You can create special holiday cocktails with seasonal ingredients—cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, peppermint.

But you can add a touch of red and green to Martinis and Margaritas as well.

Here, some suggestions to get you thinking about holiday cocktail garnishes.
 
 
OPENING THOUGHTS

If you want a red and green motif, cruise the aisles of the produce section, or start with these lists.

We don’t like to use raw cranberries. They just become detritus in the glass: No one eats them. (Some people enjoy chewing on citrus peel and mint leaves and other herbs, so we give them a pass.)

It’s the same with cinnamon sticks: They make a great impression, but they’re expensive and just end up in the trash.

Instead, use the lists below to create pleasing combinations (see photo #5 for an easy favorite).
 
 
FRUIT GARNISHES:

RED FRUIT GARNISHES

Our favorites:

 
Starfruit, which is yellow and provides perfect star slices, is a natural holiday garnish (photo #4).

Other options, like red apples and pears, are more white than red; blood orange, unless you segment it, contributes its orange peel.

Watermelon, although it can be cut into stars, simply isn’t seasonal.

You can add dried cranberries to a clear drink.
Pick bite (a snack bite on a cocktail pick): alternating red and green grapes.
 
 
GREEN FRUIT GARNISHES

 
Not great: green apples (too much white), honeydew (too light, not seasonal).

 
 
VEGETABLE GARNISHES:

RED VEGETABLE GARNISHES

 
Now, on to the veggies.
 
 
GREEN VEGETABLE GARNISHES

Sure, you can use green olives; but how about a sugar snap pea in your Martini instead?

Savory cocktails can be dressed up with:

 
Too pale green: celery, cucumber, endive, zucchini.
 
Pick snack: For a fancy bite, make a pick of cherry tomatoes, ciliegine (bite-size mozzarella balls) and a bit of basil.
 
 
BEYOND FRUITS & VEGETABLES

Glass Rimmers

Check out, from yesterday’s tip: colored sugar and salt glass rimmers (photo #3).

Mini Candy Canes

If they work with the drink, mini candy canes are a fun touch.

Drinking Straws

Instead of a garnish, or in addition to it, consider red-and-white striped straws. They add a “candy cane” touch. You can alternate with green and white versions.
 
 
MORE IDEAS

Also see these articles on cocktail garnishes:

[2] Elegant garnishing for a Martini or other light-colored drink (photo courtesy Style Me Pretty).

[3] Another option for pomegranate arils: on the bottom of the glass (photo courtesy Trendhunter).

[4] The perfect holiday cocktail garnish: a slice of starfruit (carambola,
photo courtesy STKLA).

[5] Another elegant cocktail garnish: spear a raspberry with a sprig of rosemary or thyme (photo courtesy ).

[6] With the right flavor of cocktail, a mini candy cane is fun (here’s the recipe from Mantitlement).

[2] A full rim covering just the top of the glass, with two different seasonings: half salt, half Tajin (at Alma Cocina Latina | Baltimore).

[3] A Thai Margarita rimmed with a blend of black lava salt and hibiscus leaves (at Miro Kitchen | Fairfield, Connecticut).

[4] A Magic Shell rim (at Gordon Ramsay Group).

[5] A celery salt rim on a Bloody Mary (at Pompeian | Facebook) A current favorite is Tajin seasoning.

[6] A tin of Lemon Drop cocktail rimmer (photo © The Party Source).

Make your cocktails more interesting with cocktail glass rimmers. The original cocktail glass rimmer, as far as we know, was the coarse salt on a Margarita glass in 1948. According to Margarita history, it was created in 1948, adapting a long-standing Mexican tradition of a shot of tequila served with a lime wedge and salt.

With the Margarita, the salt rim was visually appealing and added flavor to the drink. Maybe—we can’t find data to substantiate—someone put celery salt on a Bloody Mary rim (photo #5); but the practice was not widespread.

Why it took so long for other glass rims to emerge is anyone’s guess. But some 15 years ago, we first noticed a product called a glass rimmer at the annual specialty food show.

The pioneers were Stirrings and Nantucket Offshore, manufacturers of premium cocktail ingredients. Others followed (you can see them on Amazon.com).

Shallow round tins (photo #6) contained different savory or sweet blends for popular drinks: Bloody Mary, Cosmopolitan, Lemon Drop, and so on.

The rim of the cocktail glass was moistened and twisted in the tin to coat it. Non-cocktail rimmers for hot chocolate and other drinks followed.

Bartenders noticed; and over the years, creative mixologists proceeded to elevate glass rimmers into an art—owing largely to the accessibility of unusual ingredients, from black lava salt to hibiscus leaves.

The rim can be as minimal or deep as the mixologist desires (compare photos #1, #2, and #3).

The most recent evolution is half- or three-quarter rims, which give the drinker the option to partake of the rim seasoning or not.

March 24th is National Cocktail Day.
 
 
MIX AND MATCH RIMS

As you peruse the lists below, consider combining ingredients; for example:

 
You can make the rims seasonal—for example, orange zest and black lava salt for Halloween, and crushed candy canes for the holidays.

The variations are endless, and give you the creativity to layer the flavors you want.
 
