Friendsgiving 2016: Make One Of These Epic Cocktail Recipes For Your Second Family

You can’t pick your family, but you can pick your friends, and the latter is WAY more fun to drink with. Forget Thanksgiving — gather your squad and celebrate Friendsgiving instead with one of these amazing drink recipes!

Why fly home for Thanksgiving, only to have stressful political debates with the family, when you can stay put and hang out with your friends and drink without being judged?! Here are some awesome cocktail recipes to try during your Friendsgiving gathering this year.

The Mumm GinZing
Created by Cocktail Chef Matthew Biancaniello, the author of EAT YOUR DRINK (Harper Collins) for G.H. Mumm champagne

Ingredients:
2 oz Plymouth Gin
3/4 oz simple syrup (1:1 ratio of cane sugar to water)
3/4 oz lemon juice
3 cherry tomatoes
3 basil leaves
1 oz G.H. Mumm Champagne
Garnish-1 large basil leaf

Muddle everything except gin and champagne. After muddling, add gin and ice and shake/double strain into a rocks glass with ice. Top with G.H. Mums and add basil leaf, cherry tomatoes or garnish of your choice.

BACARDÍ Friendsgiving Rum Punch

Ingredients:
1 part BACARDÍ Gold rum
1 part BACARDÍ Superior rum
3 parts Apple Cider
2 parts lemonade (sweetened)
1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
4 sticks of cinnamon (garnish)
1 apple cut into slices (garnish)

In a large punch bowl, combine all ingredients with an ice block. Garnish with cinnamon sticks and apple slices. Serve on the rocks.

Clos du Bois Holiday Punch

Ingredients:
3 bottles Clos du Bois California Cabernet Sauvignon
½ liter St. Germain
¼ liter lime juice, freshly squeezed
½ liter white cranberry juice

Combine all liquid ingredients into a punch bowl. Garnish each cup with edible flowers, like orchid blossoms.

Cranberry Apple Rosemary Sangria 
Courtesy of Megan Marlowe of Strawberry Blondie Kitchen (Serves 16)

Ingredients:
Cinnamon Rosemary Simple Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2-3 springs rosemary
2 cinnamon sticks
Cranberry Apple Rosemary Sangria
3 apples, diced
2 pears, diced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 orange, thinly sliced
1 cup SMIRNOFF Sourced Cranberry Apple
½ cup triple sec
2 bottles of white wine
1 cup Cinnamon Rosemary Simple Syrup
32 ounces club soda

For the Cinnamon Rosemary Simple Syrup, bring water and sugar to a boil in a small pot. Drop in rosemary and cinnamon sticks and stir until sugar dissolves. Allow to cool completely. For the Sangria, place fruit into the bottom of a large pitcher. Top with SMIRNOFF Sourced Cranberry Apple, triple sec, wine and simple syrup. Stir to combine. Refrigerate for 6 hours up to overnight. Garnish with a cinnamon stick, rosemary spring and/or frozen fruit.

Thanksgiving 2016 Restaurants & Dinner Menus — Pics

Shimmery Seasons Cocktail

Ingredients:
2 oz. Viniq Glow
1 oz. Pomegranate juice

Chill all ingredients at least two hours before serving. Fill with glass sparkling wine.

Dram Glad to Meet Ya
From Atwood Kitchen & Bar Room by Patrick Martin

Ingredients:
1.5 oz. bourbon
.5 oz. sweet vermouth
.25 oz. St. Elizabeth’s Allspice Dram
Semi-hoppy IPA

Shake all ingredients but the beer. Strain and layer atop IPA. Garnish with a cherry. (Drop cherry into drink upon serving.)

“The Loweas-Cider” by Topher Mikels
From Sons of Essex

Ingredients:
1 oz. Cutty Sark Prohibition
1 oz. Domaine de Canton
.5 oz. lemon juice
.5 oz. brown sugar
1 dash of Cinnamon

Shake and strain into a rocks glass. Top off with McKenzie Hard Cider and garnish with a lemon wedge.

Vanilla Hot Toddy

Ingredients:
1.25 oz. Crown Royal Vanilla
1 tsp fine grain sugar
2 small cloves
1.5 oz. boiling water

Add Crown Royal Vanilla, fine grain sugar and cloves in a mug. Add boiling water. Stir and enjoy.

Hot Tully

Ingredients:
1 part Tullamore D.E.W. Original
¼ part simple syrup
¼ part fresh lemon juice
3 parts hot water

First, warm a mug with hot water, then discard and combine ingredients above. For a bit of bite, add some fresh ginger and garnish with lemon and a cinnamon stick. Stir before serving.

Maker’s™ (Non-Egg) Nog

Ingredients:
2 parts Maker’s Mark® Bourbon
2 parts simple syrup
2 parts half and half (1 part whole milk, 1 part single cream)

Shake contents over ice. Strain over ice and garnish with nutmeg and dark chocolate.

HollywoodLifers, are you celebrating Friendsgiving this year? Click through the gallery above to see pics of all of these delicious recipes!