10 Festive Holiday Drinks with a Latin Twist

by | Nov 2, 2023 | Christmas, Dining, Event Catering, Events, Holiday

In the sea of brainstorming Christmas gift ideas and searching for New Year’s Eve dinner recipes, one thing is often overlooked: the delicious drinks accompanying your holiday party.

If you’re looking for the best drinks for your upcoming holiday parties, we’ve got you covered with this list – so you can stick with searching for fun Christmas party outfit ideas while sipping on a delicious beverage!

1. Coquito

What’s a better drink to accompany your Christmas party appetizers than a delicious eggnog? Coquito is a delicious Puerto Rican eggnog drink and one of our favorite ideas for Christmas beverages. To make our favorite recipe, which serves 7-10 people, you’ll need the following ingredients:

  • 7 ounces of 100% canned coconut milk
  • 6 ounces of white rum
  • 6 ounces of evaporated milk
  • 2.5 ounces of sweetened condensed milk, more to taste
  • ½ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon
  • ⅛ teaspoon of nutmeg

To make the drink:

  1. Place all of the ingredients into your blender bowl.
  2. Blend for 2-3 minutes until it’s mixed and frothy.
  3. Pour the beverage into a bottle and refrigerate until chilled.
  4. Shake again before serving and serve in chilled shot glasses sprinkled with cinnamon.
  5. For larger glasses, serve over ice – and enjoy one of our favorite Christmas party ideas!

2. Mexican Ponche

This Mexican Christmas punch is another of our favorite ideas for Christmas and will certainly take your Christmas office party or family celebration to the next level. To make 16 servings of this drink, gather the following ingredients:

  • 1 cup of dried hibiscus flowers
  • 24 cups of water divided
  • 20 cloves
  • 2 oranges
  • 2 cups of drained Tejocotes from 1 32-ounce jar of GOYA® Tejocote
  • 1 package of frozen GOYA® Guava
  • 6 sticks of frozen GOYA® whole sugar cane
  • 2 cones of GOYA® brown sugar cane
  • 1 medium apple, chopped
  • 1 medium pear, chopped
  • 1 cup of pitted prunes, chopped
  • 1 cup of walnut halves
  • ½ cup of raisins
  • 4 GOYA® cinnamon sticks
  • Optional: rum, brandy, or tequila to taste

To make the drink, complete the following steps:

  1. Boil the hibiscus flowers and 4 cups of water in a pot over medium-high heat.
  2. Remove from the stove and steep for 20 minutes.
  3. While steeping, press the sharp side of 10 cloves into one orange. Repeat with the remaining cloves and oranges.
  4. Strain the hibiscus mixture into a large pot and discard the solids. Add 20 cups of water, orange pieces, tejocotes, guava, sugar cane sticks, brown sugar cane, apple, pear, pitted prunes, walnut halves, raisins, and cinnamon sticks.
  5. Boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
  6. Lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour.
  7. Serve the drink warm or chilled, and add liquor if desired.

3. Cranberry Mojito

This recipe is one of our favorite drinks for a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, but it can also be served for your Christmas or New Year’s Eve party! To make 4 servings of our favorite cranberry mojito, collect the following ingredients:

  • 15-16 mint leaves
  • 4 tablespoons of brown sugar
  • ¼ cup of lime juice
  • 1 cup of cranberry juice
  • 6 ounces of white rum
  • 1 cup of seltzer water
  • Ice
  • Lime slices, cranberries, and mint to garnish

With all your ingredients, make the drink as follows:

  1. Break the mint leaves up in a jar using the back of a wooden spoon or a pestle.
  2. Add the brown sugar, lime juice, rum, cranberry juice, and seltzer water. Stir.
  3. Serve over ice and garnish with desired ingredients.

4. Canelazo

Canelazo is a delicious cinnamon hot drink that we love serving on Thanksgiving Day, but its warmth also makes it one of our favorite Christmas or New Year’s dinner ideas! To make 4 servings of canelazo, gather the following ingredients:

  • 3 cups of water
  • ⅔ cup of light brown sugar
  • ⅔ cup of dark brown sugar
  • 1 juiced lime
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon of whole cloves
  • 4-6 cinnamon sticks
  • ½ cup of orange juice
  • 4 ounces of aguardiente, or rum

Make the drink as follows:

  1. Add the water, sugars, lime juice, salt, cloves, and cinnamon to a pot and boil.
  2. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.
  3. Take away from the heat and add in orange juice.
  4. Add the rum.
  5. Reheat the drink without bringing it to a boil. Strain and serve.

