The Best Bourbon Cocktails – 3 Easy Favorites
Whether we are hosting a Christmas party or a Thanksgiving dinner, it’s great to have some classic, simple and festive cocktail recipes at our fingertips. The Best Bourbon Cocktails – 3 Easy Favorites are always part of our line up!
The Best Bourbon Cocktail Recipes
Kansas Bourbon – it’s definitely a thing. We are in love with Boot Hill Distillery Bourbon….the first “soil to sip” craft bourbon from Kansas.
Boot Hill Bourbon is a high-wheat 90 proof aged bourbon with notes of caramel, fruit, and spice – absolutely delicious!
Our friends at BHD provided me with three delightful party cocktail recipes and I couldn’t have been more pleased with their delicious-ness!
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Dodge City Cider and Dodge City Cider Punch are both made with apple cider, cranberry juice and a cinnamon simple-syrup.
Santa’s Milk and Cookies is an ultra-creamy cocktail that St. Nick will find to be a rich extravagance.
And, lastly, my favorite: Hot Buttered Bourbon (another apple cider favorite) is absolutely made for “fire-pit and friends” experiences.
What Ingredients Will I Need to Make Bourbon Cocktails?
- Your favorite aged bourbon – we prefer Boot Hill Distillery Bourbon
- Apple cider
- Butter batter (easy recipe below)
- Simple syrup (easy recipe below)
- Whipping cream
- Cinnamon syrup (easy recipe below)
- Cranberry juice
- Lemon juice
What Tools Do I need to Make Bourbon Cocktails?
- Your favorite cocktail glasses
- A small cookie dough scoop for the butter batter for making Hot Buttered Bourbon Cocktails
- A punch bowl and ladle if making Dodge City Cider Punch or a big batch of Santa’s Milk and Cookies
- An insulated carafe if making a big batch of the Hot Buttered Bourbon
- Pretty holiday napkins for serving
How to Make Hot Buttered Bourbon Cocktails
Add 1 ball of butter batter to a cocktail mug.
Add the apple cider and bourbon, stirring to combine.
Top with hot water; garnish with an apple slice, if desired. Enjoy at once.
How to Make Santa’s Milk and Cookies Cocktails
Add the heavy cream, simple syrup and bourbon to a shaker with ice.
Shake well, the strain into a cocktail glass; top with a bit of nutmeg.
Serve with sugar cookies, if desired.
How to Make Dodge City Cider Cocktails
In your favorite cocktail glass, stir together all the ingredients.
Add ice; garnish with a cinnamon stick, if desired.
How to Make Dodge City Cider Punch (aka Christmas Punch)
In a punch bowl, combine bourbon with the apple cider, cranberry juice, lemon juice, and cinnamon syrup.
Serve over ice, garnished with a cinnamon stick, if desired.
Easy Recipe Tips for Making Bourbon Cocktails
These cocktails can be made individually very quickly or make them in a bigger batch.
Santa’s Milk and Cookies and Dodge City Cider Punch can both be made in a punch bowl.
Hot Buttered Bourbon can be made in a batch and stored in an insulated carafe to serve around the fire pit.
To help keep the simple syrup and the cinnamon syrup keep longer in the fridge, add a generous splash of vodka.
For grating the whole nutmeg over the Santa’s Milk and Cookies cocktail, use a rounded grater to make the job super easy.
To keep the Dodge City Cider Punch chilled in the punch bowl, freeze equal parts of apple cider and cranberry juice together to make ice cubes; this will keep the punch chilled without watering it down.
More Cocktail Recipes to Enjoy
- Cranberry Moscow Mules by the Pitcher
- Holiday Sangria for a Crowd
- Instant Pot Apple Pie Moonshine
- How to Make Refreshing Pitcher Mojitos
- Salsa Bloody Mary Cocktails
- Raspberry Lemonade Sangria
- Pitcher Margaritas
The Best Bourbon Cocktails – 3 Easy Holiday Favorites
Ingredients
Hot Buttered Bourbon Cocktail
- 1 ball of butter batter approx. 1-inch in size
- 4 oz. hot liquid cider
- 2 oz. bourbon
- hot water
Butter Batter for Making Hot Buttered Bourbon Cocktails
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp. all spice
Dodge City Cider Cocktail
- 1.5 oz. white whiskey or bourbon, we prefer Boot Hill Distillery Bourbon
- 2 oz. apple cider
- 1 oz. cranberry juice
- 1/2 oz. lemon juice
- 1/2 oz. cinnamon simple syrup
- cinnamon sticks, optional as a garnishment
Dodge City Cider Punch
- 1 750 ml bottle white whiskey or bourbon, we prefer Boot Hill Distillery Bourbon
- 1/2 gallon apple cider
- 2 cups cranberry juice
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup cinnamon syrup
- cinnamon sticks, optional as a garnishment
Cinnamon Simple Syrup for Making Dodge City Cider Cocktails or Dodge City Cider Punch
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 8 cinnamon sticks
Santa's Milk and Cookies Cocktail
- 2 oz. heavy cream
- 1.5 oz. vanilla simple syrup
- 2 oz. bourbon, we prefer Boot Hill Distillery Bourbon
- 2 of your favorite sugar cookies, optional
Vanilla Simple Syrup for Making Santa's Milk and Cookies Cocktail
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Butter Batter for the Hot Buttered Bourbon Cocktail
- Soften butter and mix all ingredients together until well combined. Store in a container in the fridge. Use a small scoop to dispense.Â
Make the Hot Buttered Bourbon Cocktail
- Add batter and hot cider to a glass mug; stir until dissolved. Add bourbon, then top cocktail with hot water; garnish with the apple slice.
Make the Cinnamon Simple Syrup for the Dodge City Cider or the Dodge City Cider Punch
- In a saucepan over medium heat, add 1 cup sugar and 1 cup of water, stirring to combine; add the cinnamon sticks. Bring the simple syrup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes; cool.
Make the Dodge City Cider Cocktail
- In your favorite cocktail glass, stir together all the ingredients; add ice and garnish with a cinnamon stick.
Make the Dodge City Cider Punch
- In a punch bowl, stir all ingredients together. Serve punch over ice in each punch glass, adding a cinnamon stick as a garnish, if desired. To keep the punch chilled in the punch bowl, freeze equal parts of apple cider and cranberry juice together to make ice cubes.
Make the Vanilla Simple Syrup for the Santa's Milk and Cookies Cocktail
- In a saucepan over medium heat, add 1 cup sugar and 1 cup of water, stirring to combine. Bring the simple syrup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes; cool fully, then stir in the vanilla extract.
Make the Santa's Milk and Cookies Cocktail
- Add all the ingredients (except the sugar cookies) to a shaker with ice; shake well. Strain the ingredients into your favorite cocktail glass; lightly grate nutmeg over the top. Place a pretty Christmas napkin on to a small plate, add the prepared cocktail with 2 sugar cookies on the side.
Notes
Nutrition
