Get Merry with These Holiday Cocktails
Sure the holidays are merry and familial, but they can also be stressful, and the best way to manage seasonal stress is with cocktails. Lots of them. From hot toddies to “Kringle Cream,” here’s where to get your drink on over the holidays.
When one hot toddy just doesn’t cut it, there’s an entire hot toddy menu at Rodan. The quintessential winter warmer is available in a miscellany of flavors and liquors at this Asian gastropub. There’s the Fireball Toddy with Fireball cinnamon whiskey, lemon, and honey; the Sake Toddy featuring Eiko Fuji sake, honey citron tea, Chinese five-spice, and grapefruit bitters, the After Midnight Toddy laced with amaretto, Bailey’s, and Chinese five-spice; and more.
Flo & Santos may be best known for their hodgepodge of pizzas and pierogis, but the South Loop bar boasts an impressive breadth of holiday cocktails as well. Their seasonal sangria is glogg-inspired, featuring heated and spiced red wine, while other cocktails get a little more whimsical. An Old Fashioned Xmas is made with muddled orange and cranberry, bourbon, walnut bitters, and cinnamon syrup, while In a Pear Tree combines vodka, Xante pear, rosemary sour mix, and ginger beer. Another fun one is the Nutcracker Margarita, a potent medley of Don Julio reposado, Frangelico, amaretto, Nocello, house sour mix, and a sugar-nutmeg rim.
One requisite winter tipple is the soul-soothing Tom & Jerry, a traditional yuletide quaff commonly made with egg nog, sugar, and brandy or rum. At The Violet Hour, Tom & Jerrys are an annual tradition, made with an old-school recipe that entails separating whites and yolks, whipping them separately, adding sugar to the yolk along with booze and spices. Once the whites are stiffened, they’re folded into the yolk mixture. The batter is poured into a mug along with a splash of whiskey, rum, or Cognac, hot milk, and some grated nutmeg or cinnamon. The thing about The Violet Hour’s version, however, is that it is only available when there is significant snowfall, so you’d best hope for a white Christmas after all.
For something sweet, spicy, chocolate-y, and downright Santa-y, head to Doc B’s Fresh Kitchen for their Kris Kringle cocktail. It’s made with Kringle Cream, a Wisconsin cream liqueur made with rum and butterscotch, plus Grey Goose Cherry Noir vodka, Forres Park rum infused with cinnamon, creme de banane, and a bit of Aztec chocolate bitters. Order it for yourself or perhaps leave some out for Santa, because it’s surely better than cookies.
The Glunz Tavern is another spot warming up its cocktail list for the winter season. Four new toasty drinks join the menu, all of which skew classic. There’s hot buttered rum, Irish coffee, and Glunz Tavern glogg, made with a recipe from owner Christopher Donovan’s grandfather.
Rodan
1530 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago
(773) 276-7036
Website
Flo & Santos
1310 S. Wabash Avenue, Chicago
(312) 566-9817
Website
The Violet Hour
1520 N. Damen Avenue, Chicago
(773) 252-1500
Website
Doc B’s Fresh Kitchen
100 E. Walton Street, Chicago
(312) 626-1300
Website
The Glunz Tavern
1202 N. Wells Street, Chicago
(312) 642-3000
Website
