Area Bars Serve Up Recipes for Holiday Cocktails

When it comes to holiday mixology, area bartenders seem to have developed a sweet tooth. Ingredients from candy canes and cocoa to gingerbread liqueur and peppermint schnapps are taking a seasonal turn in the spotlight.

Raise a glass to some of your favorite barkeeps and their libation creations. Each recipe yields one cocktail.

John VandenBosch, general manager of the G.W. Tavern in Washington, CT, has a penchant for inventing new cocktail creations. "This one's called the Sleigh Ride!" he says. The raspberry cream that's called for is the new alcohol-infused whipped cream sold in cans. "It was introduced about a month ago," says VandenBosch.

G.W. Tavern's Sleigh Ride

• 1 ounce candy cane-infused vodka (see below)
• 1 ounce Chambord
• 1 cup hot chocolate
• Raspberry-infused Cream
• 1 fresh raspberry
• cocoa powder

In a gallon container, combine 50 mini candy canes and 1 liter of vodka. (VandenBosch uses Grey Goose.) Let the mixture sit until the candy canes dissolve, about 1 hour.

Make 1 cup hot chocolate. (VandenBosch uses a single packet of mix with whole milk.)

To assemble the cocktail: In a mug, combine candy cane-infused vodka, Chambord, and hot chocolate. Squirt whipped raspberry cream on top. Dust with cocoa powder and garnish with a fresh raspberry.

One of Connecticut's best known bars for cool new cocktail creations is New Haven's 116 Crown. Co-owner and resident mixologist John Ginnetti proffered his sophisticated and popular recipe for Red Hot Chocolate. It's a cocktail that balances the sweetness of chocolate drops with the bitter nature of Campari and the warmth of brandy.

116 Crown's Red Hot Chocolate

• 3 ounces whole milk
• 2 tablespoons chocolate drops (at least 55 percent cocoa, preferably DeBauve & Gallais, or an equal amount of crushed disks)
• 1 ounce Campari
• 2 ounces brandy, preferrably Germain-Robin
• Biscotti, for garnish

Pour milk into a frothing cup, the kind used to make steamed milk for cappuccino. Froth. When milk is hot and foamy, remove wand, add chocolate drops, and whisk or stir vigorously until chocolate is melted. Add Campari and brandy. Pour into a heat-resistant cup. Garnish with biscotti (Sylvia's Biscotti preferred).

At the Elbow Room in West Hartford, one simple and festive holiday cocktail is the Poinsettia, which is something like a mimosa that's made using cranberry juice instead of orange juice. A splash of orange-flavored Cointreau or Triple Sec is optional.

Elbow Room's Poinsettia

• 3 ounces cranberry juice
• 1/2 ounce Cointreau or Triple Sec (optional)
• Champagne

Fill a champagne flute three- quarters full of champagne. Add splashes of cranberry juice (and Cointreau or Triple Sec, if desired) and serve.

Burtons Grill in South Windsor has a number of seasonal libations on offer, including this rich, gingerbread-lover's martini.

Burtons Grill Holiday Gingerbread Martini

• Spiced sugar – 1 tablespoon sugar mixed with a pinch cinnamon and a whisper of nutmeg
• 1 ounce Captain Morgan rum
• 1 ounce Gingerbread Schnapps
• 2 1/2 ounces light eggnog

Add cinnamon and nutmeg to sugar, blend well, and shake out on a saucer. Dip the rim of a martini glass in water then dip in spiced sugar. Set aside.

In a shaker full of ice, combine rum, gingerbread liqueur, and light eggnog. Shake vigorously until well chilled. Pour into prepared martini glass.

At the Wood -n-Tap restaurants in Hartford, Farmington, Rocky Hill, Vernon, and Southington, a menu of Winter Warmers includes a variety of coffee drinks. This peppermint- and chocolate-spiked cocktail is an extra sweet Swiss Miss.

Wood-n-Tap Swiss Coffee

• 1/2 ounce peppermint schnapps
• 1/2 ounce Godiva chocolate liqueur
• Splash Baileys Irish Cream
• Fresh brewed coffee
• Whipped cream
• Chocolate shavings

In a mug, combine peppermint schnapps, Godiva liqueur and a splash of Baileys. Top off mug with coffee. Top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Mini poinsettia plants line the dark wooden bar at Hartford's great Irish pub, the Half Door. By the light of a candle, choose from several warming wintertime drinks. We couldn't resist the marshmallow-topped Whipped & Toasted.

Half Door's Whipped & Toasted

• 1 1/2 ounces Pinnacle Whipped Cream vodka
• Hot chocolate
• 2 marshmallows
• Graham cracker crumbs, optional
• Chocolate shavings, optional

Pour vodka into a mug. Add enough hot chocolate to nearly fill the vessel. Thread two marshmallows onto a wooden skewer and toast over an open flame or oven burner. If desired, roll warm marshmallows in graham cracker crumbs and/or chocolate shavings to approximate the flavor of a s'more. Garnish glass with skewered marshmallows.