Drink tips from a pro: Make the best holiday beverages

Whether you're prepping for your family party, socializing with shy co-workers, or simply trying to stay warm in sub-zero New Brunswick winter, it's officially the season to get the drinks flowing.

What better way to get in a festive frame of mind than with a few seasonal cocktail tips from award-winning bar manager Eric Scouten of Saint John's Port City Royal?

Here five hot tips for creating the perfect cup of good cheer.

1.Go dark

As the days get darker, as should your drinks.

"We start swapping out vodka and white rum for dark rums and whiskeys," said Scouten, creating cocktails "with a little more rich complexity to them," said Scouten. That means combining liquors with spices, and richer, deeper sugars like brown sugar and molasses.

The Stout and Stormy is a version of the Dark and Stormy, which, while "a summertime beverage according to Scouten, has "flavours can be really fun if applied to other cocktails."

Behold, the winterised version:

Stout and Stormy

2 oz of stout, porter or (if you're feeling really fancy spruce beer)

1 tsp. Crosby's blackstrap molasses

1/4 oz. lime juice.

1 oz. Gosling's Black Seal rum

Ginger beer (Note: Eric likes Fever Tree, but Old Time Ginger Beer also works if you like it spicier)

Give it a quick shake on ice until it froths up then pour it straight up into a glass.

"I like to top it off with the ginger beer," said Scouten.

2. Pack a punch

Playing amateur bartender can be fun, said Scouten, but "when you're the host, what you really want to relax, mingle and enjoy your guests." The quickest way to free yourself up from cocktail duty is to dust off the punch bowl and let guests serve themselves.

"Using brown spirits can always be fun this time of year," said Scouten, "and cranberry juice can bulk up a punch without going the lighter route."

One option is The Red Nose Punch by Saveur, a sweet and tangy cranberrybeerbourbon punch delicately spiced with cinnamon-infused simple syrup.

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Or, said Scouten, simply "heat up some local apple cider from MacKay's or Stirling's in a crock pot with a bit of bourbon and some orange slices, and one of my personal favourites: maple syrup."

"Large batch is the biggest thing," said Scouten. "The more your prepare, the more time you have to relax and enjoy."

3. Spice it up

Cinnamon and cloves are the season's signature scents. But for those who like their booze straight-up, rather than mulled-cider-sweet, Scouten has this spicy new rendition of the classic Old Fashioned.

The Spice is Nice

2 oz. bourbon ("My favourite is Basil Hayden's," said Scouten)

10 drops of orange liqueur like Cointreau or Triple Sec.

Demerara sugar

Angostura bitters

1 cinnamon stick

First, break up the cinnamon stick. "Not super-super fine," said Scouten. "Just sorta crush it up a bit."

Take the bourbon, orange liqueur, demerara sugar, bitters, and cinnamon, and lightly stir it on ice.

"I personally like mine very spirit-forward, so I just get it cold then transfer it into a new glass," said Scouten. "If you like it more laid-back, just keep stirring it and then strain it over clean ice."

Make sure you get all those little pieces of cinnamon out. "You can use a cocktail strainer or even a tea strainer," said Scouten.

4. Keep it simple

At a busy time of year, why not also embrace the simplest and tastiest of ingredients?

Enter "simple syrup" which is, as the name suggests, a cinch to make, and can be used in a variety of cocktails. Just "take equal parts water and sugar and heat them up on the stove until they melt together," said Scouten. "Cool it down, then put it in your drink."

One excellent use of simple syrup is a flip tasty on its own, or easily modified into a classic eggnog.

Black Rum and Brown Sugar Flip

1 ounce of brown sugar syrup

1-2 ounces of your favourite rum, depending on how bold you want it to be

1 egg

Optional

to oz of whipping cream

"Shake up the egg, rum, and brown sugar syrup really vigorously in your shaker with some ice then strain it off," said Scouten, "and what you've got is the basically the beginning of an eggnog.

"To make a true eggnog, just add to oz of whipping cream to it, and shake that, and strain it off."

If your setup is so simple that you don't actually own a cocktail shaker, either a) ask Santa to bring you one or b) "use a mason jar," said Scouten. "That will work perfectly well."

5. Heat it up

Still trying to regain sensation in your fingers after shovelling the driveway? Pour yourself a hot toddy.

The Feel Good Store, the Corn Crib and other local health food stores do a lot of local teas that are a great way to spice up a hot toddy," said Scouten, adding that "your favourite tea and a little bit of honey" can take the traditional whiskey-and-water to the next level.

Like simple syrup (see above), honey syrup is "really not complicated: combine equal parts water and honey, simmer it until it blends together, then cool it back down and use it in a cocktail," said Scouten. A teaspoon of regular honey stirred into a hot drink can also work.

Whiskey, contrary to popular belief, isn't the only spirit with which you can spike grandma's tea.

Although whiskey is "the standard for hot toddies," said Scouten, "Actually, you can use any spirit. Like hibiscus and gin with a little bit of honey syrup."

Cheers to that.