Whether you’re celebrating that 2017 is finally over or just looking forward to a brighter 2018 (or both), it’s tradition to celebrate with booze. We want to share a few cocktail recipes with you; some are perfect for a quiet evening with your significant other, some are built as party punches. A few are simple; some require a bit more pre-planning. All of them are enjoyable to be sure, as are the easy-to-make truffles in the recipe at the end.

Happy 2018!

Midnight Magic
Stella Rosa Black Lux
strawberries, sliced
blueberries
lime juice
honey

Fill glass with strawberries and blueberries. Pour in Stella Rosa Black Lux to the top. Next, add a squeeze of lime juice and a drizzle of honey. Garnish with a sprig of mint before serving.

Bourbon Blackberry Rickey
1 1/2 oz. Coopers’ Craft Bourbon
3/4 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice
3/4 oz. simple syrup
8 oz. sparkling water, separated
4 fresh blackberries
1 lime wheel skewered with blackberry

Crush the blackberries in a cocktail shaker. Then add bourbon, lime juice, simple syrup, and fill with ice. Shake for 15 seconds to combine and chill. Strain into Collins glass, then add ice and top with sparkling water. Garnish with a lime and blackberry skewer and serve with a straw.

Cranberry Sauce Gin and Tonic
by Jimmy at the James
2 parts Botanist Gin
½ part simple syrup
½ of fresh lemon juice 1 heaping barspoon cranberry sauce
Q Tonic
lemon wheel

In a cocktail shaker combine the gin, simple syrup, lemon juice, and cranberry sauce. Shake with ice for about ten seconds and then strain into a tall glass with ice. Stir in tonic water and garnish with a lemon wheel.

Butterfly Pea Flower Tea
1 1/2 oz. Reyka Vodka
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
3/4 oz. Butterfly Pea Flower tea syrup
dry champagne

Make the tea syrup by boiling a cup of water, a cup of sugar, and Butterfly Pea tea leaves. (These are available online.) Once thickened into a syrup consistency, remove from heat and let cool.

Combine all ingredients ingredients in a shaker. Shake and strain into a glass; top with champagne.

Crimson Royale
created by Josh Campbell, Bartender at Leyenda, NYC
1 oz. Campari
1 1/4 oz. Chai-Infused Cinzano 1757
1 tsp. ginger syrup
1/2 tsp. pomegranate molasses
Cinzano Prosecco

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass and stir, then strain into a champagne flute and top with Prosecco. Express and discard an orange peel. Garnish with a flamed cinnamon stick.

To make the Chai-Infused Cinzano 1757:
Mix one tablespoon each of black tea, cinnamon, clove and cardamom. Pour into a 750 ml bottle of Cinzano—you may want to use a small funnel to keep the spices from spilling over the bottle lip. Let sit overnight.

To make ginger syrup:
Bring 2 cups water and 2 cups sugar to a boil, then add in 8 oz. sliced ginger. Let steep for 30 minutes; then fine strain and discard ginger. Store refrigerated in an airtight container.

The Promise
1 1/2 parts Facundo Neo Rum
1/2 part Yellow Chartreuse
1/2 part honey syrup (equal parts honey and water boiled)
1 part milk kefir
mint leaf (for garnish)

Combine all ingredients in a shaker and give a gentle shake. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled Nick and Nora Glass. Garnish with a mint leaf.

A Good Beginning
by Jon Foley, The Relief and Resource Co.
1 1/5 oz. Don Ciccio and Figli Amaro Donna Rosa
1/2 oz. Mount Gay XO
1/4 oz. Rare Wine Co. Boston Madeira
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1/4 oz. vanilla bean syrup

Do a reverse dry shake (with ice, and then without) and fine strain into an 8 oz. cocktail glass. Decorate with bitters atop the foam.

