RED RYDER RECIPE

Looking for a holiday cocktail that's not over-the-top with its holiday flavors? We know exactly what you mean. A drink doesn't have to have crushed peppermint rimming the glass to be festive. The Red Ryder nails it. Spiced cranberry syrup and a fresh rosemary sprig, which gets shaken with the other ingredients, gives this tiki-ish cocktail its holiday spin. It's what Santa drinks when he's on the beach and misses home.

Serving suggestion: Sip it while you're watching "A Christmas Story."

RED RYDER

By Baylee Pruitt

2 ounces Cardinal Spirits Tiki Rum
1 ounce fresh pineapple juice
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce spiced cranberry syrup
2 dashes aromatic bitters
Rosemary sprig
Cranberries and rosemary sprig, for garnish

Combine all ingredients, except for garnish, in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously, then strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with cranberries and rosemary sprig. 

*For the spiced cranberry simple syrup: In a saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 cup cranberry juice, 1 cup sugar, 5 allspice berries, 5 cloves and 2 cinnamon sticks. Simmer for five minutes. Let cool completely and strain before using.

HONEY BUZZ RECIPE

Honey, vanilla, coffee, cinnamon ... hello, holidays! This festive cocktail makes winter nights merrier — sip it while you're waiting for the cookie dough to chill, online shopping or addressing Christmas cards.

HONEY BUZZ

By Jake Cifuentes

1.5 ounces Cardinal Spirits Honey Vanilla Vodka
1/2 ounce Cardinal Spirits Songbird Craft Coffee Liqueur
1/4 ounce simple syrup
2 dashes cinnamon bitters
Lemon wheel and cloves, for garnish

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously, then strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a clove-studded lemon wheel.

WHISKEY SOUR RECIPE

We're releasing our very first barrel of single malt whiskey on Saturday. RSVP and come early if you want to get a bottle. So you get a bottle, bring it home, and then what? You make a Whiskey Sour.

You just cannot go wrong with this drink: smooth and airy, with a gentle tang and a nice, foamy cap. Your dad likes it. Your bestie likes it. Even your co-worker who definitely does not like whiskey likes it. There's a reason a Whiskey Sour is known as the white T-shirt of cocktails.

A note on your shaking technique: cocktails like this one that call for egg white are usually shaken in two steps. The first is a so-called dry shake without ice — this emulsifies the egg white. Then, add ice and shake a second time, which chills and properly dilutes the drink. Cheers!

WHISKEY SOUR

Makes 1 cocktail

2 ounces Cardinal Spirits Whiskey
1/2 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup
1 egg white
brandied cherry and bitters, for garnish

Combine ingredients in a shaker without ice, and shake vigorously to emulsify the egg white. Then, add ice to the shaker and shake again to chill. Strain into a rocks glass with ice, and garnish with a brandied cherry and a couple dashes of bitters.

LEFTOVERS PUNCH RECIPE

Making cocktails for a crowd this weekend?
This is the only recipe you need.

This punch is the best possible use for leftover poultry herbs, which you're bound to have after Thanksgiving meal prep. Make a little bundle of stray rosemary, thyme and sage, and plunk it in tart cranberry juice with clove-studded citrus and our vodka for a festive punch.

Mix it up tonight, chill, and set it out just before guests arrive on Thanksgiving. 

LEFTOVERS PUNCH

By Logan Hunter

2⅓ cups Cardinal Spirits Vodka (about ¾ bottle)
1 gallon pure unsweetened cranberry juice
15 cloves
2 oranges, sliced
1 cup sugar
1 whole vanilla bean, sliced lengthwise, or 1 ounce vanilla extract
Poultry blend herbs (1 sprig each of sage, rosemary, thyme)

Combine all ingredients in a punch bowl and stir to dissolve sugar. Refrigerate and let chill overnight so that flavors meld. Strain if desired before serving.

NOCINO SOUR COCKTAIL RECIPE

We can’t get enough of this cocktail during fall and winter. It’s just right for colder months: Naturally warming, and holiday-ish without being holiday-ish, you know what we mean? The star spirit is Nocino, a green walnut liqueur that we release every November.

If you want to know more about how we made this special liqueur, it's all right here, from walnut to bottle.

