Entertaining

8 Best Cocktails for Hanukkah

Every few years, Hanukkah and Christmas intersect on the calendar. Enjoy their union with a cocktail that draws on both traditions. An amalgam more powerful than Voltron, this cocktail mixes the best of wintertime celebratory spirits (as well as classic holiday candies like gelt and candy canes) to create a drink everyone will enjoy.

Any blue cocktail would fit into the Jewish holiday’s color scheme, but the AMF seems to be a particularly appropriate way to celebrate the Maccabees throwing off the Seleucid Empire. We can only expect they shouted something along the lines of “Adios Mother F***er” in victory. You can do the same when you leave your next holiday party (just don’t expect to be invited back next year).

OK, hear us out on this one. We know Eggnog is traditionally considered a Christmas drink, but there’s no reason you can’t make the eggy winter beverage an inclusive drinking experience. Pairing this milky white drink with the AMF above makes for a blue and white color-coordinated bar and an boozy interfaith celebration. Invite your favorite gentiles to your holiday shindig, throw on Charlie Brown, and have yourself a merry little Hanukkah.

When the Hanukkah candles flicker down low and grow dim, the bright sparkles of Champagne [https://www.supercall.com/how-to/how-to-open-champagne-without-hurting-anyone-or-yourself] will keep the party going long into the night. This hybrid, which sits somewhere between a Sherry Cobbler and Champagne Cocktail, is distinguished by its dash of liqueur (your choice of Cointreau or Maraschino) and use of several citrus juices, letting it shine on your palate just a smidge brighter than all other Champagne cocktails. Consider this the shamash of the bubbly world.

When the Hanukkah candles flicker down low and grow dim, the bright sparkles of Champagne will keep the party going long into the night. Sugar, bitters and a twist of lemon are all that you need—in addition to the bubbly, of course—to light up the winter night.

Raspberry jelly-filled doughnuts known as sufganiyot are one of the best parts of Hanukkah. Pair yours with a Clover Club, which is sweetened with raspberry liqueur and made buoyant with frothy egg white, just like the sponge-like texture of the holiday dessert.

Nothing goes better with latkes than applesauce, but if you’d like to pair your potato pancakes with something potable, opt for an applejack-based drink like the Jack Rose. Brightened with citrus (just like good applesauce) and bolstered by grenadine, the fruity drink will only make you love latkes more.

Dreidel taught us a little about gambling and a lot about the wonders of chocolate. One of those lessons actually stuck—which is why we still lose the game to our little cousins. Let the kids have their foil-wrapped winnings and satisfy your post-latke feast cravings with some grown-up chocolate. This take on the classic Chocolate Martini is drier and more complex than those chocolate coins anyway.

Since Hanukkah runs for over a week, you're bound to have a Friday night Shabbat in there somewhere, hopefully celebrated with eggy, carby challah. But if you want to get a helping of eggs the other seven nights, just (dry) shake up a Ramos Gin Fizz. Like the oil that lasted eight nights, this cocktail takes a seemingly endless amount of time (thanks to a lot of hard shaking), but the foamy cocktail is worth the effort.