There are a lot of classic winter cocktails for the holidays: Eggnog and mulled wine and Glögg, Tom & Jerry and Hot Buttered Rum and Hot Toddies. These are all classics and they’re all wonderful, and hopefully we’ll get a chance to talk about some of these over the next few weeks. But we wanted to play around with something a little more modern, a combination we hope will become a new holiday classic. We’re calling this one the Yuletide Punch, and it’s festively delicious. – Andrew

Illustration by Lana’s Shop for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Yuletide Punch

Recipe by Liquorary

2 oz Fig-infused Blanco Tequila
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Ginger Liqueur
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/4 oz PX Sherry
2 dashes Boker’s Bitters

To make the cinnamon syrup: break up two cinnamon sticks in a sauce pan and toast them over low heat until fragrant. Add a cup of sugar and cup of water, stirring frequently until the sugar has melted. Remove the pan from the heat and cover; let it sit to infuse for at least 20 minutes. Then strain through a cheese cloth and bottle the syrup.

To make the fig-infused tequila: combine a bottle of blanco tequila and 6-8 dried figs, coarsely chopped, in a non-reactive jar. Let it sit for at least a week, shaking periodically, before straining and re-bottling. (Hope you held on to that original bottle!)

To make the Yuletide Punch: combine all the ingredients in a shaker filled two-thirds with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with fresh pineapple and candied cherries. Enjoy!

This drink is a spin on the María Inés, a drink designed to evoke the earthy, fruity flavors of fruitcake. (Before anyone complains: I love fruitcake!) The combination of Tequila, ginger, and pineapple is a little magical, turning into something that evokes candied fruit and earthy cake. We took that genius template and tried to up the ante, adding dark, chewy notes of fig and warm baking spice notes from the Boker’s Bitters, which showcase cardamom. We also threw in some sweet raisin notes from the Pedro Ximinez (PX) sherry, which is made from dried grapes and has an almost syrupy quality to it.

The result is something dark, fruity, and sweet; earthy and mildly tart; in short, the liquid spirit of a holiday fruitcake. We obviously threw quite a bit of special ingredients into this one, so please don’t feel intimidated: as long as you can combine tequila, pineapple, and ginger – along with a dash or two of Angostura bitters, that workhorse of any bar, to balance the sweetness – then you can put together a pretty great drink that’s totally unusual but totally perfect for the holidays.

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

This post contains affiliate links. By clicking on these links, you’ll help support Oh So Beautiful Paper while also purchasing some fantastic products. We only recommend products that we truly love and trust that you’ll love, too. Our full disclosure policy can be found here.