Hot Buttered Rum is one of our favorite seasonal drinks and is a nice change-of-pace from egg nog and spiked cider. Rum is the perfect base for this buttery libation, which is spiced up with allspice dram and apple cider. There are several quality recipes for Hot Buttered Rum, but this year we’re making the below recipe, courtesy of Kenneth McCoy and NYC’s Rum House.

Hot Buttered Brugal

2 oz Brugal Añejo Rum
1 teaspoon honey
½ teaspoon butter
4 oz hot apple cider
½ oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram

Add all ingredients to mixing glass. Stir vigorously, then pour into heated coffee mug. Grate fresh cinnamon on top, and garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Like that? Drink this:
- Rum Punch Recipes
- Ron Abuelo 7 Anos Rum Review
- Old Monk Rum Review

The Brandy Crusta wasn’t the first drink to utilize citrus and liqueur, but it’s one of the few 1800s-era cocktails to do so and really stand the test of time. For that, Brandy Crusta, we salute you.

As Brandy and Cognac cocktails have made a resurgence in bars across the country, classics like the Brandy Crusta are becoming easier to find. And with its stable of simple ingredients, it’s a quick fix to at-home sobriety.

Brandy Crusta

2 oz Cognac
.5 oz fresh lemon juice
.5 oz simple syrup
.25 oz triple sec
2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Shake all ingredients and strain into a sugar-rimmed cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon peel.

For the best results, use a good, highly-mixable Cognac like Deau or Pierre Ferrand.

Like that? Drink this:
- Pierre Ferrand Introduces 1840 Original Formula Cognac
- Remy Martin 1738 Accord Royal Cognac
- Apple Brandy Old Fashioned

Photo: Esquire Drinks

Last year we covered the aptly-named Champagne Cocktail, the French 75 and the Death in the Afternoon as worthy New Year’s Eve cocktails. Any of those will do the trick. Or try one of these festive drinks.

Italian 76

2 oz gin
1/2 oz Aperol
1/2 lemon juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
Prosecco

Shake first four ingredients with ice. Strain into a coupe and top with Prosecco (or Champagne).

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Prince of Wales

1.5 oz rye whiskey
1/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 chunk pineapple
1 barspoon powdered sugar
Champagne

Shake first five ingredients with ice, and strain into a coupe. Top with Champagne, and garnish with a lemon twist.

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Black Velvet

Stout beer
Champagne

Fill Collins glass halfway with stout. Top with Champagne.

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Old Cuban

1 1/2 oz gold rum
3/4 oz simple syrup
3/4 oz lime juice
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
6 mint leaves

Gently muddle mint in a cocktail shaker. Add remaining ingredients except Champagne, and shake well. Fine strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and top with Champagne.

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Kir Royale

Champagne
Creme de Cassis

Add Champagne to Champagne flute, and top with creme de cassis. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Hoping to change that, two companies will begin giving consumers more choices in their Fernet consumption. Camper’s San Francisco Chronicle article reports that drinkers can expect to find Angelico Fernet early next year and Fernet Leopold, from Leopold Bros. of Denver, as early as this week. The latter uses bitter aloe as its main bittering agent, adding to the mix ginger, sarsaparilla, saffron, cardamom and spearmint.

Read the full article, here.

And while you do, try mixing up the Hanky Panky cocktail, straight out of the Savoy Cocktail Book.

Hanky Panky

1.5 oz Tanqueray Gin
1.5 oz Italian Vermouth
2 dashes Fernet

Stir all ingredients with ice, then strain into a cocktail glass. Squeeze orange peel on top, and drop it in.

Or The Revenge, a Fernet-forward cocktail served at The Chesterfield in Dallas, TX.

The Revenge

1 oz Fernet
1 oz Campari
1 oz Italian Vermouth
Mint

Stir all ingredients, including mint sprig, with ice. Strain into an old fashioned glass over one large ice cube, and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Also, cocktails. Guests enjoyed Hendrick’s cocktails created by Brand Ambassador Jim Ryan. Hendrick’s Gin is comprised of 11 botanicals, including the very distinct infusions of cucumber and rose petals, which gives it great application in cocktails. Like the fine libations detailed below.

Alaskan Sour

1 ½ oz Hendrick’s Gin
¾ oz Yellow Chartreuse
½ oz Simple Syrup
½ oz Lemon Juice
¼ oz Egg White
2 dashes Regan’s Orange

Shake all ingredients without ice. Add ice and shake again. Double strain into a cocktail glass and twist a lemon peel over the top.

