Just because the New Year’s Eve party is over, doesn’t mean the celebration of the new year has to end. Plan a New Year’s Day gathering with family and friends and serve these fun, festive and easy drinks.
Sparkling rosé strawberry cocktail
Brighten up your New Year’s Day with this sparkling rosé strawberry cocktail from Catherine Clark at Bijoux & Bits. Sparkling wine is nice, but a pink sparkling wine cocktail is the best. Your guests will love the zippy fruity flavor and the refreshing effervescence of this festive drink. A lip-smacking good blend of sparkling rosé, strawberry vodka and lemon-lime soda, this yummy cocktail comes to the table with a garnish of fresh strawberries. You can make each glass even more dazzling by adding edible glitter, a rock candy stick or a whimsically colored straw. If you’re craving a frosty drink, simply toss the ingredients into a blender with ice and serve frosé cocktails (frozen rosé cocktails).
Cranberry pomegranate champagne mule
Keep the holiday theme going into the new year with this cranberry pomegranate champagne mule from Meghan at Cake ‘n Knife. This drink delivers a surprising but welcome bite from fresh ginger, a bunch of bubbly fun from the champagne, and a fruity burst of seasonal cranberry and pomegranate flavors. Though this celebratory libation is a contemporary twist on the Moscow mule, serve it in copper mugs (the classic way to serve the mule) garnished with fresh cranberries. Your family and friends are going to rave about this cocktail so much you’ll want to make it a New Year’s Day tradition.
Slow-cooker spiced cranberry apple cider
Need a New Year’s Day drink that offers warmth, comfort and a tasty reason to be excited for winter? Make this slow-cooker spiced cranberry apple cider, a festive kid-friendly recipe from Beth Moncel at Budget Bytes, and gather your family and friends — mugs in hand — around the fire. This is one of those lazy day drinks you mix up in the slow-cooker, set it and forget it. The luscious blend of apple cider, cranberry juice cocktail, orange, fresh ginger, cloves and cinnamon will make your home smell better than a walk through Bath & Body Works. For a pretty presentation, serve the cider garnished with orange slices and fresh cranberries.
Blueberry mint cosmo cocktail
Cosmopolitans scream “let’s party!” So if you want to carry the New Year’s Eve revelry into the new year, this blueberry mint cosmo cocktail, from Elaine at Dishes Delish, is the drink for you. Making a cosmo with blueberries and mint is a daring move that will turn you into a drink-mixing hero. The blueberries offer a robust yet sweet-tart flavor that partners impeccably with the fresh mint, lime juice, vodka and Cointreau. This vibrant drink gets its captivating color from blueberry/pomegranate or blueberry juice — your choice. Garnished with fresh blueberries on martini picks, these eye-catching cosmos will be the first drinks to disappear off of the bar.
Brunch mimosa by the pitcher
Invite your closest friends over for a New Year’s Day brunch and get the party started with this brunch mimosa by the pitcher, a fun-loving cocktail recipe from Monique at Divas Can Cook. You make this drink by mixing fresh-squeezed orange juice, champagne and Cointreau in a pitcher and then garnishing with fresh fruit. The key to a great mimosa is starting with chilled ingredients and serving immediately. If you need to make the mimosa ahead of time, keep it cold in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. Start the new year with this bright, citrusy drink and celebrate that you now have a new cocktail recipe to serve every Sunday for brunch.
Kentucky mule
This Kentucky mule recipe, from Aysegul at Foolproof Living, gives the classic Moscow mule a good ol’ Kentucky twist. Perfect for New Year’s Day get-togethers and other festive occasions, this mule is made with three simple ingredients. You fill your copper mugs with ice, then pour in Kentucky bourbon (there’s the Kentucky twist), lime juice and ginger beer. Give it a quick stir, then garnish with lime wedges and fresh mint. These mules will fly off the table as your family and friends eagerly pick them up and clink their mugs together. If you want to turn your New Year’s Day party into a celebration of mules, Aysegul offers up even more mule variations so you can offer your guests a tasty array of this classic drink.
Sparkling cranberry-clementine gin cocktails with rosemary and honey
Drink the new year to a great start with these sparkling cranberry-clementine gin cocktails with rosemary and honey from Lauren Keating of Healthy Delicious. These jubilant drinks feature freshly squeezed clementine juice, muddled fresh ginger and a rosemary-honey simple syrup. The orange, ginger and rosemary flavors make these cocktails a seasonal favorite for winter gatherings. Plan ahead to make the rosemary-honey simple syrup. It takes about 15 minutes to make but is best used cool or chilled for cold drinks. To prepare the cocktails, muddle the ginger in a cocktail shaker, fill with ice and the fruit juices, shake it like you mean it, stir in the gin and strain into your favorite glasses, and top off with club soda. Now sip.
Agua de Jamaica
Making a great cocktail for New Year’s Day can be tricky. You want a drink that sings celebration without screaming “party time!” After all, your New Year’s Eve revelry can only go on for so long. This agua de Jamaica cocktail (aka hibiscus punch), from Kate Ramos at Hola Jalapeño, is the ideal party libation that satisfies your thirst for a cocktail but is deliciously non-alcoholic. It’s a drink that everyone at your gathering — including your pregnant friends and the kids — can sip happily. You make this fun and refreshing punch with dried Jamaica flowers (hibiscus flowers), water, sugar and lime. If you have guests who can’t imagine drinking a non-boozy cocktail, simply slip them a shot of vodka.
Moscow mule Jell-O shots
Your New Year’s Day drink menu won’t be complete without a Moscow mule or some inventive mule variation. These Moscow mule Jell-O shots, a fab recipe from Home. Made. Interest., boasts all the flavors of a traditional Moscow mule but show up to the party as wiggly, jiggly Jell-o shots. These irresistible shots taste like the real deal. You get a punch from the vodka just before the ginger beer and lime flavors swoop in to soften the blow. These Moscow mule Jell-O shots can be made ahead and kept in the fridge until you’re ready to surprise your guests. You can also easily pack the Jell-O shots in a cooler and take them to a friend’s house.
Chambord cider
This hot Chambord cider, from Jenn at Hostess with the Mostess, is just what your New Year’s Day guests need for a little R&R after all of their New Year’s Eve partying. This hot Chambord cider is like lip-licking comfort in a mug. To make this drink, you warm Chambord, Tuaca liqueur and apple cider until steamy, then serve garnished with a cinnamon stick. This is the kind of hot cocktail that makes you want to savor every sip. Chambord is a liqueur that offers a black raspberry sweetness, while the Tuaca complements the berry and apple with its distinct citrus essences, vanilla and secret spices. Once you taste this scintillating drink, you’ll want to cozy up to a mug of it all winter long.
