Holiday Survival Guide

Aww, the hustle and bustle has started... Working long hours, shuffling from party to party, store to store, counting down the days while the air again becomes chewable. Yes, that definitely says it's the holiday season here in the City of Salt.

No matter what age, everyone is either a "Scrooge" or a nostalgic child this time of year, which means you either loathe or love those awkward family and work get-togethers. Well, no matter which side you fall on, everyone loves great holiday themed cocktails, and how better to break the ice and impress (or escape everyone.)

Well look no further for holiday themed cocktail recipes and lucky for us in the Salt Lake Valley, we have a plethora of local distilleries that have our back and are happy to share their libations with the likes of us, heathens and all.
All our cocktail recipes listed here feature a local selection, and keep in mind that there are many distilleries that offer variations on certain spirits, so feel free to experiment with brands. Without further ado, here is our holiday survival guide!

On the sweeter side of the street...

These cocktails are a bit sweeter, and will go down a little too smoothly, so look out...

• Midnight Cosmopolitan
• 1 1/2 oz Vodka- Holystone Perla Vodka
• 1/2 oz Blue Curacao
• 3/4 oz Fresh Lime Juice
• 1/2 oz Cranberry Juice
• Combine in cocktail tins with ice, shake for 10 seconds or until tins get frosty. Serve in chilled martini glass.
• Garnish with rosemary sprig.

• Pomegranate Fizz

• 2 oz White Rum- Dented Brick Antelope Island Rum
• 2 oz Pomegranate Juice
• 1/2 oz Fresh Lime Juice
• Fill collins glass with ice. Add ingredients to shaker with ice, shake til tins are cold, strain into glass, top with seltzer water. Serve with reusable straw. 
• Garnish with pomegranate arils on top of drink and mint sprig- opt

• Mocha Madness Martini

• 2 oz Vodka- Hammer Spring Potato Vodka
• 1 oz Cold Brew Concentrate- Blue Copper Coffee
• 3/4 oz Coffee Liqueur
• 1 pinch Sea Salt
• Combine ingredients in cocktail shaker with ice, strain into chilled martini glass. 
• Garnish with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, or fine ground espresso powder-opt.

Time to spice things up a bit...

From baking spices to soul warming ginger these drinks will thaw out any heart that's three sizes too small. 

• The Bitter Ginger
• 2 oz Blanco Tequila- Rabbit & Grass Agave Spirit
• 1 oz Tawny Port
• 3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1 oz Ginger Liqueur- Domaine de Canton 
• 1-2 dashes Angostura Bitters
• Fill high ball glass with ice, add ingredients to shaker with ice, shake til tins are cold, strain into glass, top with ginger beer. Serve with reusable straw.
• Garnish with lemon wheel and candied ginger on bamboo cocktail pick.

• Spiced Manhattan- (Requires advanced prep.)

• Spice Infused Vermouth-
• 750 mL Sweet Vermouth
• 2 tsp Allspice
• 6 Cinnamon Sticks
• 6 Whole Cloves
• 1 dash Cayenne Pepper
• 1 dash Sea Salt
• Combine all in pitcher with tight fitting lid, cold infuse for 1 week. Using fine mesh strainer and funnel, pour back into vermouth bottle and its ready to serve.
• 2 1/2 oz Rye- High West Double Rye
• 3/4 oz Infused Vermouth
• 1-2 dashes Angostura Bitters
• Add ingredients in stir glass with large ice. Strain into coupe, drop in luxardo cherry. Grate fresh nutmeg over top- opt

Warm Sippers and Flippers

These drinks will definitely take the chill out of the room and from your bones.

• Maple Leaf Flip
• 1 egg, separated- keep yolk and white
• 2 oz Gin- Beehive Jack Rabbit Gin
• 1 oz Buttermilk or Half & Half
• 1/2 oz Pure Maple Syrup
• Place egg yolk in cocktail shaker with a few ice cubes. Seal and shake vigorously for 10 seconds. Open shaker, fill with more ice. Add gin, buttermilk, egg white, and maple syrup. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds, strain into coupe making sure to tap shaker to get most of the froth. 
• Garnish with ground cinnamon through stencil to get design on froth.

