Libations: 12 Days of Christmas Cocktails

A festive pink cocktail with rosemary.

Photo by Renata Fraga on Unsplash

It’s that time of year again—a time for Christmas cocktails. Twelve days of Christmas cocktails, to be exact.

When your mixology mettle is tested, your entertaining skills are put through the ringer. To help you get into the spirit of things, we’ve asked the expert bartenders at Canada’s InterContinental Hotels—Toronto Centre, Toronto Yorkville, and Montreal to help us navigate the holiday season with a smart tipple or two.

InterContinental Toronto Centre

festive-tidings-intercontinental-toronto-centre
1. Festive Tidings

Ingredients

1 oz Amaro liqueur

1 oz Grey Goose orange vodka

1/2 oz lemon juice

1/2 oz simple syrup

1 slice lemon

1 cinnamon stick

Instructions for the Festive Tidings

  • Place all ingredients in cocktail shaker with ice.
  • Shake and strain into rocks glass filled with ice.
  • Add lemon slice, cinnamon stick and stir.

north-pole-haze-intercontinental-toronto-centre

2. North Pole Haze

Ingredients

1 oz Hendricks gin

1 oz St Germaine elderflower liqueur

1 1/2 inch cucumber (sliced)

6 mint leaves

1/4 lime juice

Instructions for the North Pole Haze

  • Place all ingredients into cocktail shaker and muddle.
  • Add ice, shake and strain into frosted rocks glass with crushed ice.
  • Garnish with additional mint leaves.

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3. Dasher & Dancer Punch

Ingredients

1 oz Bacardi 8 rum

1/2 oz Banana liqueur0020

1/2 oz Cassis

1/4 oz lemon juice

3 oz orange juice

3 oz sprite

1 slice orange

Instructions for Azure Dasher & Dancer Punch

  • Place orange slice into Collins glass filled with ice.
  • Add rum, Banana liqueur, Cassis, lemon juice and orange juice into a mixing glass with ice.
  • Stir and strain into prepared glass.
  • Top up with sprite.

yulelog-coffee-intercontinental-toronto-centre

4. Yulelog Coffee

Ingredients

1/2 oz Kahlua liqueur

1/2 oz Frangelico liqueur

1/2 oz Chocolate liqueur

1/2 oz Smirnoff vanilla vodka

americano or freshly brewed coffee

whipped cream

coffee beans

Instructions for the Yulelog Coffee

  • In a warmed coffee mug add all ingredients and top up with Americano or freshly brewed coffee.
  • Layer whipped cream on top and garnish with coffee beans.

InterContinental Toronto Yorkville

elf-juice-intercontinental-toronto-yorkville 

5. Elf Juice

Ingredients

1½ Dark rum.

4 Oz apple Juice

1 Oz fresh lime juice

Dash of Angostura bitters.

Garnish with Apple Slice and Thyme

santa-claus-intercontinental-toronto-yorkville

6. Santa Claus

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz Vanilla flavored vodka

4 oz Cranberry juice

2 oz Sparkling wine

Garnish with Cranberries & Mint leaves

red-moon-intercontinental-toronto-yorkville

7. Red Moon

Ingredients

2 ounces red wine

1/2 ounce bourbon

1/2 ounce simple syrup

1 large round ice sphere

Garnish with Gourmet Cherries

 

naughty-or-spice-intercontinental-toronto-yorkville

8. Naughty or Spice

Ingredients

1.5 Rum Malibu

2 Dash Bitters

½ oz Lime juice

¼ Cream

½ Triple sec

Garnish with Cinnamon Powder and Stick

sour-spirits-intercontinental-montreal

InterContinental Montreal

9. Sour Spirits

Ingredients

1 oz. Limoncello

1 oz. Boulard Calvados

1 oz. Bar mix (Lemon)

Lemonade

Instructions for the Sour Spirits

  • Use a highball glass
  • Rim the glass with sugar
  • Shake all the ingredients
  • Fill up the glass with lemonade
  • Decorate the glass with a slice of lemon

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10. Holiday Elixir

Ingredients

1 oz. Ungava Gin

1 oz. Bar mix (Lemon)

1 oz. Cranberry juice

¼ oz. of Absinthe

½ oz of Tonic syrup

Rosemary branch

Instructions for the Holiday Elixir

  • Use a martini glass
  • Put a rosemary branch in the glass
  • Pour a little bit of absinthe on the rosemary branch
  • Shake all the other ingredients together
  • Light up the rosemary branch
  • Pour the liquid in the glass to extinguish the flame.

bluescrooge

11. Blue Scrooge

Ingredients

1 oz. vodka

1 oz. Blue Curacao

1/2 oz. lime juice

Lemonade

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12. The Berry Nutcracker

Ingredients

1 oz. Vodka

½ oz. Cherry Brandy

½ oz. Frangelico

1 ½ oz. Cranberry juice

½ oz. Lime juice

Instructions for the Berry Nutcracker

  • Use an old fashion glass
  • Shake all the ingredients together
  • Decorate the glass with a slice of lemon