Mixing up festive beverages

The holidays are often a time of festive parties, indulgence and the occasional hangover. People often associate the holidays with get-togethers, most of which offer some sort of alcoholic beverage — whether it be cranberry-mint mojitos, manishevitz or chocolate-peppermint martinis.

At Margarita Nights in McAllen, the drink of the holidays will be margaritas. These drinks get a holiday makeover with a little bit of food colorings — the drinks become red, green and electric blue. A little colored sugar on the side makes these drinks an awesome holiday treat, said Bobby Agueros, the bar manager at Margarita Nights.

Cape Cods, cosmopolitans and Tom Collins are also good holiday drinks, Agueros said.

But one might want to pre-mix those libations before people arrive at the party, said Joyce Weinberg, president of City Food Tours. She cautions against having an open bar at a holiday party.

“It’s fun when everyone’s drinking the same thing,” she said. If one just puts out bottles, it’s not that creative. Allowing people to mix their own drinks also puts the host at greater risk, because he can not determine the strength of drinks.

By pre-mixing drinks, hosts can regulate the strength of the drink by how much ice and liquor they put in, Weinberg said. This eliminates the problem of having really drunk - instead of pleasantly happy - people at the party.

Weinberg recommends making mojitos with a Christmas flair by adding cranberry to the mint concoction. The pitcher can be decorated with fresh mint leaves and cranberries.

Mojitos are traditionally a Cuban drink, said Julio Lopez, a bartender at Mojitos, a bar and restaurant in McAllen. The drink is a mixture of crushed mint leaves, lemon, rum, sugar and a lemony soft drink. Lopez often adds strawberries and coconut or mango to his mojitos to spice them up for the holidays.

If people are going to serve champagne at the party, Weinberg suggests that that they reconsider. “First of all, it really doesn’t pay in most cases to actually pay for real French champagne,” Weinberg said. The drink carries a premium because of the weak dollar, she said. “What most people are really saying is that they want something, bubbly, fizzy, sparkling.” She recommends a Sparkling Shiraz.

To close out a holiday party, Weinberg suggests chocolate martinis, which can be spiced up by dipping the glass in either colored powdered sugar or cocoa powder.

For those who want to go beyond just holiday drinks, Agueros said there are a plethora of festive shots that people can do to warm up the holidays. The sexy alligator is especially popular. The shot features chambord, midori with pineapple juice, topped off with Jägermeister. Dirty Girl Scouts are also a seasonal favorite. The mixture of Frangelico, Rumplemints and Kalhua make the shot taste like a peppermint patty.

But no matter what people drink, Agueros cautions against going overboard.

“Be careful while you’re out there,” he said. “Everybody’s on their game. Don’t take it to the extreme.”

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Paige Lauren Deiner covers features and entertainment for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4425. For this and other local stories, visit www.themonitor.com.