5 Easy Christmas Cocktail Shot Recipes
The holiday season is upon us, and what better way to add a touch of festive flair to your celebrations than with easy Christmas cocktail shot recipes? These little sips of joy are a fantastic addition to your holiday parties, whether you’re hosting a gathering with friends, enjoying a cosy night in, or simply looking to toast to the magic of Christmas.
I’m sharing 5 easy-to-make cocktail shots with you here. They’re not only easy recipes but also delicious and suitable to prepare in bulk. And I chose these all with different colours to go with the Christmas spirit!
Some tips to prepare cocktail shots easily
Before we start, I’d like to share some tips that will help you to make these delicious cocktail shots. But if you want to jump to the easy Christmas cocktail recipes right away, here’s a list of what you’ll see on this post:
- Pineapple rum sherry cocktail shot
- Blue Coconut Cocktail Shot
- Tequila sunrise cocktail shot
- Limoncello margarita cocktail shot
- B52 cocktail shot
Shot glass as a measuring cup
If you have a limited amount of some of the ingredients when making cocktail shots, it’s important to carefully measure everything so you don’t run out of a key component. The best way to precisely measure is to use your shot glass as a measuring cup. Since shot glasses are designed to hold exactly one serving size of spirits, this makes them ideal for measuring out all the ingredients for your shots.
Start by using your shot glass to precisely measure out each ingredient for a single cocktail shot individually. By using a shot glass instead of estimating, you’ll have reliable standards for how much of everything is required for each individual serving.
This technique allows you to multiply exactly how many shots you can make with the volumes of ingredients you have on hand. For example, take the total amount of rum you have and divide it by the 1⁄2 oz measurement in your shot glass to determine how many rum-based shots are possible. Do the calculations for each ingredient to discover the exact number of shots your existing supplies can cover. So for perfect proportions every time, employ your trusty shot glass as a measuring device before mixing up your party shots. Consistent mathematical measurements take the guesswork and uncertainty out of having just enough ingredients for all your guests.
Chill your ingredients and glasses beforehand
Preparing ice-cold cocktail shots that are optimally refreshing requires starting with chilling both your ingredients and glassware beforehand, rather than simply relying on ice to do the cooling. As their name implies, shots are meant to be quickly consumed as single gulps without pause for gradual sipping. So it’s vital to maximise the bone-chilling temperature right from the first taste. For your ingredients, be sure to store all your liquors, juices, syrups, and other liquid elements in the refrigerator at least overnight so they’re perfectly frosty when you begin mixing up your shots. Even things like grenadine and cream liqueurs should be chilled. This advanced preparation allows for speedier chilling later on when shaking, rather than having to thaw things out first.
Additionally, keep your intended shot glasses stored in the freezer so they’re crystal cold to the touch. Shot glasses have minimal material to retain temperature, so pouring room-temperature shots into them can rapidly lead to lukewarm disappointments. But glasses pulled straight from subzero freezer storage will retain pure iciness as you pour in your shots, locking in teeth-chattering chillness that won’t diminish too quickly.
Combining your already-frigid ingredients and glassware means less reliance on ice to accomplish all the necessary cooling. And ensuring shots remain maximally cold right down to the final sips makes them infinitely more bracing and delectable as you throw each one back.
So guarantee the perfect bone-deep frozen factor ahead of time by fully chilling both components used to build and serve straight-from-the-freezer shots.
Make batches
If you’re not worried about the amount of ingredients you have, make larger batches all at once in a cocktail shaker rather than individual shots. This streamlines pouring multiple shots and you can use glass bottles to store your batches for a short time in the refrigerator.
Glassware matters
When preparing for a Christmas party featuring festive cocktail shots, putting thought into your glassware choices can tremendously enhance the drinking experience. Rather than simply relying on standard shot glasses, consider utilising small, narrow “shooter” glasses specially designed for effortless shot consumption. The petite size of shooters allows a shot’s entirety to be contained in just 1-2 liquid ounces, concentrating the flavours and aromas into a compact palette.
The tall, slender shape makes it easy to tilt your head back and down the contents in one smooth, quick sip without needing to take multiple smaller gulps from a squatter, wider standard shot glass. This enables you to rapidly shoot the entire drink into your mouth, allowing the chilled liquid to glide straight down your throat for lightning-fast intoxicating enjoyment.
The streamlined and concentrated configuration of shooter glasses leads to several advantages. Guests will have no issue downing the shots in one quick gulp, meaning faster replenishment of new drinks from your bar setup with less lingering between.
The smooth slender glass shape also lends itself to artful presentation when layering liquors for floating colorful cocktails within the taller vessel. And the tiny volume reduces alcohol consumption, preventing your Christmas party from veering out of control too early. For all these benefits from facilitating quicker and easier drinking to optimised palatability, tracker-picked specially designed shooter glassware can maximise the potency and enjoyment of your Christmas cocktail shots for guests with elevated presentation and portability as well.
