We’re down to the last month of 2020 for our roundup of the world’s best cocktails! If you’re excited to add a little holiday touch to your usuals, then you’re going to love this list! Didn’t catch our November list? You can still check it here. Now let’s pave the way to our last batch of mind-blowing cocktails to wrap up the year.

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1. Nagomi

Nagomi means “bring together” or “harmony” in Japanese. It’s also the name of a cocktail masterpiece by Hongkong-based Japanese bar Mizunara, which is a mix of Hibiki whisky, matcha tea, elderflower, and a dash of hazelnut syrup. This uniquely smooth concoction highlights the mellow sweetness of the whisky and is balanced by the bitterness of the matcha, while the finish leaves a pleasant nuttiness.

Ingredients

• 1 oz. Hibiki Japanese Harmony
• 1 oz. Matcha tea (60-65°C warm water 30ml and matcha powder 1/3 tsp mixed with tea brush)
• 0.1 oz. Bols Elderflower
• 0.3 oz. Noisette Syrup        

Steps to Make

1. Pour every ingredient into a Boston shaker. 
2. Put 9-10 large ice cubes and shake it vigorously for around 20 seconds. 
3. Fine strain into the small goblet.
4. Garnish with a golden flake on the top.
5. Put the glass onto the lacquerware plate and scatter some edible flower petals. 

2. Cranberry Giving

Here’s something to go along with your pot roast on Christmas Eve: a cranberry gin cocktail with raspberry and fresh lime juice in a chilled glass. Courtesy of Morten Krag @thecocktail.blog, this drink is called Cranberry Giving, a fresh, rich, and fruity cocktail with a dry finish. It’s the perfect touch to your warm, fuzzy holiday dinner.

Ingredients

• 2 oz. Gin (@highclerecastlegin)
• 1.3 oz. Cranberry Juice
• 0.8 oz. Raspberry Liqueur (@theginbothy)
• 0.8 oz. Fresh Lime Juice

Steps to Make

1. Combine all ingredients and shake with plenty of ice.
2. Strain into a chilled glass from Udarely.
3. Express & discard lime zest over the drink.

3. Pinchyer Plums

Fresh plums make delicious cocktails, but not a lot of mixers use them in their recipes. You’ll surely be delighted with the brilliant use of plums in this one! It’s called Pinchyer Plums by Kat Whyte @whyte_tales. A purple cocktail with a tinge of brownish-gray? That alone makes this drink visually irresistible. Just wait until you taste it!

Ingredients

• 1.1 oz. Fercullen Irish Whiskey
• 0.6 oz. Plum & Sage Syrup
• 0.3 oz. Benedictine
• 0.3 oz. SŪPĀSAWĀ
• 1 fresh plum

Steps to Make

1. Fuse all ingredients and fine strain.
2. Top with clarified plum soda.
3. Garnish with fresh sliced plum and sage leaves.

4. Ghostly Apple Cocktail

Who doesn’t love an apple cocktail? This signature drink combines vodka and the unique sweetness of apple. Try this Ghostly Apple Cocktail recipe by Harmony Lynn Goodson @harmonylynngoodson! The dry ice is just for eye candy, but it does make you want to grab that glass and knockback, doesn’t it?

Ingredients

• 2 oz. apple cider
• 2 oz. Caramel Vodka
• 1 oz. Butterscotch Schnapps
• Sliced red delicious apples for garnish

Steps to Make

1. Combine all ingredients except the apple slices in a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. Shake to mix and pour into glasses. 
3. Finish by garnishing the rims with a slice of apple. 
4. Optional: Carefully add a small chunk of dry ice to your cocktails for an extra spooky effect that lasts about 5-10 minutes! Use proper care when handling and serving dry ice.

5. Sweet Chili Melon

Nobody ever said you can’t have a refreshing tropical drink in December. Well, this Sweet Chili Melon cocktail by Farbod Razavi @farbod_razavi_official has summer written all over it! You’ve got the usual suspects: watermelon, lemongrass, and top soda. But because the holidays are here, there’s also chili syrup in there to give you that warmth of sweet chili. Combine that with the sour taste of passion fruit puree and you’ve got a winner.

Ingredients

• Watermelon juice
• Handmade chili syrup
• Handmade passion fruit puree
• Lemongrass
• Sweet and sour 
• Soda

Steps to Make

1. Mix and shake all the ingredients.
2. Garnish with crystal dehydrated lemon, mint caviar, gold sheet, and pansy flower. 

6. White Christmas

Speaking of December, what’s a year-end cocktail recipe without a little holiday “spirit”? Rum is as staple as Santa Claus is to Christmas, and this cocktail by Helen @sheshedcocktails takes it to a whole new level by adding an assortment of fruits, spices, and other flavors. It’s called White Christmas and it’s got pineapple, banana, ginger, lime, vanilla, and coconut milk. Yes, that’s right. A star-studded cocktail worthy of ending the year with a bang!

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz. Pineapple Plantation Rum 
• 1.5 oz. Banana Rum (@yummyrhum)
• 0.5 oz. Ginger Liqueur (@castle_glen_vineyard_australia)
• 0.6 oz. Lime Juice 
• 0.5 oz. Vanilla Syrup 
• 2 oz. Coconut Milk

Steps to Make

1. Add all the ingredients into a shaker along with ice.
2. Shake vigorously.
3. Strain into a glass and serve.

7. Spiced Mocha Espresso Rumtini

Spiced Mocha Espresso Rumtini may sound like something James Bond would drink inside a Roald Dahl novel, but it’s a real thing. It’s a coffee-based rum liqueur with hints of mocha and spice, a masterpiece by Ant / UK @cocktails_for_breakfast. It’s everything you’d want in a drink: it can double as a dessert or your daily cup of coffee at brunch. You can even drink it at night if you want to keep the energy levels in hyperactive mode.

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz. Dark Matter Spiced Rum (@darkmatterrum)
• 1 oz. Espresso
• 0.8 oz. Spiced Mocha Liqueur
• 0.1 oz. Simple Syrup (@monin_europe)
• 2 dashes chocolate bitters (@thebittertruthcompany)

Steps to Make

1. Shake all ingredients over ice until well chilled.
2. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 
3. Garnish with dark chocolate.

8. The Blue Sun

“The weather is very strange here in The Netherlands — the Dutch sun is very shy, only comes out a few times a week,” says Don Tiki Avi @don.tiki.avi, creator of the drink aptly dubbed as The Blue Sun. It’s got tequila, blue curacao, and a watercolor painting of a clear summer day, all mixed into one drink. It’s so pretty that you can just look at it for hours.

Ingredients

• 1.6 oz. Don Julio Tequila
• 0.6 oz. Bols Blue Curacao
• 0.4 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
• 0.6 oz. Foco Cocos Water

Steps to Make

1. Mix all ingredients and stir.
2. Garnish with a dried lime dipped in blue curacao, plus an edible flower & red currant.

9. Apple Rose Gintonic

Gin and tonic are one of the most enduring and iconic partnerships. It’s up there along with the likes of peanut butter and jelly, salt and pepper, and bacon and eggs. This Apple Rose Gintonic, an iteration by helGINki @hel_gin_ki, takes this simple combo to new heights by adding fresh colors and more texture.

Ingredients

• Roses made of hibiscus colored apple slices
• Lime and lemon
• Gin (@hendricksgin)
• Tonic water (@fentimansltd)

Steps to Make

1. Mix the ingredients in a glass.
2. Dehydrate garnishes using a fan-assisted oven.
3. Garnish with thyme.
4. Use a paper straw.

10. Flying Raspberries

Take a break from the usual gin and tonic with this fizzy, buzzy, and refreshing raspberry gin cocktail from Gin Robb @gin_robb. This eye-catching purple masterpiece is called Flying Raspberries and it is perfect if you need something to cool you off before dinner. How can you say no to a pretty colored-drink after a long day?

Ingredients

• Gin
• Soda water
• Raspberry syrup
• Raspberries
• Butterfly Pea Tea
• Basil leaves

Steps to Make

1. Mix all the ingredients.
2. Garnish with basil leaves.

Conclusion

What an amazing year for cocktails! Having more time staying at home has definitely fueled the world’s mixologists to come up with the best mixes to feast our eyes on and try for ourselves. If you liked our list of awesome cocktails, share it with your family and friends! 

If you or someone you know has what it takes to create cocktail masterpieces, drop us a message at info@advancedmixology.com and get featured for 2021’s first monthly roundup of the world’s best cocktails.

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Cocktail Recipes

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