Christmas cookie cocktail

I wanted to try a new drink last night and came up with this while fiddling around the bar. It tastes like exactly what, well, the holidays! Mmmmmm...

Ingredients:
• 1 1/2 part Irish cream liqueur
• 1/4 part peppermint schnapps
• 1/2 part golden or dark rum
• 1 part heavy cream
• 2 parts cooled coffee
• crushed gingersnaps (to garnish)
• mini candy cane (to garnish)



Prepare your glass with the crushed cookies ( I swirled some melted chocolate in the bottom of the glass too) and put it in the freezer to get nice and frosty.
Combine liquids in a mixer and shake vigorously with ice. The mixture will become slightly frothy, and extra icy... Mmmmm.
Strain into your favorite martini glass, ignore the calories until New Year's day (uh-huh, sure... like I'll actually end up at the gym) and enjoy!

Mistletoe Martini

I generally tend to think of melon during the summer, but this particular drink is yummy all year round... that and it's ridiculously festive looking.
Ingredients:

• 1 part melon liqueur
• 2 part gin or vodka
• Splash dry vermouth (optional)

This one is as basic as it gets. Shake, then strain. The fun parts are the garnishes. Lemon twists taste great, but during the holiday season, I like a pretty sugar rim. Try using colored sugars, maraschino cherries, cranberries, pomegranate seeds... anything to add a little pizazz.

Time to sit back, and sip. 

Rainbow sprinkles... diy

Basically, the holidays mean sugar, and lots of it... So, why not make it extra special. All if those fancy holiday cookies are perfectly dusted with the most beautiful colors, and festive drinks have festive rims.
This is one of those crazy simple how-tos that will get your creative juices flowing and save you some serious cash. 
I should to give it to the store bought options for convenience, but this will take you even less time than it would to drag on your winter gear, scrape the ice off the car and jaunty on over the the store. So, in short. This way rocks.

"citrus"-cello

One of my favorite drinks is limoncello over ice. It's an amazing lemony liqueur that will always remind me of the summer after high school when I went to Italy.
Loving to experiment, I decided to expand the citrus fruits used in the drink to all of my favorites. What I've created may well be my favorite drink ever. I've had it alone (and it really doesn't need anything but ice), as a mixer, and drizzled over cakes to keep them extra moist. I think I'm in love.


Ingredients:

•1 lemon
•2 mandarin oranges (or clementines... The mandarins don't have pips)
•1 pink grapefruit
•750ml vodka
•1 C water
•1 C sugar

Ok, so, this is pretty simple, you just need time. This recipe takes about 3 days and a dew supplies. I like to keep old wine bottles for this project. (you'll need about two) They're pretty and you can just use a cork to seal them.


First, zest all of your fruit and place in a really big jar. You can use a big pitcher too. Pour all of your vodka over the zest. Stir and cover. You can leave this on the counter, just avoid direct light.
Next, take your citrus and juice them. Set the juice in the fridge until day 3.
3 days later... Ok, now it's time to make a simple syrup. As the name implies, it's seriously simple. Take equal parts (1 cup each) sugar and water and put in a small pot over med heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and let cool completely.
Once the syrup has cooled, it's time to combine everything. Strain out the zest from the vodka. Stir in the juice and syrup.
Bottle you're delish beverage in your clean, empty wine bottles. It's best enjoyed cold, so keep her in the fridge and enjoy!

The Aaglaia

Drink time! I like my cocktails. I specifically love gin based drinks and citrus. I made this twist on a classic gin drink after making some awesome homemade "citrus"-cello. It's super easy and super delish.

I named it "Agalia" after the Greek goddess of splendor, adornment and magnificence. Who can't use a little of that during the holidays.

 Let me know what you think.

Ingredients:
• 1 part gin
• 1/2 part limoncello
• 2-3 parts tonic water

Stir the gin and cello together. Pour over ice into a rocks/Collins style glass. (mine were all dirty so I used a white wine glass) Top with tonic. The total amount of tonic is up to you and really depends on how much you love gin.
Garnish with pretty ice cubes or a lemon twist.
Sip & enjoy.

Cranberries and rosemary add a festive touch to the ice cubes.