Thanksgiving drink recipes

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it is time to start planning the most famous meal of the year. After the turkey is eaten, here are two recipes for festive holiday drinks, courtesy of Benihana:

Benihana Spiced Cranberry Mojito

This is a refreshing combination of cranberry, mint, vodka, ginger and cinnamon that is sure to spice up the holidays. Or encourage your readers to pull away from the stove and enjoy one handcrafted by a Benihana master mixologist!

Ingredients:

• 5 oz. Spiced Cranberry Mojito Pre-Mix
• ½ oz. Cointreau
• 6 mint leaves
• 10 thawed (previously frozen) cranberries
• 3 dashes McCormick’s Cinnamon Sugar
• 1 mint sprig
• splash of soda water

Spiced Cranberry Mojito Pre-mix:

• Combine the following and store until needed:
• 24 oz. Grey Goose vodka
• 3 oz. simple syrup
• 6 oz. Island Oasis Sour mix
• 30 oz. Ocean Spray cranberry Juice
• 10 slices of ginger

To make:

• Muddle thawed cranberries, mint and Cointreau
• Add Spiced Cranberry Mojito Pre-Mix and three dashes of cinnamon sugar
• Add ice and shake
• Pour into Poco Grande glass
• Top off with splash of soda water
• Garnish with mint sprig and enjoy!

Hot Spiced Wine

Red wine and kirsch (a brandy made from cherries) are the base for this delicious seasonal drink, which is laced with citrus and warming spices like cinnamon, cardamom and black pepper.

Ingredients:

• 2 bottles light-bodied red wine
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• Zest of 1 orange
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 3 black peppercorns, crushed
• 2 cardamom pods, crushed
• One 3-inch cinnamon stick, crushed
• 1 clove, crushed
• 1/2 cup kirsch

To make:

• In a large saucepan, combine the red wine with the sugar and the orange and lemon zests.
• Put the spices in a tea ball and add to the saucepan.
• Bring the wine to a very slow simmer over moderate heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
• Remove from the heat, discard the tea ball and stir in the kirsch.
• Ladle the spiced wine into heatproof glasses and serve at once.
• The spiced wine can be kept overnight at room temperature. Reheat before serving.