Celebrating the New Year should be simple, and the cocktails should be elegant yet easy. New Year's Eve cocktail recipes shouldn't pull you away from the celebration, you've already put in a whole year of work. Consider shaking up a new recipe as you ring in the New Year.
New Year's Negroni
A typical Negroni omits any extra ingredients, but apple is often viewed as good luck for the new year.
Ingredients
- 1½ ounces gin
- 1½ ounces Campari
- ¾ ounce apple brandy
- ¾ ounce sweet vermouth
- Ice and king cube
- Orange peel for garnish
Instructions
- In a mixing glass, add ice, gin, Campari, apple brandy, and sweet vermouth.
- Stir rapidly to chill.
- Strain into rocks glass over fresh ice or king cube.
- Garnish with orange peel.
Golden French 75
If you're looking for a little extra money, this recipe uses honey to attract wealth in the new year.
Ingredients
- ¾ ounce gin
- ½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ ounce honey syrup
- Champagne or prosecco to top off
- Lemon twist for garnish
Instructions
- Chill a Champagne flute.
- In the chilled glass, add gin, lemon juice, and honey.
- Swirl to mix.
- Top off with Champagne.
- Garnish with lemon twist.
Spiced Old-Fashioned
It's often thought that sweeping or cleaning on the first day of the new year symbolizes sweeping away any luck coming your way. So consider the cinnamon sticks a reminder not to pick up a broomstick.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces whiskey
- ¾ allspice dram
- ½ ounce simple syrup
- 2 dashes walnut bitters
- 3 dashes Angostura bitters
- Ice and king cube
- Orange peels for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, whiskey, allspice dram, simple syrup, and bitters.
- Stir rapidly to chill.
- Strain into rocks glass over fresh ice or king cube.
- Express one orange peel over the drink by twisting the peel between your fingers, then run outside of peel along rim.
- Garnish with second orange peel.
Lucky Sour
Oranges are often thought to bring good fortune in the new year, this whiskey sour adds a splash of freshly squeezed orange juice to brighten the original.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces bourbon
- ½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ ounce freshly squeezed orange juice
- ½ ounce simple syrup
- 1 egg white
- Ice
- Bitters and dehydrated orange for garnish
Instructions
- Chill a martini glass or coupe.
- In a cocktail shaker, add bourbon, lemon juice, orange juice, simple syrup, and egg white.
- Dry shake for approximately 45 seconds to mix ingredients and create a froth.
- Add ice to shaker.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into chilled glass.
- Garnish with dehydrated orange and bitters, creating a design with droplets by gently running a toothpick through the drops.
Violet Sky
Purple is often thought of as bringing prosperity in the new year, bottoms up!
Ingredients
- 2 ounces empress gin
- ½ ounce orange liqueur
- ½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Ice
- Lemon peel for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Chill a martini glass or coupe.
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, gin, orange liqueur, and lemon juice.
- Stir rapidly to chill.
- Strain into chilled glass.
- Garnish with lemon peel, if desired.
Cherry Punch
It's believed that red is the best color for attracting luck as a whole in the new year.
Ingredients
- 1½ ounces tart cherry juice
- 1 ounce vanilla vodka
- ¾ ounce maraschino liqueur
- ¾ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- Ice
- Cherry and lime wedge for garnish
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, add cherry juice, vanilla vodka, maraschino liqueur, and lime juice.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into rocks glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with cherry and lime wedge.
New Year's Sparkler
Yellow, or gold, are symbols of hope in the new year. The lemon slices as garnish are a reminder of the good days ahead.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces Champagne or prosecco
- ½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ ounce raspberry liqueur
- Lemon wheel for garnish
Instructions
- Chill a Champagne flute.
- In chilled glass, add lemon juice, raspberry liqueur, and Champagne.
- Garnish with lemon wheel.
Serenity Martini
The color blue symbolizes serenity-- much like the sky or the ocean. Here's to finding peace and happiness.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces vodka
- ¾ ounce blue curaçao
- ½ ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- Ice
- Orange wheel for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Chill a martini glass or coupe.
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, vodka, blue curaçao, and lime juice.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into chilled glass.
- Garnish with orange wheel, if desired.
Oui, Cher
A riff on the Vieux Carre, oui, cher is the proper response to the phrase, "laissez les bon temps rouler." This recipe uses honey to encourage the prosperity of good times.
Ingredients
- ¾ ounce honey whiskey
- ¾ ounce cognac
- ¾ ounce sweet vermouth
- ¼ ounce yellow chartreuse
- Ice
- Orange peel for garnish
Instructions
- Chill a martini glass or coupe.
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, honey whiskey, cognac, sweet vermouth, and yellow chartreuse.
- Stir rapidly to chill.
- Strain into chilled glass.
- Garnish with orange peel.
Starry Martini
Hanging lemons in doorways is a tradition to encourage good energy to flow throughout the house, and this martini encourages the same with it's delicious lemon flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces gin
- ¾ ounce limoncello
- 1 egg white
- ½ ounce simple syrup
- ½ ounce orange liqueur
- Ice
- Lemon peel for garnish
Instructions
- Chill a martini glass or coupe.
- In a cocktail shaker, add gin, limoncello, egg white, simple syrup, and orange liqueur
- Dry shake for approximately 45 seconds to mix ingredients and create a froth.
- Add ice to shaker.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into chilled glass.
- Garnish with lemon peel.
For the Bees
Lemons are thought to encourage good energy flow, yellow is thought to attract positive energy, and honey encourages good fortune-- this cocktail might be the luckiest of all.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces gin
- ¾ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ ounce honey syrup
- ½ ounce orange liqueur
- Ice
- Lemon wheel for garnish
Instructions
- Chill a martini glass or coupe.
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, gin, lemon juice, honey syrup, and orange liqueur.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into chilled glass.
- Garnish with lemon wheel.
Rosemary in Love
Often considered a sign of fidelity and love, rosemary is certainly a lucky herb for those with love on their minds.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces gin or vodka
- 1½ ounces grapefruit juice
- ½ ounce rosemary simple syrup
- Champagne to top off
- Ice
- Rosemary sprig and grapefruit slice for garnish
Instructions
- Chill a martini glass or coupe.
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, gin, grapefruit juice, and simple syrup.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into chilled glass.
- Top off with Champagne.
- Garnish with rosemary sprig and grapefruit slice.
Superstitions, Celebrations, and New Beginnings
If you're looking to celebrate the incoming year with a New Year's Eve cocktail, consider one that symbolizes fortune or good luck. But even if they don't sway prosperity your way, it's still lucky to toast to a new year with a tasty cocktail in hand.