Know how to layer your cocktail shots
Elegantly layered cocktail shots undoubtedly look stunning, but the precision required to pour liquors steadily can make that daunting for home mixologists, risking muddied colours and flavours. However, you can flawlessly build layered shots worthy of a craft cocktail bar with a straightforward tool: the liquid injector. Rather than carefully tipping bottles or utilising spoons, these handy injectors allow you to draw up your liquors and then steadily inject them into glasses for perfect saturation and separation.
To begin layering with an injector, first determine the order your liquors should be stacked based on density and desired visual effect. Then draw your heaviest, often sweetest liquor into the injector barrel and fit the narrow tip snugly against the inside wall of your serving glass. Slowly press the plunger to steadily inject your first layer, gradually building it up.
Follow with lighter liquors, changing injector barrels between each if colours differ. The key is moving slowly and keeping the injector tip firmly positioned as close to previous layers as possible. The thin steady streams permeate liquids below to establish defined stripes.
It can help to chill liquor-loaded injectors before deploying as well for greater viscosity. For additional flair, experiment with floated drops, spirals, and free pours over your injector layers. But for holiday parties, injectors are magic wands allowing anyone to conjure jaw-dropping shots guaranteed to dazzle guests. No longer is precise liquor layering solely for seasoned cocktail artists! So don’t be intimidated by flashy-looking libations and miss out on Instagram fame. Grab an injector and start stacking dazzling strata in your glasses with little effort yet maximum visually stunning outcomes.
Now, let’s dive into the cocktails!
Pineapple Rum Sherry Cocktail Shot
The first Christmas cocktail shot I’d like to share with you is a delicious rum-based cocktail, enhanced with sherry. It comes together with not very few ingredients but I can guarantee you the deliciousness of this cocktail. And the thick foam generated by the addition of the sherry is worth trying.
Ingredients:
- 1 part white rum
- 1 part dark rum
- 1/2 sherry
- 1/2 part pineapple juice
- 1/2 part fresh lime juice
- 1/4 part grenadine
Simply combine all ingredients in a shaker, add lots of ice and shake until the outside of the shaker is ice cold. You’ll see the frothy surface when you open up the shaker. Pour the drink into your shot glasses by single sieving and distribute the foam on the surface of the glasses by using a bar spoon.
Blue Coconut Cocktail Shot
A beautiful blue-coloured, coconut-flavoured delicious and easy Christmas cocktail shot everyone will enjoy drinking. One thing I love most about this drink is how Christmassy it looks when garnished with shredded coconut!
Read more about this delicious cocktail, find the ways to enhance the taste and elevate your experience on my blog post here:
Tequila Sunrise Cocktail Shot
Here’s a shot recipe for a very well-known, classic cocktail Tequila Sunrise. As cocktail shots tend to contain more alcohol in ABV, this classic recipe needs a tweak. I added orange bitters and some triple sec but you don’t have to. Even if you follow the classic recipe and serve it in shot glasses, it will still be a perfect and easy Christmas cocktail shot with both the taste and the looks.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 part smooth orange juice
- 1/4 part triple sec (optional)
- 1 part tequila
- grenadine for the bottom
- dash of orange bitters
Combine all except the grenadine in a shaker with lots of ice. Pour the grenadine to sit at the bottom of the glasses and start pouring the drink. To create a gradient look, hit the grenadine at the bottom a bit hard when you first start pouring the mix so that the grenadine will mix into it. Then you can slow down and keep filling the glass more steadily.
Limoncello Margarita Cocktail Shot
One of the most loved cocktails of all time is a well-prepared margarita without question. So why not try this delicious cocktail as a shot and enjoy it during this festive period with friends and family?
Instead of going with a classic lime recipe, this one uses limoncello. Limoncello is an Italian lemon liqueur. According to Wikipedia, it is the second-most popular liqueur in Italy and is traditionally served chilled as an after-dinner digestive. I’ll find out the most popular one and post some recipes with that soon. But now, let me give you the recipe for this easy Christmas cocktail recipe.
Ingredients:
- 1 part tequila
- 1 part limoncello
- 1/2 part lemon juice
Put all in your shaker, add lots of ice, shake well and pour into your glasses. I don’t recommend garnishing the rim of the glasses with salt. If you really want to do that, you should rim half of the glass at most.
B52 Cocktail Shot
Let’s be honest, this is not an easy Christmas cocktail shot for sure. But it’s almost impossible not to love the clean, layered look of this cocktail. And it has Baileys which is considered to be one of the most loved Christmas liqueurs.
Ingredients:
- 1 part coffee liqueur
- 1 part Irish cream liqueur
- 1 part Grand Marnier
There’s nothing complicated with the recipe but making it with clear separation of layers will need your patience. Start with the coffee liqueur at the bottom, continue with Irish cream liqueur and finish with Grand Marnier. This is not the most common liqueur to have in your stock so you can go with a triple sec if you want. The image here shows triple sec instead of Grand Marnier.
There are lots of other delicious and easy Christmas cocktail shot recipes to enjoy but these are the ones that I chose to serve to my friends in the following days. I’ll share my and their experience and comments on my Instagram account so don’t forget to follow it here. Let me know what you think of these recipes.
What other cocktails or drinks do you enjoy during the festive period? Tag me if there are any different recipes you’d like me to try and share with you.
Wishing you all a great festive period! Cheers!
