Seasonal cocktail photo courtesy of Klondike Kate’s Restaurant & Saloon
Shake up your cocktail of choice this holiday season with these festive recipes from talented mixologists across the First State.
Klondike Kate’s Restaurant & Saloon Sleigh Bar
Enter Santa’s Workshop at Klondike Kate in Newark, Delaware. The restaurant transforms the restaurant areas into a Christmas wonderland with a sleigh, gifts and other festive decorations. Here, the restaurant shares two cocktails that its bar is known for during the holidays.
158 E. Main St., Newark, Delaware; 302-737-6100
Rudolph’s Red Nose Mule
- 1.5 oz of Deep Eddy Cranberry Vodka
- Ginger beer
- Fresh lime juice
- Cranberry splash
- Lime slice for garnish
Klondike Kate’s Restaurant & Saloon transforms into a Sleigh Bar during the holiday season. Enjoy festive drinks and decor at this Newark location./Photo courtesy of Klondike Kate’s Restaurant & Saloon
Watered butter beer
- 1.5 oz Captain Morgan
- Ginger ale
- 0.5 ounce butterscotch schnapps
- Whipped cream and caramel drizzle for garnish
- Mix the ingredients in a glass and enjoy.
Blitzen the bar
Open in season, Blitzen brings Christmas cheer to downtown Wilmington, Delaware’s 9th Street. The space gets a facelift every year by Creative Director Dallas Shaw to offer customers something new. Named after Santa’s best reindeer, the indoor and outdoor spaces tell the story of how the little helper is relaxing at home. Here the pop-up shares a popular recipe.
220 W. 9th St., Wilmington, Delaware
Blitzen the Bar is a seasonal pop-up featuring cocktails like Big Elf Energy, made with tequila, cranberry juice and a pinch of cinnamon./Photo courtesy of Blitzen
Energy of the great elves
- 1.5 oz Espolon Blanco tequila
- 1 ounce of spicy cinnamon syrup *
- 0.75 ounces of cranberry juice
- 0.5 ounce of liqueur 43
- 0.25 ounces of fresh lime juice
- Sweet cranberries for garnish
Add all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker, except the garnish. Shake. Filter over fresh ice. Garnish with sweet cranberries.
* Spicy Cinnamon Syrup
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 cup of water
- 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
- 3 cinnamon sticks, broken
Mix all ingredients. To boil. Turn off the heat and let infuse for 30 minutes.
* Sweet Cranberries
- 2 cups of sugar, divided
- 1 cup of water
- 12 ounces of fresh cranberries
Combine the water and sugar over high heat. To boil. Turn off the heat. Add the cranberries. Stir several times to coat. Remove with a skimmer on a cooling rack. Rest for an hour. Add the reserved sugar, working little by little. Place on a cooling rack to dry. Place in the freezer until ready to use.
Swigg Real Wine Craft Beer and Spirits
Grab the spirits you need for a holiday party at Swigg’s in Wilmington. Owner Dave Govatos suggests Lion’s Tail, a bourbon-based drink, to please all guests. / Photo courtesy of Swigg
Dave Govatos knows a thing or two about cocktails. As the owner of Swigg Real Wine Craft Beer and Spirits in Wilmington, Delaware, he always makes suggestions to patrons on what to cook in their bar. For the cooler months, Govatos suggests the vintage Lion’s Tail cocktail. “First published in the Café Royal Cocktail Book (1937), this Prohibition-era cocktail uses the exotic and warm flavors of Allspice Dram, a liqueur made from rum and chilli berries, which evokes notes of nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon ” , he explains.
1601 Concord Pike, Wilmington, Delaware; 302-427-9444
lion tail
- 2 ounces of bourbon
- 0.5 oz of Dram St. Elizabeth Allspice
- 0.5 ounce lime juice
- 3/4 ounce of simple syrup
- 2 dashes of Angostura bitter
Related: 8 Delaware Cafes With Seasonal Pumpkin Specialties This Fall
