10 Holiday Drinks

Heat 2 cups milk and 1/2 cup dulce de leche in a saucepan, whisking, until frothy. Add a shot of rum, if desired. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon.

Simmer 2 cups dried hibiscus, 8 cups water, 1 cup sugar, 6 cloves, 2 cinnamon sticks, 1 teaspoon vanilla and a dash of nutmeg in a saucepan, 30 minutes. Strain. Serve with cinnamon sticks.

Mix 4 tablespoons softened butter with 1/2 teaspoon each vanilla, cinnamon and allspice, and a pinch of nutmeg. Heat 1/2 cup pineapple juice in a mug; stir in 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1 ounce rum. Top with a pat of the spiced butter.

Whisk 1/2 cup each boiling water and sugar and 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder in a saucepan. Stir in 1-1/2 cups milk, 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and heat through. Top with whipped cream sweetened with brown sugar and chopped chocolate. Dust with ground cardamom.

Bring 1 cup each sugar and water to a boil in a saucepan with 6 cinnamon sticks. Mix with 4 cups each pink grapefruit juice and seltzer in a punch bowl. Serve over ice. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.

Moisten the rim of a glass and dip it in cinnamon-sugar. Mix 1 cup plum juice, 1/2 cup ginger ale and 2 pieces chopped crystallized ginger; pour into the glass. Garnish with skewered cranberries.

Shake 2 ounces whiskey, 2 ounces tawny port and 3 dashes orange bitters in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

Peel and slice a 6-inch piece of ginger. Simmer 1 cup each water and ginger ale in a saucepan with the ginger until reduced by half. Strain and chill. Mix the ginger syrup with 2 cups sparkling cider and 1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger. Pour into ice-filled glasses and garnish with cinnamon sticks.

Shake 4 ounces sake and 2 teaspoons syrup from a jar of kumquats (or a can of mandarin oranges) in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a martini glass; drop in a kumquat.