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High Tea for One

2 oz Hendrick’s Gin
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Caraway simple syrup*
½ oz Clementine Juice
1 barspoon marmalade
2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters

*to make: place 16 oz of caraway seeds into the pot as you make a simple syrup with 1 part water to 1 part sugar and let sit for 2 hours. Strain and chill. Serve in teacup.

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Will ‘o the Wisp

2 oz Hendrick’s Gin
1 oz Lambic Peche Beer/Tarragon simple syrup*
¼ oz Green Chartreuse
¾ oz fresh lemon juice
Soda Water
Tarragon sprig

Combine first 3 ingredients in a mixing glass, add ice and shake well. Strain into an iced collins glass and top with soda. Garnish with a tarragon sprig.

*To make: 1 part white sugar, 2 parts lambic peche beer and tarragon.  Heat until the sugar dissolves and tarragon steeps into the syrup. Cool and keep cold.

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Snow Miser’s Cooler

1 ½ oz Hendrick’s Gin
½ oz St. Germain
¾ oz Lime Juice
¼ oz Simple Syrup
1 ½ oz Soda Water
1 dash Lavender/Spice Bitter
Cucumber Spear

Shake all ingredients excluding soda water and cucumber spear. Strain into an iced collins glass and top with soda. Garnish with cucumber spear.

Here’s to happy and festive drinking this holiday season.

Hot Gin Punch

24 oz Hendrick’s Gin
24 oz Madeira wine
6 lemon twists
1 orange slice
3 large chunks pineapple
3 oz honey
1 oz fresh lemon juice
3 cloves
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon brown sugar

Add all the ingredients to a large saucepan over low heat and simmer for 20 minutes. To serve, strain and pour the hot mixture into a punch bowl or teapot and garnish with orange slices studded with cloves.

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Elk’s Toddy

1 oz Hudson Manhattan Rye
1 oz Port
.5 oz simple syrup
.25 oz fresh lemon
2 oz hot water

Combine all ingredients in a warm mug. Stir and finish with a spritz of orange peel and dusting of fresh nutmeg.

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Aberdeen Flip – Created by Max Warner

2 oz Chivas 18
1 oz Oloroso Sherry
1 Whole Egg
¼ oz Spiced Syrup
1 Dash Chocolate Bitters
1 Tsp Blackberry Jam
Grated Nutmeg

Dry shake all ingredients hard. Then add ice, shake hard again, and strain into sherry glass. Dust with grated nutmeg.

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Woodward Eggnog – Courtesy of Boston’s Ames Hotel

1 oz Sailor Jerry rum
.5 oz Tuaca
1 oz Heavy Cream
Splash simple syrup
1 Whole egg
Cinnamon and nutmeg for garnish

Shake all ingredients except garnish hard without ice. Shake again with ice, then strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with freshly-grated nutmeg and cinnamon.

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Oaxaca Chakas

2 oz Milagro Select Barrel Reserve Anejo
.75 oz Agave nectar
1 oz Heavy whipping cream
2 0z Milk
1 scoop Oaxacan chocolate powder
1 scoop freshly whipped cream (Optional)

Mix all ingredients in a pot and heat until boiling. Serve in a coffee cup and top with freshly whipped cream.

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Horis’ Juice

2 oz Sailor Jerry Rum
.25 oz fresh lemon juice
.25 oz fresh lime juice
.5 oz cinnamon ginger syrup (1:1:1) ratio
4 oz hot black tea
Dash of walnut bitters

Boil tea. Add rum, juices and syrup into empty mixing glass. Slowly add tea. Stir. Add dash of bitters. Stir and sip at desired warm temperature.

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Smokey Hakushu Martini

1 oz Hakushu 12-year-old single malt whisky
¾ oz dry sherry
½ oz simple syrup
Lemon peel
Grapefruit peel

Pour all ingredients into a mixing glass. Stir 30 times with lemon peel. Strain into a martini glass. Garnish with curled grapefruit peel.

Of course, if an eating binge makes cocktail crafting too complicated, no worries. A bottle of Wild Turkey always does the trick.

Peligroso Cranberry Margarita

4 oz 100% cranberry juice
2 oz Peligroso Silver tequila
.5 oz Cointreau
.5 oz fresh lime juice
.5 oz agave nectar

Shake all ingredients with ice, then strain into a margarita glass. Garnish with cranberries.

Holiday Smash

2 oz bourbon
.5 oz fresh lemon juice
.5 oz Maple syrup
5-6 Cranberries
Rosemary sprig

Muddle cranberries and rosemary. Add remaining ingredients and shake with ice. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a rosemary sprig.

