A Toast to Winter Drinks

Greet your guests with a drink to celebrate the season. We’ve gathered recipes for spirited concoctions and alcohol-free sippers

Whether you prefer your winter drinks toasty or frosty, you’re sure to be pleased with this beverage selection. Some of Flower magazine’s favorite designers and entertaining gurus shared recipes for their special sips for holiday parties and other cold-weather gatherings.

Click the arrows (or swipe if on a mobile device) to see more
frozen whiskey sours recipe

Frozen Whiskey Sours

Julia Reed fills her holiday punch bowl with Frozen Whiskey Sours, and shares her favorite recipe for the party-worthy, slushy treats. Photograph by Paul Costello.

Spiced Orange and Maple Westrock Coffee, P. Allen Smith

Spiced Orange and Maple Coffee

P. Allen Smith shares his recipe for Spiced Orange and Maple Westrock Coffee, the perfect pick-me-up for après-party conversation. Photo from P. Allen Smith

Highball glass filled with ice and Cranberry Shrub Cocktail from Very Merry Cocktails by Jessica Strand. The glass is rimmed in sugar and garnished with a skewer of cranberries. A gold clutch lays on the gray and white marble counter beside it.

Cranberry Shrub Cocktail

Author Jessica Strand's homemade shrub (a syrup made from fruit, vinegar, and sugar) plus a splash of ginger ale puts a holiday-worthy spin on the classic cranberry-and-vodka cocktail. Photograph by Ren Fuller.

Cups of Reprinted from Very Merry Cocktails by Jessica Strand with permission by Chronicle Books, 2020with citrus slices, garnished with cinnamon stick

Mulled Cider

Warm, fragrant, and delicious, with just a touch of maple syrup, this Mulled Cider hails from the “zero proof” chapter of Jessica Strand's Very Merry Cocktails (Chronicle Books 2020). Photo © Ren Fuller

champagne cocktail

Winter's Kiss

Interior designer Marjorie Johnston shares her recipe for Winter's Kiss, a citrus and herb Champagne cocktail, to toast the season. Photo from Marjorie Johnson

hot chocolate with chilli

Hot Chocolate with Chilli

Two kinds of heat combine in sweet, rich cups of Hot Chocolate with Chilli. Chiles take this chocolate concoction from Hot Drinks to another dimension!  Photography by Steve Painter

Three glass tumblers filled with Evergreen Sparkler, a fizzy lemon, rosemary, and gin cocktail from the book Merry Cocktails by Jessica Strand. Rosemary sprigs garnish each glass. The background is a glittery silver.

Evergreen sparkler

This pleasingly herbal drink, excerpted from VERY MERRY COCKTAILS by Jessica Strand, will be a satisfying way to spread cheer after a day of decorating or a walk in a wintery forest. Photograph by Ren Fuller.

christmas milk recipe

Christmas Milk

Drink or dessert? This recipe for Christmas Milk from the Hot Drinks cookbook is like mince pie in a mug! Photography by William Lingwood

ambrosia nectar recipe

Ambrosia Nectar

James T. Farmer's grandmother said that he drank his holiday ambrosia rather than ate it. "The nectar and juices in the bottom of the bowl was the best part to me, with all the fruit flavors infused together." The memory inspired this holiday recipe for Ambrosia Nectar with Coconut Rim. Photographs by James T. Farmer III and Maggie Yelton from Sip & Savor by James T. Farmer III.

gin pear cocktail

Gin & Pear Cocktails

Guests at Wendy Wurtzburger and Chris Bentley’s fall harvest gathering sipped on Gin & Pear Cocktails. The drinks were blended with Liberty Gin, handmade in Philadelphia by family friend and distiller Walter Palmer. Photography by Alison Conklin

Glass of brandy milk punch topped with grated nutmeg.

Brandy Milk PUnch

A Christmas morning tradition for stylist Amanda Smith Fowler's family—these are perfect for brunch or dessert, and easily made kid-friendly. Photograph by Brent Hofaker

Old Fashioned

Atlanta based interior designer Danielle Rollins kicks off her Fall Harvest party by giving classic Old Fashioned cocktails a seasonal twist with blood oranges. Photo from Soirée: Entertaining with Style (Rizzoli New York).