Holiday Cocktails

I'm starting with New Year's Eve as it's really both the end and the beginning of a year isn't it?   Anyway most people just prefer to drink Champagne on New Year's Eve, but you can serve Champagne cocktails instead which are usually very popular.

One of my favorite Champagne cocktails for New Year's Eve is the Kir Imperial which is very similar to the more well known cocktail - Kir Royale - except that it uses a raspberry liqueur.   I personally make mine with Chambord.

Kir Imperial

1/2 oz Chambord

Champagne

Iced Champagne glass

I pour the Chambord into the bottom of an iced (or just really cold) Champagne glass and then top up with cold Champagne stirring gently with a swizzle stick as I top it up.   The result is delicious and a great way to celebrate New Years Eve ..... or any other celebration really.

Depending on how you're celebrating Valentine's Day there are definitely some lovely cocktails to enjoy.   Below you'll find a selection of Valentine's Day cocktails for two which are great to have when going out or at an intimate dinner for two at your place.

If you prefer to spend your Valentine's Day evening snuggled up on the couch watching a movie (this is great when you've got a young family as it's much easier to organize) then you might prefer a hot chocolate cocktail - these are really delicious.   One of my favorites is a Snuggler and you can actually get a mug with the Snuggler recipe on it - how good is that?

You can drink whatever cocktail you like on February 22nd, as long as it's a Margarita!   There are some great margarita recipes available from fruity margaritas to frozen margaritas and classic margaritas.

The original margarita recipe is a balance of sweet and sour flavors and is made from tequila, lime juice and cointreau.

Check out a range of margarita recipes at the link below.

Margarita Time
Anytime is margarita time, the delicious blend of tequila, lime juice and cointreau has held it's own against a range of other cocktails for decades now.

One thing always springs to mind when I think of Easter cocktails and that's chocolate!   I usually just make up some 'normal' chocolate cocktails and rename them if I'm having a party with friends.   For example I have a favorite cocktail called a Choc Bunny which gets renamed for Easter as the Chocolate Easter Bunny and it's delicious -

Chocolate Easter Bunny

1 part Baileys

1 part Kahlua

Chocolate milk

Shake the Baileys and Kahlua together in a cocktail shaker with ice and then strain into a highball glass.   Top up with chocolate milk and you have a delicious, creamy chocolate Easter cocktail that you won't want to stop drinking!

Chocolate Cocktails
These cocktails will entrance everyone who loves the creamy taste of chocolate....with the added buzz of alcohol! I'm known for a couple of loves (besides family of course) and they are chocolate and cocktails so combining the two was bound to happen.

My Top Easter Cocktails
Well it will be Easter in no time at all and with four days off of work this means getting together with friends and family. I find friendly get togethers are a fantastic time to have a few cocktails, so here are my pick for the top Easter Cocktails.

It's hardly surprising with the emphasis on St Patrick's Day seeming to be more and more on drinking that there would be such a large selection of St Patrick's Day cocktails available to enjoy.

There are green St Patrick's Day cocktails, Baileys cocktails and Guinness cocktails to choose from just for starters.    I must admit I usually stick with a Baileys and milk after having a Kilkenny first if I'm out on St Patrick's Day.

I've compiled a collection of St Patrick's Day cocktails for you to choose from at the site below however -

St Patrick's Day Cocktails
Let's take a walk through the shamrocks and look at some delicious St Paddy's Day cocktails from irish whiskey based to Baileys and Guinness based and onto Guinness cocktails there's certainly a lot of drinks to choose from.

A very cool 4th of July cocktail is the American Flag Shooter - it's a visually stunning cocktail and it's great to serve these up if you want to impress your guests.

American Flag

1 part Grenadine

1 part White Creme de Cacao

1 part Blue Curacao

Basically you want to layer these in order to create a red, white and blue drink.   Start with the Grenadine on the bottom of a shot glass, next layer the white Creme de Cacoa on top of the Grenadine.   The final step is to carefully layer the Blue Curacao on top of the white Creme de Cacoa layer.

Now another option would just be to offer a selection of red cocktails, white cocktails and blue cocktails.   If you're making a lot of drinks you could arrange these red, white and blue cocktails onto a tray like the American flag.

If you feel like a cocktail on July 19th then it had better be the delicious daiquiri.   Summer time is a time when the daiquiri gets taken to a whole new level with delectible frozen daiquiris emerging.

The classic daiquiri mixes the sweetness of sugar syrup with the freshness of lime juice and the richness of rum to create a drink that's enjoyed around the world.

Check out different variations of the daiquiri at the page below -

Be a Daiquiri Diva
Delve into a Daiquiri Diva's world and try to take a walk on our side of the road! Learn how to get the balance of flavors perfect in your daiquiri and experiment with some of our delicious daquiri recipes.

There are some fantastic Halloween cocktails to choose from, but the best Halloween cocktail party I attended (as a guest) simply re-named 'normal' cocktails with spooky monikers and spent the time on the presentation.

Halloween glasses and ice cubes with creepy crawlies in them, punch bowls with dry ice creating an eerie fog - the atmosphere was amazing.

If you want to do something similar you'll love some of the links on the page below, if you just want to create Halloween inspired drinks such as the Vampire's Kiss or an Ectoplasm and Eyeballs Cocktail then the page below is also full of these recipes!

Christmas is a great time to enjoy cocktails so why not give the Eggnog a rest this year and try something like a Santa's Sack or a Christmas Pudding instead?

My favorite cocktail for Christmas is a Snowball as it's the only way I get to have snow at Christmas as I live in sunny Queensland, Australia and Christmas is in the middle of our summer.

Snowball

1 part vodka

1 part advocaat

1 part cream

lemonade

Place vodka, advocaat & cream into a cocktail shaker, shake well and pour into a highball glass. Top up with lemonade slowly (the cream and lemonade cause the drink to froth)and gently stir.