Holiday Drinks That Call for Bourbon

Traditional Eggnog
This drink is one of the most popular during the holiday season. Eggnog is a classic beverage that can almost always be found at Christmas parties thrown by families and businesses. It is a very festive bourbon based drink that everyone should at least try once.

Ingredients:
8-9 large eggs
2 cups of sugar
1 ½ cup of bourbon
9-10 cups of cream
1 ½ cup of rum
2 tbsp on nutmeg

First, the eggs need to be separated. Next, the egg yolks need to beaten until they turn white, as you beat add the 2 cups of sugar. The bourbon, cream, and nutmeg need to be added to the beaten egg yolks. Continue to beat the mixture until blended. Then, beat the egg whites until they peak, at the moment fold the egg whites into the mixture. Cover and refrigerate between 4-8 hours, and after being chilled pour into punch bowl and serve. Also, to add freshness, extra fresh nutmeg can be grated and sprinkled over the eggnog.

Old Fashioned
This is considered to be one of the simplest drinks. It is one of my favorite bourbon-based drinks to serve and to drink during the holidays. Basically, you just need to grab any type of glass, preferably a whiskey glass and put ¼ cup of water into it. Then, take a tiny lump of sugar, no more than a tablespoon, and put it into the glass. Let the sugar dissolve and then add two dashes of Angostura bitters. It is always nice to add some ice to it, 1 to 2 cubes of ice will be plenty. After you mix all of this into the glass with a spoon, add 2 oz. of bourbon whiskey. An orange wedge and one maraschino cherry will top it off. This is a very excellent drink to have at parties, as well as at any bar or restaurant.

Spiked Cranberry Punch

This drink is a very festive bourbon-based cocktail. It is a fun drink to make as well as to serve. It will add amusement to any party, and spiked cranberry punch can be served during any holiday, but it is mainly dished out during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Spiked Cranberry Punch will surely make any gather an official party.

Ingredients:
½ cup of lemon juice
1 cup of orange juice
1 cup of bourbon
1 cup of rum
1 quart of cranberry juice
2-3 quarts of ginger ale
14-16 ounces of pineapple juice

The directions are very simple and easy to make this drink. Basically, you add all of the ingredients together in a large bowl, except for the ginger ale. Let this mixture chill in the refrigeration for about 2 hours. When you are ready to serve add the ginger ale to the bowl and mixture.

Blizzard
This is drink is very festive and fun to drink during the holiday season, hence the name Blizzard. Guests will enjoy this cocktail and the great thing is that it is easy and fun to make.

Ingredients:
2 oz of cranberry juice
3 oz of bourbon
1-2 tbsp of sugar
1 tbsp of lemon juice

It is very simple to make this cocktail. You need a shaker and some crushed ice. Put the crushed ice and all of the ingredients into a shaker. Shake the mixture and strain into a cocktail glass. Keep in mind that you can add more or less bourbon and/or cranberry juice. It all depends on how strong or weak you want the drink.

Subway Breeze
The Subway Breeze is similar to the Blizzard, but this drink contains grapefruit juice. This is very fruity and fun drink, and very easy to make; thus making it a perfect drink to serve at parties.

Ingredients:
2 oz of cranberry juice
3 oz of bourbon
2 oz of grapefruit juice

Take a whiskey glass; fill it with 2-3 ice cubes. Pour the bourbon into the ice-filled glass. Then, add cranberry and grapefruit juice, and finally stir the mixture.

Hot Buttered Bourbon
This drink will definitely keep you warm during the holiday season. Hot Buttered Rum is a great drink to order at a bar and/or restaurant, especially during those cold winter nights. Also, it is a great drink to serve to guests at a party, who are not in the mood for cold or chilled drinks.

Ingredients:
1 ¼ oz of bourbon whiskey
1 tbsp of butter
3-4 oz of hot water

Take the bourbon and the hot water and pour both of them into a glass, preferable some type of mug. Then take the butter and put it into the mixture, and let it float on the top. At parties it is always nice to try and garnish your drinks/cocktails with lemon and orange wedges.