The Sun Also Rises
by Jacob Johnson, winner of the 2017 Wyoming Whiskey Shares Bartender Shootout
2 oz. Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon
.5 oz. Sierra Maestro Oloroso Sherry (15 Year)
1 Barspoon Bols Crème de Cacao White
1 Barspoon Pernod Absinthe Supérieure pinch of salt
rosemary ice ball

Ahead of time, make the ice ball by putting a sprig of fresh rosemary in an ice ball mold; fill with water and freeze.

To make the cocktail, put the absinthe in a coupe glass and swirl to coat the inside of the glass. Dry shake the remaining ingredients. Put the ice ball in the glass and pour the liquid concoction over top. Then serve.

Cardamom Pear Punch
3 cups Smirnoff No. 21 Vodka
6 cups pear juice
1-2 teaspoons orange bitters
2 red pears, sliced thinly horizontally
cardamom ginger syrup (see below)

Make the syrup first; here’s how. Place 1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup water, 10 crushed cardamom pods, 1/8 cup sliced ginger, and 1 Tbsp. vanilla in a small pot and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Turn the heat off and let this steep one hour, or overnight for the best flavor.

In a medium punch bowl or beverage dispenser, pour in the Smirnoff Vodka, pear juice, bitters and sliced pears. Stir in the cardamom ginger syrup. Refrigerate until ready to serve, and serve over ice.

This can be made a day ahead or the night before the party and refrigerated, allowing the flavors to meld.

This one’s for the more adventurous:

Pine-apple Punch
by mixologist Nick Strangeway
51 oz. apple juice
34 oz. chilled lemon verbena tea
17 oz. Banks 5 Island Blend Rum
12 oz. Banks 7 Golden Blend Rum
10 oz. Douglas Fir Syrup (see below)
7 oz. Douglas Fir Infused Banks 5 Island Blend
7 oz. apple molasses
3 ½ oz of citric acid solution (available in all major supermarkets, online, or a brewery shop)
water
3-4 large springs of fresh lemon verbena
1 cup caster sugar
dehydrated crab apple wheels

First, create the Douglas Fir Syrup by infusing 10 grams of gently dried Douglas Fir needles in 1 1/4 cups of boiling water for about 10-15 minutes. Add 1 cup of caster sugar. Stir well to dissolve the sugar and then strain to remove the Douglas Fir Needles. Keep refrigerated before use.

Next make the verbena tea by infusing 3-4 large sprigs of fresh lemon verbena in 2 ¼ cups of boiling water for 15 minutes. (Or brew several verbena teabags for a few minutes.) Add 2 ¼ cups of cold water and leave for a further 10 minutes before straining. Keep refrigerated.

Now, infuse 5 grams of gently dried Douglas Fir Needles in ¾ cup of Banks 5 at room temperature for no longer than 24 hours. Strain before use.

To create your punch, combine all the ingredients in a large punch bowl with a large block of ice. Garnish with dehydrated crab apple wheels and serve.

Baileys Irish Cream Truffles Recipe
by Sugar and Charm
2 bags of white chocolate chips
5 Tbsp. Baileys Irish Cream
6 Tbsp. heavy cream
a pinch of salt

Add Baileys Irish Cream, heavy cream, 2 cups white chocolate chips, and a pinch of salt to a sauce pan on low heat. Stir, whisking constantly so the mixture doesn’t burn. When the mixture is melted and smooth, pour into a small 6 x 6 baking dish; cover and refrigerate until the truffle mixture is set—overnight works great.

Melt 1 bag white chocolate chips to coat the truffles (Use a double boiler or a small pan sitting in a larger pan…chocolate in smaller pan and water in the larger pan. This is so it melts without burning.) Using a melon ball scooper, scoop small balls. Dip in the chocolate using a spoon and place on parchment paper.

Add garnishes like nutmeg and cinnamon, edible gold, and dried rose petals. We used gold and silver cupcake sprinkles. Enjoy!

Note: you can make varying flavors by substituting other thick or cream liqueurs in place of the Baileys—Rumchata, Kahlua, Amarula, or chocolate wine sauce for example. Additionally you can insert a candied cherry, hazelnut, or malted milk ball in the center for more variation.