Holiday cocktails

It’s the holidays, which means one thing: It’s time to get plastered! Yours truly has conducted a massive amount of in-depth research and I present to you for your drinking pleasure, four awesome drinks suitable for a holiday party, or a night alone because you have no friends.

The tools:
Cocktail shaker and strainer
A couple of plastic buckets from your dollar store of choice
Handheld grater
Plastic cups (unless you have careful friends or don’t mind picking glass out of your carpet)
A towel

The booze:
Regular vodka
Vanilla vodka
Cinnamon vodka
Peppermint Schnapps
Coffee liquor
Rum
White chocolate liquors

The extras:
Superfine sugar
Half and half
Ground cinnamon and nutmeg
Lemons, limes, cherries, mini candy canes for garnish

Gingerbread Martini
2 ounces vanilla vodka
1 ounce gingerbread syrup (hit up your local Starbucks if you can’t find this in grocery stores)

Combine vodka and syrup in a shaker with crushed ice. Shake until blended, strain into glass rimmed with cinnamon-sugar.

Ice Queen
1 ounce peppermint Schnapps
1 ounce vanilla vodka
2 ounces white chocolate liquor

Combine all ingredients and shake, serve over ice in a cup. Garnish with a mini candy cane.

Hot Buttered Awesome
2 quarts apple cider
2 cups packed brown sugar
6 cinnamon sticks
3 orange slices
1/2 cup sweet unsalted butter
1 cup golden rum

Simmer juice, sugar, orange slices and cinnamon on medium for about 20 minutes. Add butter and rum, stir until butter is dissolved, then simmer an additional 10 minutes on medium-low. Serve up hot in mugs.

Red Scare
2 ounces cinnamon vodka
1 ounce Kahlua
half and half

Pour vodka and Kahlua over ice in a cup. Top with half and half and serve.