one of my number one must-haves at a party is a signature cocktail. you can get away with a simple offering of beer and wine if you have one. but make a lot of it because, if it's good, some guests will stick with it the entire night. i've been scrambling to line up our cocktails for this week. i want something original, but festive. i mashed up a few recipes and came up with this, a cold peppermint hot chocolate! sounds crazy but it worked.

ingredients:

-

partida blanco tequila

- peppermint schnaps

-

amarula cream

- hot cocoa mix

- your favorite milk (i usually go with an almond for cocktails)

- sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg garnish

steps:

1. pour 1 oz of each ingredient into a small saucepan (add an oz. or two of the milk for a weaker version) and heat for 4-5 minutes on low.

2. while your ingredients are warming up, rim your glass with flavored sugar. i found this festive gingerbread sugar at

old town spice merchant

that i mentioned in

my post yesterday

.

3. once your ingredients are warm, add in the hot cocoa mix and stir until dissolved. add to a shaker and pop in the freezer.

4. after about 20 minutes, everything should be cooling off, now you can add some ice in the shaker, shake it up, and serve! top the cocktail with a little cinnamon and nutmeg.

what cocktails are you mixing up for the holidays?

[ some ingredients provided by colangelo & partners pr for consideration ]