5 Festive Winter Cocktails You Have to Try

Cozy interiors of wood and stone surrounded by fresh powder and expansive mountain views are always memorable. But they’re downright magical when paired with the perfect holiday cocktail. The same can be said of starlit nights by the beach and twinkling city skylines.

No matter where you choose to celebrate, here are some of our best winter cocktails, plus recipes for taking some of that festive magic home.

This season, Ascent Lounge at Four Seasons Resort and Residences Jackson Hole is celebrating the area’s iconic slopes and elevating the après-ski experience with a festive twist. Gather around the bar’s wood-burning fireplace or on the heated patio and raise a glass to your time exploring the back country – and to a local favourite: Wyoming Whiskey, produced in small batches in nearby Kirby, Wyoming, and aged in one of the distillery’s six rickhouses. The whiskey’s unique private barrel spices take centre stage in the Back Country Old Fashioned, balanced by house-infused brown sugar syrup with spices and orange.

For a unique après setting, head to the pool deck for complimentary s’mores by the fire and Fahrenheit Forty-Seven, the Hotel’s pop-up igloo champagne bar. Get cozy as you sip bubbly in the heated custom dome structure with wood flooring, golden accents, fur furnishings and awe-inspiring 180-degree views of the slopes.

If you prefer a drink that tastes more like dessert, you’re in for a treat with this one. The Mezcal Sipping Caramel can be found on the dessert menu at Cinder House, the downtown St. Louis restaurant helmed by James Beard Foundation Award–winning chef Gerard Craft on the eighth floor of Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis.

“Mezcal is a staple in Mexican bar culture, so it was a natural choice when we were creating this liquid dessert, given the Latin American–influenced menu of Cinder House,” says Tiffany Gilmore, Assistant Executive Pastry Chef at Four Seasons.

“The smokiness of the mezcal cuts through the sweetness of the components and enhances the deeper flavours of the caramel,” she says. “We paired it with alfajores, traditional South American shortbread cookies sandwiched with dulce de leche.” If you can’t get your hands on alfajores at home, your favourite holiday cookies will pair just as nicely.

Celebration is embedded in the heart of Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club, Surfside, the iconic private beach club turned chic seaside haven that originally opened its doors on New Year’s Eve, 1930. The feeling of vintage glamour can still be felt throughout the Hotel, especially at the palm-fringed Champagne Bar, where plenty of festivities are taking place this year.

No need to get up to order your holiday cocktails here, however. At The Champagne Bar, the cocktails come to you via a delightfully retro bar cart, complete with an expert bartender to mix up your beverage of choice tableside. “One of my favourite drinks from The Champagne Bar cocktail cart is the Fancy Champagne cocktail,” says Beverage Manager Ashish Sharma. It’s a kind of bubbly bourbon Negroni, notes Sharma, a unique spin for your champagne toast.

Bar Antoine – the jovial epicentre of the recently opened Pavyllon London at Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane – is the place to meet up with friends on a chilly London night. It’s casual yet elegant – and perfect for catching up over a cool-weather, spirit-free cocktail like the White Forest.

Michelin-distinguished chef Yannick Alléno is well-known for his innovative approach to both food and drink, and the cocktail list at Bar Antoine reflects it. A collaboration between the culinary team and Head Mixologist Michele Lombardi, you’ll find reinvented classics as well as original creations, including Chef Yannick’s signature Allenotics (tonic mixers) and his spirit-free extractions.

The White Forest, one of Lombardi’s latest creations, blends sweet hints of apple and maple syrup with the enticing combo of saffron, orange blossom and Madagascar vanilla in the non-alcoholic Everleaf Forest aperitif. At Bar Antoine, the spirit is fat-washed in coconut oil to bring out a smooth finish and enhanced flavour, a technique that burgeoning home bartenders looking to impress holiday guests can try for themselves. Essentially, fat-washing infuses a spirit by mixing it with the fat of choice – in this case, melted coconut oil – and freezing it overnight, then straining the liquid in the morning.

Looking for something to warm you up from the inside out? “Mulled wine is the ultimate winter elixir, where spices and red wine blend in perfect harmony to warm both body and soul,” says Philip Bischoff, Beverage Manager at Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River.

Bischoff has perfected this classic festive beverage, and with this recipe there’s plenty to go around. Invite your favourite people over to share it with you, or gather with friends old and new at BKK Social Club, where you can sip an expertly prepared cup of mulled wine or any of the seasonal bespoke cocktails crafted by Bischoff and his talented team. Tucked away within the riverside Hotel, BKK Social Club has been recognized as the #1 Best Bar in Thailand and the #3 Best Bar in Asia by the famed Asia’s 50 Best Bars list for 2023. Whether or not you’re in Bangkok, take heed of Bischoff’s advice when planning any holiday get-together: “You need the right place and need the right people to create a great party.”

And with these recipes, you can serve the perfect holiday cocktails, too.