Cinnamon Road
One of the most festive bourbon-based drink/cocktails is the Cinnamon Road.

Ingredients:
1 oz of bourbon whiskey
½-1 oz of cinnamon schnapps
¾ oz of Apfelkorn liqueur

It is a very easy drink to make. You need a shaker and some crushed ice. Put the crushed ice and all of the ingredients into a shaker. Shake the mixture and strain into a cocktail glass.

Bourbon Cream
Bourbon Cream is another old-time favorite. Most of the drinks that are bourbon-based are very simple and basic drinks. This is no exception, because the drink consists of only 2 ingredients and they both are mentioned in the title.

Ingredients:
½- ¾ oz of cream
2-3 oz of bourbon whiskey

You need a shaker and some crushed ice. Put the crushed ice, the bourbon, and the cream all into a shaker. Shake the mixture and strain into a cocktail glass. This drink is often garnished with a cherry.

Kentucky Blizzard
The Kentucky Blizzard is a bourbon-based drink that is fun to serve at any party, and/or to order at a bar. It follows the theme of drinks that would be perfect to serve during the holiday season.

Ingredients:
1-2 tbsp of sugar
½ oz of lime juice
1-2 oz of cranberry juice
1-2 oz of bourbon whiskey
½ oz of grenadine syrup

This drink is similar to many that I have listed, because it involves a shaker and some cracked/crushed ice. All of the ingredients listed should be poured into the shaker along with the ice and shaken well. Then, the mixture should be strained and poured into a cocktail glass. It makes it fun and festive when the drink is garnished with a slice of lemon or orange.

Kentucky Cocktail
This drink tastes excellent and consists of ingredients that are easy to find, making it easy to be ordered at a bar or restaurant. Also, with the ingredients being easy to find and the drink being simple to make, the Kentucky Cocktail would be a perfect drink to serve at a party.

Ingredients:
½- ¾ oz of pineapple juice
1-2 oz of bourbon whiskey

This drink is simple to make. Both of the ingredients should be poured into a shaker and shaken with crushed ice. Next, the mixture should be strained into a cocktail glass, and then it is ready to serve.

Kentucky Hot Chocolate
Just like the Hot Buttered Bourbon, this drink is another warm beverage to keep your or your party guests warm during the cold holiday season.

Ingredients:
1 cup of hot chocolate
1-2 oz of bourbon whiskey
½- ¾ oz of dark crème de cacao

All you need mug of hot chocolate. Pour the bourbon and chocolate liqueur into the hot chocolate and stir. To add a little more holiday cheer to the drink and to make it even more festive try sprinkling some freshly grated nutmeg on top of the mixture.

Bourbon and Water
This drink is for those people who do not like their drinks complicated. If you enjoy the simple things in life, then you will like bourbon and water. This drink also is for the people who are big fans of bourbon, because that is all you are going to taste when drinking this mix.

Ingredients:
2-3 oz of bourbon
3-4 oz of water

This drink is very simple to make, and depending on how strong you want your mix you may want to add more or less bourbon.

Coffee Old-Fashioned
This is another warm drink that will be nice to serve at Christmas parties and/or to order at your local bar or restaurant. It will keep you warm all night long, as well as make your holiday season even more cheerful.

Ingredients:
2 dashes of bitters
1 ½ - 2 tbsp of sugar
½ cup of water
1 ½ - 2 oz of club soda
1 - 1 ½ oz of bourbon
1 - 2 tbsp of instant coffee

Take the instant coffee and let it dissolve into the water. Add the bourbon, bitters, and sugar as you continually stir the drink. Lastly, add the club soda and ice can also be added to cool the drink. If serving at a party it would look nice if garnished with a slice of lemon or orange.

When making any bourbon-based holiday drink, I prefer to use Jim Beam or Knob Creek. These bourbons are fairly inexpensive and can be found at any local liquor store. They are good quality bourbons and will mix well with any of the drinks that I have listed above. Serving any of these drinks at your holiday or Christmas party will definitely delight your guests!