Holiday Party Cocktails: Batch Punches and Sparkling Sips

A holiday party needs one bowl, one sparkling pour, and one warm mug. The recipes below are the crowd versions: punches you mix in the morning, fizz you add when people arrive, and hot drinks for anyone who stays. Measures are in millilitres.

One bowl, one sparkling pour, one mug

Pick the cranberry apple punch or the sangria for the table, a Prosecco punch or a flute for the toast, and mulled wine or a hot toddy if the room is cold. Leave the other recipes for another night. Shaking a single cocktail and stirring a bowl are different jobs. The beginner's guide to cocktail making covers a shake, a stir, and a jigger if those are still new.

What to buy for the drinks you chose

Buy for the three drinks you are actually serving.

Vodka, if the cranberry apple punch is the bowl. The recipe uses 480 ml, so a 70 cl bottle covers it.
Bourbon or rye, for an Old Fashioned and a hot toddy.
Cognac or another brandy, for mulled wine. A VS is the right weight in a warm pan.
One 750 ml bottle of Prosecco, or Champagne if that is the toast you want.
Orange liqueur. The cranberry apple punch uses 240 ml.
Cranberry juice, cloudy apple juice, and the fruit the bowl asks for: oranges, a lime or lemon, cranberries, rosemary, and cinnamon sticks.
Caster sugar, for a syrup and for sugared cranberries.
Ice. Run out of ice and the batch was wasted.

A large jug or a punch bowl, a saucepan, a jigger, and a long bar spoon will run the table. Add a shaker only if you are also making the single serves.

If you are packing a bottle as a present, or you want three shorter drinks for a small group, use the easy holiday cocktails and bar gifts page.

Single serves, when you want a proper cocktail

These are one glass each. They use 30 ml for each US fluid ounce in the older versions of these recipes, so 0.75 fl oz is written as 22 ml and 0.5 fl oz as 15 ml.

Spiced cranberry margarita

60 ml blanco tequila
30 ml cranberry liqueur
22 ml fresh lime juice
a pinch of ground cinnamon
Garnish: sugared cranberries and a cinnamon stick

Shake with ice and strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass. For a brighter citrus edge, add a splash of orange liqueur.

Apple cider Old Fashioned

60 ml bourbon
15 ml apple cider syrup
2 dashes aromatic bitters
Garnish: an apple slice and a strip of orange peel

Stir with ice and strain over a large cube. Twist the peel over the glass so the oils land on the drink.

Apple cider syrup: simmer equal parts cloudy apple juice and soft light brown sugar until the sugar dissolves and the mix thickens slightly, then cool it. Any bourbon you would drink on a cube is the right bottle. bourbon is listed with the price in £. Rye makes the same drink drier.

Peppermint White Russian

60 ml vodka
30 ml coffee liqueur
15 ml peppermint schnapps
about 30 ml double cream
Garnish: a peppermint sweet

Build the vodka, coffee liqueur, and schnapps in a rocks glass with ice. Pour the cream slowly over the back of a spoon. Almond milk can stand in for the cream.

Warm mugs

Heat these gently. A rolling boil drives off aroma and turns the spices harsh. The cinnamon and clove are the same idea you will see in the cozy fall cocktails, in a smaller glass, if you want a spiced drink before the party itself.

Mulled wine

750 ml red wine
120 ml cognac or another brandy
4 cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves
2 orange slices

Put the wine, cinnamon, cloves, and orange in a saucepan. Warm over a low heat until it steams. Keep it below a boil. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the cognac. Serve in mugs. Star anise can go in with the cloves if you want another spice. A VS cognac is enough here. cognac shows the price in £. This batch is about 870 ml, roughly six small mugs.

Hot toddy

60 ml bourbon or rye
15 ml honey
30 ml fresh lemon juice
hot water, to top the mug
Garnish: a cinnamon stick and a lemon slice

Stir the spirit, honey, and lemon in a mug, then top with hot water. A grate of nutmeg is optional. Use the same whiskey you bought for the Old Fashioned.

