January is the darkest month and there has been some crazy weather. Escape it all with these sunny, refreshing drinks!

January tends to second darkest month of the year. December makes up for being the darkness with the holiday season. But no, it is back to work, crazy snow in the Deep South, bone chilling temperature and short days. If you are looking for a mental escape, here are the best cocktails to feel warm and sunny. Hey, it is happy hour somewhere.

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Iced Tea Lemon Vodka Cocktail

Nothing says hot weather like cool ice tea, a squeeze of lemony sun and an extra kick and you have a sip on summer in a glass. This easy cocktail can be made at home or made at a bar. Perfect for a wet, cold, dark day!

Ingredients

• 12 ounces sweet iced tea
• 2 ounces Citrus Vodka
• 1 Teaspoon of lemon juice
• Lemon slice

Create

1. Put ice in a tall glass
2. Pour tea, vodka and juice into glass and stir well
3. Garnish with lemon slice

Skinny Margarita

What better way to feel like summer than imbibing in some tequila while watching your weight for bathing suit season.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ ounces silver tequila
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 teaspoon light agave nectar (2 if you prefer it sweeter)
• Kosher salt & lime wedge, to rim the glass

Create

• Pour a thin layer of salt onto a small plate. Rub a lime wedge around the top edge of your glass to moisten it, then dip the glass into the salt so that it sticks, tapping all the way around.
• Fill the glass with ice and set aside.
• Fill a small cocktail shaker with additional ice.
• Add tequila, lime juice, orange juice, and agave
• Shake vigorously for at least 30 seconds
• Strain into the rimmed glass over the ice

Gold Rush Cocktail

The Gold Rush is like a whiskey sour but without the fuss of the egg. This bourbon cocktail is a great way to escape the chill.  Delicious, light and refreshing – it makes you feel like you are sitting on the deck of a boat enjoying a sunset.

Ingredients

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Painkiller

Back to work and in the office? Enduring some long meaningless meetings? Why not enjoy a painkiller and think of a tropical location?  While in the meeting, think about being a tiki hut with a creamy drink and hearing the sound of the beach. This refreshing mixture originated in the 1970s at the Soggy Dollar Bar in the British Virgin Islands. 

Ingredients

• 4 ounces pineapple juice
• 2 ounces dark rum 
• 1 ounce cream of coconut
• 1 ounce orange juice
• ice
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg

Create

1. Combine pineapple juice, rum, cream of coconut, and orange juice in shaker
2. Add ice, shake for 20 seconds
3. Pour over ice in a tall glass
4. Sprinkle nutmeg on top and serve

The first 3-day weekend of the year is a reason to kick back or have an adventure – and here are cocktails to accompany the ride!

The  year has started with a bang and now we are rolling into the first 3 Day weekend – ending in the presidential inauguration.  Skiing, hiking, travel, chilling or politics…what better way to compliment the activity than with something tasty. Here are the best cocktails for this winter 3 day weekend.

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Original Sin

What better way to start a 3 Day weekend and Inauguration weekend then with a little indulgence in with the original sin. The drink has multiple recipes – including one iwth absinthe, but this one should be easy, tasty and a perfect way to kick off the weekend.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces chilled champagne
• 1 ounce brandy
• Splash of triple sec
• Splash of grenadine
• Orange twist for garnish

Create

1. Combine ingredients in a brand snifter
2. Stir and add ice cube to chill to taste
3. Garnish with orange twist

The Americana Cocktail

Wha better way to celebrate Martin Luther King Day with an all American drink and a vision of a better tomorrow.  This drink is tasty and potent.

Ingredients

• 1 sugar cube (we prefer a demerara sugar cube)
• 4 dashes of Angostura bitters
• 1 ounce bourbon
• 2 ounces Brut Champagne
• Orange slice for garnish

Create

1. Coat the sugar cube well with the Angostura bitters – approximately 4 dashes
2. Drop the sugar cube into a chilled flute
3. Pour the bourbon over the sugar
4. Top up with the Champagne.
5. Garnish with an orange slice

Whiskey Smash

Why not try something different. You might not want to get smashed this weekend, but this cocktail can trace its origin back to the late 1800s. Tasty, refreshing and easy to make.  Great way to delight your taste buds.

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Frostbite

Weather skiing, hiking, road tripping or hanging out in DC – chances are the weather is going to be nippy. Why not lean into it and have this spicy frostbite to feel cozy and warm on the inside?

Ingredients

• 1 ounce tequila
• 1 ounce heavy cream
• 1 ounce white crème de cacao
• 1/2 ounce white crème de menthe
• Cocoa powder for garnish

Create

Lean into the joy of the holiday season with this merry cocktails – delight your taste buds and favorite people!

According to TikTok, it s the most wonderful, stressful, fun, boozy time of year. So why not lean into the season and make merry with something fun. Here are the best cocktails to make you feel festive, no matter what the situation. Plus, these are drinks you can make quickly with minimum effort and maximum fun. Pour one of these concoctions and have a moment of peace or share them with the one you like, love or tolerate at work. Sip, savor and bring a little ho ho ho into the moment.

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Christmas Old Fashioned

Here is a way to settle into a cozy beverage which will warm your body and soul. Bourbon has been part of the holidays for generations…and you can make this a new tradition.

Ingredients

• 2 oz bourbon
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• 2 dashes bitters
• 2 dashes orange juice
• Garnish: cinnamon stick and orange peel

Create

• Combine ingredients in a mixing glass and add ice

• Stir for 20 seconds

• Strain into a rocks glass with ice

• Garnish with orange peel and a cinnamon stick

Easy, Tasty Egg Nog

You either you love it or hate it, but Egg Nog is a holiday staple. This recipe makes it lighter, tasty and a wee dangerous since it is so good. It bring a whole new take on a staid drink.

Ingredients

• 2 oz store bought egg nog
• 1 oz milk (2% is the best)
• small splash vanilla
• 1 oz Licor 43

Create

1. Combine egg nog, milk and vanilla
2. Stir until well mixed
3. Add Licor 43 and stir again
4. Pour into a fun glass and enjoy

White Bishop

The Bishop’s Wife is a great holiday movie filled with the Christmas spirit and some never ending booze. This drink is an embraces the fun, warmth, snow, and spirit of the evening.  Perfect as a dessert drink, a morning treat or just to lift your holiday mood.

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Poinsettia Champagne Cocktail

Nothing says celebration like bubbles. Whether you use champagne or prosecco, this is bound to bring a smile to your face. And the poinsettia is Christmas tradition since

Ingredients

• 1/2 oz orange liqueur
• 3 oz cranberry juice
• 3 oz of champagne or prosecco
• Garnish with fresh cranberries

Create