• Old World Wassail

• 1 gallon Apple Cider, unfiltered
• 4 cups Orange Juice, not concentrate
• 4 Hibiscus Tea Bags
• 10 Cinnamon Sticks
• 1 tsp Whole Cloves
• 5 inches Fresh Ginger, peeled and cut into slices
• 1 apple, sliced into rounds
• 1 orange, sliced into rounds
• Stud the apple and orange slices with cloves. Place all ingredients in slow cooker on high for 3-4 hrs or until color has dardened and fruit is soft. Remove tea bags.
• 2 oz Spiced Rum- Distillery 36 Brigham Spiced Rum
• Add rum in mug, top with hot wassail.
• Garnish with orange peel or orange wedge

• Gingerbread Flip (Requires advanced prep)
• 6 oz Molasses
• 6 oz Hot Water
• Combine molasses and water, stir til combined. Pour into empty bottle and chill before use.
• 2 oz Waterpocket Blanco Rum
• 1/2 oz molasses syrup
• 3/4 oz Ginger Liqueur
• 2-3 dashes Pimento or Allspice Bitters
• 1 Egg White
• Add all ingredients to shaker with ice. Shake twenty seconds to get a good froth, strain into coupe glass. Garnish with cinnamon stick.

Gather 'round ye olde Punch Bowl

Easy to make punch bowls minimize time spent making drinks and more time gettin' your party on!

• Cardamom Scotch Punch
• Cardamom Syrup (Requires advanced prep)
• 1 oz Cardamom Pods
• 1 cups water
• 1 cups sugar
• Placed cardamom in small food processor, pulse til broken up in large pieces. Add cardamom and all other ingredients in medium saucepan. Bring to boil, remove from heat. Steep for 15 mins, strain using fine mesh strainer.
  
• 1/2 cup Laphroaig 10 year
• 1 cup Bourbon- Outlaw Distillery
• 1 cup Ginger Liqueur
• 1/2 cup Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1/2 cup Fresh Lime Juice
• All Cardamom Syrup
• 2 ltr Seltzer or Ginger Soda
• Combine all in punch bowl, top with seltzer water. Can have ice in glasses when people serve it up. 

• Rosemary Aperol Punch

• 750 mL Aperol
• 16 oz Bourbon- Sugar House Bourbon 
• 3 oz Honey
• 3 oz Water
• 8 oz Grapefruit Juice
• 6-8 Oz Orgeat- Bar Daddy, opt
• 750 mL Dry Sparkling Wine
• 2 ltr Citrus Soda or Seltzer
• Orange Slices and Rosemary Sprigs
• Combine water and honey in bottom of punch bowl, whisk gently til honey is infused. Add remaining ingredients except seltzer/soda and sparkling wine, only add those when ready to serve.

• Eggnog (Requires Advanced Prep)
• 4 cups Whole Milk
• 5 whole Cloves
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 12 Egg Yolks (Save the whites if you are going to make flips)
• 1 1/2 cups Sugar
• 3 cups White Rum- Waterpocket Blanco Rum
• 4 cups Heavy Cream
  
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp Ground Nutmeg
• In heavy saucepan combine: milk, cloves, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and cinnamon. Over low heat slowly bring to boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat as soon as begins to boil, you do not want it to scorch.
• In large bowl, combine egg yolks and sugar. Whisk until fluffy. Measure out 2 cups of hot milk. Whisk egg mixture while slowly adding hot milk, once all milk is added pour egg mixture back into saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 3 minutes or until thickened. DO NOT ALLOW MIXTURE TO BOIL. Strain to remove cloves. Let cool, then add rum, cream, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and nutmeg. Refrigerate overnight before serving.

On the rocks...