Spiked Cider

3 oz hot apple cider
1 oz Jamaican rum
1 oz spiced rum
.5 oz honey
3 whole cloves
3 whole allspice berries
Orange peel
Cinnamon stick

Muddle orange peel, cloves, allspice and honey in a mixing glass. Add rum and stir until honey is well incorporated. Fine strain into a mug and top with hot cider. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and orange peel.

Maple Leaf

1.5 oz bourbon
.5 oz real maple syrup
.5 oz fresh lemon juice

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Like that? Drink this:
- Apple Brandy Old Fashioned
- Seasonal Grey Goose Cocktails
- Rum Punch Recipes

For the best results, pair with a warm fire.

This first drink was crafted by Damon Boelte of NYC’s Prime Meats. It starts with the basic sour template, and from there it invokes the holidays with cinnamon syrup and some apricot liqueur.

UK Sour

1 ½ ounces Highland Park 12
½ ounce lemon juice
½ ounce cinnamon syrup
¼ ounce Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot Liqueur
Float of red wine

Combine first four ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice; shake and strain into a rocks glass. Float with red wine.

Next up, we’ve got The Brogue, courtesy of Leo Robitschek of NYC’s Eleven Madison Park. It pairs the tried-and-true combination of Scotch with Drambuie and adds some honey-lavender syrup, which further complements the honey and herbs present in Drambuie.

The Brogue

1 ½ ounces Highland Park 12
½ ounce Drambuie
¾ ounce lemon juice
½ ounce honey-infused lavender syrup
Dried lavender

Combine the Scotch, Drambuie, lemon juice and syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice; shake and strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with dried lavender.

Both cocktails can hold their own at parties and alongside holiday meals. Or simply make one for yourself and celebrate the close of another Wednesday.

Like that? Drink this:
- Highland Park 18 Year Old Scotch Review
- Bobby Burns Cocktail Recipe
- Drambuie Cocktails

Halloween Cocktails

Created by Demetrios Saites of NYC’s The Fat Radish, the Witches Brew, pictured above, employs Aperol and blood orange juice for that nice bloody hue.

Kanon Vodka Witches Brew

2 oz Kanon Vodka
1 part blood orange juice
1/2 oz aperol
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 oz simple syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

This classic cocktail was originally a morning drink, meant to raise the dead after a long night out. It packs quite the boozy wallop, and you can’t beat the name.

Corpse Reviver #2

1 oz gin
1 oz Cointreau
1 oz Lillet Blanc
1 oz fresh lemon juice
2 dashes absinthe

Shake all ingredients with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

Another classic drink, the Blood and Sand gets a nod for name and color.

Blood and Sand

1 oz blended scotch
1 oz fresh-squeezed orange juice
3/4 oz cherry brandy
3/4 oz sweet vermouth

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass; garnish with a cherry.

Satan is scary, and there’s sure to be at least one devil at your party.

Satan’s Whiskers

1/2 ounce gin
1/2 ounce sweet vermouth
1/2 ounce dry vermouth
1/2 ounce fresh-squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons orange liqueur
1 teaspoon orange bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

There you have it. We hope you enjoy some Halloween-inspired sips. And if all else fails, just make a Negroni, give it a scary name and call it a day.

The besotted bunch of contributors concocted some impressive drinks, and we can’t wait to start mixing these up at home.

We’ll kick things off with The Venture Mixologist, who brings us a welcome riff on the bloody mary, called Off the Vine. This cocktail includes a boozy backbone of tomato-infused gin and cucumber vodka, and from there adds Cocchi Americano, lemon juice and celery bitters. The blend of vegetal with botanical and aperitif sounds like a great eye-opener.

Paul Clarke, intrepid drinks journalist, proprietor of The Cocktail Chronicles and founder of Mixology Monday, gives us a drink that opts for beer and bubbles instead of hard hooch – the Black Velvet. With two ingredients, Guinness and Champagne, and no laborious measuring, shaking or stirring required, this might be the perfect morning drink for the weary riser.

Frederic of Cocktail Virgin Slut contributes The Morning Delight, which he found in William Schmidt’s 19th century book, The Flowing Bowl. This tasty-sounding potable combines breakfast staples like egg whites and orange juice with lime, sugar, absinthe, whiskey, Sherry, Amer Picon (subbed for Calisaya) and soda. That’s a stout way to start your day, complete with stomach-settling absinthe, vitamin-packed citrus and nutrient-dense egg whites.

Louis-Florian Tatsuhito created his submission, The Farewell, while living in Japan, where the drink was often consumed when saying goodbye to guests. The Farewell finds synergy in Japanese whisky, Bailey’s, Kahlua, espresso and milk, and it’s topped with light cream, vanilla and kinako (roasted soybean flour).

