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The biggest meal of the year is nearly upon us, and you likely have your hors d’oeuvres sorted, some wine selections in place, and even your favorite sides queued up. Still, many leave the holiday cocktail selections to the last minute. Do you go big and boozy or light, refreshing and low-ABV? Luckily, we’re here to help hone your drinks menu and provide you with crowd-pleasing options.
Match this year’s epic feast with easy-to-make cocktails that will pair perfectly with each loved one. From a low alcohol Martini variation and a two-ingredient Champagne cocktail to a Manhattan that doubles as a digestif, we’ve gathered our favorite drinks that will welcome your guests, pair beautifully alongside dinner, and cap the meal with panache.
Here are our favorite cocktails to serve at this year’s Thanksgiving celebrations.
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Sorrel Daiquiri
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver
Sorrel is the Jamaican name for a type of hibiscus flower known as the Roselle, a red flowering plant whose blooms have a tart and tangy flavor akin to cranberries or green apples. This floral-forward riff on a classic Daiquiri is made with white rum, fresh lime juice, and sorrel-infused syrup with warming spices.
Penicillin
Food & Wine / Photo by Jason Donnelly / Food Styling by Annie Probst and Shannon Goforth / Prop Styling by Lexi Juhl
This modern classic cocktail is a honey-spiced take on a Whiskey Sour. Complex and bright, luscious, earthy, and rich, the Penicillin is the flavor-rich cocktail you need for the holiday season. Blended scotch whisky serves as the drink’s sturdy base, lending light malt grain and floral notes. Fresh lemon juice, honey-ginger syrup, and a heavily peated scotch float complete the cocktail, with a candied ginger garnish.
Pomegranate Mule
MORGAN HUNT WARD / FOOD STYLING by EMILY NABORS HALL / PROP STYLING by JULIA BAYLESS
This ruby-red take on a Buck cocktail, created by bartender Kaitlyn Stewart, is easy to make and has a gingery kick. This highball has a base of gin and combines muddled fresh pomegranate arils and mint with lime juice and ginger beer. Fresh lime and pomegranate juice blend with warming ginger beer and botanical-forward gin for a flavor-rich cocktail perfect for pregaming on Thanksgiving Day.
Cosmopolitan
Food & Wine / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle
Pale pink, sweet tart, and iconic, the Cosmopolitan, composed of lemon-flavored vodka, orange liqueur, cranberry juice, and fresh lime juice, has been quietly making a comeback. The cranberry sour is the perfect pre-dinner sipper to have this Thanksgiving, and a fantastic conversation starter.
50/50 Martini
Food & Wine / Photo by Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
A 50/50 Martini is an ideal Turkey Day aperitif, made up of equal parts gin and dry vermouth, with a dash of orange bitters and lemon twist garnish. Refreshing, low-ABV, and elegant, this Martini variation leans into botanical-forward dry vermouth, whetting the appetite and preparing the stomach for the meal ahead.
Blackberry Kir Royale
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon
A Kir Royale is a traditional French apéritif, a bubbly take on the Kir, a 19th-century drink that traditionally combines Burgundy white wine with crème de cassis. The Royale version replaces white wine with Champagne. This variation is uses a blackberry brandy in place of crème de cassis — a rich, black currant liqueur.
Fig Old Fashioned
MORGAN HUNT WARD / FOOD STYLING by EMILY NABORS HALL / PROP STYLING by JULIA BAYLESS
The Autumnal take on a classic Old Fashioned uses fig syrup in place of the plain sugar cube or simple syrup to create a richer profile with notes of deep, dried fig and vanilla. It evokes autumnal warmth and turns the whiskey’s caramel and vanilla notes toward roasted fruit dimensions. The Angostura bitters are crucial in this drink — they cut through the rich fruity sweetness and add a pop of baking spice.
Black Manhattan
Tim Nusog / Food & Wine
This Manhattan variation, created by bartender Todd Smith in 2005 at San Francisco’s Bourbon & Branch, is the ideal capper to a large meal, the perfect digestif on your Thanksgiving menu. The Black Manhattan is composed of rye whiskey, Averna amaro, and bitters. The simple swap of bittersweet, herbal amaro in place of the traditional sweet vermouth transforms this iconic cocktail into an even richer, more complex and aromatic drink.
