‘Tis the season for eating and drinking, but if you’re trying to cut down on the booze or maintain an alcohol-free lifestyle, the holidays can be challenging.

Recently, I’ve been experimenting with mocktails and cannabis-infused beverages to satisfy my need to treat myself with something tasty served in a fancy glass. I’ve tried all sorts of non-alcoholic concoctions, and I even made my first batch of cannabis-infused bitters. Some of my experiments turned out pretty tasty, so I thought I would pass along a few of my favorites.

You can make infused holiday cocktails with either CBD or THC tincture. Alternatively, you can mix CBD and THC tinctures in different ratios until you find your favorite combination of effects.

But before we get to the recipes, here’s how to make a simple cannabis tincture.

Making Cannabis Tinctures

 and Infused Bitters

You can always use dispensary-bought tinctures. But if you’re a do-it-yourselfer like me, you’ll probably want to make your own. Creating homemade tinctures will also allow you to add other ingredients for flavored tinctures and infused bitters.

The easiest way to create a tincture is to extract the cannabinoids with alcohol. However, you can also make tinctures with vegetable glycerin if you want to avoid alcohol altogether.

Materials:

• High-THC cannabis or CBD hemp flower
• Grain alcohol or high-proof vodka
• Citrus rinds and assorted herbs (for flavored tinctures or bitters)
• A glass jar with a tight-fitting lid
• Collander or mesh strainer
• Coffee filter
• Dropper bottles

Preparing the cannabis:

1. Before you can make tinctures or edibles, cannabis buds need to undergo a process called decarboxylation to make them more usable by the human body. To decarb your weed, break it into smaller pieces, spread it on a cookie sheet, and bake it at 220 F for 40 minutes. Let the buds cool before making your tincture.
2. After you’ve decarbed your buds, place them in the glass jar. Add lemon peels and herbs if you would like to make bitters or a flavored tincture.
3. Fill the jar with enough alcohol to cover the ingredients and seal the lid.
4. Give the jar a few gentle shakes, and store it in a cool, dark area, such as a cupboard or drawer.
5. You can whip up a weaker batch of tincture in a few days, but for optimum potency, you’ll want to let the herbs infuse for at least two weeks. Shake the jar once or twice a day to ensure an even distribution of the cannabinoids.
6. After two weeks or so, strain the mixture through a coffee filter set inside a colander. Gently press the buds with a spoon to squeeze out the remaining infused alcohol. Pour your tincture into brown glass dropper bottles and store them in a dark drawer or in the refrigerator.

Now that you have your tincture ready, let’s check out some holiday-infused cocktail recipes.

1. Cannabis-Infused Mulled 

Wine

A stroll through a European Christmas market wouldn’t be complete without a steaming hot mug of mulled wine. You can make a Cali-sober version by using alcohol-removed wine. Sweet yet full-bodied wines like Merlot, Grenache, or Zinfandel work best.

Ingredients:

• 750 ml alcohol-removed red wine
• Whole cloves, star anise, and cinnamon sticks
• Fresh cranberries
• Orange and apple slices
• Mint sprigs

Directions:

1. Place the wine, cloves, cinnamon, and star anise in a large saucepan. Heat the mixture on the lowest setting for 20 minutes.
2. Once the wine is piping hot, add the cranberries, apples, and oranges. Continue heating the mixture for another minute or two.
3. Ladle the wine into mugs, and add the desired amount of CBD or THC tincture.
4. Garnish each serving with a sprig of fresh mint.

2. Weed Peppermint Julep

Weed Peppermint Juleps make ideal after-dinner drinks. I made homemade simple syrup for my cocktail, but premade peppermint-flavored syrups are also available online. You can store any leftover syrup in the fridge to flavor coffee and baked goods.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup ginger ale or non-alcoholic ginger beer
• Juice from one lemon
• 1/4 cup mineral water
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves
• Candy canes
• Cannabis tincture (as desired)
• Crushed ice

Making Peppermint Simple Syrup:

1. Boil a cup of water.
2. Break a candy cane into pieces and place them into a coffee mug.
3. Pour in enough hot water to cover the candy. Stir until you have a peppermint-flavored simple syrup.

Directions for Cocktail:

1. Place 2–3 teaspoons of peppermint syrup, lemon juice, and mint leaves in a metal bowl or cocktail shaker. Crush the leaves using a muddler or wooden spoon to release the fresh mint flavor.
2. Add a few ice cubes, ginger ale, mineral water, and cannabis tincture. Shake until blended.
3. Strain the cocktail over a margarita or rocks glass filled with crushed or shaved ice.
4. Garnish with a peppermint stick.

3. Green Gingerbread 

Martini

Nothing says “elegance” like a martini. You can use either cannabis-infused bitters or a combination of cannabis tincture and store-bought bitters. I made my Green Gingerbread Martinis on the weak side so that I could have more than one. Alternatively, you can have the first drink “loaded” and skip the cannabis for the refills.

Ingredients:

• Spicy, non-alcoholic ginger beer or ginger-flavored kombucha
• Martinelli’s sparkling apple juice or all-natural sparkling grape juice
• Mineral water or club soda
• Cannabis-infused bitters (or cannabis tincture plus a dash of conventional bitters)
• Ginger snaps or other gingerbread cookies (crushed)
• Honey
• Maraschino cherries (optional)

Directions:

1. Crush the cookies with a rolling pin or a mortar and pestle. Place the crushed cookie crumbs on a small plate.
2. Coat the rim of your martini glasses with honey. Roll the rim of the glasses in the cookie crumbs.
3. Place 2 shots of ginger beer, one shot of sparkling juice, one shot of mineral water, and the cannabis-infused bitters into a cocktail shaker with ice.
4. Pour the mixture into your prepared martini glasses, and garnish each drink with a maraschino cherry.

4. CBD and Cranberry Champagne

New Year’s Eve celebrations wouldn’t be the same without toasting with a glass of bubbly.

Ingredients:

• 750 ml bottle of all-natural sparkling white grape juice
• 1 cup cranberry juice
• 2 cups mineral Water
• CBD-infused tincture
• Whole cranberries (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine the juices, mineral water, and CBD tincture into a glass pitcher. Mix well, cover, and chill until ready to serve.
2. Pour into champagne glasses, and garnish each drink with a whole cranberry.

5. Santa’s Stoner Sangria

I bought a bottle of alcohol-removed Merlot the other day, and it was okay alone. But when I mixed it into sangria, it was spectacular. Here’s how to make your own cannabis-infused version.

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle of alcohol-removed red wine
• Juice from 4 lemons
• 2 cups mineral water
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• Honey (to taste)
• Cannabis tincture
• Apples and mixed berries
• Orange slices

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a large pitcher or punch bowl with ice.
2. Serve in punch cups or wine glasses. Garnish each cocktail with an orange slice.

6. Cannabis-Infused 

Alexander

My version of the classic Alexander cocktail uses cannabis-infused butter (cannabutter) instead of tincture. You can use cannabutter for any drink recipe that includes cream. You’ll find instructions for making cannabis-infused butter in my previous article, “Cooking with High-CBD Hemp Flower.”

Ingredients:

• 2 shots of alcohol-free gin or 1 cup of juniper berry tea
• 1 tbsp cannabutter
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• Sugar or another sweetener (to taste)
• 2 ounces of cream
• Ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Brew the juniper berry tea or heat water if using alcohol-free gin.
2. Stir in the cannabutter until it melts.
3. Add the cocoa powder and sugar. Mix thoroughly.
4. Place the mixture, cream, and ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake until well-blended.
5. Pour into martini glasses, and sprinkle a pinch of ground nutmeg on top.

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Written by Cat Winske

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash