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This Naughty Gingerbread Cocktail is the coziest cocktail to warm up with on a cold and wintry night. Warming bourbon (or try a spiced rum), shaken up wintery orange, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and a dusting of cloves too. Sweetened with maple and topped off with spicy, fizzy ginger beer. This cocktail is perfect for chilly holiday nights by a warm fire with friends and family!
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Weโre so close to Christmas! Weโre just a week and one day until Christmas Eve! You all, Iโm sad; Iโm not ready for the holiday season to be in full swing just yet. These December days have literally flown by!
Of course, at the same time, Iโm also so excited. My brothers Malachi and Red are already here for a Big-Air competition at Copper and will stay through the holidays. It will be nice to spend time with them this week before everyone shows up. Cause after that, the chaos that is the Gerard family Christmas begins!
Itโs going to be a special year!
The one thing everyone in my family can all agree on are special cocktails. They love trying new ones; something spicy and not too sweet is usually their vibe.
With the help of my brother and sister-in-law, we came up with this spicy gingerbread cocktail. It is so delicious. If you and your guests enjoy a warm and spiced-up bourbon drink, this definitely is for you.
And, as promised, the punch and mocktail variations are also included!
Here are the details
Step 1: the festive gingerbread rim
I think by now, we all know how much I love to make my cocktails sparkle for the holidays. So you can understand why I couldnโt resist a sweet rim to balance this drink out.
Itโs a mix of dark organic brown sugar, ginger, and cinnamon. The brown sugar really gives a gingerbread cookie vibe and is, of course, so yummy! This drink is not sweet, so I think most will enjoy this festive rim!
Of course, itโs still totally optional.
Step 2: shake it up
Next, mix the cocktail. Use your favorite bourbon, or go spicy/sweet with a spiced rum. I make this using both types of alcohol, bourbon for some and rum for others. Customize this drink and make it fit for you or your guests!
To a cocktail shaker, add the bourbon and a squeeze of fresh citrus juice. I prefer clementines this time of year. Then add molasses, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. If desired, you can use maple syrup to sweeten, but I donโt.
Then, shake, shake, shake!
Step 3: add some fizz
Add ice to your cocktail glass, then pour the drink overtop.
Top this off with your favorite ginger beer. What brand do you love? Iโve been trying different ginger beers. We like it spicy, extra fizzy, and not very sweet. Iโve been using the Betty Buzz Ginger Beer,ย and we think itโs great!
You can garnish this with a cinnamon stick and star anise, which always adds a festive touch. But again, the extras are all up to you! Just make enough cocktails to go around at least once, and enjoy the season with family and friends!
Looking for other Christmas drinks? Here are my favorites:ย
Lastly, if you make this Naughty Gingerbread Cocktail, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, donโt forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Naughty Gingerbread Cocktail (+mocktail).
Ingredientsย
- 2 ounces (1/4 cup) bourbon or spiced rum
- 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) orange or clementine juice
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch ground cloves
- 2 teaspoons maple or honey , (optional)
- 1 slice candied ginger
- 1/2 cup ginger beer
Gingerbread Rim (optional)
- 2 tablespoons organic dark or light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructionsย
- 1. If desired, rim your glass. On a small plate, mix the brown sugar, ginger, and cinnamon. Run an orange wedge around the rim of the glass and coat in sugar mix.2. Fill your glass with ice. 3. In a cocktail shaker, mix the bourbon, orange juice, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and maple/honey (if using). Add 1 candied ginger slice and shake. Strain into the prepared glass and top with ginger beer. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and star anise. 4. To Make A Mocktail:ย omit the bourbon/spiced rum. Use 2 ounces (1/4 cup) spiced apple cider. A little vanilla is nice too!ย
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Naughty Gingerbread Punch
Ingredientsย
- 1 1/2 cups bourbon or spiced rum
- 1/2 cup orange or clementine juice
- 6 teaspoons molasses
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3 tablespoons maple or honey , (optional)
- 6 slices candied ginger
- 4 bottles or cans (12 ounce) ginger beer
Instructionsย
- 1. In a punch bowl, combine the bourbon, orange juice, molasses, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and maple/honey (if using). Add the candied ginger slices. Stir to combine, chill until ready to serve. Before serving, add ice, then pour in the ginger beer.2. If desired, rim your glasses. On a small plate, mix the brown sugar, ginger, and cinnamon. Run an orange wedge around the rim of the glass and coat in sugar mix. 3. Fill each glass with ice. Pour over the punch and top with ginger beer.4.ย To Make A Mocktail:ย omit the bourbon and use 1 1/2 cups of apple cider.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
I have everything except candied ginger, does that really make or break the flavor here or is it okay to leave out?
