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Who is ready for some holiday CHEER?? We've got you sorted with holiday drinks inspo from Dublin to Mexico. It is so cool to learn where mixologists draw their ideas from and these drink combos sound so delicious, these cocktails will definitely add some fun to your festivities.
Stephanie Fletcher, Bartender, at The Westbury in Dublin
Born and raised in Switzerland to British parents, Stephanie credits her dual nationality, as well as her career development in Ireland, having a profound effect on her style of drinks. She started bartending straight out of school at the age of 19 and began her career in a local brewery in Basel, Switzerland. She moved to Dublin five months later and hasn't looked back since. "I had never made a cocktail before I moved to Dublin and I had never made a truly good cocktail until I started working in the Sidecar in 2018," Stepanie tells us. Her move into five-star hotels was intentional, "I had been working in hotel bars since moving to Dublin and my move to The Westbury Hotel was a coordinated step into the five-star hotel environment. I take great inspiration from Ada Coleman and her work in the Savoy Hotel in London and decided that I wanted to work in one of the leading hotel bars in Ireland. Thanks to the support and training from my team, I have become the confident and meticulous bartender that I am today."
She drew on her childhood for inspiration for the drink, "My favorite thing about Christmas back home in Basel is the Christmas Market and my beverage of choice is hot apple juice infused with traditional spices." She took these memories and combined them with the classic Sidecar that The Westbury is famous for, "I added cognac and a sugar rim to the drink. The result is a warm, welcoming cocktail beckoning you towards the fireplace with its embrace of seasonal spices, the allure of a good cognac tied together by the sweet familiarity of apple juice." She sums up the drink "as a representation of my roots in Switzerland as well as an ode to the Sidecar Bar where I have had the joy of learning the true craft of cocktail hospitality."
Holiday Sidecar
Ingredients
40ml Hennessey VSOP
60ml Spiced Apple Syrup
Hot Water
Cinnamon Sugar (three parts sugar to one part cinnamon)
Lemon peel
Cloves
Cinnamon Stick
Star Anise
Spiced Apple Syrup
Bring 200ml of apple juice to a simmer and slowly stir in 100g of sugar and 2g of citric acid or 40ml of lemon juice.
Add in one stick of cinnamon, star anise, and 10 cloves, and leave on low heat for 30 minutes to infuse.
Strain the mixture and allow it to cool before bottling or jarring.
Instructions
Run a slice of lemon halfway around the rim of your heat-resistant glass of choice and dip it into the cinnamon sugar to create the sugar rim.
Add the cognac, festive apple cordial, and hot water to the glass and give a quick stir.
Garnish with a lemon coin pierced with a clove.
Doriluz Hernández, Bar Manager at Hilton Cancun, an All-Inclusive Resort.
Doriluz Hernández finds inspiration by experimenting with refined flavors that take the guests by surprise. She tells us, "This cocktail will make you feel the thrill of a holiday in our Caribbean Paradise but at home." Sounds good!
Cancun Grilled Christmas
Ingredients
1 slice of red pepper
Onion salt
1 oz Sotol
2/3 Pineapple
20 gr yellow pepper
2 oz Nixta liqueur
1 oz lemon juice
1 oz Cointreau liqueur
1 oz natural syrup
Ice
Mint as garnish
Instructions
Salt the rim of your glass with the onion salt.
Mix pineapple, yellow pepper, and Nixta liqueur. Add sotol, ice, lemon juice, and natural syrup, and Cointreau liqueur to the mix in a shaker and shake for 20 seconds.
Strain twice and serve with ice.
Garnish with mint, grilled onion, dehydrated orange slice, and a slice of red pepper.
Lauren Bryant, restaurant manager, Sun Sun Beach Bar & Grill, Casa Marina Key West, Curio Collection by Hilton
Lauren draws her inspo from the classic holiday movie, "White Christmas" to reinvent the classic Cosmopolitan.
"I was inspired by the Hayes Sisters from the iconic film, White Christmas. The smooth, sweet peach reminds me of the soft innocence of Judy Hayes played by Vera-Ellen. The bright, homey flavors of rosemary represent Betty Hayes the lovingly protective older sister played by Rosemary Clooney. I used White Cranberry Juice instead of the traditional red because it brings a lighter flavor to the drink and doesn’t overpower the other flavors, while also tying together the classic cocktail in a new way.”
Lauren has lived in Houston; Fayetteville, AR, Lake Charles, LA; Chicago; San Francisco; and now Key West. She’s grown to appreciate the fun of a potluck with the local family you create in a new city over the holiday season. Her most famous and requested contribution is her "Frosted Cranberries" (recipe below). She tells us, "They are fun and versatile. I've used them to garnish charcuterie boards, cocktails, and desserts. My secret ingredient is actually substituting Prosecco for the Simple Syrup."
White Christmas Cosmo
Ingredients
1.5 oz Grey Goose White Peach & Rosemary Vodka
1 oz Cointreau
1oz White Cranberry Juice
.5oz Fresh Lime Juice
Frosted Cranberry Garnish
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker
Ice & Shake Vigorously for 2 minutes
Strain in Martini Glass
Garnish with Frosted Cranberries & Enjoy on the Beach at Sunset
Frosted Cranberry Garnish
3 Cups Water
6 Cups Sugar split in half
1 bag of fresh Cranberries
Instructions
Create Simple Syrup by dissolving 3 cups of sugar in simmering water.
Allow Simple Syrup to Cool Completely
Place Cranberries in an airtight 3-cup container
Slowly pour cooled Simple Syrup over the cranberries and seal the lid (I recommend doing this in the sink it will get messy when the Cranberries start to float)
Leave in refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Drain Simple Syrup (do not rinse Cranberries)
Roll Cranberries in the remaining sugar and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet
Leave in the refrigerator uncovered for 2 hours or until the sugar has dried
Fraliza Gianniodis, Master Mixologist at Carillon Miami Wellness Resort.
Fraliza infuses her extensive background in mixology with her highly inspired approach to crafting the perfect cocktail to curate a noteworthy experience for guests. Gianniodis was a former mixologist at the Ritz-Carlton, Boston, where she was awarded the opportunity to represent the property in Marriott’s Masters of the Craft for the Americas competition. She competed against 1,500 bartenders from Marriott properties across North, South, and Central America and was crowned 2019’s Beverage “Master of the Craft” for her Old Fashioned created with China Martini Liqueur, mezcal, and chocolate bitters. Gianniodis began her career in lush, sunny, Puerto Rico. She often draws inspiration from the environment and is always looking for ways to embrace fresh, local ingredients in her creations. At Carillon Miami, her cocktails are influenced by Miami’s tropical climate. Her innovative outlook and passion for mixology compliments the resort’s contemporary, local, farm-fresh dining.
Xmas-Green-CH Cocktail
Ingredients
1.5 oz Calvados
½ oz Falernum
½ oz Green Chartreuse
½ oz House-made rosemary syrup
1 oz Fresh Lime juice
1 Egg whites
Instructions
Combine all the ingredients in a 2-piece shaker
Dry shake for 15 seconds
Add Ice and shake for 10 seconds
double strain in a Rock Glass with 1 big ice cube
Garnish with angostura bitters, rosemary sprig and dehydrate lime