5 Delicious Tea-Infused Holiday Cocktails

‘Tis the season for holiday gatherings and cocktails.

The holiday season is a very special time of year for all of us. For this one section of each year, the stress and uncertainty of everyday life come to a kind of pause. We get to do something different from what we regularly do on a daily basis - the holidays provide a sense of stability and comfort.

From making snow angels, sharing stories, to raising a glass to make a toast, holiday traditions are like rituals that allow us to take a moment to remember, appreciate, and pause time to enjoy the world around us.

Our childhood during the holidays used to be a simpler affair; completely stress-free and full of that cozy excitement of opening gifts, playing games, snacking on cookies, and spending time with family members you had missed all year long.

However, as grown-ups, there are so many potential struggles during the holidays that can start to feel like they out-weight the positives and lead us down a path of holiday anxiety. Lack of time, family issues, money worries, over-commercialization, traveling, gift-shopping pressure, etc, are all hassles that can lead us, adults, to lose our holiday spirit.

Luckily, we grown-ups have learned to find our holiday joy in other smaller moments during the season. One of our favorite ways to find our peace, and allow ourselves to forget all our troubles, and instead embrace this cozy cold season, is to wrap ourselves with a throw blanket and warm up with a cuppa hot tea in hand.

A warm cup of tea really just allows us to indulge and vibe with frosty air and holiday energy. And you know what makes a holiday cup of tea even more special for when we grown-ups want to spoil ourselves? Yep, you guessed it... getting boozy with tea-infused cocktails.

Tea infused cocktails combine our favorite holiday daily treat: tea, with our favorite weekend, after-work, and holiday party treats... cocktails!

5 Delicious Tea-Infused Holiday Cocktails

Whether you're entertaining for the holidays or just want to relax and indulge during all the holiday stress, a great cocktail will immediately take a party or mood from meh to festive fun.

There’s nothing better for getting into the seasonal spirit than incredibly flavorful holiday cocktails! A signature drink is more than just a tasty treat: it’s all about setting the scene for your holiday festivities.

Enjoying a sip of a holiday cocktail is all about setting the scene for your holiday festivities and warming the spirit from head to our toe, putting us in a jolly good mood.

Additionally, these cocktails will be infused with our favorite teas.

Not only is infusing a holiday cocktail with tea the most amazing way to enjoy your favorite drink with booze but also the addition of tea is an excellent way to add rich health benefits to an alcoholic drink. Numerous studies have backed teas’ abilities to boost your immune system and fight off inflammation, which is going to be very useful considering the consumption of alcohol compromises your body's immunity.

If you want to learn more about bolstering your diet with the best herbs and spices to keep yourself, healthy, warm, and hopefully sickness-free this winter. Click here to read our article on: Winter Spices And Herbs To Protect Your Body!

Another perk of holiday tea cocktails is that the tea infusion adds extra flavor to your boozy beverage. Tea has so many varieties of flavor; this includes anything from nutty, umami, juicy, snappy, bitter, bold, to citrusy. This will allow you to relish some of the amazing flavors and spices that come with this season.

With that said, we've put together 5 incredible recipes for holiday tea cocktails that go beyond just the usual hot toddies and that are spiced, warming, rich with flavor, and cozy enough to help you embrace the many wonders of this magical holiday.

Gingerbread Tea Eggnog Cocktail

Serves: 6 martini glasses

For those of you who are tired of eggnog tasting only like creamy alcohol with no flavor in the “creamy” part of the drink, well, we're about to fix all your problems.

We've pumped up the volume on flavor and taken the classic Christmas cocktail to a whole new level. This gingerbread cocktail is a fantastic combo of flavors, perfect for the holidays and for creating a flavorsome beverage. The regular sugar content is also completely slashed and this eggnog cocktail is refined sugar-free.

Our gingerbread cocktail is also infused with the rich flavor of Gingerbread Fortress tea; a vibrant tea blend with a rich mix of classic gingerbread spices, decadent aromas of vanilla, and the combination of our Yunnan black tea and Puerh tea creating a smooth texture with a kiss of sweetness. Yummy!

Ingredients

Eggnog Base:

• 3 eggs
• 2 cups milk of choice
• 2 tablespoons of Wise Ape Gingerbread Fortress tea blend
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons of molasses or 1/4 cup of maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons of ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of allspice
• 1/3 teaspoons of cloves
• 1 cup half and half

Cocktail:

• 3 cups of the homemade eggnog base
• 3/4 cup of brandy or dark rum, chilled
• Ice

Instructions

In a saucepan, stir together the milk, tea herbs, ginger, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and all spices bags over a medium heat. Stir until the milk begins to boil. Remove from heat and allow the herbs and spices to steep for 4 minutes. Strain the tea herbs and spices and boil the mixture again.

While the mixture boils, whisk the eggs, molasses, and cornstarch in a bowl.

Temper the eggs, by adding a bit of the hot milk mixture into the eggs. Do not stop whisking vigorously. Continue whisking while slowly adding the rest of the milk mixture.

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook on a low heat until the mixture thickens. Do NOT let the mixture boil. Once thickened, remove the mix from the heat and strain it into a clean mixing bowl. Whisk in the half & half. Now cover and chill the eggnog for at least 2 hours.

To make the cocktail, use a shaker and shake the chilled eggnog mixture, chilled brandy or dark rum, and lot's of ice. Pour into martini glasses and garnish with a sprinkling of cinnamon and serve immediately.

Holiday Punch Cocktail

Serves: 1 pitcher

Bubbly, fun, festive, and takes less than 10 minutes to whip together, this easy holiday punch is refreshing, light, and bright yet with a balance of deep and spicy, making this Christmas punch dangerously moreish.

