Holiday Cheers

The holidays are a time of nostalgia and tradition, and with so many opportunities to entertain, ‘tis the season for experimenting behind the bar. When theming cocktails around the holidays, “Use ingredients that evoke the season you’re making cocktails for,” says Natasha Mesa, bartendress at New York City’s Hotel Chelsea Lobby Bar.

Unlike the fresh and bright drinks of summer, like shaken, citrus-forward daiquiris and margaritas, Mesa says fall and winter cocktails should be warm and inviting, to create something you want to cozy up with. “I like to use brown butter fat washes, baking spices, stone fruits, and honestly I love a good flip,” she shares. For the amateur mixologist, a “flip” can come in many variations, however, all contain liquor, egg, and sugar.

Discover how to make spirits brighter this holiday season with premium liquors and merry recipes shared by top mixologists.

The Botanist Islay Dry Gin: Distiller’s Strength

This Scottish gin is renowned for its use of prominently Islay-foraged botanicals to reflect the Bruichladdich Distillery’s terroir. Their new distiller’s strength expression debuted in September with the bartender in mind; the 100-proof alternative to the original Botanist’s composition — using many of the same botanicals like wild Islay juniper berries, cinnamon bark, licorice, and orris root — encourages a bolder use of gin behind the bar.

Known as Loyd Von Rose in Netflix’s “Drink Masters,” Loic Fortin says to “think outside of the box” when it comes to creating holiday cocktails, like this beet and champagne vinegar shrub-infused gin refresher.

Emblems of the Trade

“In the world of mixology, we have the chance to see an instant reaction to our craft. It’s very nice to see your patrons’ faces change once they taste your creations,” says Fortin, relating both hospitality and tattoos as two very close worlds. “We as artists have the possibility to make our craft very accessible to the public. It’s an amazing way to share who you are with the rest of the world on a daily basis.”

Fortin, himself, is branded with “all the cliche hospitality tattoos,” including a pineapple (a symbol of hospitality), a bar spoon, two martinis, two old fashioneds, a bottle of Angostura, limes, lemons, “Good Food Fine Wine” on his fingers, a sushi-making cat, a kitchen knife, and Ceres and Dionysus on his hands, the Roman goddess of crops and the Greek god of wine, respectively.

The Macallan: Harmony Collection Amber Meadow

Often revered for sipping neat, some of the world’s best scotch can also add complexity to cocktails. Last fall, The Macallan launched the third edition of its Harmony Collection, a limited annual release series inspired by the brand’s “inherent curiosity” to keep creating. The Harmony Collection Amber Meadow was created in collaboration with Stella and Mary McCartney, who were inspired by their upbringing along the western coast of Scotland to showcase the country’s natural beauty through a single malt with rich citrus and oak flavor.

In New York City, Jonathan Adler, beverage director at Shinji’s Bar, likes to showcase The Macallan Double Cask in a Holiday Cake Negroni. “I personally love negronis and bitter aperitif style cocktails any time of year but especially in the colder months,” he says.

“The sherry notes of The Macallan 12 Year Sherry Cask bring flavors of chocolate and dried fruit which are a perfect compliment to the flavors infused into the Campari,” he explains. “The bitterness plays wonderfully off the sweet notes of the sherry and vermouth and showcases how a drink can be both simple and creative at the same time.”

Creatively Co-mingled

When it comes to self-expression, Adler also believes in the artistic connection found in both mixology and tattoos. “Most cocktails are grounded in classics that were created by bartenders who came before us, and I believe it’s the same for tattoo artists as well,” he says. “There is a synergy between the guest and the bartender, just like there is one between the person creating the tattoo and the person wearing them.”

Adler wears sumac on his arm as a reminder of his native Massachusetts, where sumac grows wild in the forest, and fennel for San Francisco. They are ingredients “that tell a story of my inspiration and nostalgia when it comes to bartending and hospitality,” he says.

Dos Hombres

“Breaking Bad” actors Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston created Dos Hombres in 2019 as they anticipated its growth on the heels of agave spirits’ proliferating popularity. Their Espadin mezcal expression uses the eponymous agave, which presents a palate of crisp apple, subtle mango, soft wood and earth, and the quintessential smoke found in mezcal that’s smoothed out by the volcanic stone of the traditional stone ovens.

Mesa enjoys working with mezcal. She likes to use ingredients that evoke the season she’s making cocktails for, which means mezcal with its lustrous, smoky palate is perfect for a cozy, winter warmer.

Cocktails and Credence

No matter the season, Mesa says the martini is one of her favorite cocktails — so much so that she has it tattooed on the left side of her upper back. “When customers see this tattoo for some reason they have this tremendous trust that I will make them one of the best martinis they have ever had,” she says. “They’re not wrong, but it’s funny that the tattoo and their perception go hand in hand.”

Belvedere 10 Vodka

When we thought Belvedere couldn’t be smoother, the Polish brand, known for its 100% rye vodka, launched its newest premium expression: Belvedere 10. The sparkling white decanter stands 10 levels tall as a tribute to its 10-step creation process, including 10 months of aging, as well as the brand’s founding year in 1910. Today, Belvedere continues to create its vodka at the oldest vodka-producing distillery in the world in Żyrardów, Poland.

“My favorite way to create a cocktail, especially holiday-themed ones, is to fashion them after my favorite dishes and desserts. When I do this, I tend to get more complex and diverse drinks that are multi-dimensional,” shares Nashville, Tennessee-based, bartender Hope Rice. A burnt orange olive oil cake, for example, is a staple in her house during the holidays; she makes it in liquid form as an olive oil and orange vesper martini. “Maximizing every ingredient and creating texture with fat-washing turn this drink into the perfect easy freezer martini to pull out during a holiday cocktail party.”

Feelings of Fellowship

“My passion comes from a deep desire to connect,” Rice says. “Being neurodivergent in a neurotypical world, it’s hard feeling like you make very little genuine connections with people. However, when I create something that brings back memories, it sparks conversation, or just enhances a feeling of belonging; it reminds me that I do have a place and a purpose.”

Another way Rice grounds herself is by looking at the octopus sprawling down her forearm to her hand. “There are a lot of conceptual similarities between octopus and ADHD,” she explains. “The feeling of always having eight streams of consciousness and ideas flowing simultaneously is why I also connect it to bartending. It helps me remember that ADHD is my strength and one of the reasons I’m good at what I do.”