Impress guests with these holiday cocktails

So Aunt Sue and Uncle Bill are chatting up your bestie at your holiday party, everyone in their Sunday best beside the holiday fire sipping on ... Pabst Blue Ribbon? Well, no, that can’t be right. Everything else is so festive, down to the garland and the reindeer headband you’re wearing. How could you have overlooked the beverages?

The season of holiday parties is here, and whether you are hosting or attending, there is a lot of pressure to make it fun — or not show up empty-handed. In a beer-centric state like Colorado, we know there will be plenty of ales and porters for pairing, but what about cocktails? Longtime Palm bartender Chad Skrbina worked with four classic cocktails at the restaurant’s third holiday mixology class and gave them a holiday twist — or a few twists, in the case of the martini — that you can add to your holiday menus to impress your guests, or show up with to steal the show.

Candy Cane Martini

Ingredients candy canes 1.5 ounce vodka 1/2 ounce peppermint schnapps 1/2 ounce white Creme de Menthe 1/2 ounce green Creme de Menthe Directions

Crush up one candy cane to garnish the glass and leave one aside for decoration. Mix the vodka, schnapps and white Creme de Menthe in your shaker. After the glass is rimmed, drop in your green Creme de Menthe then top it with your clear mixture. Your presentation will we awe-worthy. Hang the candy cane off the glass for good measure.