Winter season is upon us and that means hardier cocktails are very much in style. Whiskey drinks are popular all year, but especially now, when customers may want something a bit stronger to help warm them up in these chillier months. Here are 8 new and creative whiskey cocktails to try out:

The Phoenix (pictured atop)

1 ½ oz. Buffalo Trace bourbon
½ oz. Maple syrup
½ oz. Orange juice
¼ oz. Balsamic vinegar
¾ oz. Smoked fig preserves*

Combine ingredients and shake. Double strain into Old Fashioned glass over new ice.

* Smoked fig preserves are made using a preserves thinned with water and smoked. Strain to remove the seeds.

Brad Miller, spirits director/assistant general manager of Daniel’s Broiler in Bellevue, WA, created this recipe.

Man Candy

Man Candy.

1 oz. Slow & Low Rock and Rye
1 oz. Brandy
1 oz. Mint-infused simple syrup
Several spritzes of funky Jamaican rum

Add mint syrup, Slow and Low and brandy to a rocks glass with crushed ice. Give a quick stir. Top off with additional crushed ice and spritz the top with several sprays of Jamaican rum as a floater. Garnish with a healthy sprig of mint.

Trevor Landry, beverage director for NL Group, created this cocktail for Cedar Grove Bar in Dallas.

The Mayor’s Lament

1 ½ oz. Rittenhouse 100 Proof rye
1 oz. Nardini Amaro
Generous six dashes of Regan’s orange bitters
Another six dashes of Woodford Reserve spiced cherry bitters
2-3 Dashes of Peychaud’s bitters

The mixologists at from The 404 Kitchen in Nashville created this recipe.

Kentucky 95

1 oz. Bourbon
¾ oz. Simple syrup
½ oz. Fresh lemon juice
1 oz. Fresh orange juice
Cold sparkling wine
Orange slice

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Add the bourbon, simple syrup, lemon and orange juice. Shake for 10 seconds. Strain into a white wine glass over ice and top off with sparkling wine. Garnish with orange slice.

Chef Bobby Flay created this recipe for the Kentucky Derby.

Foxtail

Foxtail.

1 ½ oz. Swift single malt whiskey
¾ oz. Lime juice
½ oz. St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
¼ oz. Honey syrup

Pour ingredients into a shaker with ice. Shake and strain in to a Nick & Nora or Martini glass.
Garnish with a lime wheel.

The mixologists at Swift Distillery created this recipe.

Merit Badge

1 ½ oz. Bourbon
1 ½ oz. Chai coconut milk
½ oz. Amaro Cio Ciaro
½ oz. Creme de Cacao
Orange wedge

Add all ingredients to shaker, squeeze juice from orange wedge. Shake briefly and strain into rocks glass. Top with crushed ice and garnish with orange slice.

Meaghan Dorman of The Raines Law Room in New York created this recipe.

Dirty Boots

Dirty Boots.

1 ½ parts Hudson New York corn whiskey
1 part Coconut water
¾ part Orgeat syrup
½ part Lime juice
2 dashes Aromatic bitters to taste

Add ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously to chill, then strain over cracked/pebble ice in a Collins/tall glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

The mixologists at Hudson Whiskey created this recipe.

Porching

1 ½ oz. Templeton rye
2 ½ oz. Argo Carolina honey tea
½ oz. Demerara syrup
½ oz. Fresh lemon juice
2 dashes Angostura orange bitters

Shake all ingredients gently over ice and strain over fresh ice in a highball glass. Garnish with a mint sprig.

The mixologists at the Commissioner’s Bar, at Pier A Harbor House in New York, created this recipe.

For our next issues, Cheers is looking for innovative and original recipes using sparkling wine or beer in cocktails. If you have interesting and applicable cocktail recipes, please email editor Melissa Dowling at mdowling@epgmediallc.com. Please specify ingredient quantities (oz., tsp., etc.).