Ian from Tempered Spirits begins his day with a hot milk punch. He starts with a homemade spiced Appleton Rum, and from there adds brandy, vanilla-demerara sugar syrup and hot milk. Top with some freshly-grated nutmeg, and your breakfast just got better. As Ian notes, the milk punch – like eggnog – is a great libation for the holidays.

The next morning drink comes from Chris at Tacoma cocktail lounge, 1022 South. Starting with a base of the always-enjoyable Ron Zacapa rum, the Journey to the End of the Night adds cold-pressed Ethiopian coffee, simple syrup, organic cocoa and cayenne pepper. With booze, caffeine and cayenne in your system, this drink provides quite the morning jolt!

James from All Hail the Cocktail invokes Halloween with his aptly-named Swamp Thing. This green potion mixes silver tequila with green tea liqueur and a green fruit smoothie (such as Naked’s Green Machine). Rim the glass with green tea powder, and you’ve got a morning drink that’s as healthy as it is scary.

Ever the ambitious boozehound, Ed of Wordsmithing Pantagruel goes heavy on the Peychaud’s and gives us three(!) morning cocktails. Each is a take on the classic Corpse Reviver, like his Blood Infusion, which combines equal measures of Bulldog Gin, Cocchi Americano, Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur, lemon juice and – you guessed it – Peychaud’s Bitters. Now that’s a balanced breakfast.

Next up, the Morning Starfish, courtesy of Rowen at Fogged in Lounge. This “bright and bubbly tequila-grapefruit-Campari thing that’s light enough to let you have at least two, even in the morning” combines the aforementioned trio with lime juice, honey, soda and a salt-and-pepper rim. Sign me up for two, please.

Kudos to The Tipsy Vixen, Colleen, for introducing Advocaat to our cocktail party with her Pumpkin Milk Punch. Advocaat is a creamy liqueur made from eggs, brandy and sugar, and Colleen mixes it with Cognac, canned pumpkin, whole milk and simple syrup for a hearty, seasonal drink.

This orangey entrant comes from Andy at Sybaritic Wanderings. The Hard Stare is a riff on a Harry Craddock original and combines two of my favorite breakfast items – gin and orange marmalade – with orange bitters. The result? A refreshing breakfast cocktail to replace your morning orange juice.

Sother Teague says why detox when you can Retox? Drawing inspiration from the famous detox cleanse of hot water with lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup, his drink puts booze back in your system. Muddle some jalapenos for a spicy kick, then shake up reposado tequila, grade B maple syrup and lime juice.

A Drinker’s Peace provides the well-rounded Begs and Achin’ Flip, which nearly covers the entire breakfast spectrum with bacon-infused rye whiskey, potato simple syrup, a whole egg and espresso. Also, overproof rum. It’s garnished with black pepper, habanero powder and toast. That should hold me over until lunch.

Spirit of Imbibing wakes up early with the 6:00am Sour, a veritable cornucopia of breakfast favorites. Bacon-washed bourbon melds with orange juice, maple syrup and egg white, plus some bitters and acid phosphate. Sprinkle some black pepper on top, and breakfast is ready.

The aptly named Good Booze likes something hot, sweet and strong to get through the mornings. Enter the Coffee Killer, a traditional Italian drink in which hot espresso is followed up with some liqueur. In this case, stir some homemade maple sugar syrup into your coffee and chug it. Then down half a shot of apple brandy, and pour the remaining liquor into your coffee cup and swirl to catch the last bits of coffee and maple. Down that too, and you’re ready to face the day.

Jeannine Woodland doesn’t have a blog, but that didn’t stop her from crafting the spicy What’s Up Doc?. This healthy morning treat doctors a tequila, pepper-and-honey vodka and carrot juice base with red bell pepper, lime juice, sea salt, Garlic Tabasco and Bittermens Burlesque Bitters. From there, rim the glass with a ground mixture of whole medley peppercorns and demerara sugar.

Dennis from A Drink on the Rocks gives us the Morning Dutchman, a cocktail based on Salvatore Calabrese’s Breakfast Martini. This libation starts with some breakfasty tea-infused Genever, and from there adds orange and lemon juice, orange marmalade, an egg white and orange bitters.

And lastly, your honored host’s submission was Dad’s Juice Box, an orangey and eggy potable that started with Clementines, ended with absinthe, and added some Bols Genever, St Germain, egg white and sugar somewhere in the middle. It’s refreshing and creamy and pairs nicely with bacon. That’s a winner in our book.

And with that, this round of Mixology Monday comes to a close. Thanks to all who contributed! Stay tuned to Mixology Monday for upcoming rounds of community cocktailing.