Five Ways to Drink Your Thanksgiving Dinner

Turkey…stuffing…mashed potatoes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, they’re all great, but in the ES book holidays are a time to get booze-y. But that doesn’t mean you have to give up traditional Thanksgiving flavors. These five liquor-fueled concoctions put the yay in turkey day.

1. Pumpkin Martini

We’ve been seeing this one pop up a lot lately, whether made with pumpkin spice or pumpkin syrup. At Devil’s Alley in Philadelphia, they say screw the FDA and throw some caffeine in there too. Their espresso pumpkin martini is made from Van Gogh Expresso Vodka, Bailey’s Irish Cream and pumpkin syrup. Leave pumpkin pie for the babies. (Photo by M. Edlow for GPTMC)

2. Cranberry Cocktail

We all know that frightening blob of canned cranberry sauce is gonna be left on the table at the end of the meal, right? Fortunately for cranberry lovers who want their antioxidants in a more easily digestible form, there are now several types of cranberry liquor on the market. At Patina Restaurant in LA, the turkey day menu gets washed down with “the fall cocktail” — 1½ oz. Pear Vodka, ¾ oz. Cranberry Liquor and 1 oz. Apple Juice.

3. Sweet Potato Martini

So fitting pumpkin and cranberry into the glass wasn’t actually that hard…but how to do the sweet potato? Well John Kinder, the mixologist at mk in Chicago has figured out how and we won’t lie, it ain’t easy. It starts with grilling some sweet potatoes and incorporates grain alcohol and vanilla bean along the way. Check out the full instructions on Star Chefs.

(Photo: Star Chefs)

4. Mashed Potato Beer

If you can put it in your mouth, you had better believe some home-brewing rebel has figured out a way to put it in beer. And that maxim holds true for the classic T-side of mashed potatoes. You may not have enough time to get it ready for this year, but if any of you want to check out the recipe and actually brew this up, ES will absolutely be drinking at your table next year. (Photos quinnanya and david.nikonvscannon)

5. Jagermeister Turkey

But why forgo the feast for drinks when you can just add your drinks to the feast? Yes, there is actually a recipe out there that involves basting your turkey in a sweet, spicy lather of Germany’s most frequently bombed export. With 56 herbs already in the alcohol, you don’t even need to season.

Jägermeister Roasted Turkey with Fresh Herbs

1 Fresh Turkey 13-15 lbs.

1 sweet onion cut in quarter

1 carrot peeled and chopped

1 branch of celery chopped

A bouquet of sage, parsley and marjoram

Salt and pepper

6 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 Tbsp minced lemon zest

¼ cup Jägermeister

2 carrots peeled and chopped

½ sweet onion chopped

¼ cup cornstarch stir in ¼ cup water

2 cups chicken stock

½ cup Jägermeister

Salt and pepper to taste

Fresh sage for garnish

· Preheat oven to 325?F.

· Rinse the turkey inside and out and pat dry with a paper towel. Place the onion, carrot, celery, herbs in the turkey and season inside and outside the poultry. Truss the turkey or tie the legs with kitchen string. Place breast side up on a rack in a roasting pan. Spread 2 tablespoons of the butter over the breast. In a small pan over low heat, melt the remaining butter; stir in the lemon zest, ¼ cup of water and ¼ cup of Jägermeister.

· Roast the turkey, basting with Jägermeister butter mixture every 20 minutes, until pan drippings have accumulated, then baste with the drippings. After 1½ hours, add the chopped carrots, onion to the pan and continue to roast, basting every 30 minutes. If the breast begins to over brown, cover loosely with aluminum foil. Roast until the thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh away from the bone registers 175?F, 2½ -3 hours total.

· Transfer the turkey to a cutting board, cover with foil and let rest for 30 minutes before carving.

· Skim off the fat and juices of the pan, leaving the vegetables. Set the pan over medium heat and scrape up any brown bits. Pour 1 cup of chicken stock and stir for 3 minutes. Add the corn starch mixture and the remaining chicken stock; stir until thickened. Pour Jägermeister into the pan and simmer for 1 minute. Strain the Jägermeister Gravy.

· Snip the string, carve the turkey and arrange on a warmed platter. Serve with Jägermeister gravy.

· Serve 12, without leftovers.

Find more cocktail ideas in Endless Cocktails