Local Orlando Mixologists Weigh In On The Spirits of the Season
Central Florida mixologists weigh in with their holiday cocktails of choice—and offer tips on perfecting your own drinks at home.
Now’s the time for everything merry and bright, including these festive cocktails that make the most of seasonal ingredients; when you want to take a break from planning holiday parties, your holiday wardrobe and finishing up your shopping, they’re a sensation for your taste buds! Ready for some inspiration in creating your own holiday drinks? The mix masters behind these concoctions have a gift for you—secrets of the trade.
COLE JOHNSON
BEVERAGE MANAGER, PATINA RESTAURANT GROUP ORLANDO
The Patina Restaurant Group oversees more than 40 restaurants across the United States in the premium segment of the hospitality industry. The group is known for its market-driven menus, modern design and décor, service culture and outstanding drink programs. “I love to get creative with classic holiday flavors, like gingerbread, cinnamon, apples and spiced pear,” says Johnson. “Anything that evokes the feelings of the season. I also like doing spins on classic holiday drinks people are already familiar with, like Coquito.”
Johnson encourages letting your creativity take over when mixing holiday cocktails. “Don’t be afraid of fl avors and ingredients you may not always work with,” he says. “And, I recommend always doing at least one mocktail in your lineup of holiday drinks. Plenty of people don’t drink alcohol for one reason or another, and still deserve to get into the festivities.”
Courtesy Patina Restaurant Group
Among Patina’s Orlando restaurants are The Edison, Maria & Enzo’s and Morimoto Asia at Disney Springs and multiple concepts in EPCOT’s Italy Pavilion— Space 220 Restaurant, Tutto Italia Ristorante, Via Napoli Ristorante E Pizzeria and Tutto Gusto.
JON BAER
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR BEVERAGE OPERATIONS, NORTH ITALIA ORLANDO
Courtesy North Italia
Diners keep returning to North Italia for its hand-crafted dishes made with passion. This extends to the brand’s cocktail program as well, which is full of warmth and creativity.
“Winter cocktails are often associated with big fl avors and warming qualities,” says Baer. “Amari are great ingredients to incorporate into winter cocktails. There is a wide range of Amari on the market these days, but they are all packed with flavors reminiscent of wintertime. We opt for Montenegro, which is a lighter style amaro featuring notes of caramel, orange zest, vanilla and clove.”
The North Coffee Cocktail, seen here, is new to North Italia’s winter menu. It’s the perfect complement to the fresh pasta dishes that North Italia is known for. Baer’s best trick for wowing guests with your winter cocktails? Stick to a preferred style of cocktail and make small adjustments to the recipe to add festive flavor. “Swapping in a flavor-infused syrup for the sweetening agent or an amaro as a modifying ingredient are great ways to make simple winter cocktails,” he says.
GINA FLORES
BARTENDER AT CALYPSO’S POOL BAR & GRILLE, INSIDE THE CARIBE ROYALE ORLANDO
An all-day retreat with imaginative frozen drinks, Latin- and Caribbean-inspired entrees and that easy-breezy feel, Calypso’s at the Caribe Royale Orlando is far beyond your typical poolside eatery. Well-thought-out cocktails is what makes them excel in this area.
Courtesy Caribe Royale
“For the holiday season, I love to work with the duo of rum and cinnamon,” says Flores. “They complement each other, blend well, strike a nice balance and create a drink that is not too sweet or too strong.”
Flores is so passionate about mixing cocktails she makes her own at home during the holiday season.
The Puerto Rican native makes traditional coquito cocktails with rum, condensed milk, evaporated milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and star anise. She boils the spices, adds additional ingredients, then blends. She sometimes makes the cocktail with a twist: strawberry, pistachio or coffee flavors.
She encourages experimentation and taking your time while crafting a sensation cocktail.
“There are so many ingredients out there,” says Flores. “You can use the basics as a foundation and then explore with different flavors, such as flowers or spices. Experiment! It will take some fails to perfect a spectacular drink.”
JAMES HUNT
MIXOLOGIST, OVIEDO PARK PUB
Oviedo Park Pub, which opened at The Food Factory in September, is one of the newest spots in town to kick back with a cold beer or great cocktail while watching your favorite sporting contest—it’s like hanging out in your den, but with a full bar.
Courtesy Oviedo Park Pub
For Hunt this season, it’s all about the cinnamon. “I love the holiday and homey aroma,” he says. “It brings comfort to an otherwise ordinary drink.” One of those drinks is the Apple Pie Old Fashioned, a centerpiece of the pub’s cocktail menu.
When crafting cocktails at home, Hunt advises leaning into aromas and out of adding too much sweetness. “A lot of people think they need to load holiday drinks up with sugar, but in reality, a lot of good holiday drinks come from the essence of the ingredients,” he says.
PAUL DETTLOFF
GENERAL MANAGER & MIXOLOGIST, EET BY MANEET CHAUHAN
Celebrity chef Maneet Chauhan is the force behind eet, the Disney Springs restaurant that takes you on an epicurean expedition through the colors and flavors of India.
Courtesy Eet By Maneet Chauhan
This passion flows through the cocktail menu, where Dettloff merges creativity with versatility. “I definitely lean toward pumpkin with the holidays,” he says. “Pumpkin just screams holiday, no matter if we are talking about Halloween, Thanksgiving, even Christmas. Also, pumpkin is so versatile when mixing with alcohol because it really goes with any spirit.”
Less is more, says Dettloff , when creating great cocktails. “You don’t always need a lot of ingredients to make a fantastic cocktail,” he says. “Also, don’t be afraid to play around with flavors. When I make cocktails, I don’t nail it on the first try.
Be prepared to adjust different measurements of ingredients; keep paper nearby to write down your changes so once you nail it, you have it in writing and don’t have to memorize it.” This month, eet launches The Great Pumpkin, made with whiskey, lemon sour and pumpkin puree.
