8 Delicious Thanksgiving Food and Spirits Pairings for a Tipsy Turkey Day

If you’re looking for some spirits and food pairings this year, the Bottle Raiders editors have put our heads together and chosen our favorite spirits pairings for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. (AP Photo/Matthew Mead)

Thanksgiving is here and for many, food and drink are what this holiday is all about. There’s nothing quite like gathering with family and friends while sitting around a table and breaking bread together. Yet Thanksgiving often poses a dilemma for many that results in one anxiety-inducing question:

“What are we drinking?”

There are articles galore about wine pairings for Thanksgiving classics that grace every holiday table. Sommeliers from far and wide recommend a Beaujolais with turkey, and people flock like sheep to wine stores to pick up bottles of Gewürtztraminer to pair with their apple pie. But what about spirits? Don’t they get any love this holiday?

If you’re looking to sip something a little stronger this Turkey Day, you’re in the right place. Our editors shared their favorite Turkey Day spirit pairings, spanning every aspect of a traditional Thanksgiving feast covered. From turkey to mashed potatoes and gravy — there’s a spirit that goes with that. Without further ado, here is our list of 8 Thanksgiving Day Spirits Pairings for an unforgettable Turkey Day.

8 Thanksgiving Spirits Pairings for an Unforgettable Turkey Day

1. Pair Sweet Potatoes With La Medida Arroqueno Mezcal

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Whether you like them roasted with cinnamon or baked with marshmallows, these jewel-toned potatoes bring a deliciously fall, candied vibe to any Thanksgiving table.

All that sweetness is beautifully offset by the delicious smokiness of La Medida Arroqueno Mezcal. This Mezcal was distilled from Arroqueno harvested in 2019 and was distilled in Las Salinas Coatecas, Miahuatlan. It has an ABV of 46.29% and sells for an average price of $129, according to Wine-Searcher.

There’s a citrus note on the pour of this Mezcal, which complements the fruity qualities of the sweet potatoes. A slight waft of cream cheese adds a savoriness to the sipping experience. The palate is spicy, with peppercorns and olive oil, balancing out all the rich candied flavors of baked sweet potatoes and La Medida. Arroqueno’s powerful and mineral-driven finish offers an excellent contrast.

2. Pair Cranberry Sauce With Citadelle Jardin D’Ete Gin

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Cranberry sauce is known for its strong tart and fruity flavors, making it a difficult condiment to pair with spirits. We suggest pairing the cranberry sauce at your Thanksgiving table with a fruit-forward gin like Citadelle Jardin d’Été Gin.

With an ABV of 41.5% and an average price of $29, according to Wine-Searcher, Citadelle’s Jardin D’Été gin has aromas and flavors that tilt heavily towards mandarin orange and yuzu, according to The Gin is In. The light body of this spirit won’t clash with cranberry sauce’s viscous texture, and the acid from this spirit will complement this wintery condiment quite well.

If you’re making your cranberry sauce from scratch, you probably know that orange juice is a commonly used ingredient. The orange-inspired aromas of Citadelle Jardin d’Été play nicely with those citrusy flavors, making this a great pairing that should last well into the wintertime.

3. Pair Mashed Potatoes and Gravy With Middle West Pumpernickel Rye

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Mashed potatoes and gravy are the perfect mixture of creamy, salty and savory. The airy texture of whipped potatoes rippled with thick dark gravy practically screams out for a glass of rye whiskey.

We’re particularly partial to this pairing when it involves a glass of Middle West Pumpernickel Rye Whiskey, which can be bought directly from the Columbus, Ohio indie distillery for $46.99. Middle West Pumpernickel Rye possesses an ABV of 48%

Beautifully dark and decadent, Middle West’s Pumpernickel Rye is made from a four-grain mashbill of Pumpernickel rye, Ohio soft red winter wheat, yellow corn and two-row barley. The nose of this rye whiskey is intense, with cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg. The palate gives way to chili powder, oak, cloves and tobacco with just a pop of brown sugar for a hint of sweetness. This rye whiskey finishes beautifully with clove, tobacco and barrel char, leaving a savory impression that complements this salty and savory side.