NOCINO SOUR

Makes 1 cocktail

1.5 ounces Cardinal Spirits Nocino
3/4 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce demerara syrup
1/4 ounce sweet vermouth
3 dashes Angostura bitters

 Shake all ingredients well with ice, then strain into a coupe glass.

MORE NOCINO COCKTAIL RECIPES:

WALNUT MANHATTAN

MILK PUNCH

MILK PUNCH RECIPE

Milk Punch is one of those cocktails with a name that is not helping its image. A punch, made of milk? Hmmm.

"Oh, I'll try just a sip of yours," you'll say cautiously to a friend. "I don't think I could finish a whole one." 

But then you sip this creamy, dreamy, frothy little concoction and it becomes immediately clear that you could finish a whole one ... maybe a few whole ones, actually.

A classic milk punch is brandy or bourbon, milk, sugar and vanilla, shaken until ice cold.

Our rum-based version, created by Cardinal bartender Chris Resnick, is one of the best twists on a milk punch that we've ever had. It calls for a splash of Nocino, the smooth, earthy green-walnut liqueur that we are releasing this Saturday.  (Join us, won't you? Free samples, special cocktails, bottle sales.) Even though this cocktails is steps away from a milkshake, the nocino adds a kind of warmth that you'll love.

MILK PUNCH

By Chris Resnick

Makes 1 cocktail

1.5 ounce Cardinal Spirits Tiki Rum
3/4 ounce Cardinal Spirits Nocino
1 ounce heavy cream
large spoonful of apple preserves

Shake all ingredients vigorously with ice, then strain into a glass with ice.

WALNUT MANHATTAN COCKTAIL RECIPE

Nocino, our newest spirit arriving this Saturday, is definitely delicious all on its own. It is, after all, a digestif, meant to be sipped neat after a meal. But Nocino is fun to play around with in cocktails, too— it can be that subtle twist that makes a drink memorable.

Take the Manhattan. You've had dozens of them. But have you had one with Nocino? The warm, earthy notes of Nocino are right at home in this classic cocktail, adding a lusciousness that makes this drink appeal to even those who wouldn't normally order a Manhattan. 

It's a perfect signature cocktail for your annual holiday dinner with friends — say, Friendsgiving? Nocino will be available by the bottle at the distillery only starting Saturday. 

WALNUT MANHATTAN

By Chris Resnick

Makes 1 cocktail

1.5 oz Cardinal Spirits White Oak Whiskey
3/4 oz Cardinal Spirits Nocino
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
dash of bitters

Stir gently with ice, then strain into a cold glass.

RSVP TO NOCINO RELEASE DAY

CLOVER CLUB RECIPE

Cardinal bartender Stella Snyder shows us how to make a classic gin cocktail called the Clover Club. It's tart, a touch sweet, a lovely rosy color with a foamy cap — what's not to love?

A note on your shaking technique: cocktails like this one that call for egg white are usually shaken in two steps. The first is a so-called dry shake without ice — this emulsifies the egg white. Then, add ice and shake a second time, which chills and properly dilutes the drink. Cheers!

CLOVER CLUB

1.5 ounces Cardinal Spirits Standard Dry Gin
Egg white
3/4 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce raspberry simple syrup (recipe follows)

Add all ingredients to a shaker without ice, and shake vigorously to emulsify the egg with the other ingredients. Add ice to the shaker and shake a second time. Strain into a coupe glass. 

To make the raspberry simple syrup: Combine 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar and 1 pint raspberries (small package) in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Simmer for 5 minutes; let cool, then strain before using.

AUTUMN SMOKE COCKTAIL RECIPE

Lapsang souchong, a smoky black tea, combined with pear juice, cinnamon and our Tiki Rum gives this cocktail its amazing fireside flavor. Cardinal bartender Stella Snyder shows us how to shake it up.

AUTUMN SMOKE

By Stella Snyder

1.5 ounces Cardinal Spirits Tiki Rum
1.5 ounces pear juice
3/4 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce lapsang souchong simple syrup* 
dash cinnamon bitters

Shake with ice; pour the liquid and ice into a cocktail glass and garnish with a cinnamon stick.

*To make lapsang souchong simple syrup: combine 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, and 2 bags of lapsang souchong tea in a saucepan. Simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool, then remove tea bags.