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Santa's Milk and Cookies - a deliciously rich cocktail.

The Best Bourbon Cocktails - 3 Easy Holiday 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.
Servings: 15
Chef Alli
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

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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. 

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

 
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.
To grate 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.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 316kcalCarbohydrates: 58gProtein: 1gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 14mgPotassium: 208mgFiber: 2gSugar: 52gVitamin A: 265IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 46mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional Disclaimer

Chef Alli is not a dietitian or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate.

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