4. Pair Turkey With Wild Turkey Rare Breed Bourbon

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From a conceptual standpoint, pairing a Thanksgiving turkey with Wild Turkey Rare Breed Bourbon is about as perfect as a pairing could get. But this pairing works on a practical level, too.

A turkey requires a spirit with backbone, a spirit that can stand up to its protein and texture. Not only that, but sometimes turkey by itself can be, well, not terribly flavorful. It’s important to find a spirit that has a lot of complexity to add a little bit of “oomph” to what otherwise might be a boring bird.

Wild Turkey Rare Breed Bourbon has a thick and rich texture, making it the perfect whiskey for this purpose. With a kick of pepper and tobacco coupled with nougat, Wild Turkey Rare Breed Bourbon adds a bit of pizazz to turkey through to its peppery, well-integrated finish. This bourbon has an ABV of 58.4% and an average price of $58, according to Wine-Searcher.

5. Pair Ham With Appleton Estate Rare Casks Rum Aged 12 Years

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So turkey isn’t your thing — fear not.

If you’re one of the many people who like to partake in a little bit of ham on Thanksgiving, we have the pairing for you. An aged rum pairs beautifully with any holiday ham, adding plenty of sweetness to the umami and salty flavors ham possesses. If your plate includes the ubiquitous honey-baked ham this year, a rum complements the candied sweetness this ham possesses.

We opted for an aged rum because they have plenty of weight and will stand up to the ham’s chewy texture.

Appleton’s Estate Rare Casks Aged 12 Years is a great aged rum with enough structure to cut through the fattier components of ham, and Christopher Null of Drinkhacker appreciated its brown sugar and “vanilla-fueled barrel char” flavors. With an average price of $32, this gorgeous sipping rum is “hard to put down,” according to Null.

This aged rum from Appleton has a nice bump in proof, which clocks in at 86 and adds a pleasant bit of heat and structure.

6. Pair Green Beans With Roku Gin

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Green beans possess an astringent, herbaceous and bitter flavor. This is why we opted for a gin, and what better gin to pair with green beans than Suntory’s Japanese gin brand, Roku?

Roku Gin has an ABV of 47%, and Wine-Searcher reports an average price of $33. This lifted gin has plenty of shiso throughout the pour, and the nose is a heady mixture of custard and vanilla with a prickle of pepper. The palate is thin, which works with vegetables like green beans, and it has plenty of herbaceous components. Roku finishes with just a kick of heat and pepper.

Because this gin is lighter-bodied, it won’t overwhelm the crisp texture of the green beans.

7. Pair Pumpkin Pie With Avua Amburana Cachaça

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Creamy, rich and full of warm spices, there’s something distinctively soul-warming about pumpkin pie. A cachaça mirrors those aromas of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg beautifully.

Avua Amburana Cachaça is aged exclusively in Amburana wood, which is known for imparting a strong profile loaded with baking spice flavors. With a suggested retail price of $44.99, this cachaça was well-loved by Daniel Djang at Distiller.

Djang cites aromas of “cardamom, anise and allspice” with a vegetal quality — perfectly complementing the vegetal components of pumpkin pie. Avua Amburana Cachaça is dominated by flavors of nutmeg and crémè brûlée, accentuating pumpkin pie’s creamy, pastry-driven flavors. With a spicy, anise-driven finish, we couldn’t think of a better tipple to enjoy with Fall’s favorite dessert.

8. Pair Apple Pie With Mary Dowling Winter Wheat Bourbon

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In the wine world, apple pie is often paired with Gewürtztraminer, a light white wine known for its distinctively fruity and spicy qualities. We wanted to pick a bourbon to pair with apple pie that had a similar blend of fruit and spice with a lifted and approachable body.

Enter Mary Dowling Winter Wheat. This high-toned, elevated wheated bourbon has a confectionary nose with plenty of white flowers. The sipping experience is an elevated one, with flavors of whipped cream, maple bar doughnuts and a pastry-driven spine that complements an apple pie’s golden crust.

Bottled at 45.5% ABV, Mary Dowling Winter Wheat has a nice kick of heat on the finish while continuing that pastry note, which makes it the perfect option for a fruity apple pie with a golden crust. Mary Dowling Winter Wheat has a suggested retail price of $54.99.