Food & Cooking Recipes Drink Recipes Cocktail Recipes 15 Winter Cocktails for Cozy Days and Festive Nights When chilly temps sweep in, it’s time to get cozy and drink up! By Jennifer Anderson Jennifer Anderson Jennifer is a writer for MarthaStewart.com. Editorial Guidelines Published on December 2, 2024 Close Photo: Martha Stewart Living Brisk winds and long, darknights call for special kinds of refreshments. Sometimes, you need a winter cocktail spiked with bourbon or whisky to toast with or a party-ready sip like a perfect punch, dressed up with blood orange or pomegranate juices and rounded out with rum, cognac, or sparkling wine. Other times, what’s called for is a steaming mug of spiced cider, mulled wine, hot buttered rum, or a hot toddy. These cozy drinks have almost magical abilities to warm us from the inside out. We’ve gathered our favorite cold-weather drinks for all kinds of celebrations. 20 Fall Cocktail Recipes Packed With Cozy Autumn Flavors 01 of 16 Spiced Hot Buttered Rum Bryan Gardner Featuring spicy homemade syrup infused with cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, and cayenne, this is a hot buttered rum to remember! Make a big batch of syrup and store it in the fridge so you can whip up this winter warmer anytime it strikes your fancy. View Recipe 02 of 16 Champagne Fizz Meredith Jenks Searching for the perfect party cocktail that’s elegant and festive yet simple? You found it! Let candied ginger slices soak up the spicy intensity of Angostura bitters for a few hours, then simply drop into flutes of chilled Champagne. View Recipe 03 of 16 Chai-Spiced Apple Cider The Ingalls When it’s time to simmer up some spiced cider, why limit yourself to cinnamon sticks? The sweet, seductive spices of masala chai tea—ginger, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and black peppercorns—bring something special to your winter sipping. View Recipe 04 of 16 Daniel Webster’s Punch Meredith Jenk Starring rum, sherry, Bordeaux, Champagne, and black tea, this proper party punch is a true classic that dates all the way back to the 19th century. The recipe calls for oleo-saccharum (Latin for “oil-sugar”), a common ingredient in centuries past, which is made by tossing lemon peels with sugar to extract the aromatic citrus oils, creating a flavor-packed syrup. View Recipe 05 of 16 Martha’s Whiskey Sour Rachel Marek One of Martha’s favorite celebratory drinks, she guarantees her whiskey sour will put a smile on all your guests’ faces. Don’t even dream of using a store-bought sour mix—this from-scratch whiskey sour recipe featuring orange and lemon juices is a million times more delicious. The candied orange garnish adds an extra touch of class and is surprisingly easy to make at home in your oven. View Recipe 06 of 16 Negroni Sbagliato Mikkel Vang In Italian it means "wrong" or "mistaken," but we think this sbagliato version of a negroni is just right. Swapping out the gin for prosecco turns this make-ahead cocktail into a lighter drink that’s just right for pre-dinner sipping. View Recipe 07 of 16 Mulled White Wine YunHee Kim All the warmth and spice of a typical mulled red wine, with a lighter, brighter attitude (and fewer spillage worries, too!). Orange, cloves, star anise, and ginger make a beautiful complement to a medium-bodied white wine. View Recipe 08 of 16 Irish Cream Mike Krautter Cream, vanilla, and Irish whiskey … what’s not to love? Add a lil’ splash to your after-dinner or brunch-time coffee to make everything merry and bright. This homemade Irish cream also makes a great hostess gift. View Recipe 09 of 16 Pernod-Bourbon Spritz Lennart Weibull The bold personalities of bourbon and anise-scented Pernod liqueur are tamed by soda water for an aperitif that really wakes up your palate. If you enjoy absinthe, you can use it in place of the Pernod. View Recipe 10 of 16 Martha’s Classic Eggnog Bryan Gardner You know this eggnog is a good thing when Martha’s been serving it at her holiday parties since the 1980s. No shortcuts here. In step one, fresh egg yolks and sugar mingle with the heady trio of bourbon, rum, and cognac. In step two comes the beating—of egg whites and whipped cream—to make the eggnog ethereally light and fluffy. View Recipe 11 of 16 Mulled Blood-Orange Punch John Kernick Allspice, cinnamon, star anise, and cloves spend a whole day infusing their flavor into blood orange juice for a bold foundation to this festive punch. For a non-alcoholic cocktail, top the mulled juice with sparkling mineral water, or make things more spirited with the addition of vodka or sparkling wine. View Recipe 12 of 16 Pomegranate-Champagne Punch Nothing to peel or squeeze or brew for this easy big-batch party cocktail. Simply combine store-bought pomegranate juice with pear nectar, Grand Marnier, and sparkling wine, then serve over ice. View Recipe 13 of 16 Ginger-Red Wine Spritzer Romulo Yanes Bright and spicy but also light and refreshing, that's this spritz, and it's just right for a winter party. Pinot noir meets ginger ale and cherry liqueur with delicious results. View Recipe 14 of 16 Cinnamon Sour Cocktail A tasty twist on the whisky sour, this bourbon cocktail is made with an easy cinnamon syrup (sugar, water, and cinnamon sticks) that lends a warm, spicy flavor. View Recipe 15 of 16 Cranberry Shrub David Malosh This cranberry shrub is a versatile base for all kinds of winter drinks. Add seltzer and enjoy, or make a boozy version by spiking it with wine, gin, vodka, or vermouth. View Recipe 16 of 16 Bourbon Hot Toddy Bryan Gardner Honey meets bourbon in this warming winter cocktail. It's spiced with cinnamon and cloves and is sure to warm you up. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit