Holiday Whiskey Punch Recipe

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Last Updated on February 6, 2024 by Leah Hall

A great Holiday Whiskey Punch, perfect for a crowd at a festive party!

With the holidays quickly approaching, having good punch bowl cocktails in hand can make your next holiday get-together a big hit with your guests. Historically punches have been a center piece of a party, evoking images of some crazy combination of cloyingly sweet fizzy beverages and orange sherbet, but there is a rise of craft cocktails and prohibition era drinks now.

The classic big punch bowls are making a return, as well! So this holiday whiskey punch cocktail is perfect for the holidays! Plus, a punch makes it easier to serve guests unlike making individual cocktail recipes all day like our Christmas Old Fashioned or Gingersnap.

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Holiday Whiskey Punch

Serving a elegant punch like this Holiday Whiskey Punch will not only impress your guests with a flavorful honey simple syrup, but it also will make hosting a breeze! You can make most of this punch recipe ahead of time and let your guest serve themselves, leaving you to enjoy the party!

Spicy and elegantly complex, the Holiday Honey Punch avoids being overly sweet.Try some other honey themed cocktails with our Hot Honey Bee’s Knees and Barenjager Bee’s Knees.

Ingredients Needed for the Holiday Whiskey Punch

• Whiskey – we used a local whiskey, a single malt. But, whatever whiskey you use, make sure it has some hints of vanilla and caramel. The natural sweetness of the whiskey will compliment the aromatic spices in the spiced honey syrup and tartness of the citrus.  Some brands we suggest would be Maker’s Mark 46, Angel’s Envy or Woodford Reserve.  Just use your favorite whiskey if you want to.
• Blood Orange Bitters – we used Stirrings Blood Orange bitters. But, if you can’t get those, a mix of Angostura Aromatic bitters and orange bitters will work well.
• Honey Spice Simple Syrup – we make this spiced honey simple syrup with mulling spices to give a great mulled flavor to the recipe. The spiced honey simple syrup is the key to this punch, as the flavors and aroma of the syrup feel warm and welcoming, like a great holiday hug. We started out with a wonderful wildflower honey which is steeped with mulling spices, imparting rich aromatic cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and allspice flavors into the honey syrup.  If you prefer you can make your own mulling spice, you can. Try another spiced cocktail with our Spiced Gin Punch, too.
• Orange Juice – as always, fresh squeezed is best! Then you need to strain out the pulp with a fine-mesh strainer. But, if you can’t do that, make sure to use some pulp free orange juice. 
• Lemon Juice – again, fresh lemon juice is best!
• Prosecco – We used an Italian Prosecco for this recipe. But, you can use your favorite brand. We used a drier prosecco as not to sweeten the whiskey punch too much. This adds some fizz!

How to Make this Whiskey Punch

Combining the classic flavors of whiskey, citrus and spice, topped with Prosecco to add fizz, this punch brings back the nostalgic feeling of old fashioned holiday parties. It uses fresh citrus to bring just the right amount of tart brightness, perfect for sipping on with savory appetizers or holiday treats alike.

No cocktail shaker needed for this cocktail. Simply make sure you have juices ready to go, and you can make this recipe quickly and easily. Combine everything in a large pitcher or in a big punch bowl and it will be the centerpiece of your celebration!

Once everything is mixed up, we topped the punch with a sweet Italian Prosecco which adds a nice effervescent sweetness that helps unlock the aromas of the citrus and spices. If you are making it in advance of serving it, wait to add the Prosecco until you are ready to serve, as not to lose the bubbles.

Also, don’t add ice until right before serving. Just keep it in the fridge to chill. It is easier to chill it in a pitcher than a large bowl in the fridge, and then pour punch into your serving bowl. Don’t let it sit at room temperature.

