LOW-ALCOHOL COCKTAILS FOR SAFE HOLIDAY PARTY FUN

When hosting a holiday party, you worry

about all sorts of things: Will your various friends get along? Have you provided enough food? Is everyone entertained and happy? And that’s just for starters.

One of the things you don’t want on your mind? If your guests have gotten a little too tipsy.

Oh, sure, getting a ride home is easier than ever thanks to ride-hailing services, but there’s awayto make sure your guests are less l help over ikelytohaveahang the next day — serve up drinks low on alcohol. Beer and wine are obvious but you don’t have to rule choices, they out cocktails. Instead of spirits, can contain lower-proof options like liqueurs, amari and fortified wines and nonalcoholic components like tea and coffee. And don’t forget beer and wine as bases in mixed drinks, too.

Among the bottles to in cludeonyourholiday bar cart are the liqueurs from Texacello, a Dripping Springs distillery that produces

the likes of Paula’s Texas Grapefruit, Lemon and Orange as well as the new Martine Honeysuckle Liqueur. The head of the company behind Texa

cello — one of the state’s oldest booze mak- ers, now owned by the Austin-based Empresario Brands — says he has noticed a shift toward lower-alcohol drinks, particularly in constantly on-the-go Austin. Gary Kelleher, the mastermind behind Martine in particular, is all too happy to be making some of the liqueurs that star in these cocktails.

“I would say the culture, especially in Austin, is going in that direction of low alcohol because we all have so many places we have to go, so many events,” he says. “As much as everybody loves punches and as big as punches were not long ago, they tend to be high ABV in general. You can’t drink that much punch, and it can shorten the life of the party. So, instead, there are things in the marketplace aside from cocktails, like ciders and some of the ready-to-drink stuff, that are lower ABV.”

Paula’s Texas Orange, the first of the Texacello liqueurs, was originally created to be an accompaniment in the quintessential Texas drink: the margarita. But each of the liqueurs is endlessly versatile and can just as easily be the dominant ingredient in a recipe. They pair well with wine, tea, fruit juice — you name it. The low-alcohol Roman Holiday, featur

ing Paula’s Texas Grapefruit and Campari, is

ARIANNA AUBER / AMERICAN-STATESMAN The liqueurs of local booze company Texacello, such as Paula’s Texas Grapefruit and Martine Honeysuckle Liqueur, are low in alcohol and thus perfect for making drinks for holiday parties.

CONTRIBUTED BY NICOLE FRANZEN Every holiday party should have some kind of punch, and “Day Drinking” author Kat Odell suggests glühwein, a hot spiced wine that you can make in a large batch.