Let’s face it: Drinking cocktails throughout your Thanksgiving dinner is not a good idea. Unless, of course, you have no intention of making it to dessert.
But there’s always room for bookends, and they may as well channel the classic flavors that are bound to grace your kitchen next week—like rosemary, which makes a starring appearance in the bourbon- and ginger-spiked Weathered Axe. Or sage and pear, which tag-team it in the light and refreshing Saisonnière. There’s also our go-to holiday Whiskey Sour riff, The Ruffian, which leans in on another fruit-and-herb combo—thyme and apples—along with some fire from the double threat that is rye and absinthe, which, in our world, are also classic Thanksgiving flavors.
The Overlook‘s Douglas Fir Eau de Vie and gin offer a holiday sensory explosion of juniper and pine aromatics and a hit of cinnamon syrup, while the Treasure Chest sees our go-to holiday grape—gamay—warmed up with chai-infused sherry and cinnamon syrup for what drinks like a lovechild of mulled wine and Lambrusco. And lest we forget the cranberry: In Xavier Herit’s Adam and Eve, apple cider is kicked up with a cran-apple shrub and paired with a duo of winter-ready ingredients: calvados and sherry.
Lastly, for those who need to be shaken out of that inevitable food coma, there’s Portland’s signature drink, the Spanish Coffee. While it’s generally set on fire before being topped with coffee and Grand Marnier-scented cream, the holidays carry a high potential for disaster by way of everything from electric turkey carving knives to drunk relatives, so feel free to save the pyrotechnics for another day. Or don’t—after all, nothing says consummate host like a flaming mug of rum.
