Warm Up by the Fire with These 30+ Winter Cocktails

Whether you need a handheld libation to accompany you on a Christmas movie marathon, a sweet after-dinner drink to act as a finishing touch on a fantastic holiday meal shared with friends and family or need a festive and fizzy drink to toast to the New Year, we’ve got plenty of winter cocktails and shots fit for any occasion! Happy holidays!

Warm Up by the Fire with These 30+ Winter Cocktails

Winter drinks are flavored with warm spices, citrus, honey, eggnog, pomegranate juice, lemon juice, Campari, and other great flavors. From a delicious hot toddy to hot chocolate cocktails, this list has something for everyone.

Great for snow days, New Year's Eve, or when you want to warm up with a great drink.

CrockPot Hot Buttered Rum

Ingredients: Unsalted Butter, Dark Brown Sugar, Dark Rum, Vanilla Extract, Ground Cinnamon, Ground Ginger, Ground Cloves, Apple Cider

This warming, make-ahead-friendly cocktail is easy to prep the day before your holiday party or gathering and is one of the coziest cocktails of the season!

The Perfect Storm Cocktail

Ingredients: Bacardi Rum, Bacardi Spiced, Monin Strawberry Syrup, Cranberry Juice, Lime Juice

The weather outside may be Dark and Stormy, like the cocktail that inspires The Perfect Storm, but this ruby cocktail featuring spiced rum, cranberry juice, and strawberry syrup for sweetness is anything but.

CrockPot Mulled Wine

Ingredients: Merlot, Orange Juice, Fresh Whole Cranberries, White Sugar, Orange, Cloves, Cinnamon Sticks, Brandy

This spiced mulled wine contains a bottle of Merlot and half a cup of brandy for a hot, boozy beverage to keep spirits lively and warm.

Spiced Cranberry Cocktail

Ingredients: Cranberry Vodka, Cranberry Wine, Spiced Cranberry Cocktail, Whole Cranberries, Rosemary Sprig, Ice

You can make this cheery red cocktail with a spiced cranberry cocktail or tarter and less sweet cranberry juice, depending on how sweet you like your drinks and how much you enjoy cranberry.

Mulled Cherry Cider Cocktail

Ingredients: Vodka, Maraschino Cherry Juice, Cherry Cider, Mulled Cider, Maraschino Cherries, Ice

Feel free to use an inexpensive vodka when making this cherry-forward holiday cocktail, as its role is to add alcohol and let the other ingredients shine.

Maple Old Fashioned

Ingredients: Mount Gay Black Barrel Rum, Maple Syrup, Angostura Bitters

The specialty rum in this twist on an old-fashioned is finished in charred bourbon oak barrels, giving it the best of both worlds. If you want to add a cherry, we recommend using Luxardo Cherries, a staple at many bars with a quality bar program.

Baileys Hot Chocolate

Ingredients: Hot Chocolate Mix, Milk, Baileys Irish Cream

We love making this easy, three-ingredient Baileys Hot Chocolate as-is, but feel free to top it with a dollop of our homemade Baileys Whipped Cream for a decadent treat!

Baileys Coffee

Ingredients: Hot Coffee, Baileys Irish Cream

Whether you use Baileys Original or one of its other flavors, such as Salted Caramel, Espresso Creme, or Vanilla Cinnamon, this two-ingredient hot cocktail is the perfect way to add some pep to your step at any winter brunch!

Cranberry Mimosa

Ingredients: Champagne, Cranberry Juice

Ring in the holidays or the New Year with this delightful, two-ingredient take on the mimosa that celebrates a beloved winter fruit. Add our Sugared Cranberries to the bottom before pouring for an elegant treat!

Fireball Eggnog

Ingredients: Eggnog, Fireball Cinnamon Whisky

Combining creamy eggnog with cinnamon-flavored whiskey in this eggnog cocktail gives it similarities to horchata, a Mexican refreshment made with rice milk, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.

RumChata Iced Latte

Ingredients: RumChata, Coffee

This RumChata Iced Coffee works with homemade iced coffee or premade cold brew, depending on what you have in your kitchen and how much effort you would like to put into making it.

Eggnog Mudslide

Ingredients: Kahlúa Coffee Liqueur, Vodka, Eggnog

Eggnog replaces the heavy cream found in a traditional mudslide for a festive twist that uses the wintertime’s most beloved dairy-based beverage!

Kahlúa Hot Chocolate

Ingredients: Hot Chocolate Mix, Milk, Kahlúa

We use milk instead of water for an epic and rich hot chocolate in this Kahlúa hot cocoa that tastes like a boozy mocha.

Bourbon Eggnog

Ingredients: Eggnog, Bourbon, Nutmeg

We’ve included some suggestions for bourbons you can use in this boozy eggnog cocktail, but any kind you enjoy and can pick up from a store near you would be excellent!

