Thanksgiving is nearly here and if the thought of all that good food (as long as Karen’s not bringing the dressing) & family time (of which the thought of may or may not cause you to break out in hives) has you proactively searching for Thanksgiving cocktails to imbibe, I got ya covered!🍷

Thanksgiving is a bitter sweet holiday for me. When I think about the season, images of fall, apples, baking spices, and turkey come to mind. But thoughts of my Grandmother, who is no longer with us, come as well. She was the glue that held my very large & very boisterous family together. Her birthday falls during Thanksgiving week and we always celebrated during T-Day dinner. And while Thanksgiving is not quite the same without her, my family & I do our best to carry on the enjoy one another. (Helped in part because Karen is not allowed to bring the dressing 😀)

Thanksgiving Cocktails

I won’t even lie, when I first looked into making Thanksgiving cocktails, I drew a blank. I mean, I usually opt for a nice glass of red wine and call it a day. But this year I decided to be a bit more adventurous and try something a new, so I hit up my good friend Google for some inspiration. Per usual, he didn’t let me down. So I’ve done all the hard work for you and here are 3 beverages for your Thanksgiving & fall cocktail rotation.

Apple Cider Mimosa

This delightful cocktail idea never ever crossed my mind, and I’m the Mimosa Queen! Go figure.🤷🏾

Ingredients:

1 cup apple cider (store bought or homemade, I will went with the store brand)
Prosecco (or your preferred sparkly for mimosas)
Apple slice & cinnamon for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Pour the apple cider into your favorite mimosa glass
Top off with Proseccco (add as much or little as you like)
Garnish with an apple slice and a cinnamon rim

Note: I’m not a big fan of consuming cinnamon as is, so I only rimmed a tiny portion of my glass with it. And guess what, it was perfect! A little bit goes a long way.

Red Red Wine 💃🏾

Since I prefer a nice glass of red for Thanksgiving, I got to thinking of ways to jazz it up & make it more festive. I looked around my kitchen and my eyes landed on a bottle of spanish red & the glass of sorrel I was enjoying. A lightbulb went off.

Red wine + sorrel!💡 YES!

My recipe produces about 1/2 gallon of sorrel and I’m always looking for new ways to incorporate this tasty beverage into cocktail recipes. And as far as recipes go, this one is fairly simple: (1) take your fav inexpensive red wine, I’m using Comoloco–a nice Spanish red I’ve been enjoying this fall and (2) add some sorrel! Trust me, one taste and it’ll make you feel real fine.😉

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of your favorite red wine- nothing too expensive or fancy
1/3 cups of Jamaican sorrel
- recipe & instructions below

Directions:

Pour wine into a standard red wine glass, or whatever receptacle you choose to imbibe from
Add sorrel, gently mix to combine
Give it a taste (enjoy & relax as all the spices hit your tongue & dance about)
Adjust taste to your liking by either adding more sorrel or more wine

🌟If you don’t know how make sorrel, never fear! You can find my recipe (with a twist) here. Or, you can watch me prepare the more traditional version by watching the video below. ⬇

Apple Cider Old Fashioned

I’ll admit, when I first saw this one, a big WTF crossed my mind. Since I really wanted to include a whiskey based cocktail in my recommendations, the thought of an Old Fashioned with apple cider piqued my interest. I was pleasantly surprised by this one, so much so I may have made another one– you know, for quality control testing purposes.😉

Ingredients:

2 oz of bourbon
3 oz of apple cider
2-3 dashes of cardamom bitters, (you can use Angostura bitters if you have it on hand)
Ice

Directions:

Put ice in a serving glass, add bourbon & apple cider
Stir until liquid is nice and chilled (about 10 secs or so)
add 2-3 drops of cardamon bitters
Give one final stir or two
Enjoy!

While this cocktail includes apple cider, it’s still an Old Fashioned. Which means it’s a sipper, not a chugger. If you want it a little sweeter, I suggest using a cinnamon stick as your stirrer & leaving it in as you enjoy your beverage. The longer it sits, the more a subtle hint of cinnamon infuses the cocktail.

*Note: You can always add more apple cider lower the volume on this one, but an Old Fashioned is the sort of cocktail in which the bourbon is the main star and should be allowed center stage.

thanksgiving cocktails

Happy Thanksgiving and however you spend the holiday, be it solo, with family, or with friends, don’t forget to take a moment to reflect on all you’re thankful for.

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