One of the reasons we are so fond of the festive season is the unique chance it offers us to romanticize life. To gather the people whose company we enjoy and do something special. To light all the candles, put on that Ella Fitzgerald record and put on a bit of a show for your guests. It’s a wonderful excuse to indulge and imbibe. While food is often the centerpiece and a paired wine is always appreciated, a well-curated cocktail presents a great opportunity to wow. Thankfully, we have our very own cocktail connoisseur in our midst, Daniel Toussaint from Atelier Munro House Amsterdam. We hunted him down to gather his favorites for the holiday season and talk all about how this dapper style advisor got so deep into mixology as well as his golden rules for a festive drink your guests won’t forget.

You’re obviously a style advisor now, so how did you get interested in cocktails?

Before I worked at the flagship store in Amsterdam, I used to work in a bar. The first two years, I was working behind the bar in a restaurant called Vanderveen. I was taught what I know by mainly two guys. One of them was called Nico, an Italian guy from Milan. He used to work at some really nice bars and restaurants there making cocktails, and so was very knowledgable about mixology, as you call it. He taught me the ropes of being behind the bar and the discipline you need to have a clean bar, going into the tiniest technicalities. He was really strict on me. But now I am able to appreciate what he taught me since I learned a lot and have always kept an interest because of him.

What’s your approach to cocktails when you’re making them for yourself?

Well, it depends really. You see, just how people have different sorts of favorite foods for different sorts of moods. One day you might feel a bit lazy and in the need for some comfort food. Whereas other times you’ll feel experimental and want to try something new, something a bit more complex which requires your attention to taste and appreciate it properly. I suppose, for me, the same goes for drinks. When I need my alcoholic equivalent to comfort food I’ll go for a gin and tonic. You might want to add some lime, some bitters, a sprig of rosemary perhaps, but as long as you stick with good ingredients you simply cannot go wrong with a gin and tonic.

There are so many to choose from, especially these days. Do you have a personal favorite for dinner parties?

When I have dinners with friends I usually have an aperitif with an uncomplicated drink, such as a gin and tonic, and some small bites. Then a nice glass of wine (or multiple) with dinner, and if after dessert you want to keep the party going with some more drinks, I can strongly recommend an espresso martini as your caffeinated cocktail pick. Or it’s going to be an old fashioned if I want to sip slowly with a cigar. It’s a cliché, but clichés exist for a reason. A festive party offers the opportunity to do something extra special though.

So, what’s the secret to a great festive cocktail?

I think a good festive cocktail needs to have that little bit of oomph to be able to lubricate all the personalities present and keep the party going. It should keep you in the festive mood. And I suppose a little bit of extra flavor that is associated with the festive period. You’ll see that in each of the cocktails I’ve suggested.

The first cocktail is quite festive in name and in color. Originally created in 2015 by Devis D’Ercole at Imperial Beach in Italy, it is a beautiful slow sipper to ease you into the evening. The striking red drink is a smoother variation on the very popular negroni and an aperitif to stimulate your guests’ appetites.

Glass: Serve in a chilled coupe
Garnish: Orange zest twist
How to make: Stir ingredients over ice and strain into the coupe
Ingredients:

• 30 ml Frapin VSOP Cognac
• 30 ml Dolin Rouge Vermouth
• 30 ml Campari
• 2 dashes orange bitters by Angostura

As Daniel alluded to earlier, this next cocktail is the after-dinner favorite: an espresso martini. The perfect pick-me-up after a big feast because it lifts you up with a little bit of caffeine and keeps the party going with the alcohol. This particular one is inspired by a cocktail he used to serve around Christmas where they would let patrons choose from many different flavors including one with caramel that tasted a bit like tiramisu. For something extra special, you can let your guests decide their flavored liqueur.

If you want some extra aroma, you can add chocolate bitters from Angostura too. Either in the cocktail shaker for a smoother look of the foam or afterwards. The very last step should be the garnish, in this case three coffee beans added on the surface. It comes from the traditional Italian way of serving sambuca called ‘Con la mosca’ meaning ‘with the fly’ where they represent three blessings: health, wealth and happiness – a perfect way to toast the cocktail with friends.

Glass: Serve a chilled coupe or martini glass
Garnish: Three espresso beans
How to make: Shake all ingredients over ice (hard) and fine strain into the chilled coupe.
Ingredients:

• 30-45 ml Ketel 1 Vodka
• 30 ml Kahlua coffee liqueur
• 20 ml your choice of festive flavored liqueur
• 30 ml shot of hot, freshly-made espresso
• 2 dashes cocoa bitters by Angostura

The exact moment this cocktail was created is a little lost in time but pops up throughout literature, most notably a mention of a ‘Whisky Toddy’ in Dickens ‘The Pickwick Papers’. The drink is as comforting as it sounds, which may well be because it originated as a sort of cough medicine. As explained by Daniel, “Back in the day, if you had a bit of a cold there was this recipe to help. It had alcohol to widen the blood vessels a bit and keep your blood pumping around, then lemon for some vitamin C, the hot water to unclog your nose, and honey to soothe your throat.”.

To that recipe, you can play around as much as you like. Adding more or less lemon juice, and just as with tea, you can add as much honey and therefore as much sweetness as you like too. The hot toddy that Daniel likes to make for the holidays is with a special liqueur D.O.M. Benedictine and some bitters in there too.

The garnish is the peel of almost half a lemon. If you want to make it extra festive, you can press three cloves through the peel, one on each end and one in the middle, and drop that in the drink. You can also go one step further and add a flower of star anise to the drink as well. This one is perfect for a wind down at the end of the night – the sort of thing you would drink once the numbers have dwindled to your favorite people, you’ve finished cleaning up and you retire to the fire to continue the conversation.

Serve: In a tea glass or your favorite mug
Garnish: Lemon zest peel
How to make: Build in glass or with ‘Bartender’s Au Bain Marie‘
Ingredients:

• 30 ml Bulleit Bourbon
• 15 ml D.O.M. Benedictine
• 30 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 30 ml honey (depending on how sweet you like it)
• 2 dashes angostura bitters
• 2 dashes orange bitters by Angostura
• 2 drops ‘Essential Bitters’ by Vørding