Spiked hot chocolate

240 ml milk
hot chocolate powder for that amount of milk, as the packet directs
30 ml peppermint schnapps
whipped cream and a peppermint sweet, to finish

Heat the milk, whisk in the powder, and take it off the heat before you add the schnapps. Dark chocolate powder makes a deeper mug. This is one serving. Mix it when you pour it.

Sparkling pours

Add the bubbles at the table, in the bowl or in the glass. For the round before the punch, a shorter bitter-bright drink is an easier first glass. The pre-dinner aperitif guide is that list.

Photo by Durenne Loris / Unsplash

Cranberry Champagne cocktail

30 ml cranberry juice
15 ml orange liqueur
120 ml Champagne or another dry sparkling wine
Garnish: cranberries and a rosemary sprig

Build it in a flute. Slap the rosemary once between your palms so it smells of pine. Prosecco makes a softer, slightly sweeter glass than Champagne.

Pomegranate Prosecco punch

480 ml pomegranate juice
750 ml Prosecco
240 ml soda water
Garnish: pomegranate seeds and a lime wheel

Stir the juice and soda in a jug and chill them. Open the Prosecco when people are in the room and pour it in then. A dry or extra-dry bottle is what this jug wants. Prosecco is listed with the price in £. The batch is about 1.5 litres before ice, about 10 small glasses. A splash of vodka in the still base is optional. It changes the strength, so write it on the jug card if you add it.

Sparkling apple cider cocktail

120 ml cloudy apple juice
60 ml ginger ale
30 ml cognac or another brandy
Garnish: an apple slice and a cinnamon stick

Build it over ice in a wine glass. This is one glass. A splash of cranberry juice turns it pink.

Punches for the table

A US cup in the older versions of these bowls is 240 ml. Stir the still parts in the morning. Fruit and ice go in when you serve. Something salty on the table keeps a sweet punch in balance. The cocktail and food pairing guide matches the weight of the drink to the plate.

Photo by Jabari Timothy / Unsplash

Cranberry apple punch

960 ml cranberry juice
960 ml cloudy apple juice
480 ml vodka
240 ml orange liqueur
Garnish: apple slices, orange slices, and cranberries

Stir and chill. About 2.6 litres before ice and fruit, roughly 12 glasses once the bowl has ice. A 750 ml bottle of sparkling wine, added at the table, is the brighter version. The bowl takes 480 ml of vodka, so a 70 cl bottle covers it. A plain wheat, grain, or potato vodka is the useful one. vodka is listed with the price in £.

Spiced pear punch

960 ml pear nectar
750 ml dry white wine
240 ml cognac or another brandy
4 cinnamon sticks
Garnish: pear slices and cinnamon sticks

Stir and chill. About 2 litres before the fruit. Star anise can sit in the jug with the cinnamon. Use the same cognac as the mulled wine if you are making both.

Holiday sangria

750 ml red wine
240 ml cognac or another brandy
240 ml orange juice
240 ml cranberry juice
sliced oranges, apples, and cranberries

Stir the liquids, add the fruit, and chill for a few hours so the fruit takes up the wine. About 1.5 litres before the fruit. A splash of soda water at the table lightens the last glasses.

After dinner

Mix these in the glass when you serve them. Cream and eggnog sit poorly in a morning jug.

Chocolate peppermint martini

60 ml vodka
30 ml chocolate liqueur
15 ml peppermint schnapps
Garnish: a chocolate-dipped peppermint sweet

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled coupe. A small dash of double cream makes the texture thicker.

Gingerbread martini

60 ml vodka
30 ml gingerbread syrup
30 ml double cream
Garnish: a gingerbread biscuit

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled coupe. A pinch of ground cinnamon on top is enough.

