Six Satisfying Thanksgiving Cocktails

Rather than fretting over what wine is best to pair with your turkey Thursday, why not try something different? Have a cocktail.

Mixed drinks can incorporate flavors of the season, such as cranberry, which makes a great-before dinner drink. Or how about a pumpkin cocktail instead of that pie everyone's already too full to enjoy?

If you're having a large group over, considering making a punch, which can be prepared ahead of time, said Jamie Boudreau, a bartender based in Seattle who has a Web program, "Raising the Bar," on the Small Screen Network. But if you have a smaller group and want to mix individual drinks, those with a lighter alcohol percentage will pair better with your turkey or ham.

Below are some recipes from Boudreau, as well as other mixologists to help celebrate Thanksgiving:

Harvest Punch from Julie Reiner, of Clover Club and Flatiron Lounge in New York City

Reiner made this punch a few Thanksgivings ago, and it was such a hit that she added it to fall menu of her bar, Clover Club. She says that dark rum and cognac is a classic punch combo. You can make it up to 24 hours ahead of when you want to serve it.

Peel of 1 lemon
5 barspoons Sugar Cane Syrup
5 ounces Bacardi 8
5 ounces Mulled Apple Cider*
5 ounces Courvoisier VS
2.5 ounces fresh lemon juice
2.5 ounces Licor 43
1.25 ounces Coruba Jamaican Rum
Apple slices

*Mulled Cider
1 gallon fresh apple cider
20 cinnamon sticks
20 Whole cloves
20 whole cardamom pods
20 whole allspice
4 whole nutmeg
Peel of 2 orange (no white pith)
1/4 cup brown sugar

Make the mulled cider first. Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and gently simmer for 45 minutes. Let cool, then strain. Chill in the refrigerator before using. Muddle the lemon peel into the syrup. Combine the cider with the other ingredients, strain and serve over ice, garnishing with cinnamon and apple wheels.

Apple Pie on the Rocks from Victoria Matovich, general manager at Mari Vanna in New York City

This cocktail uses apple-infused vodka, which is easy to make at home. If you don't want to infuse your own vodka (or don't have enough time), a store-bought brand will work as well.

1 ½ ounce Frangelico
1 ½ ounce apple vodka
Splash of apple juice or cider
Slice of apple
Cinnamon stick

If you're making your own vodka, cube four green apples and put them in a liter of vodka, and let infuse for about a week in a cool, dark area of your kitchen. For maximum flavor, it's alright to leave the apples in the vodka for three to four weeks.

To make the cocktail, mix all the ingredients and serve over ice. Garnish with slices of apple and a cinnamon stick.

Cranberry Spiced Clerico from Clif Travers, bartender at Bar Celona in Brooklyn, N.Y.

This type of Sangria makes a pitcher for a crowd, and with its beautiful red color and cranberries, also adds color to the table.

1 cup agave
3 cinnamon sticks
2 whole cloves
3 whole allspice
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
2 whole cardamom
2 green apples, cubed
2 oranges, cubed
3/4 cup whole cranberries
3 red Jalapeño peppers, seeds removed and cut in rings
2 limes, sliced
1 1/2 cup white Tempranillo wine
1 1/2 cup red Tempranillo wine
1/2 c. 100 percent cranberry juice (not cranberry cocktail)
3 ounces spiced rum
2 ounces orange liqueur
2 ounces Sherry

First, start by making the spiced Agave syrup. Combine the agave in 2 cups of water, adding the cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg and cardamom. Simmer, do not boil, for 15 minutes. Add a ½ cup of the spiced syrup to the fruit, including the jalapeno peppers, and mix well. Let it sit for one hour. Then, combine with the alcohol, stir and add ice.

Pumpkin Sherry Flip from Clif Travers, bartender at Bar Celona in Brooklyn, N.Y.

This cocktail makes a good addition to dessert, or an after-dinner drink.

¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
½ cup pureed pumpkin
2 ounces Rare Cream Sherry
1 ounce brandy
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Heavy cream

Add 1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice to 1/2 cup pureed pumpkin and stir well. Combine all the ingredients and shake well without ice. Add ice, and shake well again. Strain and serve in small sherry glasses and top with grated nutmeg.

The Witch Doctor from Jamie Boudreau

This cocktail incorporates the flavor of sage, which is found in many Thinksgiving sides.

3 oz Sauvignon Blanc
1 ½ ounce white rum
1 ½ ounce pineapple juice
½ ounce lime juice
¾ ounce simple syrup
4 sage leaves

Shake all ingredients with ice and then strain into a glass. Garnish with a safe leaf skewered into a pineapple wedge.

Prosecco and Wild Celery from Francine Stephens, of Franny's and Brooklyn Larder in Brooklyn, N.Y.

For something different try this wild celery cocktail that works well as an aperitif, and plays off the flavors found in stuffing. Many farmers markets will carry lovage - wild celery - this time of year.

Lovage infused syrup*
8-9 sprigs of lovage
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Prosecco

To make the syrup, let the sugar and water boil for about 30 seconds and then remove from heat. Crush the wild celery and add it to the hot liquid. Let sit overnight and then remove the sprigs. In a champagne flute, add ½ ounce of the lovage syrup and then fill the glass with Prosecco.