Hi Hailey,
You can leave it out:) I hope you love this recipe! Cheers!
I’m in love with this cocktail for the holiday season! I hate super sweet cocktails so this is perfect for me! I’ve been using about 1/4 teaspoon of sorghum in place of the molasses (because I don’t have any molasses) and I skip the optional maple or honey. So good!
Hi Becky,
Happy Weekend! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, Iโm so glad it turned out nicely for you! xxT
I tried this and the drink came out really gritty with all the dry spices. Is there a way to prevent that? Am I doing something wrong?
Hi Mallory,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! Sorry to hear it was gritty. I really shake the cocktail pretty aggressively in the shaker and that might help! Cheers! xx
Yes please tell us about these adorable glasses! Thank you for this unusual cocktail!
This drink is SO GOOD! Perfect for the holidays!
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try! Hope you have an amazing New Year! ๐ xT
Made this for a Christmas party tonight with spiced rum. It was perfect! Added the same garnishes and yummy sugared rim. It was refreshing and light but perfectly spiced and Christmas-y.
Thank you!
I selected five stars, not four. ๐ค
Hi Jessica! Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! xT
i am a long time fan & have made many of your cocktails! This is a great Christmas drink – I like that it’s lighter and peppy. It reminds me of the spiced honey old fashioned–though nothing will top that one ๐ Thanks for all the joy you bring through recipes all year round, and especially during the holidays!
Thank you so much for trying out this recipe! Hope you enjoyed this recipe! xT
I really don’t want to be negative but for the sake of an honest review, this is not good. For one, it is extremely gritty. I’ve never had a drink with this much dry spice, and now I know why. (This is not even counting the cinnamon on the rim, which is ridiculous.) Also, you CANNOT mix molasses into a drink by just stirringโthis needs to be shaken hard to be incorporated.
These flavors are also completely unbalanced. I’m not convinced this recipe was actually tested.
The recipe specifically says, “IN A COCKTAIL SHAKER.” It doesn’t say to just stir
Bethany, I was referring to the punch recipe, which is underneath the single-serve cocktail recipe, where it DOES say just to stir. Did YOU see THAT or are you being rude unnecessarily?
Hey Brenda! I am so sorry about that! Thank you for this feedback, I appreciate it! xT
Agreed. If you were to โwashโ the spirit with spices and strain it off it would work. To mix this as an individual cocktail, a simple pinch of each spice would suffice, and the molasses should be made into a more mixable syrup. Otherwise itโs a great recipe. The flavors are there but the measurements were seemingly written on speculation without testing.
Tieghan,
Thank you for sharing these recipes. I made a Halloween Poison Apple and now this Naughty Gingerbread. They are fabulous. I made one with Knob Creek Small Batch and a “lighter” one with Jack Daniel’s Apple whiskey. Keep up the amazing work, and I’ll keep driving up.
Thanks
Thank you for trying out this recipe! So glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
Where does the candied ginger come into play? Thanks !!!
The cocktail sounds amazing, but I would love to know more about the adorable glasses!
Tieghan, I apologize! I had only looked at the recipe that appears when one clicks on
“Skip to Recipe” and saw no instruction as to when to add the ginger beer. When I read your fuller description of the process, you definitely DO tell your readers to top off the drink with ginger beer, once it’s been poured into a glass. Question Answered!
No worries at all Maggie! Thanks so much! Have a lovely weekend ๐ xT
Tieghan- This cocktail sounds terrific for the ginger lover ! In your instructions for making one cocktail, you don’t mention the ginger beer; do you add the ginger beer to the shaker or top off the drink with ginger beer ? Many thanks!!
Hi Maggie! So sorry about that, the recipe has been fixed now! xT