The Resy Guide to Holiday Cocktails in Philadelphia

To make excellent cocktails, you need excellent ingredients.  For Manatawny Still Works their spirits are at the core of every creative cocktail they make. To make the season bright, the small batch distillery in Pottstown has two holiday cocktails, both of which are using rum — which adds sweetness and a bit of spice.  Cozy up with a peppermint hot chocolate spiked with rum, or mentally escape to an island paradise with their coquito coconut eggnog, a tropical take on a classic holiday drink.

Vedge is often credited for pushing the boundaries of vegan cuisine, and their cocktails are no exception. During the winter months you’ll find a hot apple cider made with sweet Honeycrisp apples, spiked with whiskey and a tart pear brandy, and baking spice to make you feel like you’re drinking a boozy apple pie.  You can also live out the only line that people seem to know from Vampire Weekend’s “Horchata” by drinking Vedge’s vegan horchata in December.  These cocktails are available to drink if you’re dining outside, or you can take them home to enjoy. 

There’s a lot going on at Bar Bombón.  It’s a vegan restaurant with a mezcal bar that serves up Latin cuisine all inspired by owner Nicole Marquis’ Puerto Rican heritage.  Just when you think there wasn’t anything else to add, Marquis surprised us this season with a Warm Up Menu of hot cocktails that come with a complementary blanket. Try the Atol de Elote, a mezcal and rum cocktail that tastes mildly nutty and earthy from the corn, cinnamon and oat milk. If you’re in the mood for something fruitier, you’ll enjoy the Ponche de Otoño, made with guava and apples that are punched up with brandy, mulled spices, and tamarind, and a floral touch of hibiscus. More info here.

Jill Weber is an archaeologist who channels her international travels, her passion for history, and her love of wine and food into Jet Wine Bar. The biggest draw is the vast selection of wines from all over the world, but the cocktails, which also have international influences, are equally exciting.  It might be chilly in the wine garden, but the spiked Mexican hot chocolate will warm you to the core. More info here.

Remember that year — 2016, specifically — when the whole world fell in love with the Danish and Norwegian tradition of hygge?  It never went out of style, and if anything, we need that sense of comfort and well-being now more than ever.  And Bar Hygge lives up to the name, with a menu of hot cocktails that to enjoy outside or take home.  The mulled wine rivals that of a German Christmas market gluehwein.  There’s also a hot toddy spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and walnut bitters, and their House Irish Coffee packs layers of warm flavors in a creamy drink

The cocktail menu reads like a lineup for a horse race, but the winter cocktails at Clementine’s Stable Cafe lean on spicy peppers to warm you up in the chilly weather.  The depth of the dark chocolate in the Hot Xoclātl, spiked with mezcal and topped with a salted marshmallow, is amplified with ancho chile. If you’re a bit more daring, try out the M-A-P-L-E, a reposado Tequila drink made with maple syrup and the intense heat of habañero.  You might break out into a sweat after drinking these.

Bloomsday isn’t just a great place for wine and food, but also for unique cocktails that you’re not likely to find elsewhere in the city. This winter season they’re bringing the Catalan tradition of cremat, a rum coffee with blood orange amaro, to Headhouse Square. Bloomsday’s version adds a little whipped topping of dalgona — this year’s coffee trend, for sure — making it a fun, warm drink to enjoy by the heaters under the Shambles.

Though it’s served cold, the Moscow Mule has become a staple of the winter cocktail menu.  Whether it’s the spice of the ginger beer or the vodka’s ability to make one instantly flushed, the drink is synonymous with holiday festivities. River Twice is taking this classic cocktail and infusing it with local flavors of Whitesbog cranberries to bring a bit of tartness to this sweet and spiced drink.

Le Virtu’s is one of many spots on East Passyunk that make the avenue the lively and festive place it is during this time of year. To go with their classic Abruzzo cuisine, they have hot Italian inspired cocktails to enjoy in their tented and heated garden. Get whisked away to the old country with the Vin Brulee, an aromatic montepulciano d’Abruzzo mulled with star anise, cinnamon, and clove. Or get a cocktail that packs a punch almost literally — a South Philly Punch of spiced rum and apple cider that’s tied together with the spiced citrus flavors of Punch Abruzzese liqueur. Call 215-271-5626 for more info.

When it comes to outdoor space, Emmy Squared might just have the coolest rooftop in Queen Village. Take in views of the neighborhood while enjoying a bourbon apple cider jazzed up with a ginger beer, or a tart Cranberry Kid cocktail made with vodka and cranberry syrup.  There’s also the Pear-Fect, which doesn’t sound like it’s a winter cocktail – it’s a gin drink with pear liqueur and lemon juice – but the Honest John lemongrass and cardamom bitters make it taste almost like a Moscow Mule or a gin cocktail with mulling spices.