Booze for the Holidays

[TheIdler]

I've been commissioned to inebriate about 50 people for an upcoming Christmas party, so as usual I'm turning to you guys for ideas. I'm supposed to have some sort of eggnoggish thing and one other kind of punch, and I'd like to have a couple of good Christmas-y cocktails. Any good recipes for eggnog or any other kind of festive drink to put in a big bowl and get people pleasantly wasted? Alternatively, what's your favorite holiday-season cocktail?

 

[Jr Mouse]

Good thread. I'm interested too.

 

[gnatty8]

My favorite holiday season cocktail is not a cocktail at all, but Drambuie on ice. I don't drink it any other time than the 4 weeks between December 1 and January 1. Not sure why, just fits.

 

[Gus]

I like to keep it simple and usually limit parties to beer, wine and or champagne. Hard booze in punch can get really nasty and out of control. (plus I hate mixing drinks and punch during a party) But if that is your goal

then have fun and plenty of aspirin on hand. Fav holiday drink? Champagne. It is a good time to break down and buy the good stuff.

 

[darnelled]

We made a mix in college that tasted great and would knock you on your a$$.
Ingredients-
Everclear 750ml
Sprite -3 two-liters
Malibu Rum 750ml
Kool aid mix- make a couple of gallons of fruit punch and some green colored flavor for Christmas or just add food coloring to another flavor.

We just mixed it all together in a large cooler with ice.

Sorry, I think this is the right amount of each and you may need to double or triple it for more people.

 

[PeterMetro]

It's somewhat embarrassing, but I love punch. There is something about a big bowl of it that I find festive. This recipe is from Esquire - I tried it, slightly modified, and it is delicious.

Forty-eight hours before your party, put a gallon bowl full of water in the freezer. The day of, use a swivel-bladed vegetable peeler to peel a dozen lemons, trying to get as little of the white pith as possible. Put the peels in a 2- to 3-gallon pot (one with a cover) and muddle them with 1 cup sugar. Let sit for half an hour, muddle again, and add 2 bottles smoky single-malt Scotch (Bowmore Legend is good and affordable, but Laphroaig will work well, too) and 2 bottles straight rye whiskey. (The Sazerac rye is particularly fine here.) Stir and then add 1 gallon boiling water. Stir again until sugar has dissolved. Cover and let cool. To serve, unmold your bowl of ice (you may have to run hot water over the bottom of the bowl) and put it in a punch bowl. Pour the punch over the ice, add 4 thinly sliced, deseeded lemons, and grate half a nutmeg over the top. Serves 48.

 

[c_bourgeois]

Originally Posted by TheIdler

I've been commissioned to inebriate about 50 people for an upcoming Christmas party, so as usual I'm turning to you guys for ideas. I'm supposed to have some sort of eggnoggish thing and one other kind of punch, and I'd like to have a couple of good Christmas-y cocktails. Any good recipes for eggnog or any other kind of festive drink to put in a big bowl and get people pleasantly wasted? Alternatively, what's your favorite holiday-season cocktail?

Old Mr Boston Bartender's Guide.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Mr._Boston

Beware though, a good eggnog takes a lot of work. You have to FOLD the whip cream in.

 

[amnesiac]

I had a ridiculous punch the other day that's supposedly from colonial times or some other. And it packs a punch. you need: Beer - any sort of light beer will do Dark Rum Light Rum Lemon simple syrup if you want, what i had had almost no sugar added and it was amazing. Really strong but amazing. I think it would be good if you cut it with sprite which would basically make it a shandy with extra alcohol and shandy's are delicious even if they're a little out of season. Also, if you made it more like a shandy, people could drink it like water and not be so worried about getting super tanked on just the punch. As for "eggnog," Alton Brown's recipe is solid and even the uncooked version is better than anything I've had in a carton. I'd cut back on the heavy cream though and just use milk and leave it with just a little bit of alcohol for flavoring and let people mix it themselves, or premix the alcohol. It's just a bit too much like a custard to really be great though. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/a...pe2/index.html New York Times had a special on holiday cocktails the other day, might be able to find something that you can make in bulk but iirc they were a little more involved. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...1-parties.html the mandarin punch is non-alcoholic and sounds quite tasty.

 

[TheIdler]

Some good ideas here, thanks. I will do either the Alton Brown eggnog or this one, and then a champagne punch--I'm currently experimenting with something involving raspberries and sherry...I'll let you know how it turns out.

Amnesiac, some of the NYT cocktails look good, but maybe a little too much work--I think I'll save those for nights when we have one or two couples over.

 

[Willie5566]

Here is one that come highly recommended. I have not made it myself yet but I have talked to others that have and it is supposed to be amazing. Coincidentally, this recipe is from a site that claims to have over 10,000 drink recipes and this one is ranked third. That is saying something. http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink11164.html If all else fails just go with the #1 drink "Adios Motherfucker" and have fun laughing at the name of the drink all night while you slip into an alcohol induced coma.

 

[ErnestoG.]

scotch

 

[TheIdler]

Originally Posted by Willie5566

Here is one that come highly recommended. I have not made it myself yet but I have talked to others that have and it is supposed to be amazing. Coincidentally, this recipe is from a site that claims to have over 10,000 drink recipes and this one is ranked third. That is saying something.

http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink11164.html

If all else fails just go with the #1 drink "Adios Motherfucker" and have fun laughing at the name of the drink all night while you slip into an alcohol induced coma.

Ha, I haven't had everclear since I was underage. For some reason I thought it wasn't legal anymore.

 

[Willie5566]

Originally Posted by TheIdler

Ha, I haven't had everclear since I was underage. For some reason I thought it wasn't legal anymore.

That makes two of us but I the hype behind this drink will almost assuredly end the streak. I will try this drink at one point.

 

[D Yizz]

Different methods of making "coquito" (puertorican eggnog):

http://latinfood.about.com/od/beverages/r/coquito.htm

http://www.whats4eats.com/beverages/coquito-recipe

I personally prefer the method where you boil the cinnamon instead of grinding it. My wife adds cloves to the cinnamon to add perfumed notes. When you're boiling them, the house will have a delicious aroma....

 

[Lane]

Originally Posted by darnelled

We made a mix in college that tasted great and would knock you on your a$$.
Ingredients-
Everclear 750ml
Sprite -3 two-liters
Malibu Rum 750ml
Kool aid mix- make a couple of gallons of fruit punch and some green colored flavor for Christmas or just add food coloring to another flavor.

We just mixed it all together in a large cooler with ice.

Sorry, I think this is the right amount of each and you may need to double or triple it for more people.

this sounds good