By: Sabrina Huda Sanchez

Halloween. Thanksgiving. Christmas. The last three months of the year are full of these consecutive holiday celebrations where people gather to party with friends and family with music, food and drinks. The right drink can set the mood or highlight the occasion for instance a glass of eggnog for a Christmas dinner. But the right drink is usually a themed cocktail much like that eggnog but with a splash of dark rum. Below is a list of themed vodka martinis cocktails to enjoy for each of these well-celebrated holidays.

What is a martini?
A martini is a cocktail that is traditionally made with gin and vermouth and garnished with an olive. However, over the years, mixologists have swapped the gin for vodka thus creating the vodka martini. A classic gin martini has barely changed except for the ratio of vermouth, but the vodka martini has evolved to more flavorful profiles such as the infamous apple martini.

Another distinguisher is the cocktail glass used. Martinis are served in martini glasses which have a long stem and a very wide rim. These glasses are also available in fun styles and colors to match the theme of your cocktail.

Halloween
Halloween festivities for children is about dressing up and asking for candy, but the adult-side of this spooky holiday is about the costume parties. Whether it is an event at a lounge or a raging house party, the two things needed for an excellent Halloween party are decorations and drinks. Making a decorated drink just seems appropriate.

This vodka martini is sweet like the candy-obsessed holiday but with a fun color of the melted wicked witch of the west!

Melted Witch Martini
The delicious vodka martini is green from the yellow pineapple juice mixed with the blue curacao. Use Halloween colored sprinkles to top the rim and complete the look.

Halloween Spooky Witch Martini

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ oz Vodka
• ¾ oz 1883 Blue Curacao syrup
• 1 ½ oz Pineapple Juice
• 1 ½ oz Orange Juice

Garnish:
• Honey
• Halloween-themed sprinkles

Directions:
1. Combine vodka, blue curacao syrup, pineapple juice, orange juice and ice in a cocktail shaker; shake well for 15 seconds.
2. Dip the rim of the martini glass in honey and coat with sprinkles.
3. Pour cocktail into martini glass. Serve.

Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving brings family together to indulge in turkey, stuffing, cranberries and pumpkin pie. This gluttonous holiday has been extended to friends, known as Friendsgiving. A sub-holiday where alcoholic beverages are more likely to be served among friends than among family-friendly Thanksgiving dinners.

Turn your favorite holiday dessert into a vodka martini with this pumpkin pie flavored recipe!

Pumpkin Pie Martini

Pumpkin Pie combines the creamy flesh of pumpkin with aromatic spices. This flavorful cocktail uses spiced rum and ginger syrup to bring out the similar taste of those iconic pumpkin pie spices.

Pumpkin Spice Martini

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ oz Vanilla Vodka
• 1 oz Spiced Rum
• 1 oz Monin Ginger Syrup
• 2 tbsp DaVinci Pumpkin Pie Sauce

Garnish:
• Ground cinnamon
• Whip cream

Directions:
1. Combine vanilla vodka, spiced rum, ginger syrup, pumpkin pie sauce and ice in a cocktail shaker; shake well.
2. Pour martini into martini glass.
3. Sprinkle ground cinnamon and a dollop of whip cream on top for garnish.

Christmas
Family gatherings and office holiday parties both bring people together to eat, drink and be merry. Hot cocoa and eggnog are perfect beverages for the family setting to be enjoyed by children and adults alike. But for the bartender mixing up Christmas cocktails at the office party or lively bar, the drink in “drink and be merry” should involve some hard liquor.

Candy Cane Martini

It’s going to be a white Christmas indeed with this white chocolate and peppermint vodka martini. Use crushed candy canes around the rim for that extra aesthetic and minty flavor.

Candy Cane Martini

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ oz Vanilla Vodka
• 1 ½ oz White Chocolate Liqueur (or DaVinci White Chocolate Syrup )
• 1 ½ oz Torani Peppermint Syrup
• 2 oz Half-n-half

Garnish:
• 1 crushed candy cane
• Corn syrup (or Tea Zone Fructose )

Directions:
1. Combine ice, vodka, white chocolate liqueur, peppermint syrup in a cocktail shaker; shake well.
2. Add half-n-half into cocktail shaker and stir.
3. Dip martini glass rim in fructose then coat rim with crushed candy canes.
4. Pour martini into martini glass. Serve with mini candy cane.

A good cocktail can liven the party. This list of holiday martinis brings fun to the celebration with friends, family and colleagues. Enjoy them at your next event or even add these as limited-time offerings (LTOs) on the menu of your bar or restaurant. Themed cocktails are specialty drinks that people love to indulge in to immerse themselves in the holiday. Get inspired by more holiday drink recipes in our blog.

Did you try the recipe? Share your creation with us on Instagram and use #lollicuprecipe !

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