The Wednesday night before Thanksgiving—Thanksgiving Eve, Drinksgiving, Black Wednesday, or whatever you may dub it—is one of the biggest nights for the bar and restaurant industry. Whether you have guests coming in to blow off steam ahead of holiday gatherings with family, to celebrate being back in their hometown, or just to kick off the holiday season, this night can mean big profits for your bar or restaurant.
Capitalize on the additional traffic with festive Thanksgiving cocktails to help jumpstart the season of merrymaking. We've got you started with a collection of Thanksgiving cocktails that will please everyone around your bar.
As a special addition, we've also added a recipe for a pickle-brined turkey at the end of the article, in case you want to whip one up for turkey sandwiches at your establishment!
Mulled Apple Cider Reposado
Ingredients:
2 oz Maestro Dobel Reposado
4 oz Mulled Apple Cider
Spiked Heavy Cream Float
Grated Nutmeg
Cinnamon Stick
Directions:
Add Maestro Dobel Reposado and warm mulled cider to a mug and stir. Add spiked heavy cream float, grated nutmeg and a cinnamon stick to garnish.
Spiced Pear Toddy
Ingredients:
2 oz. Square One™ Organic Vodka
1 oz. The Perfect Purée Green Apple Puree, thawed
1 oz. The Perfect Purée Pear Puree, thawed
4 oz. hot water
cinnamon stick, garnish
pear wedge, garnish
1 oz. baking spice syrup:
1 cup water
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp. ground cloves
½ tsp. ground all spice
1 whole star anise
Directions:
For the baking spice syrup, in a pot, bring water to boil. Add all spices. Lower temperature and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Remove from stove and pour mixture through strainer into a measuring cup. Add water to return volume of mixture to 1 cup and return to pot. Add sugar and stir to dissolve. Pour mixture into storage container. Seal and refrigerate for 3-4 weeks.
For the cocktail, build all ingredients into mug and stir. Garnish with cinnamon stick and pear wedge.
Changing Leaves
Ingredients:
2 oz Suerte anejo
.5 oz Braulio
.5 oz DOM Benedictine
.25 oz St. Elizabeth Allspice dram
2 dashes Regans orange bitters
2 dashes Cocktail Punk OAK Aromatic bitters
Orange twist fan garnish
Directions:
Stir and pour over ice.
Ketel One Autumn Appletini
Ingredients:
1.5 oz Ketel One Vodka
.25 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
.5 oz Cinnamon Syrup*
.75 oz Apple Cider
Garnish: Apple fan
Directions:
Combine all ingredients with ice in a shaker. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a green apple fan.
1800 Carajillo
Ingredients:
1.5 oz 1800® Cristalino
.5 oz Vanilla Liquor
1 oz Cold Brew Concentrate or Fresh Espresso
Garnish with Grated Cinnamon
Garnish: Garnish with Grated Cinnamon
Directions:
In a mixing tin, combine all ingredients. Add ice and shake. Strain over fresh ice into rocks glass. Garnish with grated cinnamon.
Roosevelt
Ingredients:
1.5 oz Dickel Bourbon
1 Dash Aromatic Bitters
3 Dashes Red Gentian Bitters
Absinthe (for rinsing glass)
0.25 oz Apple Cinnamon Ginger Maple Syrup:
250ml Apple Juice
2 Sticks Cinnamon
2 Thumbs Ginger, Chopped
250g Sugar
125g Maple Syrup
Directions:
For the apple cinnamon ginger maple syrup, mix all ingredients minus the sugar and maple syrup, bring to a boil and simmer covered for 10 min. Strain and add remaining ingredients.
For the cocktail, stir all ingredients and pour into an absinthe rinsed small rocks glass; garnish with an apple chip.
Baileys Chocolate Mocha Martini
Ingredients:
1.5 oz. Baileys Chocolate Liqueur
0.75 oz. Vodka
1 oz. Fresh Espresso
0.25 oz. Simple Syrup
Garnish: Vanilla cold foam and three espresso beans.
Directions:
Add all ingredients to the cocktail tin. Shake and fine strain into coupe/martini glass.
Spiked Peanut Butter Cider
Ingredients
1.5 oz. Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey
4 oz. Hot Apple Cider
Directions:
Combine ingredients and garnish with cinnamon stick.
Caramel Apple Sangria
Ingredients:
2 Cups Duke & Dame
2 Cups cubed apples
3 Cups Pinot Grigio
5 Cups Apple Cider
Apple Slices for Garnish
Directions:
Pour small cubed apples into pitcher. Add 2 cups of Duke & Dame. Muddle the apples. Add 3 cups of Pinot Grigio. Add 5 cups of Apple Cider. Mix. Pour into glass over ice. Garnish with cubed apples and sliced apple on the rim.
Loaded Sweet Potato Pie Latte (Non-Alc)
Ingredients:
1 oz. Monin Toasted Marshmallow Syrup
2 shot(s) espresso
Fill with steamed milk
Garnish: cinnamon powder, whipped cream, marshmallow
Directions:
Combine ingredients, except milk, in serving cup. Stir and set aside. Steam milk in pitcher. Pour steamed milk into serving cup, stirring gently. Garnish.
All Spice No Bite
Ingredients:
2 oz Noble Oak Bourbon
½ oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
½ oz fresh lemon juice
1 bar spoon fig paste or spread
2 dashes of Angostura aromatic bitters
Pickle Juice Brined Turkey
Ingredients
15 lb. turkey
6 cups pickle brine (leftover from approx. 3 jars of Bubbies pickles - can use Kosher dill, bread and butter chips or a mix of both)
6 cups water (or more to cover turkey)
1 cup salt
½ cup brown sugar
1 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp peppercorns
2 tsp celery seeds
1 onion, quartered
2 lemons, quartered
10 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of fresh dill
½ cup butter, melted
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Add turkey to a large pot. Add pickle brine, water (enough to cover the turkey completely - this varies depending on the size of the pot and turkey), salt, brown sugar, mustard seeds, peppercorns and celery seeds.
- It’s important to make sure the turkey is fully submerged in the brine, so if you need to, set something heavy on top to keep it submerged.
- Cover and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.
- Preheat oven to 500˚F and prep a roasting pan.
- Remove turkey from brine and rinse thoroughly. Pat dry with paper towel.
- Stuff the cavity with quartered onion, lemons, garlic and dill.
- Use your fingers to loosen and lift the skin on the breast. Tuck the wings under the bird and use twine to tie the legs together.Brush the entire turkey liberally with melted butter and season with salt and pepper.
- Roast for 30 minutes at 500˚F, then cover turkey with aluminum foil (to prevent skin from burning) and reduce heat to 350˚F.
- Roast for about 3 hours, until the temperature reaches 165˚ in the thickest part of the turkey breast.
- Remove from oven and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Optional: brush with more melted butter before serving.
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