If cocktails are not your go-to and you prefer to sip neat or on the rocks, here is a not so short collection of our favorites from all us here at Spirit Guides.

• Rittenhouse- Rye
• Tastes of cocoa, citrus, spices, vanilla. Lingering spice. 
• George T. Stagg- Bourbon
• Rich, tart, full, spicy, fruity. Long lingering finish.
• Bozal Espadin-Barril- Mezcal
• Citrus and floral, green pepper nose, creamy banana and citrus.
• Makers Mark- Cask Strength- Bourbon
• Surprisingly smooth, amped up notes of oak, caramel, vanilla, and spice.
• Waterpocket Robber's Roost-Light Whiskey
• Regular
• Barrel Strength
• Flavors evolve depending on dilution-toffee, caramel, sweet, lingering spice.
• Larressingle VSOP- Armagnac
• Refinement, rich smoky bouquet of dried fruit. Plum and vanilla along with spicy lingering finish.
• Hennessy VS- Cognac
• Delicate, caramel, nuts, vanilla finish. 
• Hennessy VSOP- Cognac
• Sophistication, french oak, vanilla, spice, candied fruit.
• Courvoisier VSOP- Cognac
• Seductive, full bodied, rich, notes of peach and toasted almond.
• Ransom Whippersnapper- Whiskey
• Cereal, citrus, vanilla, toasted oak.
• Talisker 10 year- Scotch: Isle of Skye
• Smoke, salt, pepper, apple, peated smoke barley finish.
• Laphroiag Quarter Cask- Scotch: Islay
• Deep, complex, maritime, sweet, smoky, spice.
• Sugar House Boilermaker- Bourbon aged in beer barrels
• Vanilla, chocolate, malt, burnt sugar, oak
• High West
• Campfire- Blend of Scotch, Bourbon, and Rye whiskeys.
• Rye, Bourbon smoke, peat, sweet. Long finish.
• Midwinter Night's Dram- Rendezvous Rye finished in port and French oak barrels.
• Spicy, rye, plum, vanilla, caramel, cinnamon. Finish long lasting spice.

You are now armed and ready to face whatever this holiday season will throw at you, survival is your middle name...

Here are the featured spirits from our cocktail recipes, if you are unsure where to find them Utah's DABC has an easy to use app to help find them.
Don't forget to swing by the distilleries at some point to meet the makers themselves and mention that we sent you!

Holystone Distilling

Featured Spirit- Perla Vodka: General Distribution

207 West 4860 South

Salt Lake City

503-328-4356

Dented Brick Distillery

Featured Spirit- Antelope Island Rum: General Distribution

3100 South Washington Street

South Salt Lake City

801-883-9837

Hammer Spring Distillery

Featured Spirit- Vodka: General Distribution

3697 West 1987 South, Building 5

Salt Lake City

801-599-4704

New World Distillery

Featured Spirit- Rabbit & Grass Blanco Agave Spirit: General Distribution

4795 East 2600 North

Eden

385-244-0144

High West Distillery

Featured Spirit- Double Rye: General Distribution

27649 Old Lincoln Highway

Wanship

435-649-8300

Distillery 36

Featured Spirit- Brigham Spiced Rum: General Distribution

2374 South Redwood Road

West Valley City

801-983-7303

Waterpocket Distillery

Featured Spirit- Blanco Rum: General Distribution

2084 West 2200 South

West Valley City

385-202-5725

Outlaw Distillery

Featured Spirit- Bourbon: Limited Distribution

552 West 8360 South

Sandy

801-706-1428

Beehive Distilling

Featured Spirit- Jack Rabbit Gin: General Distribution

2245 South West Temple

Salt Lake City

801-326-3913

Sugar House Distillery

Featured Spirit- Bourbon Whiskey: General Distribution

2212 South West Temple, #14

Salt Lake City

801-726-0403

Happy Holidays from all of us here at Spirit Guides and as always, keep the spirit!

Sabra E.
Spirit Guides Executive Chef and Chief Charcuterie Curator