Whiskey Drinks for New Year's

This New Year's Eve, when you throw that big bash, you might want to have a special cocktail or two lined up for your guests. While the traditional champagne is served at Midnight, throughout the night your guests might appreciate a little something special. Whiskey is a liquor with a smoky and warm flavor that blends well with many other things to make a fabulous cocktail. Here, I have two traditional cocktails and a hot drink made with whiskey. All are fabulous and also fun and party appropriate!

Fizzy Whiskey Cooler

2 ounces of blended Whiskey

4 ounces of lemon lime soda such as Sprite

lemon twist for garnish

cherry for garnish

Mix the two ingredients in a highball glass with ice and stir. Garnish with a lemon twist and a cherry. This is a light tasting, fizzy cocktail that is great for parties. It goes down easy and has a great taste. This would also be fairly simple to mix up in larger quantities for a punch bowl. If you are making this for a punch, make sure that you do not mix it up too early. You do not want to loose too much of the fizz.

Hot Toddy

1 teaspoon of honey

6 ounces of boiling water

1 ½ ounces of blended whiskey

2 whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick

1 slice of lemon

1 pinch of ground nutmeg

Pour the honey, boiling water, and whiskey into a mug. Spice it with the cloves and cinnamon, and put in the slice of lemon. Stir well and then let the mixture stand for 5 minutes so the flavors can mingle. Then, sprinkle with a pinch of nutmeg before serving. You can also use hot tea for the base rather than water for an even better flavor. I use mulled cider sometimes as well. This is a great warming drink to have available for an outside party! You can make this up in advance and leave it warming in your crock pot. The smells of the spices will permeate your home and give it a festive smell!

Fizzy Fruit Cocktail

Put in a shaker that is half full of ice:

2 ounces of Scotch Whiskey

1 ounce of Apricot Liqueur

1 ounce of Orange Juice

Soda Water

Shake the first 3 ingredients in a shaker and pour over ice. Top with soda water. You can garnish with a cherry or an orange twist.