Winter party drinks

[kelseyfrost]

I'm planning on hosting a birthday/holiday party this coming weekend, and to avoid much recycling, we wanted to make some nice winter cocktails to supplement a keg of some sort. My drinking habits don't go much beyond beer, wine and a scotch or whiskey straight up. What are some of your favorite winter party drink recipes?

[slobhan]

If you have a budget, I like putting out a few cocktail ingredients with recipe cards, like Old Fashioneds, Manhattans, Sazeracs (as you can see I like bourbon & rye).

Sugarplum brandy cider makes a nice big batch (from my employer):
http://imbibemagazine.blogspot.com/20...

[fussycouple]

Hot buttered rum toddies. Simple, warm, and good.

[Juniper]

Hot mulled whiskey. Canadian Club (or equivalent), with cloves, cinnamon, ginger and a simple syrup, served in a mug with a curl of orange zest.

[gatorfoodie]

I made a butternut sqaush apple cider at my last party. It was a big time hit.

Saute half a butternut squash (peeled, cubed, seeded) in a little butter just to soften it up. Add a couple cinnamon sticks, a star anise, and some cloves. Add a gallon or so of fresh cider. Simmer but don't boil. Leave the top off and your house will smell incredible.

I had a couple options for finishing it and left the decision to the drinker: Calvados, Captain Morgan, and believe it or not Captain Morgan

[2top]

BUTTERNUT & FALERNUM
Ingredients

2 oz. Matusalem Gran Reserva Rum
3/4 oz. John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum Liqueur
grated fresh nutmeg to garnish
2 oz. butternut squash jus, created with:
8lb butternut squash
5 tablespoons brown sugar
5 tablespoons brown butter
Instructions
Make approximately 16 oz. of butternut squash jus by juicing the squash. Simmer juice to reduce by one third, add 5 tablespoons of brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Add 5 tablespoons of brown butter to the juice and refrigerate overnight. Pass through a sieve to remove the butter solids.
Into a cocktail mixer pour 2 oz. of butternut squash and add the remaining ingredients except nutmeg.
Shake and strain into a double rocks glass 3/4 filled with fresh ice cubes.
Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

[stellamystar]

Today on Martha she took a bottle of vodka, and made an ice mold around it filled with holly, springs of spruce in one. Limes & Cranberry in the other. She wrapped a cloth napkin around it so you could hold it. It was a very nice and looked great. Keeps the vodka very cold.

[millygirl]

Love it, great idea re: ice mould. I also like manhattan's in the winter. Other ideas would be black russians, peppermint patties, grasshoppers, golden cadillacs, which are much sweeter.
The best though at this time of year is A Mistletoe -
1 oz vodka, 1/2 cassis, top with cranberry juice. Top with ice and sprinkle a frozen cranberry or two. Deelish, and very girlie.

[mamaciita]

I love Sangria, and it goes over gorgeously at parties. Here's my (often altered) recipe:

1 bottle red wine
1 cup juice (I like the Tropicana refrigerated mixed berry flavor)
1/2 cup triple sec, Grand Marnier, brandy or cognac
2 T sugar
sliced oranges, lemons, limes, and/or apples, strawberries, grapes, pineapple, peaches, etc.

If I have time, I marinate the fruit in the liqueur, juice, and sugar for a day or more before stirring in the wine. In winter, I add a few cloves, a cinnamon stick, and a star anise pod.

I usually make 4-6 batches and serve out of a big glass cookie jar.

My favorite winter cocktail mix came from Gourmet last Christmas:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/dri...

I make the cranberry mix, chill it, and use it for cranberry margaritas (HEAVENLY!), champagne cocktails, vodka tonics, etc.

[AlaskaChick]

How about - Hot mulled/spiced wine, well spiked eggnog, a cranberrybased punch, and some basic spirits and mixers?