Everyone knows booze is an essential part of the holidays.
Let's be real: Dealing with your annoying relatives is a hell of a lot easier when you have a strong cocktail in your hand.
Plus, blacking out at your holiday office party always seems to make socializing with your awkward co-workers a whole lot easier.
If you're trying to get a head start on your New Year's resolutions by being healthy over the holidays, chugging a dozen cranberry vodkas every night probably isn't on your list of things to do.
Between the alcohol and sugar mixers, the calories in your favorite cocktails can really sneak up on you. This is especially true if you're downing enough free booze to kill a small elephant.
But just because you're watching your waistline over the holidays, that doesn't necessarily mean you have to skip out on the boozy festivities altogether: It turns out there are all sorts of healthy holiday cocktails that will get you in the Christmas spirit without giving you a belly that could put Santa's midsection to shame.
We rounded up a bunch of guiltless cocktails that are both delicious and festive AF. Cheers!
1. Winter Warmer
Ingredients:
0.6 oz. organic ginger cordial 0.3 oz. Goldschlager 1.3 oz. Krupnik honey vodka 1 tablespoon honey 3 slices root ginger Juice of half a lemon Red currants for garnish
Directions:
1. Lightly crush root ginger. 2. Place all ingredients into a shaker. 3. Shake well and strain into a chilled martini glass. 4. Garnish with a string of red currants and serve.
2. Rosemary Margarita
Ingredients:
4 oz. Be Mixed margarita 1.5 oz. tequila 3 sprigs rosemary
Directions:
1. Place rosemary in Be Mixed and let it infuse for two hours. 2. Pour infused Be Mixed into a shaker, along with tequila and ice. 3. Shake well and pour into a glass over ice. 4. Garnish with rosemary and serve.
3. Spiced Apple Holiday
Ingredients:
1.5 oz. Ciroc Apple 0.75 oz. Goldshlager 0.75 oz. lime juice 1 oz. cranberry juice
Directions:
1. Place all ingredients in a shaker. 2. Shake well, pour into glass and top with ginger ale. 3. Garnish with dehydrated apple slices and serve.
4. Detoxifying Pomegranate Berry Crush
Ingredients:
0.75 oz. vodka 0.5 oz. Crème de Fraise 4 oz. Belvoir raspberry pomegranate lemonade 2 lime wedges 2-3 strawberries
Directions:
1. Place all ingredient in a shaker. 2. Shake well, strain into hi-ball glass with ice and top with ginger beer. 3. Garnish with sliced strawberries and serve.
5. Healthy Hot Toddy
Ingredients:
2 oz. Be Mixed ginger lime 2 oz. bourbon or whiskey 1/4 cup water 1 strip lemon peel 1 cinnamon stick
Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients into a small pot and cook over medium-high heat. 2. Allow the mixture to come to a simmer. 3. Remove from heat, steep for five minutes and pour into two mugs. 4. Garnish with a lemon peel and cinnamon stick upon serving.
6. Holiday Sangria
Ingredients:
4 oz. Be Mixed ginger lime 1/4 bottle red wine 1 clementine 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds 1/4 cup cranberries, sliced in half
Directions:
1. Add fruit to the bottom of a glass or pitcher. 2. Pour Be Mixed and wine over fruit. 3. Add ice to the pitcher and serve.
7. Christmas In Jalisco
Ingredients:
1 oz. Cabrito Reposado 0.5 oz. Lustau Pedro Ximenez Sherry 0.5 oz. lime juice 2 oz. club soda 1 tablespoon cranberry sauce 3 dashes Fee Bros. rhubarb bitters
Directions:
1. Place all ingredients except club soda into a shaker with ice. 2. Shake well and strain into glass with ice. Top with club soda. 3. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and sprig of rosemary and serve.
8. Orchard A Peel
Ingredients:
1.5 oz. Prairie organic vodka 2 oz. Braggs apple cider and honey vinegar 1 oz. organic apple juice 2 drops vanilla extract 2 sprigs of mint Apple slices for garnish
Directions:
1. Place all ingredients into a shaker. 2. Shake well and strain into glass with ice. 3. Garnish with apple slices, mint and fresh ground cinnamon and serve.
9. Sparkling Apricot Cocktail
Ingredients:
1.5 oz. Reyka vodka 0.75 oz apricot liqueur 0.5 oz. lemon juice Sparkling wine
Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a shaker. 2. Shake well, strain into glass and top with sparkling wine. 3. Garnish with lemon peel and serve.