Amaretto Eggnog

Ingredients: Eggnog, Amaretto Liqueur

You can make this adult-only eggnog beverage neat or chilled with ice, depending on how cold you want to serve it. Scale the recipe up and combine it in a punch bowl for group serving!

Eggnog White Russian

Ingredients: Kahlúa Coffee Liqueur, Vodka, Eggnog

Garnish this festive twist on the white Russian with whipped cream, nutmeg, cinnamon, and star anise for a treat you’ll enjoy as you warm up by the fireplace this winter. Add a dollop or two of our Eggnog Whipped Cream if you love eggnog!

RumChata Eggnog

Ingredients: RumChata, Eggnog

Since decadent treats are the name of the game during the holidays, we love topping this sweet cocktail with whipped cream. However, you can also rim the glass with cinnamon sugar for a lighter version that gives it more of a horchata taste.

RumChata Hot Chocolate

Ingredients: RumChata, Hot Chocolate Mix, Milk

We love this simple recipe because adding a shot or two of this spiced rum cream liqueur quickly turns a run-of-the-mill hot chocolate packet into the perfect wintertime adult hot chocolate.

Cranberry Moscow Mule

Ingredients: Vodka, Cranberry Juice Cocktail, Fresh Lime Juice, Ginger Beer

This festive twist on the classic Moscow mule is the perfect fizzy cocktail for any Thanksgiving or Christmas gathering! We love garnishing it with cranberries and a rosemary sprig for a classy look.

Dirty Shirley Cocktail

Ingredients: Vodka, Grenadine, Sprite, Maraschino Cherries for Garnish

The “dirty” part of this Shirley Temple-inspired cocktail’s name comes from the grown-up addition of vodka. We recommend cherry or vanilla vodka if you crave extra flavor.

Tiramisu Martini

Ingredients: Malibu Coconut Rum, Irish Cream, Frangelico, Peach Schnapps, Disaronno Amaretto, Butterscotch Schnapps

This after-dinner cocktail tastes like an Italian tiramisu, in case you want a cocktail and a dessert in one! Each of its six ingredients contains alcohol, making this drink pack a punch.

Deal Closer Cocktail

Ingredients: Vanilla Rum, Amaretto, Baileys Irish Cream, Dark Creme de Cacao, Chocolate Syrup

This indulgent cocktail drinks like a boozy adult chocolate milkshake! It’s one of our favorites from Alchemy Bar, Carnival Cruises’ premium onboard craft cocktail bar.

Strawberry Champagne Cocktail

Ingredients: Rosé Champagne, Monin Strawberry Simple Syrup, Sliced Strawberries, Ice

This Strawberry Champagne Cocktail is a lovely alternative when you’ve had your fill of cranberry but want a bubbly drink that looks the part for holiday toasts or winter girls’ nights.

Caribbean Sunset Martini

Ingredients: Absolut Raspberri, Malibu Coconut Rum, Cranberry Juice, Lime Juice

Chase away the winter blues with a raspberry, coconut, and cranberry martini that comes in a festive, holiday-appropriate red but tastes like a warm paradise in a martini glass.

Boozy Grinch Cocktail

Ingredients: Midori Melon Liqueur, Pineapple Juice, Maraschino Cherries

This neon-green cocktail is inspired by one of the fun libations we enjoyed at the Reno Santa Pub Crawl in 2019. Add a touch of Sprite or 7-Up for a fizzy delight!

Bacon Manhattan Cocktail

Ingredients: Bacon-Infused Whiskey, Sweet Vermouth, Bitters

Pair this savory, bacon-infused take on the classic Manhattan with an equally hearty holiday feast for a cocktail everyone at the dining table will be buzzing about!

Pomegranate Breeze Martini

Ingredients: Absolut Vodka, Monin Pomegranate Syrup, Lemonade, Cranberry Juice

This Carnival Cruises copycat martini celebrates the pomegranate, another seasonal red fruit enjoyed throughout fall and winter! You can prepare individual servings in martini glasses or whip up a big batch for a holiday punch bowl.

Bama Breeze Cocktail

Ingredients: Lime, Simple Syrup, Ruby Red Grapefruit Vodka, Coconut Rum, Cranberry Juice

This cranberry, grapefruit, and coconut cocktail has the right balance of sweetness, tartness, holiday cheer, and tropical bliss to hold you over on the winter days you pine for warmer weather.

Peppermint Vodka

Ingredients: Vodka, Peppermint Candies

This homemade peppermint vodka is an excellent use of any candy canes lying around at home after wrapping this season’s holiday gifts! We love preparing batches in mason jars for easy DIY holiday gifts.