Most punches are overpoweringly sweet, but we avoid this by refined sugar-free and only sweetened with fruit juice and maple syrup or honey. This creates a beautiful thing—sweet, sour, sparkling, and boozy.

Made with a fruity yet cozy punch of tangy warming spices, all balanced wonderfully with a refreshing herbal and lemony soft punch from the Lemon Vibration tea; this cocktail is sure to please your taste buds and keep your mood up and your body thriving this winter season.

Ingredients

• 4 cups of ounces cranberry juice
• 2 cups of brewed Wise Ape Lemon Vibration tea
• 2 cups orange juice
• 1/2 cup apple cider
• 1/3 cup club soda
• 5 tablespoons of pure maple syrup or honey, or to taste
• 6 cups of ginger ale
• 1 cup of vodka
• 2 to 3 cinnamon sticks
• 2 apples, sliced
• 3 small blood oranges, sliced
• fresh cranberries

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients into a punch bowl and stir well to combine. Chill for at least 2 hours, then remove the cinnamon sticks, and serve!

Ginger Tea & Rum Hot Toddy

Serves: 2 glasses

Of course, we couldn't share an article on tea cocktails without at least one recipe for a hot toddy; but our recipe has a fun and seasonal twist. This hot toddy recipe is made with dark rum, cozy spices, ginger ale, and a cozy winter-wellness fortifying tea blend of gingerbread spices, fenugreek, Yunnan black tea, Puerh tea, and decadent aromas of vanilla with a kiss of sweetness.

So, this warming drink is not only incredibly yummy, but also amazing for your health, and loaded with balanced nutrients and ancient adaptogens that can help soothe a cold or aches.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups of brewed Wise Ape Gingerbread Fortress tea blend
• 7 tablespoons of dark rum or bourbon, as needed
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 3 teaspoons of honey
• 2 slices of blood orange
• 3 thick peeled slices of ginger root, thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice

Instructions

In a saucepan combine the tea, rum or bourbon, honey, orange slices, ginger slices, pumpkin spice, and lemon juice, over medium heat.

Heat and allow the mixture to simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the mix from the heat and let it rest for a couple of minutes. Strain the mix and pour into mugs and serve.

Dark Minty Gin Tea-Infused Cocktail

Serves: 8

Mint... the perfect flavor to cut through the richer flavors eaten during the holiday season. It's a palette cleanser that leaves a cool sensation in the mouth and brings to mind the nostalgia of snowy days.

This refreshing gin tea cocktail recipe is easy to make and has an amazingly soothing flavor that you’re going to love! A wonder combo of mint, gin, and citrusy flavor, making for a crisp and clean sip.

The addition of the Chocolate Hustle tea blend also incorporates a dark roast-ey herbal flavor with hints of mint, pairing perfectly with the fresh and piney taste of this cocktail.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons of Wise Ape Chocolate Hustle tea blend
• 3 cups of water
• 1 cup of (roughly one half inch pieces) of fresh mint leaves
• 1 1/2 inch piece of peeled ginger, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup of honey
• 1/2 of dry gin
• Strips of orange zest
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• Lemon wheels

Instructions

In a medium-sized saucepan bring the water to a simmer. Remove the pan from heat, and add the tea herbs. Steep for 3 minutes. Strain into a medium bowl, then return tea to the saucepan. Add mint, ginger, zest, honey, and lemon juice to the tea and return to a simmer over medium heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve the honey. Let cool.

Strain the thickened mix through into a pitcher, pressing on solids. Discard solids any solids that collect in the fine-mesh sieve. Stir the gin into the pitcher and chill until cold. Serve on the rocks and garnish with lemon wheels.

Cranberry Tea Cocktail

Serves: 2 cocktail glasses

Known for their vibrant red color, signature tart flavor, and blood sugar controlling benefits, cranberries make for a dreamy holiday cocktail. This cranberry tea cocktail balances fruity herbals, sweet orange juice, and pleasantly tart cranberry, in one fantastic sweet, fruity, and woodsy holiday tea cocktail.

Ingredients

1/4 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice
6 tablespoons of boiling water
2 teaspoons of cranberry hibiscus rooibos tea or plain rooibos tea
1⁄4 teaspoon of allspice berry
1/4 cup of boiling water
half of a lemon freshly squeezed
2 teaspoons of maple syrup, or to taste
2-4 oz vodka
blood orange, sliced

Instructions

Steep the cranberry hibiscus rooibos tea and allspice berry in 6 tablespoons of boiling water for 5 minutes. Strain the tea leaves and spices, then fill a mason jar or cocktail shaker with ice. Add orange juice, tea, lemon juice, maple syrup, and vodka to the shaker. Shake well and strain into cocktail glasses.

Happy Holidays!

Whether you're craving a boozy treat, need some unique holiday beverages to serve at a party, or just want to mix up your regular ol' holiday cocktails, we've got you covered with these amazing tea-infused holiday cocktails. The perfect concoctions for holiday parties or just a quiet cozy nights.

What're you waiting for? Get bartending and whip up some of these delicious holiday tea cocktails. Cheers!

Oh, and if you want to try some fun and bold tea flavors? Here at Wise Ape Tea, we combine premium tea with apoptogenic herbs, crafted to create bright, flavorful organic wellness-driven tea combos. For a limited time, only you can also try out our limited edition Wise Ape Gingerbread Fortress tea blend.

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This informative article is written, by Sophia McKenzie. Sophia is head content creator and writer, for several premium websites, where her expertise lies in health, nutrition, and wellness. Her content focuses on providing and sharing doable solutions to help people truly thrive and live their happiest, healthiest, fulfilled lives.