Happy Hour: Thanksgiving!

by Diana Vilibert

By the time you read this, I will be on a plane, on the way to meet my boyfriend’s family for the first time and spend Thanksgiving with them. The last time I visited a boyfriend’s family, I’m pretty sure I didn’t pee for like four days because, I don’t know, excusing myself seemed like the most awkward thing ever, and what if I got lost on my way back from the bathroom and had to just kind of wander around from room to room, clearing my throat excessively loudly?

Anyway, I’ll be limiting my liquid consumption these coming days to only what can fit in a Monopoly thimble, so have an extra one of these Thanksgiving-y, autumny cocktails for me, will ya?

(What are you doing for Thanksgiving? Will you be drinking these with your mother-in-law or maybe with her and also before she arrives? Let’s tell stories about drinking with family in the comments!)

Sandeman Ciderhouse Sangria
1 bottle of Sandeman Founders Reserve Port
24 oz apple cider
3 oz rye whiskey
1.5 oz maple syrup
2 Granny Smith apples
2 pears

Directions: Dice apples and pears and set aside. Mix all remaining ingredients together in pitcher. Add apples and pears. Let sit for at least 8–12 hours (or overnight).

Hot Gin Punch
3 parts Beefeater Gin
3 parts port wine (I vote for Sandeman Tawny or Ruby)
6 parts pear juice
1 part lemon juice
3 cloves
A pinch nutmeg (grated)
1 teaspoon of cinnamon (powder)
4 teaspoons of sugar (brown)
2 pears (thinly sliced)

Directions: Mix all the ingredients in saucepan and place on the heat. Let the mixture simmer without boiling for a few minutes. Add honey and lemon to taste. (And feel free to add your own favorite spices during the simmer stage!)

Pumpkin Pie Martini
2 parts ABSOLUT Vanilia
1 dash cinnamon syrup
1 part milk
1 dash pumpkin smash
1 dash sugar, superfine

Directions: Fill a shaker with ice cubes. Add all ingredients. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Bee Sting
Created by John Gertsen of Boston’s Drink
2 parts Beefeater 24 Gin
½ part Lemon Juice
½ part Honey Syrup (1:1 with water)
12 Peppercorns

Directions: Muddle peppercorns in shaker. Add rest of ingredients and ice, shake, and strain into a cocktail glass.

Cinnamon Sparkler
1.5 oz Kahlúa Cinnamon Spice
3 oz Sparkling Apple Cider
Small squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Directions: Shake Kahlúa Cinnamon Spice and lemon over ice. Top with sparkling apple cider. Grate nutmeg on top.

Previously: St. Germain Is the Best.

Diana Vilibert is a freelance writer and drinker living in Brooklyn, and no one is paying her to say any of this.

Image of Sandeman Ciderhouse Sangria via Sandeman