Yule Mule

The most popular "holiday mule cocktail," also known as a Christmas Moscow Mule or Yule Mule, is a festive variation of the classic drink featuring cranberry juice and seasonal garnishes. It offers a perfect balance of sweet, tart, and spicy flavors. 

Classic Holiday Mule Recipe

This recipe makes one cocktail and uses a traditional Moscow Mule copper mug, which helps keep the drink cold. 

Ingredients: 

• 2 oz vodka
• 2 oz cranberry juice (unsweetened for a tarter flavor, or cranberry juice cocktail for sweeter)
½ oz fresh lime juice
4-6 oz ginger beer
Ice cubes
Garnish: Fresh cranberries and a rosemary sprig (mimics a pine branch) 

Instructions:

1. Fill a copper mug or glass with ice cubes.
2. Pour in the vodka, cranberry juice, and fresh lime juice.
3. Top the mixture with ginger beer and gently stir to combine the ingredients.
4. Garnish with a sprig of fresh rosemary and a few frozen or fresh cranberries before serving. 

Variations and Tips

• Make it a Mocktail: Simply omit the vodka for a delicious non-alcoholic drink that still has a festive kick from the ginger beer.
• Add Spice: Incorporate a few drops of bitters or a splash of ginger liqueur for a deeper flavor profile.
• Alternative Spirits: While vodka is traditional, gin can also be used for an herbal twist that pairs well with the holiday spices.
• Batch for Parties: Mix the vodka, cranberry juice, and lime juice in a pitcher ahead of time. When ready to serve, guests can pour the mixture over ice in individual mugs and top with fresh, cold ginger beer to maintain fizz.
• Garnish Options: Other festive garnishes include a cinnamon stick, orange slices, or candy canes. 

Winter Sangria

 

WINTER SANGRIA 2 (750-ml) bottles of Dry red wine 1 cup Cranberries (thawed if frozen) 1 cup Orange liqueur 1/2 cup Aperol 2 oranges, thinly sliced and quartered 2 apples, cut into 1-inch pieces   In a large pitcher or punch bowl, combine the wine, cranberries, orange liqueur, Aperol, oranges, and apples. Refrigerate the sangria for 2 to 6 hours before serving.

Ginger Apple Cider Martini (tried - awful!)

from tradingcardioforcosmos

• 2 oz Bootlegger Vodka 
• 3 oz Fresh Apple Cider
• 2 Tbsp Fresh Lime Juice
• 1 tsp Fresh Grated Ginger (more to taste)
  
  Shaken over ice and strained. Garnished with a slice of honey crisp apple.

Mojito pitchers

1 1/2 cup simple syrup
1 cup vodka
1/4 cup lime juice
1 cup club soda
sprigs of ming

Moscow Mule

Moscow Mule Recipe

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Mix up this Moscow Mule drink—perfect for your next camping trip!

Servings: Serves 1

Ingredients

• 1 ounce vodka
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
• Fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup ginger beer
• 1 sprig fresh mint
• 1 slice of lime

Directions

In a copper mug, pour vodka over ice. Add sugar syrup and lime juice. Top with ginger beer and stir. Garnish with mint sprig and lime slice.

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/food/Moscow-Mule-Recipe_1#ixzz21OixzAHr

Watermelon Mojitos

What a great spring or summer drink.  Refreshing and beautiful.  It is a Barefoot Contessa recipe, but I've added the mint-infused simple syrup.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Mint infused simple syrup:

• 20 fresh mint leaves
• 1 C. sugar
• 1 C. water

Mojitos:

• 6 C. of cubed watermelon
• 10 fresh mint leaves
• 1 ½ C. light rum
• ½ C. mint-infused simple syrup
• 3 limes, freshly squeezed

Directions:

1. Heat the water and sugar until it comes to a boil
2. Mix well and turn off the heat
3. Add the mint and cover
4. Let the mixture steep for at least 1 hour
5. In a food processer, add the seedless watermelon and the mint
6. Puree until fine
7. Pour the watermelon mixture through a strainer to remove the big pulpy pieces
8. In a large pitcher, mix the watermelon puree, rum, fresh lime juice, and mint-infused simple syrup
9. Serve over ice

 Tips and Tricks:

• Seedless watermelon is great for this recipe. 
• This is a drink best served in a short, shallow, clear glass.  The color of the drink is so pretty.  You will want to show it off.

Boulevardier

This cocktail is the Negroni's long-lost, whiskey-based cousin. It was named after a 1920s magazine for expats living in Paris that was run by socialite Erskine Gwynne. Spirits columnist Jason Wilson recommends using a bourbon that's on the spicier side, such as Buffalo Trace, Four Roses or Russell's Reserve.
1 serving

Ingredients:

• Ice
• 1 1/2 ounces bourbon
• 1 ounce sweet vermouth
• 1 ounce Campari
• Twist of lemon peel, for garnish

Directions:

Fill a mixing glass halfway with ice. Add the bourbon, sweet vermouth and Campari. Stir vigorously for 30 seconds, then strain into a cocktail (martini) glass. Garnish with the twist of lemon peel.

Iced Tea

Good Housekeeping...

