Thanksgiving Cocktail Recipes: Drinks That Go Well With Turkey

Thanksgiving is a special holiday; it reminds us of how we must exercise gratitude not just for a few hours, but every day of our lives. Turkey is a beautiful, succulent meat, with its origins unknown with regard to how it officially became the star of a celebratory meal.

They say that pairing white wine with white meat is ideal, but who's to say we can't give other options a go, right? We reveal which cocktails make delightful accompaniments while eating a Thanksgiving meal. It is recommended, that you make the cocktails in batches for the crowd, so that they retain the best of the flavors.

Ingredients
- 8 oz. of cranberry vodka
- Double splash of cranberry juice
- Double dash of lime juice
- Dash of Sprite
- 2 tsp of grated ginger
Serves: 2
Garnish: 7 - 8 fresh cranberries, lemon rind

Procedure
Fill your glasses with ice and keep them aside for frosting. Now, muddle your cranberries and ginger and add the cranberry and lemon juice. Shake it well before adding the vodka. Pour the mix over the ice-filled glasses. Add the Sprite and garnish with a lemon rind and a few cranberries before serving.

Ingredients
- 8 oz. sparkling white wine
- 1 oz. orange liqueur
- 4 oz. cranberry juice
- Ice cubes
Serves: 2
Garnish: Fresh cranberries, thin orange slices

Procedure:
Fill your cocktail glasses with ice. Now pour the cranberry juice and sparkling wine, finish it off by adding orange liqueur to it. Garnish with cranberries and orange slices, and then serve.

Ingredients
- 5 cups apple cider
- ¼ cup ginger syrup
(you can use finely grated ginger and sugar syrup, as an alternative)

Serves: 6
Garnish: 6 cinnamon sticks, 6 pieces crystallized ginger

Procedure
Pour your ginger syrup in a glass tumbler full of ice. Pour the cider, stir well, and transfer to waiting glasses.

Garnish with cinnamon sticks and crystallized ginger before serving. For those who wish to use an alternative for the ginger syrup, take some freshly grated ginger in your shaker, add sugar syrup to it and muddle well.

Ingredients
- 4 tbsp cognac
- 2 cups chilled apple cider
- A dash of bitters

Procedure
Fill the flutes with ice and keep them aside for 2 - 3 minutes. This is done to frost the glasses. Pour 1 tbsp of cognac into each of your flutes and fill the glasses with chilled cider. Now finish it off with a dash of bitters and serve the sophisticated drink to your guests.

Ingredients
- 1 bottle red wine
- 2 tbsp Demerara sugar
- 2 cups ginger ale
- 1 lemon/1 orange (cut into wedges)
- 1 shot brandy/rum

Fruit Choices: Strawberries, peaches, apples, blueberries, raspberries, kiwi, oranges or melons (all sliced and deseeded).
Serves: 4 - 5
Garnish: Lemon wedge

Procedure
Pour your wine into a pitcher, add sugar along with the lemon and orange wedges. Add the brandy/rum and stir well. Now add your choice of fruit, stir once, and then put the pitcher in the refrigerator; chill overnight.

During the meal, pour the ale and serve in highball glasses filled with lots of ice. Garnishing is not necessary, however, a lemon wedge will finish off your refreshing sangria's look.

Ingredients
- 1 liter bourbon
- ½ liter red wine
- 8 oz. dark rum
- 5 oz. gin
- 5 oz. apricot brandy
- ½ liter black tea
-Double shots of lemon juice
- Double shots of sugar syrup
- Ice cubes
Serves: 8 - 10
Garnish: Lime wedge

Procedure
In a glass pitcher, mix your bourbon, red wine, and dark rum along with the cooled black tea; place the pitcher in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

In another glass container, combine the gin and apricot brandy and let it chill for 2 hours, too. Mix both solutions, add the sugar syrup and lemon juice. Pour the drink over ice in your highball glasses. Garnish with a lime wedge and serve.

Ingredients
- 8 - 10 cups apple cider
- 5 strips of lemon zest
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tsp cloves
- 1 tsp allspice berries
- 2 star anise (optional)
Serves: 8

Procedure
Pour your apple cider in a saucepan, add the lemon zest and spices and bring the mixture to a boil. Remove from the heat and keep it covered for about 25 - 30 minutes to give it enough time to steep. Use a strainer to separate the solid bits from the liquid; pour into the glasses and serve.

Ingredients
- 8 - 10 cups apple cider
- 5 strips of lemon zest
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tsp cloves
- 1 tsp allspice berries
- 2 star anise (optional)
Serves: 4
Garnish: 4 cinnamon sticks

Procedure
Beat the brown sugar along with the butter and honey in an electric blender, until there are no traces of sugar left. Add the cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder, and powdered cloves to the mixture and beat well a second time.

Pour the liquid into the old-fashioned glasses, add rum and boiling water. Stir till the mixture is well-blended. Garnish with the cinnamon sticks and serve hot.

Ingredients
- 2 oz. cream liqueur
- 4 oz. pumpkin puree
- 8 oz. vanilla-flavored vodka
- 4 tsp whipped cream
- Ice cubes
Serves: 4
Garnish: Dash of cinnamon powder, cinnamon stick

Procedure
In a cocktail shaker, combine the vanilla-flavored vodka, cream liqueur, purée, and ice cubes and shake well. Strain the cocktail in the martini glass and top it with whipped cream and the cinnamon stick. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon powder on top and serve the delicious concoction.

Ingredients
- 14 oz. orange liqueur
- 22 oz. tequila
- 10 oz. fresh lime juice
- 4 oz. sugar syrup
- Ice cubes
Serves: 15 - 16
Garnish: Lime wedges or lime wheels

Procedure
In a glass pitcher, add the lime juice and liqueur. Add the syrup according to your liking; more if you like your margarita a little sweeter, and less if you like it tangy. Add the tequila and set aside.

Now rim your glasses with salt. For every drink, fill the shaker with ice, pour about 3 ounces of the margarita mix and shake well. Pour into a glass using a strainer. Be very careful while pouring as you have rimmed your glasses and you do not wish to ruin the look.

Ingredients
- 8 oz. vanilla-flavored vodka
- 4 tbsp puree of pumpkin
- 4 tsp sugar syrup
- 4 oz. cream
- Ice cubes
Serves: 4
Garnish: Cinnamon sticks, whole cream

Procedure
Pour the pumpkin puree and vodka in a shaker. Add the cream and syrup. Now top it up with ice. Shake the mix well and strain it into your glasses. You can serve the drinks with or without ice. Cinnamon sticks and a dollop of cream will complete the drinks.

Ingredients
- 6 oz. gin
- 1 oz. maple syrup
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 2 lemon wedges
- 1 pear (preferably fresh)
Serves: 2
Garnish: Cinnamon sticks

Procedure
Pour the syrup, lemon wedges, cinnamon stick and pear into a shaker and muddle all the ingredients. Add ice and pour the gin. Shake well and strain into your Champagne coupe, using a strainer. Add a cinnamon stick to each glass before serving.

If cocktails are too much for you, or you wish to serve more than one drink to your guests, you will never go wrong with wines. You can always serve plain Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zinfandel, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, or Sauvignon Blanc. Tea, coffee, and hot chocolate, are welcomed choices for non-drinkers.