Gingerbread syrup, if you are making it: dissolve 200 g caster sugar in 200 ml water over a low heat. Take it off the heat and stir in a spoon of black treacle, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, a little ground clove, and a pinch of nutmeg. Cool, then keep it in the fridge.

Eggnog martini

60 ml cognac or another brandy
120 ml eggnog
a grate of nutmeg
Garnish: a cinnamon stick

Shake briefly with ice and strain into a small glass. A splash of amaretto is the almond version. Write it on the card if you serve it: eggnog contains dairy and egg, and amaretto is made with apricot kernels.

A jug with no alcohol

Use the same fruit as the punch, label the jug, and put water on the table as well.

Sparkling cranberry cider

120 ml cranberry juice
120 ml cloudy apple juice
120 ml sparkling water
Garnish: cranberries and an orange slice

Build it over ice. A splash of pomegranate juice is optional.

Gingerbread hot chocolate

240 ml milk, or unsweetened almond milk
hot chocolate powder for that milk, as the packet directs
30 ml gingerbread syrup
whipped cream and a gingerbread biscuit

Heat the milk, whisk in the powder and the syrup, and keep it below a boil.

Pomegranate lime spritzer

120 ml pomegranate juice
30 ml fresh lime juice
240 ml soda water
Garnish: pomegranate seeds and a lime wheel

Build it over ice. A splash of cranberry juice is optional.

Garnish, prepared before anyone arrives

Sugared cranberries: toss cranberries in a little syrup, roll them in caster sugar, and leave them on baking paper until the coating sets.
Rosemary: a short sprig, slapped between your palms.
Cinnamon sticks, as stirrers in the warm mugs.
Orange peel, twisted over the Old Fashioned.
A peppermint sweet on the cream drinks.
Edible glitter only if the tub says it is food. Glitter sold for cards stays out of the glass. A pinch is enough.

How to run the party

Allow about 45 minutes in the morning for the syrup, the garnish, and the still base. Pour during the party.

Choose one punch, one sparkling pour, and one warm mug. Leave the other recipes for another night.
On the morning of the party, stir the still ingredients for that punch (spirit, juice, and any syrup) in a large jug and refrigerate it.
Keep sparkling wine, soda water, and cream out of the jug. Add the fizz to the bowl or the glass when you serve.
Put ice, a garnish tray, water, and a jug of the same recipe with the spirit left out on the table.
If you are serving mulled wine, warm it over a low heat until it steams, without letting it boil, then stir in the cognac off the heat.
Stop pouring while guests can still get home. In the UK, these drinks are for people aged 18 and over.

One person on the bowl is enough. Write the name of the drink and the allergens on a card: dairy and egg in the eggnog, apricot kernel in the amaretto, dairy in the cream. Dim light and a tray of orange peel will carry the room.

The rest of the year is in the seasonal cocktails guide.

Questions before guests arrive

How far ahead can I mix a holiday punch?

Stir the still parts on the morning of the party and keep them cold. Add ice, fruit, and any sparkling wine when guests arrive. Sugared cranberries and syrups keep for a few days in the fridge. Cream drinks and the eggnog martini should be mixed to order.

When should I add Prosecco or Champagne?

At the last minute, in the bowl or in the flute. Fizz left in a punch overnight goes flat. A still base can wait in the fridge. Keep the sparkling bottle sealed until you pour.

How many glasses does the cranberry apple punch make?

The bowl is about 2.6 litres before ice and fruit, which is roughly 12 glasses once you add ice. The pomegranate Prosecco punch and the sangria are closer to 1.5 litres before fruit.

What can I pour for guests who are not drinking alcohol?

Use the sparkling cranberry cider, the gingerbread hot chocolate without the schnapps, or the pomegranate lime spritzer. Label the jugs. Offer water with every round.

Are these holiday party recipes in UK measures?

Yes. Quantities are in millilitres, at 30 ml to each US fluid ounce in the original recipes, and 240 ml to each US cup. A standard wine or Prosecco bottle is 750 ml. Buy in pounds and check the retailer for the current price.