Tips & Tricks

• Chill – we recommend making sure all your ingredients are chilled before mixing up this whiskey punch. This will help keep the cocktail cold, as well as making it taste better, longer. You can make it ahead of time and store it in the fridge to keep it cool, just don’t add the Prosecco until you are ready to start ladling up punch cups.
• Garnishes – we love a good star anise floating in our punch cup, or even a cinnamon stick. But, you could add some cloves, orange slices, orange wheels or lemon slices and more to the punch. As well as to the punch cups when serving, too. Gives a festive touch. If you want a super fancy garnish, try our Sugared Cranberries!
• Ice – if you want to use ice in the recipe, we advise using some flavored ice cubes or ice ring. This is to make sure the punch doesn’t get watered down. Simply make the cubes or ring with a mixture of lemon juice and orange juice, or half water and half lemon or orange juice. You can even make these more festive by adding cranberries, slices of orange or lemon, or even sprigs of rosemary.
• Glassware – obviously, if you have a punch, you will probably serve it in a punch bowl with punch cups. But, if you don’t have these tiny cups with a 4-6 ounce serving size, you can use cocktail coupes, lowballs (small rocks glasses) or small tumblers which make some great individual cocktails.
• Sweetener – if you aren’t interested in using honey for the spiced honey syrup, you can switch it out with maple syrup to make maple spiced syrup. Just use the same amount of honey in the recipe below.
• Mocktail – you can make this recipe without alcohol, for those not imbibing or for the kids. Simply leave out the whiskey, use some strong black tea, or use a non-alcoholic whiskey. Then add everything else (you can skip the bitters if you are making it completely alcohol free), and instead of the Prosecco, use ginger ale, club soda or sparkling white grape juice. Serve in a large punch bowl or large pitcher.
• Whiskey – we suggested some great whiskies above to use. Or, if you are a whiskey lover, use your favorite for this whiskey punch recipe. You could use anything from an Irish whiskey to Jim Beam, to Scotch.
• Fruit Juices – if you want to switch up flavors a little and add some tropical flavor to this holiday punch, you can add some pineapple juice or citrus juice like blood orange or lime juice. You could even use clementine juice or apple cider if you are so inclined.
• Bitters – if you can’t find the blood orange bitters, then Angostura bitters work well, too. Or add in a dash of 2 of orange bitters with the Angostura.

If You Are Looking for More Holiday Recipes, Try These!

• Berry Bites
• Holiday Berry Sparkler
• Caramel Green Apple Cocktail
• Salted Butterscotch Eggnog
• Cranberry Orange Shrub
• Mistletoe Martini
• Rosemary’s Pear

If You Are Looking for More Champagne Cocktails, Try These!

• Tropical Rum Punch
• Pomegranate French 75
• Carrot Ginger Mimosa
• French 75
• Bridgerton Champagne Punch
• Thanksgiving Honey Punch

Cheers!

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Like this recipe? Try these below, too!

20 Cocktails to get your Christmas Party Started

Drunken Apple Pie Milkshake

Other Holiday Whiskey Punch Recipes

• Bourbon Holiday Punch – Daily Appetite
• Sparkling Whiskey Citrus Punch – The Ranger’s Daughter
• Citrus Whiskey Tea Punch – Vintage Kitty

Continue to Content

Yield: 1

Holiday Honey Punch - A Whiskey Cocktail

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

A fantastic party cocktail for a crowd. Great holiday flavors and spices with whiskey, honey, orange and whiskey.

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Ingredients

For the Holiday Honey Punch

• 1 bottle Single Malt Whiskey
• 1 ounce Blood Orange Bitters
• 2 cups Honey Spice Simple Syrup
• 6 ounces freshly squeezed Orange Juice
• 1 bottle Prosecco
• 17 ounces Lemon Juice or juice of 12 lemons

Instructions

For the Punch

Place the whiskey, lemon and orange juices, bitters and honey spice syrup into a punch bowl.

Stir until well mixed.

Top with the prosecco just before serving.

Add ice ring or large ice cubes. You can also float orange and lemon slices and star anise for garnish.

Serve in punch cups.

Cheers!

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Pure Raw Honey
• 
  Tupperware Jel-Ring, Jello Mold, Ice Ring in Mint/Red by Tupperware
• 
  Libbey Selene 10-piece Punch Bowl Set
• 
  Stirrings Blood Orange Cocktail Bitters, 12 Ounce Bottle

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

20

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 292Total Fat: 0.1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 32mgCarbohydrates: 49.2gFiber: 0.3gSugar: 20.3gProtein: 0.3g

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