5. Cola de Mono

This drink is yet another one of our favorite recipes for Thanksgiving, but it can be served at any of your holiday parties! Collect the following ingredients to make 12-14 servings:

  • 1 cup of granulated sugar
  • 1 cup of cold water
  • ½ ounce of Mexican cinnamon sticks, about 4
  • 2 cloves
  • 4 cups or 1 quart of whole milk
  • 1 ½ cups of freshly brewed coffee, cold
  • 1 ½ cups of Chilean pisco
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

To make cola de mono for your Thanksgiving or New Year’s Eve dinner, take the following steps:

  1. Bring the sugar, water, cinnamon, and cloves to a boil in a small saucepan. Simmer for 5 minutes and place aside to cool.
  2. Transfer to a large pitcher and add the coffee, milk, pisco, and vanilla. Stir to combine.
  3. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the drink until cool.
  4. Serve in small tumbler glasses.

6. Pumpkin Caipirinha

One of the best Thanksgiving party ideas is serving this classic pumpkin drink! To make this along with your best Thanksgiving sides, collect the following items:

  • ½ lime cut into 4 pieces
  • ½ ounce of agave nectar
  • ¼ teaspoon of freshly grated ginger, optional
  • ½ cup of crushed ice
  • 1 ½ ounces of white rum or cachaça
  • 1 ½ ounces of pumpkin puree
  • ½ ounce of ginger liqueur
  • Nutmeg, cinnamon, lemon, lime, mint, or pumpkin to garnish

To make this drink:

  1. Add the lime, agave, and fresh ginger to a cocktail shaker and muddle.
  2. Add the ice, rum, puree, and ginger liqueur and shake well.
  3. Garnish as desired.

7. Cinnamon Apple Cider Sangria

No matter what events you’re celebrating, there’s no going wrong with a sangria recipe. To make six servings of this recipe, gather the following ingredients:

  • 1 750 ml bottle of wine (Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Grigio work best)
  • 2 cups of apple cider
  • ½ cup of orange juice
  • 3 cinnamon sticks
  • 2 apples
  • 1 orange
  • ½ cup of brandy

To make the sangria, complete the following steps:

  1. Chop the apples and slice the orange. Add both to a pitcher.
  2. Add the cinnamon sticks, brandy, wine, orange juice, and apple cider. Stir.
  3. Rest in the fridge for at least 3 hours. Pour into glasses and serve.

8. Sorrel

Who says all of your holiday drinks need to be alcoholic? For non-alcoholic recipes, sorrel is one of our best New Year’s Eve dinner ideas. Gather the following ingredients to make 12 servings:

  • 1 pound of sorrel
  • 8 cups of water
  • 1-inch piece of ginger
  • 1 ⅓ cup of brown sugar

To make the drink:

  1. Mix the seedless sorrel, ginger, and 8 cups of water over medium heat. Boil and let simmer for 15 minutes.
  2. Cool the mixture for 10 minutes, then strain into a large bowl.
  3. Add water to lighten the mixture. Start with one cup, then taste and adjust.
  4. Sweeten to taste using the sugar, 1-2 cups.
  5. Refrigerate until cold and serve.

9. Atole de Elote

Another non-alcoholic recipe for family celebrations is this delicious Atole de Elote. Collect the following ingredients to make 6 cups:

  • 2 cups of water
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 6 fresh corn
  • ⅔ cup of sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons of water for the cornstarch
  • 4 cups of milk
  • Ground cinnamon for topping

To make the drink:

  1. Boil 1 cup of water and cinnamon stick for 5 minutes.
  2. Shave the sides of the corn and remove the kernels, reserving ½ cup of kernels.
  3. Add the kernels to a blender with 1 cup of water and blend until smooth.
  4. Strain the mixture into the pot with cinnamon.
  5. Add the sugar and ½ cup of kernels.
  6. Dissolve cornstarch in 2 tablespoons of water.
  7. Add the milk and cornstarch mix to the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low.
  8. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour into cups, dust with cinnamon, and serve.

10. Rompope

Another eggnog recipe to pair with your favorite holiday food is delicious rompope. To make this drink, gather the following ingredients:

  • 6 cups of milk
  • 1 ¼ cups of granulated sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 clove
  • ¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg
  • ⅓ cup of slivered almonds
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 8 large egg yolks, whisked
  • ½-1 cup of dark rum for serving

To make the drink:

  1. Combine the milk, sugar, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg in a pot over medium heat and whisk together. Bring to a simmer, whisking every minute. Remove from heat.
  2. Add 2 cups of sweetened milk to a small bowl with the slivered almonds. Set aside and sit for 30 minutes.
  3. Remove the cinnamon stick and clove from the first mixture.
  4. Place the soaked almonds into a blender and blend until smooth.
  5. Place the almond milk and vanilla extract in the pot and whisk to combine.
  6. Slowly add the egg yolks, whisking until incorporated.
  7. Place over medium-low heat for 12-15 minutes, whisking every minute until the mixture is thickened and coats the back of a spoon.
  8. Add ½-1 cup of rum and whisk to combine. Serve in mugs and top with cinnamon.

Celebrate Your Holiday With Our Catering

KPacho meets all of your catering needs to make your holiday special. Instead of desperately searching for “New Year’s Eve dinner near me” or “Thanksgiving dinner near me,” stop into our restaurants for all of your holiday food needs!

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