We have come up with some of the best low-alcohol drinks for you this holiday season. You will see a common theme with most of them containing vermouth. This is because vermouth is not necessarily a spirit, but a fortified wine. It is a lot less proof than a spirit but still a little higher than your traditional wine. When adding mixes and ice to vermouth, you can go from a 15%-18% proof drink to an 8%-10% proof. 

Low-alcohol drinks are perfect for those who want to be mindful of their drinking around family and friends, but still want to have a nice cocktail during the party.

Today we will go through these 6 drinks:

1. Poor Richard Punch 

2. Roman Holiday Cocktail 

3. Low-Alcoholic Manhattan 

4. Hot Winter Cider

5. Peppermint hot Chocolate

6. Christmas Mimosa

Let’s jump into what you’ll need and how to make these delicious drinks. 

Low-alcoholic Drinks 

1. Poor Richard Punch 

The Poor Richard drink is a light drink that is perfect for any holiday party. Made with cranberry juice, vermouth, lemon juice, and dry cider, this punch is straightforward to make. 

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce of Italian red vermouth

• ½ ounce lemon juice, strained

• ½ ounce of cranberry juice

• 3 ½ ounces dry cider to top

Garnish

• Nutmeg

All you have to do is combine all of the ingredients together and pour over ice into a nice glass of your choice! Make it fancy.

2. Roman Holiday Cocktail 

What can we say, “Holiday” is in its name. Another light drink perfect for the holidays if you want to watch your alcohol intake. You will need a shaker and a muddler for this one, though. 

Ingredients:

• 8 mint leaves, plus sprig for serving

• ½ ounce simple syrup

• 1-ounce Averna Amaro Siciliano

• 1-ounce Italian sweet vermouth 

• ¾ ounce fresh lemon juice

• Lemon wedge 

For this one, we will start with muddling. You will start by muddling the mint leaves and simple syrup in the bottom of 1/2 of the shaker tin. You will then need to add all of the liquids and ice before capping and shaking it for about 30 seconds, or until the shaker gets frosty and cold. Once chilled, you will strain it into a glass filled with ice. You can garnish with the lemon wedge and mint leaf if preferred. 

3. Low-alcoholic Manhattan 

This is for those who love Manhattans, or at least the look of a Manhattan. Incorporating more vermouth in this drink than whisky allows the drink to be low in alcohol. As the vermouth gets diluted with the other mixes, it becomes the perfect low-alcoholic manhattan for anyone.

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce sweet vermouth

• ½ ounce dry vermouth

• ¾ ounces rye whisky

• ¾ ounces amontillado sherry

• 2 dashes of bitters

An effortless drink to make, you will want to mix all of the ingredients together in a mixing cup with ice and stir until chilled. After, find yourself a martini glass and strain adding a lemon peel for garnish if desired.  

4. Hot Winter Cider 

Warm up with this hot winter cider, perfect for curling up on the couch and watching a movie or for a girl’s holiday night. 

Ingredients:

• ¾ ounce Jack Daniels Winter Jack 

• ½ ounce sweet vermouth

• 4 ounces of apple cider

• 1 cinnamon stick per drink

Heat cider with cinnamon sticks for 2-4 minutes, add to mug and stir in Jack Daniels and sweet vermouth. Let ingredients steep together for 2 minutes before drinking. 

5. Peppermint Hot Chocolate

A staple of the holiday season is HOT CHOCOLATE! And who doesn’t like hot chocolate? Of course, there are many takes on this staple, but we want to spice it up with a little peppermint schnapps today. A key note here is to make sure you grab the 30-proof schnapps and no higher. 

Ingredients

• Your favorite Hot coco mix

• 1-ounce Peppermint Schnapps (30 proof, 15% ABV)

• Marshmallows (for topping)

Making this drink is easy! It may take more time if you decide to make your own hot chocolate from scratch, but if you are in a hurry, a hot chocolate packet will work just fine. In a saucepan, warm up your preferred milk and add your hot chocolate mix. Pour your mix into a nice holiday mug, add in your peppermint schnapps, stir it all together, and don’t forget to top it off with marshmallows!

6. Christmas Mimosa

Our take on the popular mimosa is not too different from the original. For this, you’ll be adding pomegranate juice along with orange juice to create a festive drink. Glasses to me make a world of difference, so having a cute set of champagne flutes would come in clutch for these!

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces pomegranate juice

• 2 ounces orange juice

• 2 ounces prosecco or champagne

Garnish 

• Cranberries and rosemary sprig

You’ll want to find a champagne flute and add in the pomegranate and orange juice first. Next, you will want to tilt your glass over a bit to pour in the champagne or prosecco. Finally, garnish with a mini rosemary sprig and cranberries.

Final Thoughts 

Low alcoholic drinks allow you to be mindful and attentive during the holidays with family and friends. This is not a green light to drink as many as you can, but 1-3 of these low-alcoholic drinks will be best if you are trying to be present and in-control during the holidays.