5 Thanksgiving Tequila Cocktails to Spice up the Family Festivities

Your friends and family spent tireless hours cooking a delicious meal brimming with meats, mashed veggies and stuffing galore. The smell of fresh baked goods beckons you to the corner, where an assortment of pies and picture-perfect cookies are set aside for the night’s end.  The doorbell rings, and a neighbor you haven’t seen in years enters with their famous potato casserole; spontaneous cheers and applause erupt throughout the house. You — always woefully unprepared — brought only a bottle of tequila.

Fret not, we’ve got you covered. If you’re looking to spice up the annual festivities with some impressive libations, here are five top-tier tequila cocktails that’ll leave your guests asking for more.

Apple and Pear Ponche

Over the years, Chef Pati Jinich has carved out a niche exploring the intersection of Mexican cuisine, culture and politics on her PBS shows La Frontera and Pati’s Mexican Table. As it so happens, she also knows how to make a mean cocktail.

For this recipe, Jinich shakes up Mexican Ponche —  a warm fruit punch typically served around Christmas — with delicious chunks of apple and pear. If you have half an hour to spare, this toasty brew is perfect for large gatherings if batched in large portions.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup Reposado Tequila
• 4 cups Water
• ⅓ cup grated Piloncillo or Brown Sugar
• 1 Apple cut into bite-sized chunks
• 1 Pear cut into bite-sized chunks
• 6 oz Sugar Cane Sticks
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 1 Orange Rind

Directions

1. Bring the water, cinnamon sticks, and piloncillo to a simmer in a medium saucepan.
2. Add the sugar cane, apples, and pears.
3. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the orange rind and simmer for 10 minutes more.
5. Turn off heat and discard the cinnamon, sugar cane, and orange rind. Stir in the Reposado tequila.
6. Serve in a mug and garnish with cinnamon stick, pear slice, and orange peel.

Horchata de Pistachio

For its third consecutive year in a row, Hong Kong’s Coa was recently declared the best bar in all of Asia. Within this Oaxaca-inspired hideaway, adventurous drinkers might order up a Thai Beef Salad cocktail mixed with Angus, peanut and kaffir lime, or a Mole Negroni swimming with Campari and cacao husks.

One of the most festive recipes of the bunch is its creamy Horchata de Pistachio. Changing up the classic horchata recipe (rice, milk, vanilla and cinnamon) with a healthy dash of pistachio liqueur, the concoction is perfect for seasoned drinkers and skeptics alike — so long as they’re not lactose intolerant. Goes down great with a slice of pecan pie.

Ingredients

• 1 oz Blanco Tequila
• .5 oz Horchata
• .5 oz Pistachio Orgeat
• .5 Fresh Lemon Juice
• .25 oz Whey
  • Option Garnish: Pistachio Biscuit

Directions

1. Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker, shake for 10-15 seconds with ice.
2. Double strain into glass, garnish with pistachio biscuit and powdered sugar to your liking.

Tequila Hot Toddy

For many, a bourbon Hot Toddy is the definitive winter cocktail. Whether you’re huddled around a campfire or fighting off a cold, the boozy mix of sugar, spice and citrus can cure seasonal melancholy like no other.

Though aged spirits might seem like the obvious choice, an unaged blanco can add the perfect mix of vegetality and vibrancy right at home alongside flavors of cinnamon, clove and star anise. If you’ve just depleted the last of your whiskey reserves, consider trying out this simple variation.

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz Blanco Tequila
• 1 Chai Tea Bag
• 1 oz Lemon Juice
• 3 oz Hot Water
• 1 Tbsp Honey

Directions

1. Fill a 6-ounce heatproof glass with boiling water and the chai tea bag.
2. Mix tequila, honey and lemon juice.
3. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and lemon wedge.

Angels & Herbs

Cranberry and sage — two staples of the Thanksgiving dinner spread — are loaded up alongside plenty of grapefruit and lime juice in the decadently named Angels & Herbs cocktail.

In essence, this is a twist on the tried-and-true Paloma. If you fancy a sparkling highball cocktail heavy on the fruit and light on the alcohol, this citrus medley won’t steer you wrong.

Ingredients

• 1.5 part Blanco Tequila
• 1 part Sage Simple Syrup
• 1 part Cranberry Juice
• 1 Part Grapefruit Juice
• 1/2 part Lime Juice
• 1.5 parts Grapefruit Soda

Directions

1. Add all ingredients except grapefruit soda to a shaker. Shake until chilled, 20-30 seconds.
2. Strain into tall glass and add soda.
3. Garnish with grapefruit slice and sage leaf, optional.

Salted Caramel Old Fashioned

Ah, the Old Fashioned; found gripped in the hand of many a grumpy uncle and would-be trendy college student returning from their first semester away from home.

At this point, there are too many whiskey, rum and tequila-based Old Fashioned recipes to count. It might be the most endlessly tinkered cocktail in history. Without shaking up the formula too much, we present a salted caramel rendition spruced up with a splash of DIY simple syrup.

To make everything click, a quality extra añejo tequila is a must — consider trying one of our recommendations here.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 oz Extra Añejo Tequila
• 1/8th oz Salted Caramel Syrup
  • 16 oz Hot Water
  • 2 cups Caster Sugar
  • 1 tbsp Maldon Sea Salt
• 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
• Lemon and Orange Zest, for garnish

Directions

1. Stir hot water, caster sugar and sea salt together until completely dissolved. Allow to cool in fridge.
2. In a separate glass, add tequila, salted caramel syrup and bitters over a large ice cube. Stir gently, 30-40 seconds.
3. Garnish with lemon and orange zest.

Read More:

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Australia Digs Deeper Into Tequila Market With Peanut Butter, Fruit Zingle and ‘Fireballs’-Flavored Agave Spirits

New Additive-Free Tequila ‘Founded, Farmed Distilled and Led by Women’ Hits the Market Nationwide