What's Your Favorite Holiday Drink?

Cider Wassail
half gal cider
honey (to taste)
Sliced lemons (washed, take out seeds but leave rind on)
Clementine segments (peeled, remove seeds if any)
1/2 can orange juice concentrate
2 cups pineapple juice (cranberry juice works well, too)
2 sticks cinnamon
6 whole cloves (I put them in a loose tea ball)
Put it all in a crock pot on low and simmer all day.
Remove cinnamon and cloves when it tastes right otherwise the spice will get too strong.

Not only is it a great warm tasty drink that looks great with the lemons floating on it but it makes the whole house smell wonderful!

Well, we are in the midst of a major move. My daughter, who has multiple health issues, is battling a flare-up of her atypical, infected eczema. My husband had to move ahead of us to start the new job. I am packing. There were no Christmas decorations this year. We are surrounded by packing boxes and medications and medical records.

So, you ask, what is my favorite holiday drink? The answer would have to be: anything that someone would serve to me, that I could take the time to sit and sip for just a few moments.

But during a regular holiday season, I would have to say Gluhwein, the German and Austrian spiced warm wine. My husband was stationed in northern Italy for a couple of years, and we lived just outside Venice. At Christmas, we had the opportunity to travel to Innsbruck, to the famous Christmas market in the city square. Our children were young, and they got to roll cookies out in little cookie-baking stations, guided by chefs. They were given little aprons and chef hats. As the parents, we were invited to watch, and a friendly young woman came around with trays. On the trays were gorgeous ceramic mugs of warmed wine, combined with brandy, citrus, cardamom, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg - a gift from the city of Innsbruck. I have never tasted anything so perfect, in such a perfect setting.

On a side note, my daughter, who was just in kindergarten, had learned some basic Italian words and phrases. My husband was assigned to a NATO base, so we were not living on an American base, but living in a small village instead, where we were treated with welcoming graciousness. When, in Innsbruck, my daughter was led by the hand by the chef to where she would roll and decorate the cookies, she motioned to us. "Mommy and Daddy", she said, "can you tell him that I don't know a lot of Italy talk (her word for the Italian language)?" We quickly replied that the chef didn't speak Italian either, that we were now in Austria, and he spoke a different language. Her eyes grew wide. With a completely shocked look, she shrieked "What???!!! You mean there's more?!!!??" But cookies and rolling pins and sugar and butter and the kind hands of a trained chef, it turned out, are an international language. No translator required. Gluhwein also spoke a universal language: of warmth, welcome, and joy.

hot apple cider!!

however, a well nogged egg nog is good too

Apple cider martini-
Really good quality apple cider shaken with vodka, a squeeze of lemon and ice. If you want to be
fancy you can put cinnamon/sugar on the rim of glass. Yum!

It's my fave because it's delicious.

Mine is eggnog made with liquor. I have a recipe somewhere that was the best eggnog. Can't find it. I don't remember the kind of liquor I used. None that I've tried in recent years doesn't quite cut it.

I made it for gifts several years ago. The most fun to give it to was the janitor where I worked. You'd think I'd given him something rare an precious. I made it every year just to see his smile.

Mulled spice wine is easy and serves a large group of people. You can buy the large bottles of red wine at Costco and put it in a pot on the stove, and simmer it with mulling spices. Serve it warm and it's delicious! For what is left over, put in the frig and then you can warm it up later.

hot apple juice with cinnamon sticks simmered in it put in a mug with a half shot of vodka
or quality hot cider.

i'm a huge fan of eggnog. i make a dreamy one from raw milk and raw eggs which is to die for, but it's a ton of work (and unthinkable quantities of fat and calories) and since no one else in my family likes it, it's too much work just for me.
so i do buy a small carton- got one in the fridge now- and try to limit myself to small glasses. i love it so much i tend to hoover it up too quickly.
i rarely drink so i tend not to spike it, but cinnamon schnapps or spiced rum go well with it.
khairete
S.

Hazie's Hot Toddy, a super-spicy twist on the original.
1 Lemon-Ginger Yogi tea bag; steep with hot water for 5 minutes. Stir in a teaspoon of your favorite sweetener, add a shot of cognac or brandy. Super yummy, very warming and takes 5 minutes to make.

I make a cranberry, ginger, orange liquor with gin as the base this time of year that is my favorite holiday drink. I serve it over ice and top it with ginger ale. It is bright and bubbly and dangerously tasty.

Mulled wine! Why? Because it's wine!

Margarita because tequila.

Sparkling shiraz (only time I seem to be able to find it is around the holidays), or Bailey's and coffee with a squirt of whipped cream on top (usually it's cool enough to enjoy hot drinks in the day or evening the time of year, but not this year... so far anyway).