Winter Shots

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Shot

Ingredients: RumChata, Fireball Cinnamon Whisky, Sugar Water, Cinnamon Sugar Mixture

Serve a tray of these cereal-inspired shooters with your next holiday brunch for a nostalgic yet grown-up treat! They are easy to upsize into cocktails if you want an adult-sized helping.

Broken Down Golf Cart Shot

Ingredients: Amaretto, Midori Melon Liqueur, Lime Juice

We may be uncertain about how this bright-hued, three-ingredient shot got its name, but we agree it’s a festive green shooter that would look at home on any holiday cocktail spread.

Grinch Jello Shots

Ingredients: Green Jello, Vodka, Water

Just as the Grinch’s heart grew multiple sizes by the movie's end, you can garnish these party-ready holiday Jello shots to your heart’s delight! We decorated ours with whipped cream, red sugar, and red heart-shaped candies to contrast against the green gelatin.

Fireball Jello Shots

Ingredients: Cherry Jello, Fireball Cinnamon Whisky, Water

We love decorating these cherry Jello and Fireball party shots with Red Hots candies to pretty them up and add an even more spicy cinnamon kick to help you defrost from the winter weather.

Cherry Bomb Shot

Ingredients: Grenadine, Cherry Vodka, Red Bull Energy Drink

The cherry in this ruby-red shooter comes from cherry vodka, while the “bomb” part is from the two ounces of Red Bull. You can adjust the color with grenadine if your cherry vodka is not red.

RumChata Pudding Shots

Ingredients: Milk, RumChata, Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix, Cool Whip

We used vanilla-flavored instant pudding mix in these pudding shots, but you can use any flavor you think would be yummy with RumChata! Cheesecake, chocolate, banana, and white chocolate would all be excellent options.

Peppermint Patty Shot

Ingredients: Creme de Cacao Liqueur, Peppermint Schnapps, Baileys Irish Cream

If you love York peppermint patties, Andes mints, or any combination of chocolate and mint, you’ll love this Peppermint Patty Shot! You can use dark creme de cacao if you prefer the taste of dark chocolate, but keep in mind that your shot will look slightly darker than ours, as pictured.

Polar Bear Shot

Ingredients: White Creme de Cacao, Peppermint Schnapps or White Creme de Menthe

Like our Peppermint Patty shot, this see-through shot made famous on the sitcom Schitt’s Creek tastes like mint chocolate candy! You can replace the white creme de menthe with green creme de menthe if you prefer a green shot.

Three Wise Men Shot

Ingredients: Johnnie Walker Red Label Scotch Whisky, Jim Beam Bourbon, Jack Daniel’s Whiskey

What do you get when scotch whisky, bourbon, and Tennessee whiskey walk into a bar? This Three Wise Men Shot, of course! You can serve it neat in an old-fashioned glass if you prefer to sip on it than shoot it down, but remember it packs a punch.

Red Snapper Shot

Ingredients: Crown Royal Canadian Whisky, Amaretto Liqueur, Cranberry Juice

Contrary to its name, no fish were involved or harmed in making this Canadian whisky, amaretto, and cranberry shot.

Favorite Cocktail Tools

2 ounce shot glasses - We love these 2 oz shot glasses especially for layered shots.

Bar Spoon - Bar spoons help to create layers in the cocktail shot. They fit perfectly into the cocktail shot glass. We like how long they are to make it easy to stir drinks.

Cocktail Shaker – This cocktail shaker comes with a fantastic set of tools to make it easy to shake and strain your winter cocktails.

Stemless Martini Glasses - These stemless martini glasses are fantastic.

Martini Glass - We like the look of the classic martini glass

Jell-O Shot Cups - We suggest using two-ounce Jell-O shot cups.

OXO angled jiggers - these are our go-to measuring tools for cocktails. They work perfectly for to pour in layers for cocktails.

Copper Mule Mugs  - Copper Mule Mugs are the classic way to serve Moscow Mules. The copper mugs keep them nice and cold and look amazing.

Coupe Glass - We love the look of these glasses.

Depending on the winter drink you may also need a saucepan to boil hot water.

Great Cocktail Recipe Collections

2 Ingredient Cocktails - These easy cocktails are made with gin, rum, vodka, and other great spirits.

Chambord Cocktails - Great cocktail recipes made with delicious Chambord Liqueur.

Peppermint Schnapps Cocktails - Are you wondering what to make with a bottle of Peppermint Schnapps? Don't worry these easy Peppermint Schnapps Drinks taste amazing

Moscow Mule Recipes - Try a new variation on the classic Moscow Mule Drink.

Butterscotch Schnapps Cocktails - No need to be bitter! These Butterscotch Schnapps Cocktails are easy to make and tastes oh so sweet.

Thanksgiving Cocktails - Check out this great list of easy cocktails perfect for Thanksgiving dinner.

Check out all of our Cocktail Recipes