 
SAVORY COCKTAIL RIMS

 
 
SWEET COCKTAIL RIMS

 
 
NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINKS

You can use rims on other drinks, for example:

 
 
HOW TO ADHERE THE RIM

Beyond the original adherent—water—mixologists now add another layer of flavor using flavorful adherents.

Orange juice, lemon juice, or other juice (apple, mango, pomegranate, vegetable, you name it) can substitute for water.

For sweet cocktails, the rim can be affixed with honey, maple syrup, or simple syrup (sugar syrup), among other syrups.

For dessert cocktails, you can use caramel or chocolate sauce, even marshmallow cream (we’ve enjoyed a particularly calorie-packed Piña Colada with a rim of marshmallow cream and toasted coconut).

The next time you pour a cocktail at home, first add a rim. Put the adherent liquid in a shallow bowl, and the rimming ingredient (herbs, sugar, etc.) on a saucer.

Dip the glass into the liquid about 1/4 inch deep (or however deep you want the rim).

Then, just place the glass on the dish with the ingredients, and twist to coat.

You’re now an expert rimmer of drinks!
 
 

Do you garnish your cocktails with the same wedge of lime or orange wheel, curl, peel or twist? The same olives and cocktail onions? The same notched strawberry on the rim? The standard celery stick in a Bloody Mary?

Expand your garnish horizons. Presentation is everything; and while no one would turn away an ungarnished cocktail, clever garnishing makes it that much more appealing.

Today we take on general garnishes. Tomorrow: glass rims. After that: holiday garnishes.

FOR STARTERS

 
And while it doesn’t need to be said, we’re saying it:

 
 
LIST OF COCKTAIL GARNISHES

We’ve been playing with different ideas for years. Here’s our master list (and we don’t claim that it’s all-inclusive):

 
 
Have we left off your favorite? Let us know.

Tomorrow: glass rimmers.

[2] Pair tasty combinations; here, mango and jalapeño (photo courtesy Tanqueray | Facebook).

[3] Oil droplets add panache and flavor (photo courtesy Kindred Restaurant | NYC).

[4] Combine two or three different items; here, a cucumber ribbon and grapes (photo Oscar Wilde Restaurant | NYC).

[4] Create mini hors d’oeuvre on a pick (photo courtesy Crate And Barrel.

[1] Dry Soda’s holiday packaging looks great in a stocking or on the bar (photo Dry Sparkling).

[2] Artisan hot sauce with great—not just hot—flavor (photo Horseshoe Brand).

[3] We love this limited edition of Lindt’s Lindor Truffles (photo Lindt USA).

Honey Gummies, made with honey instead of sugar or HFCS, are a step up (photo Lovely Candy).

Stocking stuffers, teacher gifts, small thank-you’s: Here are some favorites this holiday season, in alphabetical order.
 
 
1. DRY SODA: HOLIDAY FLAVORS IN HOLIDAY PACKAGING

Novices and experts alike have faced down a sheet of cookies with burnt bottoms, wondering whether to:

 
Recently, we heard of a much better solution: Use your microplane to shave or grate away the burned part!

And, we picked up a side tip from professional chef Gemma Stafford: This works on burned biscuits and scones too (duh to us!). Read the rest of her suggestions at BiggerBolderBaking.com.
 
 
7 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR COOKIES FROM BURNING

Cookies burn because they get too much heat from the bottom heating element in the oven. This is why a middle rack is always the best option.

There are a number of ways to protect the cookie bottoms.

1. Use a convection oven. If you have the option, the convection fan distributes the heat more evenly.

2. Use an oven thermometer. If your cookies often burn on the bottom, check the heat with an oven thermometer. It will tell you if your oven is calibrated properly. If not, adjust the baking temperature accordingly.

If you still have the oven manual, check for instructions on how to recalibrate.
 
Before The Cookies Go Into The Oven

3. Bake the cookies on the middle rack. The temperature is highest there, but the bottom of the pan is away from the bottom heating element.

When you need to bake two sheets at the same time, you can’t avoid the bottom rack. But pay special attention to those cookies, which will bake faster than the upper rack. You may need to remove them earlier.

4. Use a heavy, light-colored (silvery) aluminum cookie sheet, ideally with no rim. Dark cookie sheets promote browning; sheets with rims block the air circulation to the tops of the cookies, so the tops cook more slowly while the bottoms cook at a normal pace.

If it’s time to replace or add to your cookie sheets, consider an insulated cookie sheet. It’s built with a layer of air between the top and bottom, giving your cookies protection from the oven’s lower heating element. Farberware, Nordicware and other brands make them.

5. Use parchment paper. Lining the pan with parchment paper provides more insulation (and for delicate items like meringues and macarons, it helps with uniform baking).

6. Use a silicone liner. This is especially important if your cookie sheet is thin (another reason to pay a bit more for professional-quality bakeware). Otherwise, try this trick: Stack another thin cookie sheet under the sheet with the cookies, to provide more protection from the oven’s heating element.

[2] No one will ever know you scorched the bottoms (photo courtesy Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board).

[3] Whether delicate or robust (like chocolate chip), cookie bottoms can burn (photo courtesy Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board).

7. Set the timer for the lower end of the baking range. Check the cookies when it rings. If your cookies still need some baking time, stand watch over them and check them in another few minutes.