The tree is lit, the lights are up, and every single store you walk into has the holiday soundtrack playing. It's Christmastime in New York City!
And we know just how to make your holiday that much more merry.
Bars and mixologists across the city are pulling out all the stops to create cocktails that will have you flying high as two turtle doves this season.
So get ready to take a sleigh ride through some of the best bars serving up some festive holiday hits.
Just remember to take it slow!
1. Delilah (155 Rivington Street)
A brand new lounge and restaurant has opened up on the Lower East Side and they're wasting no time creating some Christmas cheer. The sassy and classy Delilah took over the old St. Jerome dive bar and gave it a serious facelift, just in time for the holidays.
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Mixologist Rael Petit created the signature Desert Christmas cocktail, made with Absolut Elyx vodka, Singani 63, homemade ginger syrup, lime juice and a bar spoon of all-spice dram in crushed ice with a dust of cinnamon and cloves powder. It's even garnished with a gingerbread man for extra smiles.
2. e's BAR (511 Amsterdam Avenue)
The holidays are a time to give back, and this beloved neighborhood spot is doing just that, but with a cocktail! This is part of their new charity initiative where they offer a new signature cocktail each month with 20% of the proceeds going to a worthy charity each and every time you down your drink.
For Christmas, they'll be serving up a belly-warming Christmas Cranberry Sangria to help Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, an organization looking to cure the world or epilepsy and save millions of lives. So get some Christmas karma and stop in for some sangria! We know some of you need it.
3. Boilermaker (13 First Avenue)
The tropical-themed Christmas pop-up bar Sippin' Santa's Surf Shack is taking over the Boilermaker on the Lower East Side again to bring some warmth to the NYC winter! The specialty bar will bring back its eight famous holiday cocktails through December 24th.
There's the Hot Sexy Santa, with brandy, cabernet sauvignon, cinnamon, Angostura bitters and grapefruit, and the Toboggan Nog, mixing Jamaica rum in a house pumpkin spice egg nog. Their Jingle Bell Wipe-Out, Bell's Christmas Ale and a cinnamon shot, will have you Ho-Ho-Ho'ing in no time.
4. Leyenda (221 Smith Street - Brooklyn)
This legendary cocktail hacienda in Gowanus already sports some seriously innovative cocktails, but for the holidays they're bringing back a seasonal tried and true favorite, not to mention one that will jingle your bells like none other.
Inspired by Christmas Eve in Cuba, the Buena Noche gets its kick with a hearty pour of Black Bottle Scotch and Plantation Jamaica rum, combined with a potent splash of Heering coffee liqueur and a froth of egg white. Grated nutmeg, cinnamon and an espresso bean top off this truly festive sip.
5. SideBar (118 East 15th Street)
Just east of Union Square is a spot that's taking Christmas and cocktails and literally fusing them together. Feel their unique holiday spirit with their #TrashedTree, a Christmas tree made completely of alcohol bottles, which gets lit up every night at the bar starting on December 8th.
Although it comes off as a beer-laden sports bar, this slick spot serves up some pretty colorful cocktails too. If you're looking to warm up from the winter chill, take on their Spice and Ice, with Jalepeno-infused Herradura, lemon juice and agave nectar. Take that, Frosty!
6. The Up & Up (116 MacDougal Street)
A run-down coffee house was festively flipped into a subterranean craft cocktail oasis, trimmed with turn-of-the-century decor like brown-leather banquettes and vintage wallpaper, and became a veritable gift that has been unwrapped for the West Village.
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The Up & Up is serving some seriously stiff selections like By the Fireside, with Croft 10 Year Old Port, Cafe du Monde Chicory Coffee, lemon juice, nutmeg and cinnamon. Not warm yet? Try a steaming False Witness, with Vermont-sourced Whistle Pig rye, Atlantico Reserve rum, Jägermeister and grappa.
7. Porchlight (271 11th Avenue)
You can always come home for the holidays, and that's exactly the feel when you walk into this warm and welcoming Southern-inspired watering hole. Head bartender Nick Bennett’s room-temperature libation Fireside Chat evokes the soul-warming comforts of drinking by the fireplace with the family.
Using malty Bols Genever, herbal Becherovka bitters and almond-laced amaretto with a healthy spoonful of walnut liqueur, this drink is the embodiment of 'warm and cozy.' Like many of the spot's signature sips, it’s conveniently stored on-tap and only poured into a brandy snifter upon ordering.
[Feature Image Courtesy Instagram]