocolate chips, caramel sauce, vanilla, and milk. Everything heats and melts together, and you can top it with whipped cream for a cool contrast.

Not even Scrooge could resist being as jolly as ‘Ole St. Nick with this beverage. This vodka cocktail combines cranberry juice, fresh lime and mint, and club soda. You’ll also make a special simple syrup to go with it, which is the only labor-intensive part. You must complete the syrup ahead, which makes it an easy cocktail to make for parties.

If you’re throwing a more elegant holiday soiree, you need a martini to go with your high-end ambiance. True to an essential martini mix, you’ll combine gin or vodka with Cointreau, unsweetened pure cranberry juice, lemon juice, and simple syrup. You can swap the simple syrup for maple, which might taste more wintery. Try both and let us know what you prefer.

We get chilly just looking at this cool blue cocktail! But its looks are deceiving since it tastes similar to a pina colada. Add a little bit of blue curacao when you blend your cocktail. For the rim, stick shredded coconut with a bit of corn syrup. It will look like fresh snow, especially if you chill the glass.

Moscow Mules are a quintessential winter drink, from their frigid namesake to the traditional copper mugs in which they’re served. Give the Mule a Christmas twist by combining vodka with cranberry juice, other juices, and holiday ingredients.

This gin cocktail couldn’t be more straightforward, and it’s a great combination to cut the bitter flavor of gin. Just pour gin, ginger ale, and a little cranberry juice over ice and enjoy! You can serve it in any type of glass, and it’s easy to make fast, so it’s suitable for parties.