Wine schmine: 8 Thanksgiving cocktails that are bound to impress

Thanksgiving's almost here. Maybe you're not known for your cooking skills. Maybe your family doesn't trust you with one of the "all-important" side dishes. 

So, you've been tasked with bringing, "just something to drink, honey. Wine's fine, really, sweetheart."

Thanks for the vote of confidence, mom. 

Your lot as the drink guy/gal doesn't mean you can't bring it. Wine doesn't have to be the only adult libation at your Thanksgiving feast.

Fall-inspired cocktails are great to serve as guests arrive, with appetizers and at the end of the meal as an after-dinner treat. These drinks generally have three ingredients in common: earthy spices such as cinnamon and cardamom; fall fruits such as apples; and warming spirits such as whiskey. 

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Here are eight recipes for Thanksgiving drinks that are guaranteed to impress, and may upgrade you to a prominent side-dish roll at the next holiday gathering.

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The Hanzo 

From Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort in Paradise Valley, Arizone

FLAVOR PROFILE: Made with five-spice simple syrup, this is an Asian-inspired take on the classic Old Fashioned. Cinnamon and cardamon add to fall flavors.

INGREDIENTS

2 ounces cinnamon-smoked bourbon (recipe below)

¼ ounce five-spice simple syrup (recipe below)

2 dashes Fee Brothers cardamom bitters 

Lemon zest, for garnish

For cinnamon-smoked bourbon:

Woodford Reserve bourbon 

Cinnamon sticks

Pour bourbon in a shallow pan and cover with plastic wrap to seal the pan. Make small chips out of the cinnamon sticks. Take a smoke gun and smoke the chips. While the chips are smoking, lift a small part of the plastic seal and let the smoke fill the pan. Once smoke has filled the pan, reseal and let the bourbon sit for 30 seconds. 

For five-spice simple syrup:

16 ounces water

4 cinnamon sticks

5 star anise

6 cloves

8 Sichuan peppercorn

½ teaspoon fennel

1 cup raw, unbleached sugar

Bring water to a boil and add spices. Allow to boil for five minutes and reduce to a simmer. Keep on low heat until water has been reduced by half. Take mixture off heat and add sugar. Let sit until cool, and strain with a cheese cloth. 

STEPS

Place ingredients in a mixing glass. Fill glass with ice and stir with a spoon for 20 seconds. Pour mixture in a double old fashioned glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with lemon zest.

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Amaretto Sour

From The Womack in Phoenix 

FLAVOR PROFILE: A twist on a traditional Amaretto Sour, with whiskey to balance the sweetness from the amaretto, and an egg white to add a creamy texture. 

INGREDIENTS

1½ ounces Lazzaroni Amaretto liqueur

¾ ounce Old Forester 100 Proof whiskey

1 ounce simple syrup

1 ounce lemon juice

1 egg white

1 Italian cherry, for ganish

STEPS

Add the ingredients to a cocktail shaker; shake without ice. Add ice and shake five to six times. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with the cherry.

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Brandy Ferdinand 

From Prado at the Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia 

FLAVOR PROFILE: This warming, earthy drink features Spanish saffron, rounded out by the creme de cacao and a touch of chocolate and nutmeg.

INGREDIENTS

2 ounces Torres 10 Gran Reserva brandy

1 ounce saffron-infused cream (recipe below)

1 ounce white creme de cacao

Grated chocolate, for garnish

Grated nutmeg, for garnish

For saffron-infused cream: 

1 cup half and half

1 pinch saffron

Warm half and half on stove top on low. Add a pinch of saffron and allow to steep for four minutes. 

STEPS

Add ingredients to a cocktail tin, add ice and shake. Serve over ice in a rocks glass, or up in a martini glass. Garnish with grated chocolate and nutmeg. 

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Belvedere Toddy

From Belvedere Vodka 

FLAVOR PROFILE: A warm cider with bright citrus notes and crisp fall apples, with hints of cloves from the bitters.

INGREDIENTS

1½ ounces hot water 

½ ounce honey

1 ounce Belvedere Vodka

1 ounce Lillet Blanc 

½ ounce lemon juice

1 cinnamon stick, for garnish

Orange wedge, for garnish

STEPS

Pour hot water into a mug, then add the honey to melt it. Add all of the remaining ingredients. Garnish with a cinnamon stick, orange wedge and freshly grated nutmeg. 

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Hog Nog

From Salty Sow in Phoenix 

FLAVOR PROFILE: A lower-calorie version of the classic holiday concoction, made with spiced rum, white chocolate and brown sugar.

INGREDIENTS

1 ounce Crusoe spiced rum 

1 ounce white chocolate liqueur

¾ ounce brown-sugar simple syrup (recipe below)

Dash of cinnamon, for garnish

1 cinnamon stick, for garnish

For brown-sugar syrup:

1 part brown sugar

1½ parts water

Place ingredients in a pan and bring to a simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Let the syrup cool completely.

STEPS

Fill a shaker tin with ice. Add rum, white chocolate liqueur and brown-sugar simple syrup and shake for 10 seconds. Strain liquid into an 8-ounce glass with one big ice cube. Sprinkle some cinnamon on top, and garnish with a cinnamon stick.

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Hot Spiced Rum Cider

From J&G Steakhouse at The Phoenician in Phoenix 

FLAVOR PROFILE: Patrick Norton, J&G general manager, calls the drink a "real crowd-pleaser thanks to its combination of sweet yet tangy apple and warming spiced rum."  

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INGREDIENTS

10 ounces apple cider

4 ounces spiced rum

1 ounce honey syrup (recipe below)

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1 pinch of cardamom

1 pinch of nutmeg         

1 dash of ginger

Apple slices, for garnish

For honey syrup:

1 part honey

1 part water

Combine the honey and water in a small saucepan, heat to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and stir until the honey is completely dissolved, and cool.

STEPS

Combine all ingredients except the rum in a pot. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for five minutes. Strain liquid and add spiced rum. Pour in a glass and garnish with thinly sliced apples. 

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Hard Cider Cognac

From Evo in Scottsdale 

FLAVOR PROFILE: Evo mixologist Jake Russell says this drink is "reminiscent of a classic hot apple cider" but served over ice as a pre- or post-Thanksgiving meal cocktail. "It's lightly spiced, yet smooth for an easy sipper." 

INGREDIENTS

1½ ounces Martell cognac 

¼ ounce Campari liqueur 

1 ounce apple cider

½ ounce simple syrup

½ ounce lemon juice

STEPS

Pour all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker and add ice. Shake and strain into a rocks glass. 

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Sweater Weather

From The Mix Up Bar at Royal Palms Resort and Spa in Phoenix 

FLAVOR PROFILE: A warm and refreshing Scotch cocktail with hints of cinnamon and light tartness from the cranberry and fresh lemon.

INGREDIENTS

¼ ounce allspice dram

½ ounce cinnamon Demerara syrup (recipe below)

½ ounce lemon juice

1 ounce cranberry juice

2 dashes angostura 

1 cinnamon stick, for garnish

1 orange slice, for garnish

Grated nutmeg, for garnish

For cinnamon Demerara syrup:

2 parts Demerara sugar

1 part water

8 cinnamon sticks, broken in half

Place ingredients in a pan and bring to a simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Let the syrup cool completely, then strain. 

STEPS

Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake. Pour the mixture into a tall glass over ice. Garnish with a cinnamon stick, orange slice and grated fresh nutmeg. 

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