Fresh cold water

1/3 cup(s) loose tea or 15 tea bags

Ice cubes

Sugar (optional)

Lemon slices

---

Directions

1. In a 3-quart saucepan over high heat, heat 4 cups of fresh cold water to boiling. Remove from heat; stir in tea. Stir, cover, and leave for 5 minutes. Stir again and strain into a pitcher containing 4 additional cups of fresh cold water.
2. Cover and let stand until ready to serve. Serve over ice cubes with sugar and lemon slices.

Makaela Kingsley's Sangria Recipe

Serves 100!

Ingredients:

• 2 gallons Zinfandel
• 1 cup brandy
• 1/2 cup Cointreau
• 2 quarts orange juice
• 2 cups lemon juice
• 1 cup superfine sugar
• 12 to 16 ice cubes
• 2 quarts chilled club soda
• 3 oranges, thinly sliced
• 3 lemons, thinly sliced

Preparation:

Thoroughly chill all ingredients. Pour the wine, brandy and Cointreau into a large punch bowl. Stir orange and lemon juice with the sugar until sugar has dissolved. Then add to bowl and stir to blend. Add ice cubes and soda and garnish with fruit slices. Serve in 4-ounce punch glasses or wineglasses.

Makaela's note: I cut the whole recipe in half (or even divide by 4), use really cheap Burgundy wine (in a jug), use Triple Sec in stead of Cointreau, and add much more ice and fruit than they recommend.  Apples, peaches, pears, oranges and lemons work great.  Don’t use grapes because they sink to the bottom (all the others float)

Limoncello

So, my first attempt at making Limoncello is half way through the process. I read through many, many recipes and reviews and settled on one that I thought I'd try.  Tough decisions: to use 100 proof,  grain alcohol, or everclear! I settled on 100 proof absolut.  Then, how much sugar to add to make the simple syrup. Heard too many people say that results were too sweet so I chose a 3/1 ratio of water/sugar.  Oh, and I added some of the juice from a lemon to get a more lemony flavor.  So many recommended using organic lemons, but the only ones I could find were in Stop and Shop and some in the bag were moldy. Ended up with lemons from Expect!

Today I add the simple syrup to the vodka/lemon blend, will let it "brew" for another few weeks and keep my fingers crossed.  Keep you posted!

1 750 bottle of 100 proof vodka (absolut)
10 lemons
6 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 large glass jar with stopper/tight lid

Use a vegetable peeler to remove the peels, being careful not to take any of the white pith. Add to large glass jar. Pour vodka over peels and store in cool, dark place (winter has it's advantages!) Swirl the mixture often. After the lemon oils have done their thing, strain liquid.  Boil the water, add sugar and simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved. Cool completely. Add to strained liquid. Put this into the glass jar and store again in a cool, dark place. After 3 weeks (longer if you can) pour into smaller bottles and store in freezer.

Manhattan

Courtesy of Ina Garten

6 ice cubes
1/4 cup sweet vermouth
1 cup bourbon whiskey
cocktail cherries
Put the cubes in a cocktail shaker. Pour vermouth  and bourbon over the ice.  Shake and strain into cocktail glasses.  Add cherry and serve!

Kahlua

Courtesy of Tom Sliva. Used to make this all the time back int the '70s for our favorite drink, Black Russians

Combine 4 cups of sugar and 3 cups of water; Gently boil for 20 minutes; set aside and allow to cool
Pour 1 cup of boiling water into 3/4 cup of instant coffee(not decaf). Allow to cool.
Place a split whole vanilla bean in a gallon jug. Pour in 1 quart of 100 proof vodka and add the cooled solutions.
Set in a cool dark place (like a closet) for 2 weeks. I think I remember straining it before storing it in an old Kahlua bottle.

Homemade Kahlua Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 cups water
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 qt 100 proof vodka (or 90 proof) - (4 cups)
• 3/4 cups instant coffee
• 1 vanilla bean

Directions:

Mix water, sugar and coffee crystals. Heat and stir until dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Add vodka. Stir to combine. Pour mixture into 6, 12.5 oz. bottles. Cut each vanilla bean into thirds and drop bean into each bottle. Cap. After 2-3 weeks strain, remove beans and rebottle.

1. Bring your water to a boil. When it’s good and hot, add your sugar and coffee granules and remove from heat.  Stir until everything is dissolved. 
2. Allow to cool. Let it sit until it’s almost to room temperature, then pour it into a large glass container. Add vodka and the vanilla bean. Give everything one more good stir, then cover up your kahlua mixture and put it out of your sight for 6 weeks. First, strain your kahlua into a jar. Next, get a funnel and pour the final mixture into its final bottle. (Another option: Buy small bottles and split one batch of homemade kahlua into two or three gifts.) Close the lid tightly, and you’re ready to gift it! It should last for several months at least at room temperature.

Limoncello Martini

It's been a long, cold, dreary week and I couldn't wait to get home and try one of these Limoncello Martinis.  Kevin treated me to a bottle of Limoncello for Christmas and it's been chilling in the fridge waiting for day like today. It's very sweet, not sour at all.  So the pure lemon juice in this recipe helps balance out the flavors.  Hope you savor these as much as I did.

Limoncello Martini

• 2 oz citrus vodka
• 2 oz Limoncello
• Juice of 1/2 large lemon
• Sugar

1. Rub cut lemon along the ridge of a martini glass.  Dip glass edge in sugar.
2. Fill a martini shaker with ice.  Add vodka, Limoncello, and lemon juice.  Shake until well blended.
   
3. Pour mixture into sugar-rimmed glass, and serve with a lemon rind twist.